The Silence Of The Moon Raged On...

The mass of dark, heavy clouds had overpowered the full moon which hung boldly over the town of Sunnydale, so that only a corner of the great sphere could be seen. One or two stars were carrying bravely on, penetrating the mist which had also ascended over the town, but other than that, a darkness which the streetlamps failed to lift was felt by all. But none felt it as much as the Slayer as she gazed out of her open bedroom window. She'd come off patrol an hour ago but was unable to sleep, finding the darkness was keeping her awake. In some ways, Buffy was glad to be at home, it meant she could take time off from being super-human and just be human; but in other ways, she craved to be on the streets, killing the unseen monsters of the night and being the protector of Sunnydale. Tonight however, she felt it more strongly than usual, so much so it was preventing her from getting a good nights sleep. In the next room, Buffy heard her mother moan as she dreamt and she immediately went on the alert, her overactive mind running through all the possible questions. Was her mother dying? Had the operation left some side affects? But most of all, the question pressing on her mind was: Is the cancer still there and is it killing her? After waiting for five minutes and hearing nothing more, Buffy let her guard down and shut her window before sliding into bed to try and sleep again.

There was a muffled thud from next door which told Dawn that her older sister had closed her window and was therefore going to bed. She sighed deeply and turned under the covers so she faced *her* window, but unlike Buffy, she never had hers open at night. It could be 100 degrees, but she'd keep it firmly closed for fear of a demon climbing in. She watched with sleepy eyes as the wind outside pushed the branch of the great tree beneath her window into her view. Unlike her older sister, the feeling of the night wasn't keeping Dawn awake, it was her thoughts. There were so many of them that she just couldn't shut her mind off. She thought of her family; Buffy and her mum, her friends, her school, and Spike. Dawn smiled and rolled over in bed, in some ways feeling bad for having a crush on an evil vampire, but in others feeling no guilt at all seeing as Buffy had actually *loved* an evil vampire. Her mind firmly set on one topic, Dawn felt that familiar feeling as she began to drift off into a light sleep. As she dozed, she didn't dream, just as she hadn't ever since she'd first found out she was the Key. But that was okay, for if she did, who knows what horrors her mind would come up with to express her subconscious anxiety and fear?

Joyce tossed and turned in bed, unable to shake the headache she'd had all day. She hadn't told Buffy about it, and wouldn't until she felt it absolutely necessary. She didn't want to worry the poor girl more than was needed. A pale strip of moonlight highlighted the dark bags under her eyes and the under-nourished look of her skin, reminding anyone that saw her that she really was ill. The operation she'd undergone only two weeks ago was supposed to make her all better, but Joyce soon realised that it had only helped temporarily. She still got those dizzy spells which had frightened her precious children so, but they weren't as bad. She still forgot things now and then, but not as badly. It seemed all the doctors had done was to turn the volume down on her tumor. The terrible thought that she was dying flashed through her mind, but she quickly dismissed it. She couldn't be dying. The doctors had told her so, and anyway, she had two daughters to think of. The notion of them being without a mother *and* a father was just unbearable. No, she was fine. She'd make it through this good enough. Joyce rolled over in bed again and squeezed her eyes tightly shut, forcing all bad thoughts out of her mind, and begun the desperate try for sleep all over again.

Alone. That was how Spike felt, and it was how he'd been feeling for a long time now. The only company he had that night was the sound of the howling wind and the eventual pitter-patter as the rain started up outside. An image of Buffy came into his head as he paced up and down his dusty, unkept crypt in search of whiskey, but he quickly shook it away, telling himself firmly that it wasn't love he felt, it was just obsession. Angel had experienced the same problem; she just didn't leave you alone, so you got her embedded in your brain. 'Along with everything else thats been shoved in there.' he thought bitterly, finally finding the expensive alcohol under a chair of all places. He hated loneliness, so whenever he felt it, he did the one thing he knew he could do well: get drunk. A strong gust of wind threw the door open and heavy sheets of rain were blown inside, drenching the vampire and most of his few belongings before he got a chance to close it. Spike shrugged to himself, all the more reason to get drunk. He opened the large bottle of whiskey and raised it as if in a toast to the shrouded moon, just visible from his window.
"To obsession." he muttered with a humourless laugh and gulped down as much of the powerful brown liquid as he could in one go. Momentarily, Buffy disappeared, but Spike knew all too well that it was only a matter of time before thoughts of her plagued him again. He drank some more. Outside, the silence of the moon raged on.