Even though most of the vamps had left town, Buffy still
patrolled. Trying to portray some semblance of normalcy. There was nothing
left in town. Just the big evil. The first, she was sick of the first. She
wanted something physical to fight. Something she could put her hands on
and touch, preferably while driving a stake through it's unbeating heart.
She actually missed the vampires. She was so used to them. They had been
around since she was 16. To have them gone was odd. She was built for
fighting evil, a tangible evil. Not a big nothing evil that had no corporal
form. She wasn't built for that.
She walked home in the surprisingly cool California February night. She walked slowly thinking about The First going over everything she knew about it. Which still wasn't much. There had to be a weak point though. It couldn't take corporal form, it could only look like dead people and Andrew had angered it. Which looking back isn't much of an accomplishment, he annoys everyone. It was something, anger's a very human emotion, it has emotions.
She had fought "unbeatable" foes before and somehow she always won. She always came back and prospered. There just had to be something they didn't see yet. Something that was probably right in front of her but she was blind to it. It would all come together and make sense eventually. But would it be in time?
Buffy was the Slayer. That meant something. She had saved the world dozens of times and only a handful of people really knew about all that she did. Everyone was counting on her, she couldn't let them down. She let out a heavy sigh as she walked up the steps to her home of the past seven years. She unlocked the wooden door and let herself in. A private house could stop vampires but it couldn't stop everything.
Potential Slayers were everywhere, filling up the house. They were the first thing you saw when you came inside. They just looked like teenage girls. But they were so much more. The Potentials were a welcoming sight. To know that there were still so many potentials around, maybe even more in far corners of the world they didn't know about. These girls who didn't even have the full gifts of a Slayer were willing to fight. They knew what their future might be and they embrace it head on. They trained everyday, they learned to fight they learned about demons, they researched. To the rest of the world they were just teenage girls.
Everyone was fast asleep and she tiptoed up the stairs careful not to make a sound. Anything could wake them up. Just the smallest sound would spook them. They were strong but Buffy remembered her first days as a Slayer. She didn't sleep at all and she had full Slayer strength. They didn't have that. They were easily unnerved.
Buffy looked into Willow's room full of more potentials all asleep in their sleeping bags. Pillows and covers everywhere in their makeshift beds. Then she looked into Dawn's room the girls including Dawn were out like a light. Buffy smiled glad that at least for the moment things were peaceful. They were never that way long, especially at night. She was glad for the quiet. With all those teenage girls the house was more noisy then usual. Then she went into her own room, there were girls there too.
She slowly walked past them careful where stepped. Buffy went over to her dresser and opened a drawer taking out a blue tank top and blue pajama pants. She dressed quietly in the dark. Then she slid into bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. Looking around at the potential slayers in the room she wondered not for the first time. Which one would take her place?
Maybe it was the quiet one in the corner who was slightly separated from the group of girls, she was pretty new. Or the one with the long black that all the girls loved to braid. Maybe the girl right next to her bed not even a foot away from her.. Could be Amanda, another Sunnydale girl. That wouldn't be too surprising, the hellmouth mojo and all that. It would actually make sense and she seemed to be almost a natural a the slaying even without slayer powers. It could be any one of the girls in the house. The future Slayer might not even be in the house. Maybe it was one they hadn't gotten to yet. She could just be asleep in her own bed with no idea what the future held for her.
Just maybe it wouldn't be any of them. They might survive all this. They might beat The First, Buffy included and no one would have to take her place. At least not yet. For all Buffy knew she could live another 20 years and they would be too old to be Slayers then. They'd be past the Slayer age and someone who wasn't even born yet would be the next Slayer. These potentials all around her could live a normal life.
Buffy couldn't even remember what a normal life was anymore. It had been so long. These girls still had hope. Hope for a normal future. One without vampires and demons without the word "apocalypse" being a big part of their vocabulary. This whole ordeal could just be a crazy few months in their past, long forgotten. Buffy could give that to them. As long as she was alive.
Simple then all she had to do was stay alive. And she would try anyway she could. This fight was just another graduation. She knew they wouldn't all make it but they all had to fight together to protect the world. But she could make it so they wouldn't have to go through the pain and the loss of what she went through. At least for a little while.
Buffy sighed, too much thinking. She looked around the room one last time then closed her eyes. It had been such a long day she was exhausted. Enough thinking and enough work, she had done enough. Now she needed sleep, even the Slayer needed to get her sleep to fight the big baddies. Slowly Buffy managed to drift off to sleep.
BEEP
BEEP
BEEP
Buffy awoke in a fog. What was that horrible noise? It felt like she had just fallen asleep. She rubbed her eyes as a hand reached across her chest and made the evil noise go away. She blinked her eyes open and stared at the arm. It was masculine, all muscley so it belonged to a man. Buffy was still too much in a fog to compute what was going on.
"Time to wake up sweetie." The owner of the arm said. "It's seven AM, we should get dressed."
Buffy groaned even though she was Twenty-Three she was still so much of a kid. "Five more minutes?" She begged as she turned to face the man.
"You say that every morning." He said softly kissing her lips. It was Liam her husband, only no one ever called him that. He was known as Angel. After the first time she saw him she thought he looked like an Angel under the moonlight when she was only sixteen. She had written that in her diary and her friend had read it and it had gotten around so ever since then he had been known as Angel.
"I know" Buffy said sitting up and turning to Angel. "And one of these mornings you're gonna give in." He was already getting dressed in his police uniform. He was a Detective at the local police station. She pulled Angel close and kissed his lips.
"Oh don't tempt me. You know there's nothing I'd rather do then stay in bed with you all day."
"Then you should." Buffy pouted.
"Then who will take care of the kids?" Angel asked as he continued getting dressed. They had two kids. They had gotten engaged after High School and Buffy couldn't wait to get married before graduating College. And exactly 9 months after marriage Baby Dawn was born then 19 months later Conner was born.
"Darn you and your logic." Buffy said smiling anyway. He leaned down and kissed her nose and she grinned. The grin then faded.
"What's wrong?"Angel asked.
"I had the dream again." Buffy said her tone turning serious and quiet. Almost as if she didn't want to believe it. "The Slayer dream. I was really hoping they'd go away. The new therapist Dr. Woods isn't helping at all. And now he's become part of it as Principal! Why are they always the Principal? First Doctor Flutie then Doctor Snyder. The Slayer dreams used to be fun now they're just distracting."
She walked home in the surprisingly cool California February night. She walked slowly thinking about The First going over everything she knew about it. Which still wasn't much. There had to be a weak point though. It couldn't take corporal form, it could only look like dead people and Andrew had angered it. Which looking back isn't much of an accomplishment, he annoys everyone. It was something, anger's a very human emotion, it has emotions.
She had fought "unbeatable" foes before and somehow she always won. She always came back and prospered. There just had to be something they didn't see yet. Something that was probably right in front of her but she was blind to it. It would all come together and make sense eventually. But would it be in time?
Buffy was the Slayer. That meant something. She had saved the world dozens of times and only a handful of people really knew about all that she did. Everyone was counting on her, she couldn't let them down. She let out a heavy sigh as she walked up the steps to her home of the past seven years. She unlocked the wooden door and let herself in. A private house could stop vampires but it couldn't stop everything.
Potential Slayers were everywhere, filling up the house. They were the first thing you saw when you came inside. They just looked like teenage girls. But they were so much more. The Potentials were a welcoming sight. To know that there were still so many potentials around, maybe even more in far corners of the world they didn't know about. These girls who didn't even have the full gifts of a Slayer were willing to fight. They knew what their future might be and they embrace it head on. They trained everyday, they learned to fight they learned about demons, they researched. To the rest of the world they were just teenage girls.
Everyone was fast asleep and she tiptoed up the stairs careful not to make a sound. Anything could wake them up. Just the smallest sound would spook them. They were strong but Buffy remembered her first days as a Slayer. She didn't sleep at all and she had full Slayer strength. They didn't have that. They were easily unnerved.
Buffy looked into Willow's room full of more potentials all asleep in their sleeping bags. Pillows and covers everywhere in their makeshift beds. Then she looked into Dawn's room the girls including Dawn were out like a light. Buffy smiled glad that at least for the moment things were peaceful. They were never that way long, especially at night. She was glad for the quiet. With all those teenage girls the house was more noisy then usual. Then she went into her own room, there were girls there too.
She slowly walked past them careful where stepped. Buffy went over to her dresser and opened a drawer taking out a blue tank top and blue pajama pants. She dressed quietly in the dark. Then she slid into bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. Looking around at the potential slayers in the room she wondered not for the first time. Which one would take her place?
Maybe it was the quiet one in the corner who was slightly separated from the group of girls, she was pretty new. Or the one with the long black that all the girls loved to braid. Maybe the girl right next to her bed not even a foot away from her.. Could be Amanda, another Sunnydale girl. That wouldn't be too surprising, the hellmouth mojo and all that. It would actually make sense and she seemed to be almost a natural a the slaying even without slayer powers. It could be any one of the girls in the house. The future Slayer might not even be in the house. Maybe it was one they hadn't gotten to yet. She could just be asleep in her own bed with no idea what the future held for her.
Just maybe it wouldn't be any of them. They might survive all this. They might beat The First, Buffy included and no one would have to take her place. At least not yet. For all Buffy knew she could live another 20 years and they would be too old to be Slayers then. They'd be past the Slayer age and someone who wasn't even born yet would be the next Slayer. These potentials all around her could live a normal life.
Buffy couldn't even remember what a normal life was anymore. It had been so long. These girls still had hope. Hope for a normal future. One without vampires and demons without the word "apocalypse" being a big part of their vocabulary. This whole ordeal could just be a crazy few months in their past, long forgotten. Buffy could give that to them. As long as she was alive.
Simple then all she had to do was stay alive. And she would try anyway she could. This fight was just another graduation. She knew they wouldn't all make it but they all had to fight together to protect the world. But she could make it so they wouldn't have to go through the pain and the loss of what she went through. At least for a little while.
Buffy sighed, too much thinking. She looked around the room one last time then closed her eyes. It had been such a long day she was exhausted. Enough thinking and enough work, she had done enough. Now she needed sleep, even the Slayer needed to get her sleep to fight the big baddies. Slowly Buffy managed to drift off to sleep.
BEEP
BEEP
BEEP
Buffy awoke in a fog. What was that horrible noise? It felt like she had just fallen asleep. She rubbed her eyes as a hand reached across her chest and made the evil noise go away. She blinked her eyes open and stared at the arm. It was masculine, all muscley so it belonged to a man. Buffy was still too much in a fog to compute what was going on.
"Time to wake up sweetie." The owner of the arm said. "It's seven AM, we should get dressed."
Buffy groaned even though she was Twenty-Three she was still so much of a kid. "Five more minutes?" She begged as she turned to face the man.
"You say that every morning." He said softly kissing her lips. It was Liam her husband, only no one ever called him that. He was known as Angel. After the first time she saw him she thought he looked like an Angel under the moonlight when she was only sixteen. She had written that in her diary and her friend had read it and it had gotten around so ever since then he had been known as Angel.
"I know" Buffy said sitting up and turning to Angel. "And one of these mornings you're gonna give in." He was already getting dressed in his police uniform. He was a Detective at the local police station. She pulled Angel close and kissed his lips.
"Oh don't tempt me. You know there's nothing I'd rather do then stay in bed with you all day."
"Then you should." Buffy pouted.
"Then who will take care of the kids?" Angel asked as he continued getting dressed. They had two kids. They had gotten engaged after High School and Buffy couldn't wait to get married before graduating College. And exactly 9 months after marriage Baby Dawn was born then 19 months later Conner was born.
"Darn you and your logic." Buffy said smiling anyway. He leaned down and kissed her nose and she grinned. The grin then faded.
"What's wrong?"Angel asked.
"I had the dream again." Buffy said her tone turning serious and quiet. Almost as if she didn't want to believe it. "The Slayer dream. I was really hoping they'd go away. The new therapist Dr. Woods isn't helping at all. And now he's become part of it as Principal! Why are they always the Principal? First Doctor Flutie then Doctor Snyder. The Slayer dreams used to be fun now they're just distracting."