Author's Note: And the story continues. Thank you for your patience once again, glad I managed to get this one out before too long. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 9: Picking up the Pieces
Xander examined the fractured remnants of the Summers' back door, trying with fading hope to see if there was any chance at saving it.
"So?" Willow asked, shouting from the living room. "How's it looking back there?"
Xander let the broken pieces drop, holding his arms up in surrender. "Not good Wil. Door's busted too."
"Alrighty… I'll put it on the list!" Willow replied with bubbly, if slightly inappropriate enthusiasm. Xander knew his best friend well enough to know that her demeanour was just an attempt to deflect the worry underneath. Leaving the mess of broken wood for the moment, Xander crossed into the living room, lowering himself slowly onto the couch beside Willow. She was sat with her injured leg stretched out onto a footrest in front of her, a pen and notebook in hand. He closed his eyes and let his slightly aching arms finally relax.
With Tara in hospital overnight for observation, Dawn at school, and Anya vigilantly bullying customers into spending money at the Magic Box, Xander was left to execute operation clean-up at the Summers' house. He was fortunate at least that the 'family emergency' card still seemed to hold weight in the construction trade.
He was only allowed to wallow for a handful of seconds however, before his thoughts were promptly interrupted.
"How long now?" Willow asked impatiently.
Xander opened one eye, glancing down at his watch with a good-natured smile. Eleven-seventeen AM. Nearly the end of a particularly long morning.
"Three hours and forty-three minutes Wil. Twenty minutes since the last time you asked…"
"I know, I know – I'm being all… bother-y lady," Willow admitted. "But it's-"
"I know Wil," Xander reassured her. "If it was you, or Anya or Buf-"
Xander paused for a moment, feeling emotions he had tried to keep buried rising to the surface. "I get it Wil. But Tara will be home soon enough. You've just gotta be patient for a little longer."
Willow nodded with a smile, though her eyes fixed on Xander thoughtfully.
"Are you doin' okay?"
Xander blinked, unprepared to have the conversation turned on his head. "I'm fine Wil, just a little tired from all the macho-lifting I've been doing for my favourite damsels in distress…"
Xander grinned, though Willow didn't buy it, refusing to even crack a smile. "That's not what I meant Xander."
"Then what?" Xander asked innocently, letting out a chuckle. After a few moments of looking at Willow however, his jovial demeanour began to fade, and Xander was quiet.
"It's still pretty hard to believe she's gone," he admitted finally. "Even after it happened, as soon as you and Tara said you thought we could bring her back... it just clicked in my head. It was gonna be okay. Buffy was gonna be okay. All those times she saved my life, our lives – the world. Just thought I could give her that much."
Willow nodded, her eyes filling with tears. Xander could feel the same tingling in his own.
"I know.. Xander… I'm so sorry I couldn't…"
Xander put a hand on Willow's shoulder, before pulling her into a gentle embrace. "You did more than the rest of us ever could. I just miss her so much Wil."
Willow planted her chin on Xander's shoulder. "Me too."
They both stayed like that for a few moments, neither feeling the need to speak.
"It's just hard, yknow?" Xander said eventually, extricating himself slightly from the embrace. "Seeing things like this happen to you and Tara, knowing there's nothing I can do."
"I wouldn't call what you're doing nothing Xander," Willow pointed out.
"You know what I mean. This place is a demon magnet Wil. Trust me, I know what that's like. And this time there isn't a slayer waiting to kick them out on their asses on the other side of the door. What happens next time?"
"There won't be a next time," Willow assured him. "I've already started looking into some extra protective charms for the house, and I won't make the mistakes of tucking Buffybot in for her powernap while there are feral rage monsters on the loose..."
Xander couldn't help but smile at that.
"We were always gonna make mistakes Xander," Willow insisted, taking his hand in hers. "Remember how long it took for us to get patrolling to work?"
"Who could forget," Xander replied with a smirk and a twinkle in his eye. "There were times when I looked at Spike and I swear I could see this look in his eyes, like he was weighing up whether trying to kill us might be worth it after all."
"I think I remember Giles having the same idea..." Willow added comically. "But we got it right in the end, didn't we?"
"Yeah," Xander acknowledged, feeling a wave of gratitude for having Willow in his life. "Yeah I guess we did."
"So, how long now?"
Xander couldn't help but laugh.
Tara blinked her eyes open, recoiling slightly from the sunlight shining through the blinds and into the room. The unfamiliar room. She was on a raised, slender bed at its centre. To her right, a large window took up almost the entirety of the wall length, to her left there was an open door. Through it, Tara could see it appeared to open out onto a wide corridor.
"Ah," a female voice sounded, alongside the clicking of hard shoes coming into the room. "You're awake. Good morning Miss Maclay."
"Where…" Tara said sleepily, trying to recall her most recent memories. They seemed hazy somehow, all blurred in her mind.
"You're in one of the inpatient wards in Sunnydale General. Don't worry, everything's alright. How are you feeling?"
"My head," Tara responded. "It's a little fuzzy. And the light, it's…"
Before Tara could so much as reach the end of her sentence, the nurse crossed the room and precisely adjusted the blinds. The sharp daggers of light no longer bore into her eyes, and Tara felt her body relax in relief.
"Better?" The Nurse inquired, and Tara nodded, rather regretting it after it worsened a certain continuous dull sensation in the back of her head.
After a few moments it began to fade, and Tara tried playing back the images in her head again. The scoobies were doing research at the magic box. They had said goodbye to Xander and Anya, walked home with Dawn and then…
The Mm'fashnik.
Tara had seen it about to burst through the back door, she had called for Willow and then… darkness.
"Now, it's perfectly alright if you'd like some time by yourself to recover." The nurse explained kindly. "However, I believe your… girlfriend?" She queried, before Tara nodded. "Would like to see you when you feel up to it. Apparently, the poor thing has been sat awake in the nearest waiting room all night."
Oh Willow… Tara thought, both touched by her dedication and wishing she hadn't put herself through something like that on her behalf.
"It's alright," Tara informed her patiently. "I think I'd like to see her now. Let her know I'm okay."
"That might be a good idea," The nurse concurred with a small smile. "According to my colleagues, she's been asking about you almost constantly."
Tara watched as the nurse left the room, the clacking of her shoes on the hard hospital floor getting further and further away. She could make out words being spoken, though distantly. "Yes, she's awake. Yes, she wants to see you."
Tara smiled, in part from anticipation, and partly wanting to give the most positive impression she could. The last thing she wanted was Willow to worry more than she doubtlessly already was. Tara was just about to greet her partner when an unexpected flash of golden hair appeared in the doorway.
Buffybot rushed into the room with her usual innocent grin, clasping an excessively large bouquet of red, blue and golden flowers in both hands. Before Tara could properly react, Buffy practically dropped them into Tara's lap. Without a moment's hesitation, the robot grabbed one of the small plastic chairs from its position by the wall, and pulled it closed to the bed, taking a seat.
"Buffy?" Tara asked as Buffy sat down, unable to hide her surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"You were damaged!" Buffy blurted out. "I wanted to be here when they fixed you."
The nurse raised an eyebrow at Buffy's choice of words, a bewildered smile appearing on her face. "I'll... leave you two alone. Just press the button beside you if you need anything."
Tara nodded, giving her best attempt at a reassuring smile as the Nurse backed out of the door, closing it behind her.
"You brought me flowers?" Tara asked sheepishly, as she examined the bouquet.
"Yes." Buffy explained, clearly very pleased with herself. "Flowers make people happy. I saw you and Willow give each other flowers, and you seemed to enjoy them very much!"
Tara smiled kindly at Buffy. It was impossible for her not to find her intentions somewhat hopelessly endearing. "You know... I do. Thank you, Buffy. This was very thoughtful of you. I'll be sure to put these in some water when we get home."
Buffy nodded emphatically. "The nurse said the doctor wanted to speak to you very soon. Then we can go home."
That was good news.
"Though she says I will have to look after you for a few days. I am looking forward to it. I can make breakfast!"
Oh. Oh my.
"I wouldn't worry about that too much..." Tara suggested gently. "I'm sure Willow and Dawn can keep on top of it..."
"Are you sure? She was very specific."
"Buffy, I think she meant that..." Tara paused, seeing the naïve wide eyes looking back at her. Maybe giving her a little responsibility wouldn't hurt. "You know what? Breakfast sounds nice. With... some supervision."
The Scooby gang sat around the dinner table, basking in the warmth of evening light and conversation. The mark left on the house by its recent invader had all but been washed away in most places. Xander had even manage to save the original table in question, one of a number of small victories he tried to celebrate amidst the disasters.
"You let Buffybot cook?" Xander asked Willow in slight disbelief. "Buffybot? The robot Buffy..."
Dawn frowned slightly at Xander. "What's so wrong with that?"
"Oh nothing much..." Xander replied with a wave. "Though our Buffybot is big with the whole big demon smackdown – not so much with the fine motor skills and gentle tender touch."
"She gets there in the end," Willow informed him with a small smile. "Just needs someone to really drive the message home."
Xander twitched his eyebrows knowingly. "Anyway Wil – how'd it go with the warding re-"
Xander was interrupted as Buffybot promptly entered from the kitchen. Between two oversized oven gloves she carried a large Pyrex roasting dish, full to bursting with the fruit of a few hours' labour.
"Whatcha got there Buff?" Xander asked with clear enthusiasm, his cynicism apparently erased by the promising aroma of food.
"Dinner!" Buffy happily proclaimed, plopping the dish onto the table with a little more force than necessary. "I made it. It is called 'lasagne'."
She smiled at each of the five scoobies at the table, rotating her head from one to the other in several, stiff movements, practically swelling with pride before vanishing back into the kitchen. Dawn rose from her chair, moving to follow her with a sheepish expression.
"We dug up one of Joyce's old cookbooks," Willow explained softly. "It seemed a fairly straightforward place to start."
"You could have started her out on the toaster..." Anya suggested dryly, curling a lock of her pale blonde hair around her finger and sipping gingerly at her glass of wine.
In the meantime, Xander was sure to cast an appraising eye at the food in front of him, eyeing the lasagne carefully. Well, it wasn't black. That was a good start. It was still inside the container, so that too was a bonus. Lots of it too – always good news. Buffybot had gone a little heavy on the cheese – but that wasn't exactly a crime, not by his standards anyway. It certainly smelled edible.
Within a few moments, Dawn was spreading bowls out at the table, and Buffybot held a ladle threateningly over the mass of cheesy goodness.
Xander could not help but feel a slight pang as Buffy first reached for Tara's bowl, his eyes widening in a combination of delight and surprise at the enormous portion Buffy scooped from the dish. Willow shot him a slightly resigned smile, and Dawn had a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.
"Say, think you've given her enough there Buff?" Xander jested.
Buffybot clearly didn't pick up on his sarcasm. Instead, a look of worry crossed her face, reaching for Tara's bowl once again before she stopped her with a hand on Buffy's wrist.
"Umm, that's fine Buffy. Xander's teasing you."
"Oh," Buffy acknowledged, letting out a rather canned laugh before retracting her hand and proceeding to fill the next bowl. Dawn's bowl. Xander could feel his stomach complaining, every moment worse than the last. His eagle eye couldn't help but note Dawn's portion was a little less than what Buffybot had given Tara, so he hoped it wouldn't be a continuing trend.
After an eternity of less than a minute, Xander finally received his bowl. It wasn't quite Tara's mountain, but it was still what he would term a respectable, manly portion.
Without pause, Xander lifted his cutlery, expertly quartered a likely mouthful, and thrust it into his mouth without hesitation.
"Mmm." He moaned, finding his eyes closing on their own. When Xander opened them again, he saw Buffybot standing in the corner nearest the kitchen, carefully watching each of the scoobies as they ate, anticipation clear on her face. When her gaze fell on him, Xander smiled. "You did good Buff. Italy-tastic."
Her delight was about as subtle as an angry Fyarl demon.
"You know, she may as well sit down…" Anya remarked, nonchalantly picking at her food. "It's a little disconcerting having her stand there like that."
Perhaps instinctually by this point, Buffybot looked to Willow for approval.
Willow waved out a nonchalant arm. "Sure Buffy, go ahead."
On the opposite side of the table, Dawn pulled out the chair beside her, motioning for Buffy to sit.
A strange look crossed the robot's face, before walking towards the chair and carefully sitting herself down.
"You want some?" Dawn asked, gesturing towards the ladle still hanging in the dish. "Can you eat?"
Buffy opened her mouth automatically in response, but paused. Instead, she turned to Willow with a frown and a question on her lips.
"Nuh uh," Willow answered the robot, before turning to address Dawn. "She can handle liquids – but thick pasta is a big no-no."
"There's a few things we need to talk about," Willow addressed the Scoobies, changing the subject. "Anya, you remember what you told us about the money situation?"
"Uh huh," Anya replied. "You've got a couple months before being packed off to the workhouse. Wait, do we still have those?"
"I'm pretty sure we never had those," Xander pointed out.
"It's... that bad?" Dawn asked quietly, causing the young adults around the table to glance guiltily at one another.
"How come nobody said anything?"
"It's no big, Dawny." Willow tried to assure her. "We're gonna sort it all out."
"We didn't want to worry you Dawn," Tara added. "It really shouldn't be your problem, not on top of everything else."
"You don't have to sit here while we talk it over," Willow offered. "You and Buffy can go upstairs if you want?"
"No," Dawn decided, putting on one of her classic 'adult' faces, raising her eyebrows slightly and stiffening her posture. "I want to stay."
Willow looked a little uncomfortable, though Tara smiled, placing a hand for a moment on Dawn's arm.
"Willow and I did a tally this morning," Xander explained, scratching the back of his head. "The house needs a lot of work. Back door is busted, pretty much every wall needs some replastering – the upstairs bannister is toast – and so on. Look, I know a few people, I can try and get you a good price – but it's not looking good. And… I know its not your fault Tara – but ambulance and hospital bills…" Xander spread his hands.
"Maybe we could all try put some money together?" Tara suggested. "Put the money into a joint account for when we need it. It wouldn't be for bills, or groceries or anything. Just… things like this."
"You're suggesting we start a demon pension?" Anya questioned, crossing her arms.
"Well, that's not exactly what I would call it," Tara replied patiently.
"It's not such a bad idea Ann," Xander countered, placing a hand on Anya's shoulder. "This place still attracts trouble a lot more than our place. It's only fair."
Anya pouted. "I don't like it – sharing our hard-earned cash. It's almost like communism..."
Willow rolled her eyes. "Okay then, let's vote. Demon pension – yay or nay? Those in favour..."
Willow and Tara raised their hands in near-perfect unison, and Xander followed close behind. Anya continued to pout for a moment, before Dawn surreptitiously added her hand to the count.
"Not you Dawny," Willow scolded her gently.
"What, I don't have rights now?" Dawn remarked dryly, folding her arms.
"This is America Dawn," Anya shot back haughtily, placing another forkful of lasagne into her mouth. "You have to pay for your rights like everybody else."
With a roll of her eyes, Dawn lowered her arm, before looking over to her robotic sister and pulling hers down too.
All eyes were on Anya as she pouted.
It was Tara who finally offered her an olive branch. "You could manage the account – you know, if you wanted?"
Anya seemed to consider this for a moment, before tentatively raising her arm. "Eugh, fine. But there's still a problem with all this."
"Please, enlighten us…" Xander replied with false grandiosity.
Anya leaned forward, looking past Xander until she was facing Willow. "You and Tara don't make any money. You spend money that isn't yours so you can go to class all day. It's stupid."
Xander could only bite his tongue as Anya continued to deftly slice through the conversation with characteristic empathy.
"Tara and I have talked it over," Willow replied, gesturing to her girlfriend for a moment. "We don't exactly have a lot of time left between classes and scooby stuff... but there's another option."
Xander took a quick gulp of water. "What's that Wil?"
"We... try to get Buffybot a job."
There was silence for a moment, before Xander burst out into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. "Wait, you're serious?"
"Think about it," Willow implored. "Before we just shut her down any time we weren't patrolling or bringing her out somewhere for Dawn. Kind of a waste, don't ya think? Her battery can last a couple days – if we really need it."
"And it would look good for Dawn," Tara added. "Buffy was pretty young as it was to be Dawn's guardian – and it would look better if she was employed, if anyone came to check on her."
"Alright," Xander conceded. "There's a couple of plusses. But where do you intend to start?"
Xander looked to Tara and Willow for an answer, but none was forthcoming. Xander gulped with growing horror as they both held his gaze expectantly.
Xander lifted his hands from the table. "Wait a minute..."
"C'mon Xander..." Willow asked, putting on one of her irresistibly adorable pouts.
"Hey, I said wait a minute! Look, I've got a few connections at the site. I could probably pull some strings – but I don't think you get it."
"How do you mean?" Dawn asked. "Sounds perfect."
Xander pointed at Dawn. "You'd think so, but what happens if something goes wrong? Horribly, horribly wrong? Suddenly that's all on the Xan-man – and I can kiss any chance at a promotion, and any future favours goodbye."
"It's a fair point," Anya added. "What if she can't actually handle a job? She's not that little trash can from Star Wars. She's a sex robot. Well, actually I guess she could…"
"Anya!" Xander cut her off, seeing Dawn's eyes widen and her cheeks start to turn red.
"Absolutely not," Tara added firmly.
"It was just a suggestion…" Anya deflected with a twirl of her fork.
"A bad one," Willow retorted, shooting Dawn a concerned look.
Dawn kept her eyes cast downwards for a few seconds, before getting to her feet. She stood up, taking Buffybot by the hand. "Buffy, would you come with me a sec?"
Xander watched as Dawn led the robot out of the room and up the stairs. None of the remaining scoobies said anything, just watched the fifteen-year-old walk away with silent sympathy.
Dawn ran a hand through Buffy's golden hair as they sat together, the younger girl gently placing a lock between finger and thumb beside her sister's temple, running it down to the slightly curved ends.
As she did so, Dawn felt a flurry of impossible emotions stirring in her chest. As she looked at the perfect replica of Buffy's face, she saw countless memories which stretched back a lifetime. Except they didn't. Dawn had only existed as the girl she was now for little over a year. That sickening, horrifying knowledge had nearly torn her apart, knowing her entire life was a meticulously constructed lie. Her sister had brought her back from the brink, telling her she had Summers' blood in her veins – that the monks had made Dawn out of her. But not this Buffy. Her mother was gone, her big sister was gone, and now all she had was her surrogate family, and a robot that hadn't even been around as long as she had.
"Why are you doing that?" Buffy asked.
Dawn stopped her hand in mid-air. "Oh... Does it bother you?"
"No," Buffy stated plainly. "I just wanted to understand."
Dawn cast her eyes downwards for a moment, a sad smile touching her lips. "Buffy – I mean, the other Buffy, she used to do that sometimes. When we weren't fighting, or screaming at each other."
A perplexed look appeared on Buffy's face. "Why would you fight? You and the other Buffy were sisters."
"Yeah, and sisters argue – a lot."
Buffy looked at Dawn uncomprehendingly. "I don't understand. Why would you want to hurt each other? Sister's love each other. It's a rule."
"We didn't mean it like that," Dawn explained. "Most of the time. But sometimes, I think part of loving someone is knowing you can hurt them more easily than anyone else."
Buffy seemed to think it over. "That is most confusing."
Dawn took a breath. "Life usually is Buffy."
Yet now the real Buffy was gone, it wasn't the fights, the arguments, or even the cold war of clothing thefts that sprang to mind whenever Dawn thought of her sister. It was the quiet, intimate moments. Moments when neither of them had to hide their feelings with words, but could convey what they really felt in a simple glance, or the smallest of gestures.
Dawn felt a pair of fingers running through her hair.
She looked up in surprise to see Buffybot smiling at her, and all of a sudden the claws of melancholy no longer seemed to clench her quite so tightly in its grasp. Dawn moved further onto the bed, curling her legs up behind her and leaning against Buffy's shoulder.
"Did Anya upset you earlier?" Buffy asked after a few moments had passed. "You didn't finish your lasagne."
"A little," Dawn admitted. "What she was saying... it wasn't appropriate."
"What wasn't?"
Dawn sat up. "Pimping out my sister to make money. It's... disrespectful."
Buffy smiled briefly at the word 'sister', before her pensive expression returned.
"Does that mean sex is wrong?"
"Well..." Dawn started, not really prepared for where this conversation was heading. "Not always. If you love someone – then it's okay. As long as you want to. Umm... I really think maybe you should ask someone else about that."
Dawn's head turned towards the door as she heard a muffled knocking.
"Dawn?" A gentle voice called out from the other side of the door.
"Come in," Dawn invited, and before long Tara appeared behind the door, opening it just enough so that she could slip inside and close the door behind her.
"Xander and Anya have headed home," Tara explained, twiddling her fingers in front of her. "I just wanted to see if everything was alright?"
Dawn looked at Buffy for a moment, forcing herself to smile.
"Yeah." She replied in a slightly hollow voice. "We're okay."
