Disclaimer: I don't own anything and I'm doing this for fun not profit
The timelines are going to be messed up quite a bit so just bare with me as I try to make everything fit. I guess it's a fantasy world so it doesn't really matter if everything gets spot on.
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Buffy kept her shower short because she knew Dawn would need to get up and ready for school soon. All the while she reflected on her dream. It really hadn't been anything special. Just a memory of a night not long after Riley had left. Dean had stopped by claiming to be working on a job near by. (Later Buffy would ask Sam how that particular job went and Sam wouldn't have a clue what she was talking about. Apparently Dean just wanted to see her, and being Dean he couldn't just stop in.)
Long ago they had agreed that a permanent relationship between them was impossible because she had a hell mouth to guard and his duty was on the road with his father. But if he stopped by and she happened to be single they'd allow themselves some comfort. (Although they didn't need to be romantic to take comfort in one another.)
That night she had opened the door and threw herself at him, careful to hold back on the slayer strength so she didn't actually knock him over. Dean had been surprised. The woman in his arms was normally so cool and collected. He'd expected her to open the door, lean on the frame and smile one of those cute, coy smiles that she seemed to have perfected. Not that he was complaining.
Then she'd kissed him. It had been a hungry kiss. Like she'd been starving for his lips for months. Dean indulged in the kiss for a bit because let's face it, no matter how much he actually cared for this girl, he was still Dean Winchester. One of his hands went to her hair and wrapped around some of her amazingly soft golden mane, while the other went to her waist to hold her body closer to his. He was a bit starved himself.
Then, much as he truly hated it, he realized what was making her act this way and knew that he couldn't let this go where she clearly wanted to let it go. He took her by the shoulders and as gently as possible (the girl had slayer strength so it took a bit more than normal to pry her off) pulled her away to get a good look at her face. Sure enough there were tears in her eyes.
"What happened to Riley?" he asked not accusing, just needing to know how to help.
She let it all go. She was a sobbing mess with snot bubbles and all. She didn't have to prove her strength around Dean.
He took her hand and led her to the impala. "Honey you talk, I'll drive, and we'll have you feeling better in no time." He drove to the nearest store while listening to her Tale of Riley. Dean had never really liked the guy. Clean cut soldier boy was always trying to get Buffy to be less than she was. Jackass. Then he gives her an ultimatum, after letting Vamps use him as a snack? Double jackass, and now that Buffy wasn't dating him if Dean ever actually saw the guy again he could totally beat the crap out of him.
He parked the car and ran in to get a gallon of cookie dough fudge mint chip ice cream. Then they went to the video store where he ran in and picked up a few surprise movies. There wasn't a girl in the world he knew better than Buffy Summers.
He called Dawn while in the rental place to let her know what was up and she offered to go stay the night with Willow and Tara. Dawn had gotten cooler over the years. Joyce was away on a business trip which was odd because last time he checked she'd been really sick. Buffy had told him that Joyce had just been trying to maintain some sort of normal. Sounded a lot like what the two of them did everyday. It was a losing battle.
Back at the house he'd grabbed 2 spoons and all the junk food he could find. Dawn had left a note on the kitchen counter:
"Got new vanilla bubble bath soap stuff.
Buffy's Favorite
Top Shelf in upstairs bathroom cabinet"
He groaned and threw the note away. Tempting as it was, tonight he actually had to concentrate on what Buffy needed rather than simply getting it on. Plus he needed to tell her something, and if any of that happened he would most certainly not be able to tell her. It was going to be hard enough as it was. Too hard, he'd eventually decided.
"So when did Little Sis learn about dirty stuff?" he asked Buffy as he joined her on the couch spreading his bounty across the table in front of them. "Better not have been from you." He gave her his most 'disapproving' look and quirked an eyebrow. She laughed. It was the first time she had laughed in days and it kind of surprised her. Dean gave her his most cocky grin. "Yea, I'm good." He remarked. She had missed that arrogant face and it reminded of her the time he'd gotten shot down so thoroughly by that college girl he'd tried to pick up back when they were high school. She lost it. Seeing the look on Dean Winchester's face after being dismissed that way had caused her and Sam to nearly pee their pants from laughter. Dean didn't really know what she laughing at, but it sounded so good that he couldn't help but join in. He hadn't really been able to laugh properly in a few months, with the pending death sentence and all.
By the end of the night their stomachs hurt from laughing so hard. Thoughts of 'Jackass Soldier Boy' (as Dean had taken to referring to Riley in his head) no longer bothered Buffy. They talked about everything. Recent battles, funny things that had happened in the past, sad things that had happened in the past, regular everyday life things. It always amazed him that he could have such a good time with such a hot chick without even touching her. Although, of course, they did end up touching eventually. Not in the hungry way that Buffy had opened up with, just in simple ways. He'd brush her hair back and she'd play with his hand. He was constantly finding a reason to kiss some part of her. Shoulder, forehead, ankle. It didn't really matter. He wasn't happy about the fact that she thought she wasn't capable of having a relationship but he was happy that Riley was gone. Maybe he would get more nights like this before he had to go.
That was where her dream had picked up. Him putting a favorite movie of theirs in, Tank Girl, and then rejoining her on the couch to bend down and kiss her knee. She moved in to him. Her back against his side and his arms securely around her waist. They laughed their way through Tank Girl. Of course the dream before that hadn't been as serene.
It had been the dream she'd been having every night since she got back, which featured Dean cutting people into ribbons very, very slowly. She shook that dream away and let the other one replay as she got dressed for the day.
When Willow got back from class she was fidgety. In other words she was hiding something. If Tara hadn't come home to pull her into their room for the talk they needed to have she probably would've ended up telling Buffy everything right then. Buffy had busied herself with chores all day allowing numbness to creep back in and push out the memory of that night with Dean so long ago. This place was more and more like hell each day. Wasn't it supposed to get better with time?
'Maybe I should call him' She thought, 'No. If he wanted to be here he would be. Willow said she called everyone and she couldn't have possibly left Dean and Sam out.
Sam! She could call Sam right? Maybe Dean was just being his usual stand off-ish self but Sam sure as hell didn't have a reason not to call her. She had been DEAD, and Sam Winchester seriously didn't take the time to call? The boy who had called her faithfully once every two weeks to check in and let her know they were still alive? This wasn't like him at all. Maybe Willow had forgotten? But even if she had, Dawn would have been on the phone immediately, any reason to talk to Sam, a crush even bigger than Xander, was enough for her.
Buffy reached for the phone at the same instant Dawn opened the front door. Sam forgotten for the moment she glanced at the clock. 3:30 p.m. Well at least she wasn't skipping.
"How was school?" she asked in the motherly way she'd adopted ever since their mom had died.
"Ya know, just school. Where's Willow?" Dawn asked as Willow and Tara came downstairs. Tara looking a bit annoyed and Willow looking grateful for the interruption. Dawn frowned. They'd been fighting about the magic again. But that would have to wait. They had to tell Buffy now or it would be put off more and Dawn knew Buffy's reaction would just get worse the longer it took this news to reach her. "Buffy there's something we need to tell you," Dawn said before Willow could stall. "Let's go into the living room and sit ok?" Dawn led the three of them to the living room and took the seat on the couch next to Buffy.
Buffy figured they were going to give her some sort of bad news but honestly she didn't see how it would affect her. She had been pulled out of heaven. You didn't really top that.
"Dawn, um should we wait for Xander?" Tara asked. She'd called him earlier at work and he said he'd be over as soon as he got off. Now she was thinking that maybe Buffy wouldn't want so many people around. After all she hadn't really been that social lately. Giles said he'd be on stand by for whatever was needed of him.
How could he go back to England after this? There was really no telling how Buffy would react, and if she did something stupid (like try to make a deal to get Dean out) Giles figured he needed to be there.
"Guys just tell me. I'm not going get all insane-o girl on you."
"It's Dean" Dawn blurted. They had to get this over with and she just wasn't sure how to be delicate. After that she let Willow take over. Willow explained everything. Sam dying, Dean making a deal, and finally Dean going to hell. Buffy's face went blank. The Winchester boys had been in trouble and they had hidden it from her. She calculated in her head. This meant that the day Dean had come to see her about the fake job he'd had about 7 months to live.
"Did any of you know about this deal before?" she asked in an emotionless voice when Willow had finished.
"N-no of course n-not Buffy." Tara stammered.
"We only just found out when we contacted Bobby to let them know you were alive. They didn't want to burden us after… your death, so they've been dealing on their own." Willow explained, hoping that Buffy would understand why they didn't want to tell her. Buffy just sat there unable to say anything. She wasn't angry at them. There really wasn't time to be angry at them. She needed to process the fact that Dean was in hell.
Sam had died. Dean was in hell. They didn't even think to tell her. Dean was going to die and he didn't say a word about it. He'd even gone out of his way to make her feel better. Dean was in hell and he'd known he was going to be there. He hadn't told her.
"Buffy?" Willow's voice came through over the thoughts. "Buffy maybe you should call Sam? We told him that you needed some time to adjust after being in a hell dimension. He doesn't know… about where you really were yet."
She'd already seen Angel, and she thought that would be hard, but it was going to be nothing compared to seeing Sam with the loss of Dean hanging over both of them.
One of her best friends. They'd kept her from him when he needed her. Did he have anyone besides Bobby with him?
"Buffy please don't go comatose again." Willow cut through her thoughts once more.
"Sam could really use us right now, Buffy." Dawn interjected, "I've been to see him and he didn't look so great. He had some weird girl with him." Dawn was clearly hurt by this information. Her precious Sam with another girl.
"Okay. We'll leave tomorrow. Do you know where he is?" Buffy asked proving that she was still consious as she looked around at the three faces observing her, "Never mind. I'll just call him." She said as she stood up. She grabbed the cordless phone as she walked up the stairs to her room for a little privacy.
"Well at least she didn't go into that weird coma thing again." Tara said when they heard the door to Buffy's room close.
"Honestly I wouldn't blame her at this point. I pulled her out of heaven and now she has to find out that Dean is in hell." Willow responded as Tara took her hand, clearly forgetting the fight they had been having before coming downstairs. Willow laced her fingers with Tara's grateful to have a break from the fighting. She needed to figure out a way to fix things with her and Tara without using magic, but for now it would have to do.
"WE pulled her out of heaven. Not just you. It was a decision made by all of us."
'Cept for me' Dawn thought, then out loud she said, "I'm gunna go to the Magic Box to see if Giles needs help with anything. He asked me to let him know how she reacted. He also said something about needing to monitor her, so make sure she doesn't try to… do a spell or something, I guess." As she picked her back pack up and made for the door.
"Okay, but call as soon as you get to the shop and don't talk to any strangers." Willow called as Dawn left. Tara laughed.
"Isn't she a bit old to be getting the 'strangers speech'?"
"Well yea, but I always feel the need to add a little motherly extra now a days." Willow told her making her giggle some more.
Sam woke up to the sound of "Barbie Girl" being played. One look around the room told him that Ruby had left already. He groaned and looked for the source of the music and saw his phone lit up on the nightstand next to him. He lunged for it eagerly trying not to get his hopes up and when he saw 'Buffy Home' displayed on the screen he answered.
"Hello?" he said in a voice that was a little scratchy from sleep and incredibly anxious with the possibility of who was on the other end. There wasn't an answer for the longest ten seconds of his life. Until finally:
"Sam?" Buffy asked sounding like she was about to cry, "Did I wake you up? Cus I can call ba-"
"Don't you even think about it." Sam replied trying to get control of his voice, "Buffy Anne Summers don't you dare hang up that phone…. I—" then he went silent. What was he supposed to say? Nothing seemed adequate. He just got up and started packing and getting dressed.
"Uh Sam, what are you doing? Are you going to finish that thought?"
"Buffy I can't even begin to—holy crap it's actually you. I'm on my way alright? I should be there by tomorrow morning."
"Sam Winchester I am angry with you. You DIED!" She finally burst out. 'Yep that's her' Sam thought and then he waited for the inevitable 'you should have told me' speech'. "Dean is dead." She said a little softer. She couldn't form anymore coherent words after that. It was all she could do to keep from breaking down. There would plenty of time for that when Sam got there. They would grieve together.
She heard a car start and knew that Sam was already in the impala. "Can we meet half way or something?" she asked anxious to see him.
"Ha! Not a chance. Can't risk you dying again before I get to see you." He attempted to joke about her driving, "Besides I'll be there before you know it. Don't do anything until I get there alright?" She didn't have to ask what he meant. She knew he was talking about trying to bring Dean back. "Trust me, I've already tried making every deal I could so please just wait so that we can talk."
"Okay." She replied weakly. She'd been going over every possible way to get Dean out. Now she realized it was pointless, of course Sam would have tried everything already. Maybe when he got there the two of them plus the scoobie gang could come up with a solution together. She would wait. "Hurry please."
"I am." He said and they hung up. At least Buffy was out of hell. Together he knew they could find a way to get Dean out as well. 'Ruby' He thought suddenly. Crap! He forgot to leave Ruby a note. He called and left her a voicemail hoping she wouldn't be angry with him. It's not like he could have waited. Buffy was basically his sister and if the past few years had taught him anything it was that family was number one.
