Here's the second update today, just like I promised, so if you haven't read Chapter Eight, make sure you read that one first. No Spike in this one, but we'll catch up with him in the next one. He's a little bit busy being unconscious right now anyway.

This would have been posted two hours ago, but I had to go to the grocery store. Apparently my kids think they need to eat every single day. Silly children. LOL

Do-Over

Chapter Nine – Anything's Possible

She smelled him before she heard him and groaned, "Whistler?"

"Yeah." He stopped next to her comfy chaise lounge and sighed, "That didn't last very long."

She sat up and felt her chest where the stake had been driven into her. It was gone, of course, and she was whole… again. "So how bad did I screw up? Are they going to send me back or is it game over?"

"Well, Spike just drastically changed the timeline by killing Xander, so…"

"Xander's dead!?"

"Yeah. His neck snapped when Spike threw him into that wall."

"That idiot! God! I am so completely tired of him screwing with my freaking life!"

"Spike?"

"No! Xander! If he hadn't tried to stake Spike, then he wouldn't be dead now! Stupid, interfering dumbass!"

"Uh… ok."

Buffy lurched to her feet and started pacing angrily around the chaise, her robe flaring out wildly every time she turned a corner. "I had a chance to fix things! But no! Xander had to jump right into the middle without thinking and screw it all up! Again! God, it's like a compulsion with him! The love spell on Cordelia, summoning Sweet and getting all those people killed, leaving Anya at the altar, lying to me about Angel's soul… it just never ends! I wish he could see all the shit he's done without thinking first and how it's screwed up the lives of everyone around him!"

"I'm not a vengeance demon, but…" Whistler smirked and snapped his fingers. "Wish granted."

Xander suddenly appeared on the chaise in his own white, flowing robe; eyes wide and frightened as he scrambled to his feet with a sputtered, "Wha? … How? … Where?" He gripped the back of the chaise tightly and yelled, "What the hell is going on? Where am I?"

Buffy threw him a venomous glare. "We're both dead, Xander. You killed me and Spike killed you. Thanks a lot."

Xander's head whipped around, his eyes skating around the fuzzy edges of the blindingly white space then screeching to a halt on Whistler. "I'm dead? Is this heaven? Are you an angel? Where's your wings?"

Buffy snorted. "He's not an angel and this isn't heaven. That's Whistler and this is the PTB's waiting room. I was here just a little while ago and thanks to you, I'm here again. They gave me a chance to go back and fix everything that went wrong in the future, but you just had to screw that up for me, didn't you? You couldn't just listen to me, could you? No. You did what you always do, no matter who it hurts."

"Future? You're from the future?"

"Yeah. About four years. They let me go back and I could've changed a lot of bad stuff… really bad stuff… but nope… here comes Xander to save the day, and now we're both dead."

"Well, how was I supposed to know!?"

"If you had stopped to listen to me for five freaking minutes, you would have!"

Whistler spoke quietly, "Do you want to see the future, Xander? See the things she was trying to change?"

Xander's gaze whipped to the demon again then he swallowed hard and nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

Whistler pointed to something over his shoulder. "Then turn around and see."

Xander spun then froze as a swirling portal opened directly in front of him. The light washed over his still form as events from the original timeline played across it like a movie in fast forward. Snippets of sound came through when the playback slowed at various intervals, causing Xander to twitch and his face to heat in shame at some of the more vitriolic things he'd said and done.

Buffy cringed when she saw her jump from the tower then she stepped forward as she intently watched the aftermath of her death. She'd been told some of what everyone had gone through, but seeing it for herself, seeing and hearing everyone's pain and despair… She thumped down onto the chaise and buried her face in her hands, letting the tears fall.

Xander kept watching and listening, his trembling hands clenching into fists as the future played out. A kind of strangled moan issued from his throat when Anya was felled by the Bringer's sword and he was openly sobbing when Spike and Buffy's interlocked hands burned in the Hellmouth, then he wailed and crumpled into a heap when Buffy sliced her arm in the bathtub, ending the playback. "Oh God… I didn't… how could I… "

Buffy knelt down next to him and wrapped her arm over his shoulders. "Do you understand now? Do you see what I was trying to do? I could have saved them, Xan. Anya, and Tara, and Mom. All the Potentials. Spike. Willow. Even me."

He looked up at her and swiped at the tears on his face with the sleeve of his robe. "I'm sorry, Buffy. God, I'm so sorry. I messed it all up. You love him… I love her… and they're both gone…"

Whistler cleared his throat. "But it can be fixed. The Powers will let me send you both back to try again, but this will be the last time. If either one of you dies again, that's it, you stay dead."

They both looked up at him with tear stained faces and nodded, speaking in stereo, "Do it." Whistler snapped his fingers.

Buffy blinked… and could see nothing. Nothing at all. She was surrounded by pitch blackness and she panicked, a scream locked in her throat as she scraped her fingernails against the slick plastic that enveloped her. 'God! Not again! I'm buried! God! Help me!'

Bright light suddenly blinded her and she froze, only hearing Xander's voice when he grasped her head in his hands and leaned over her, blocking out the light. "Buffy! It's ok! You're ok!"

She grasped his wrists in a white knuckle grip as she blinked and breathed, trying to calm her racing heart. "Xander?"

He slid his arm under her shoulders and helped her sit up. "Yeah. I'm here."

She looked around the room, confused by all the unconscious people that surrounded them. Giles was slumped on the couch with her mom next to him, Willow had apparently slid out of the chair at the end, and Riley was face down just inside the front door. There were also two strangers laid out on the floor next to the two body bags…

Her eyes widened and her breathing became ragged as Xander gripped her arms, steadying her. "Yeah, they'd bagged us, Buff. Yours was already zipped up, that's why it was dark when you came back." He pulled her close, wrapping his arms loosely around her, trying to give comfort without making her feel trapped. "It reminded you of when we brought you back, didn't it? When you had to dig your way out of your coffin?"

She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed then nodded against his chest, the fear finally subsiding a little as the solidness of him started to sift into her brain. "Yeah. Yeah, it did." She held on, rubbing her cheek against the soft flannel shirt he was wearing until the fear and panic had been pushed to the back of her mind then she pulled back and looked around the room again. "Why is everybody unconscious?"

Xander snorted then started laughing. "That's my fault, I think. The medical guys there were getting me straightened out in my bag when I came back, and when I opened my eyes and sat up… well…"

He cracked his neck then scooted back to lean against the wall, startling violently when Whistler suddenly popped into existence next to Riley. "Actually, that was me… well mostly. I put everybody to sleep except for this guy." He pointed down at Riley. "He was already unconscious."

Buffy glanced at Riley then looked up at Whistler. "Why?"

Whistler smirked. "He's a big baby that can't handle the sight of blood?"

She shook her head. "No, not Riley, I mean why'd you put everybody to sleep?"

"Oh. Figured it would be easier. It's not an everyday thing to have two obviously dead people suddenly come back to life, even in Sunnydale… well, at least when vampire fangs weren't involved. Those two there…" He pointed to the EMTs. "…I'll move to their ambulance and let them wake up naturally. I'll fix it so they think they just took a snooze and they won't remember any of this. The rest of them…" He waved his hand around the room. "…should pretty much be ok with it, considering their history with all things Hellmouth."

Buffy climbed out of her body bag and grimaced as her blood soaked shirt squelched against her skin. "You couldn't fix my clothes when you fixed the gaping hole in my chest?"

Xander chuckled quietly as he climbed out of his own bag. "Now, Buffster, be nice to the little guy. He did make us both alive again."

She blushed slightly and smiled at Whistler, "Oh… yeah. Thanks for that."

"No problem. Now, if you two don't mind, I've got places to be and things to do. Don't screw it up this time. Hope I don't see you for a while." He snapped his fingers and disappeared along with the two EMTs, their equipment, and the body bags.

Buffy pinched her shirt between her finger and thumb and pulled it away from her body. "I need a shower. Like now. This is so gross." She started for the bathroom. "Does Giles still keep my extra clothes in the linen closet?"

Xander called after her as she stepped into the hallway. "Yeah, bottom shelf. What do you want me to do with these guys?"

Buffy poked her head out of the bathroom. "Just keep an eye on them until they wake up, I guess. Once I'm done showering, I'm gonna go find Spike."

"You really love him?"

Buffy stepped fully into the living room. "Yeah, Xander, I do, and I have for a long time. You saw how he changed in my future, didn't you? He saved the world."

Xander shrugged. "Yeah, I saw, but that's not this Spike. This one doesn't have his soul, so how do you know he'll turn out the same?"

"I don't, but I've got to give him the chance. I know he has it in him, soul or no soul; we just have to help him along. Get his feet set on the right path and encourage him this time instead of beating him down every chance we get. You did notice how much he'd changed even before he got the soul, didn't you?" Xander nodded and she stepped up in front of him and pulled him into a hug, further bloodying his already bloody shirt before she stepped back and looked him square in the eye. "I love you, Xander, but I won't let you pull the shit you did last time. You saw what happened, how much pain everybody was in. I'm not saying that all of it was your fault, everybody had a hand it the badness at some point, but I'm not letting that happen this time, and to change things I need you to pull your head out and grow up. If you can't do that then there's the door and it's been nice knowing you. And thanks again for saving my life that time."

Xander swallowed hard and looked down at his shoes then dragged his gaze back up to her eyes, a defiant look on his face. "I don't like the guy, Buffy, not at all…" Buffy started to speak and Xander held up his hand. "Right now, anyway. But I'm gonna give him a chance, ok? I'm not gonna invite him over for beers or anything, but I'll try not to be such a dick to him. Will that be enough?"

"Yes, and thank you. But what if this Spike decides that he loves me like I love him and I… you know."

Xander blanched then gagged just a little. "Get groiny with Dead Boy Junior?" Buffy nodded and Xander sighed, "I'll deal, Buff, but I'm not gonna lie to you… I'll probably never be ok with you macking on the undead, but if dealing with it means that we'll still be friends, then I'll deal."

Buffy squeezed him in a hug again. "Thanks, Xander. And you never know; you and Spike could turn out to be best buds. He quoted Star Trek at me yesterday, so you two have something in common."

Xander shuddered then laughed quietly. "I doubt we'll ever be friends, but like you said… you never know… and we do live on a Hellmouth, so I guess anything's possible." Buffy started for the bathroom again and smiled at Xander's muttered, "Spike watches Star Trek?"