Buffy lazily pushed the eggs around on her plate as she attempted to keep
her eyes open. She couldn't fall back asleep after seeing Spike in her
dream. She couldn't get her mind off of him. She kept wondering who it
could be that she was supposed to be looking for. Who could possibly be
keeping Spike from her? She wished the dream could have given her more
information. The information she did get was just making her crazy with
worry and was getting her nowhere.
Xander walked in and popped some toast into the toaster. He sat down across from Buffy and eyed her quizzically.
"Buffy, you look awful!" Xander exclaimed.
She looked up at him with an incredulous look on her face.
"Thanks!" Buffy smiled, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Sorry Buff, but you look like you haven't slept in days. I hope you haven't been spending all your time trying to look for Captain Peroxide."
Xander stood up to grab his toast and a knife to butter it. While his back was turned Buffy rolled her eyes and let out a dramatic sigh. Xander obviously missed the eye roll but the sigh didn't get past him.
Xander turned and furrowed his brow. "What's wrong?"
Buffy got up and stood in front of him. "How can you ask me that? You really have no idea what I've been going through in the past couple of days do you?"
"Buffy, it was just a dream!"
Her eyes widened. "It wasn't just a dream!"
"Well, I haven't seen any evidence to the contrary!" Xander argued.
"No, I haven't found anything yet but I plan to keep trying. Thanks for all of your help by the way." More sarcasm dripping from her voice.
"Maybe I haven't been more of a help because I have more sense than to waste my time looking for a dead man!" Xander screamed.
Buffy's eyes filled with rage and she raised her palm, slapping Xander hard across the face.
Xander's head whipped back and he looked at her as his hand rose to cover up the redness from her slap.
Buffy's eyes turned from rage to shock as she has realized what she'd done.
"Xander I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to.."
"Buffy, what is wrong with you. You are being ridiculous!" Xander interrupted.
"How could you say that to me? You wouldn't even be here if it weren't for Spike! Nobody would! The only reason Sunnydale was the only place destroyed was because Spike cared enough to die for the rest of the world! He cared enough to die for me, for my happiness! He knew this was the only chance I had to live a normal life. He gave me the greatest gift of all and I will always love him for that. I refuse to turn my back on him!" Buffy exclaimed with dozens of tears now rolling down her cheeks.
Xander frowned. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize this was that important to you." He walked toward Buffy and put his arms around her.
"Well, what would you have done if I had a dream about Anya like that? Would you have told me to just forget about it? Would you have just passed it off as just another dumb dream or would you have wanted to follow up on it?" Buffy asked, wiping her tear soaked face.
"You're right. I've been a jerk. If it were Anya, if there was any chance at all that she might still be alive, I would have gone to any lengths to find her." Xander admitted. "I guess I'm just so used to hating the guy that it's like a second nature to me. But I will always to grateful for what he did. I guess he wasn't so bad after all."
"Get some rest Buffy." Xander continued. "I'm going to go out and see if I can find out anything for you.
"Thanks Xander." Buffy smiled.
Buffy went back to the table to try and eat at least some of her breakfast, which was probably cold by now. She took a few bites of her eggs and ate a slice of toast when she felt herself starting to doze off again. She rested her head in her hand intending to rest her eyes for a few moments.
"Make sure you finish your breakfast, honey. You've got to start eating right."
Buffy picked up her head to see her mother standing beside her.
"Mom?" Buffy asked, looking around, silently praying that someone else would show up to witness this.
"You have to keep up your strength." Joyce said with a smile. "And dear, when you find Spike make sure you make him a nice cup of hot chocolate with those tiny marshmallows he loves so much. Make sure he knows it's from me."
"I will, Mom." Buffy responded. "Mom? Do you know where Spike is?"
"Of course I do, don't be silly. You will find out soon enough. Don't worry. The answers will come as soon as you stop looking." Joyce said, placing a loose strand of hair behind Buffy's ear.
"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.
"You are wasting too much energy on something that is right in front of your nose, Buffy. You don't have to go on searching anymore. Wait for your sign and the answers will come to you." Joyce bent over, gave Buffy a quick hug, then vanished into thin air.
Buffy felt something cold and squishy on her face. "Ewww!!" Buffy groaned as she woke up with her face in her breakfast. She took a napkin and wiped the egg off of her face.
Later that day Buffy had the gang gather around the living room for a Spike update. "Here's the deal." Buffy began. "I had a couple more dreams that have been fairly helpful. Last night, Spike was in my dream, begging me to find him. He said that someone was keeping him from me, I just had to find out who."
"Why didn't you tell me about that this morning Buff? Xander asked.
"We were too busy yelling at each other. It slipped my mind."
"Oh yeah." Xander said, guiltily bowing his head.
"You guys had a fight?" Dawn asked.
"Never mind that Dawnie. It's not a big deal. Everything is fine now." Buffy said. "Anyway, this morning I had another dream, this time with my mother."
"Mom?" Dawn's eyes lit up.
"Yeah." Buffy said, smiling at Dawn. "It was really strange. She mentioned Spike so I asked if she knew where he was. She said she did and that I would find out soon. She said I would get answers when I stopped looking. Then she told me to wait for a sign and the answers would come to me."
"So what does that mean? What do we do now? Willow asked.
"Nothing." Buffy said simply.
"Nothing? Dawn asked.
"Yeah. Mom has never let me down and if she tells me to stop looking then that is what I'm going to do." Buffy said with a nod. "We will just go on like we normally would."
"Ooh! Let's go shopping!" Willow suggested.
"Ugh! Shopping?" Xander whined.
"Don't worry Xander. We can stop somewhere so you can buy those comic books you still love so much." Willow said, grabbing her jacket.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Xander lied. "But I guess I could stop at a hardware store for something manly, like a power drill."
"Whatever you say, Xander." Willow smirked.
Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Dawn walked down the street with arms full of shopping bags. The girls had naturally bought a ton of clothes and Xander carried his huge paper hardware store bag filled with power tools. Xander snuck away for a little while leaving the girls to believe that he had bought some comics on the sly and hidden them in his hardware bag. He'd never admit it though, so they planned on snooping later.
They walked by a store and Buffy stopped dead in her tracks. Above the door was a huge sign. It showed a large fountain pen and next to it said "William's Books."
They gang had gone ahead, not realizing that Buffy had stopped. Willow noticed Buffy was gone and turned around to find her staring at the sign.
"What is it, Buffy?" Willow asked.
"My sign." Buffy answered and entered the bookstore.
Buffy walked around checking out different parts of the store while her friends lingered around the magazines. She heard some girls giggling in the isle next to her and couldn't help but overhear their conversation.
"He was so hot!" A teenage girl's voice said. "He was totally like my night in shining armor! My psycho ex-boyfriend was stalking me and when I told him to get lost, he started getting rough with me. That is when that total hottie showed up and kicked his ass!"
"Wow!" The girl's friend exclaimed. "What did he look like? Are you gonna see him again?"
"He had bleach blonde hair. He looked like a real bad ass. He wore black leather and had the most amazing pair of blue eyes I have ever seen!"
"Excuse me." Buffy interrupted from isle opposite the two girls. "I couldn't but overhearing. Could you possibly tell me where I could find this mystery man you were just talking about. I might know him. I've been looking all over for him."
"Haven't we all?" The girl mumbled to herself. "He gave me a business card or something and then he just took off." She said while fishing through her purse to find it. "Oh! Here it is!" It says "Angel Investigations." The girl looked up at Buffy and smiled.
Buffy went pale with shock as she looked at the girl. Her mouth fluttered open and closed, not knowing what to say.
"Are you ok." The girl asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Buffy answered flatly. "Thanks."
Buffy rushed over to her friends and they all looked toward her sensing that something was wrong.
"Guys, I'm gonna take off." Buffy said before any of her friends got the chance to ask her what was wrong. "There's somewhere I have to be."
"Where are you going, Buffy?" Dawn asked.
"To visit my Ex!" Buffy exclaimed as she ran out of the store.
To Be Continued....
Xander walked in and popped some toast into the toaster. He sat down across from Buffy and eyed her quizzically.
"Buffy, you look awful!" Xander exclaimed.
She looked up at him with an incredulous look on her face.
"Thanks!" Buffy smiled, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Sorry Buff, but you look like you haven't slept in days. I hope you haven't been spending all your time trying to look for Captain Peroxide."
Xander stood up to grab his toast and a knife to butter it. While his back was turned Buffy rolled her eyes and let out a dramatic sigh. Xander obviously missed the eye roll but the sigh didn't get past him.
Xander turned and furrowed his brow. "What's wrong?"
Buffy got up and stood in front of him. "How can you ask me that? You really have no idea what I've been going through in the past couple of days do you?"
"Buffy, it was just a dream!"
Her eyes widened. "It wasn't just a dream!"
"Well, I haven't seen any evidence to the contrary!" Xander argued.
"No, I haven't found anything yet but I plan to keep trying. Thanks for all of your help by the way." More sarcasm dripping from her voice.
"Maybe I haven't been more of a help because I have more sense than to waste my time looking for a dead man!" Xander screamed.
Buffy's eyes filled with rage and she raised her palm, slapping Xander hard across the face.
Xander's head whipped back and he looked at her as his hand rose to cover up the redness from her slap.
Buffy's eyes turned from rage to shock as she has realized what she'd done.
"Xander I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to.."
"Buffy, what is wrong with you. You are being ridiculous!" Xander interrupted.
"How could you say that to me? You wouldn't even be here if it weren't for Spike! Nobody would! The only reason Sunnydale was the only place destroyed was because Spike cared enough to die for the rest of the world! He cared enough to die for me, for my happiness! He knew this was the only chance I had to live a normal life. He gave me the greatest gift of all and I will always love him for that. I refuse to turn my back on him!" Buffy exclaimed with dozens of tears now rolling down her cheeks.
Xander frowned. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize this was that important to you." He walked toward Buffy and put his arms around her.
"Well, what would you have done if I had a dream about Anya like that? Would you have told me to just forget about it? Would you have just passed it off as just another dumb dream or would you have wanted to follow up on it?" Buffy asked, wiping her tear soaked face.
"You're right. I've been a jerk. If it were Anya, if there was any chance at all that she might still be alive, I would have gone to any lengths to find her." Xander admitted. "I guess I'm just so used to hating the guy that it's like a second nature to me. But I will always to grateful for what he did. I guess he wasn't so bad after all."
"Get some rest Buffy." Xander continued. "I'm going to go out and see if I can find out anything for you.
"Thanks Xander." Buffy smiled.
Buffy went back to the table to try and eat at least some of her breakfast, which was probably cold by now. She took a few bites of her eggs and ate a slice of toast when she felt herself starting to doze off again. She rested her head in her hand intending to rest her eyes for a few moments.
"Make sure you finish your breakfast, honey. You've got to start eating right."
Buffy picked up her head to see her mother standing beside her.
"Mom?" Buffy asked, looking around, silently praying that someone else would show up to witness this.
"You have to keep up your strength." Joyce said with a smile. "And dear, when you find Spike make sure you make him a nice cup of hot chocolate with those tiny marshmallows he loves so much. Make sure he knows it's from me."
"I will, Mom." Buffy responded. "Mom? Do you know where Spike is?"
"Of course I do, don't be silly. You will find out soon enough. Don't worry. The answers will come as soon as you stop looking." Joyce said, placing a loose strand of hair behind Buffy's ear.
"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.
"You are wasting too much energy on something that is right in front of your nose, Buffy. You don't have to go on searching anymore. Wait for your sign and the answers will come to you." Joyce bent over, gave Buffy a quick hug, then vanished into thin air.
Buffy felt something cold and squishy on her face. "Ewww!!" Buffy groaned as she woke up with her face in her breakfast. She took a napkin and wiped the egg off of her face.
Later that day Buffy had the gang gather around the living room for a Spike update. "Here's the deal." Buffy began. "I had a couple more dreams that have been fairly helpful. Last night, Spike was in my dream, begging me to find him. He said that someone was keeping him from me, I just had to find out who."
"Why didn't you tell me about that this morning Buff? Xander asked.
"We were too busy yelling at each other. It slipped my mind."
"Oh yeah." Xander said, guiltily bowing his head.
"You guys had a fight?" Dawn asked.
"Never mind that Dawnie. It's not a big deal. Everything is fine now." Buffy said. "Anyway, this morning I had another dream, this time with my mother."
"Mom?" Dawn's eyes lit up.
"Yeah." Buffy said, smiling at Dawn. "It was really strange. She mentioned Spike so I asked if she knew where he was. She said she did and that I would find out soon. She said I would get answers when I stopped looking. Then she told me to wait for a sign and the answers would come to me."
"So what does that mean? What do we do now? Willow asked.
"Nothing." Buffy said simply.
"Nothing? Dawn asked.
"Yeah. Mom has never let me down and if she tells me to stop looking then that is what I'm going to do." Buffy said with a nod. "We will just go on like we normally would."
"Ooh! Let's go shopping!" Willow suggested.
"Ugh! Shopping?" Xander whined.
"Don't worry Xander. We can stop somewhere so you can buy those comic books you still love so much." Willow said, grabbing her jacket.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Xander lied. "But I guess I could stop at a hardware store for something manly, like a power drill."
"Whatever you say, Xander." Willow smirked.
Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Dawn walked down the street with arms full of shopping bags. The girls had naturally bought a ton of clothes and Xander carried his huge paper hardware store bag filled with power tools. Xander snuck away for a little while leaving the girls to believe that he had bought some comics on the sly and hidden them in his hardware bag. He'd never admit it though, so they planned on snooping later.
They walked by a store and Buffy stopped dead in her tracks. Above the door was a huge sign. It showed a large fountain pen and next to it said "William's Books."
They gang had gone ahead, not realizing that Buffy had stopped. Willow noticed Buffy was gone and turned around to find her staring at the sign.
"What is it, Buffy?" Willow asked.
"My sign." Buffy answered and entered the bookstore.
Buffy walked around checking out different parts of the store while her friends lingered around the magazines. She heard some girls giggling in the isle next to her and couldn't help but overhear their conversation.
"He was so hot!" A teenage girl's voice said. "He was totally like my night in shining armor! My psycho ex-boyfriend was stalking me and when I told him to get lost, he started getting rough with me. That is when that total hottie showed up and kicked his ass!"
"Wow!" The girl's friend exclaimed. "What did he look like? Are you gonna see him again?"
"He had bleach blonde hair. He looked like a real bad ass. He wore black leather and had the most amazing pair of blue eyes I have ever seen!"
"Excuse me." Buffy interrupted from isle opposite the two girls. "I couldn't but overhearing. Could you possibly tell me where I could find this mystery man you were just talking about. I might know him. I've been looking all over for him."
"Haven't we all?" The girl mumbled to herself. "He gave me a business card or something and then he just took off." She said while fishing through her purse to find it. "Oh! Here it is!" It says "Angel Investigations." The girl looked up at Buffy and smiled.
Buffy went pale with shock as she looked at the girl. Her mouth fluttered open and closed, not knowing what to say.
"Are you ok." The girl asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Buffy answered flatly. "Thanks."
Buffy rushed over to her friends and they all looked toward her sensing that something was wrong.
"Guys, I'm gonna take off." Buffy said before any of her friends got the chance to ask her what was wrong. "There's somewhere I have to be."
"Where are you going, Buffy?" Dawn asked.
"To visit my Ex!" Buffy exclaimed as she ran out of the store.
To Be Continued....