Life Without Buffy? Not Anymore!
Author's Note: Here's my sequel to my Buffy Resurrection story. I highly recommend you read that one
first. Not because you'll need to in order to understand this, just because I want you to and I want
feedback. Hey, I may be selfish, but at least I'm honest right? I realize now that I probably should have
mentioned in my first one that I was planning a sequel. I proudly claim that I am not as stupid to forget
completely about BOTH love prospects (a.k.a. Spike and Angel) discovering Buffy's rebirth
She sat there. Absorbing everything her friends told her about what she had missed. There was so
much. Giles and Olivia were back together and he was moving there to be with her, Xander and Anya
were engaged and Tara and Willow had become two of the most powerful witches the earth had ever seen.
She couldn't believe so much could change over such little time. Buffy found herself somewhat stunned
that she even missed the magic shop. The shelves, the familiar setting...just the sense that something
stayed the same during her absence was making her happy.
"So, Giles! I can't believe you're leaving! What am I gonna do without you? Oh! And who's gonna hold
down the fort during your absence?" She inquired purposely showing her distaste at the idea of life sans
Giles.
"Oh, Buffy. I really want to stay-"
"NO! You aren't gonna screw around with your new life just because of me." Buffy interrupted.
"Well, Don't worry, I will return for visits once a month. This was my plan anyway. Secondly, by "the
fort" I assume you are referring to the shop. Anya will be manager and shopkeeper. I feel that she can
handle it. If not, she now has the power to hire assistants if that is what she feels she needs."
"She won't need to. We'll all help out of course...uh..If she needs us that is.." Willow said quickly
remembering Anya's self-confidence level was completely in tact.
Meanwhile, Buffy just sat quietly staring at everyone. She marveled at how much being with these people
made her happy. She started to wonder how the other slayers survived. Living with such a high-stress life
is one thing. But to live it alone, completely isolated from the real world would just be utter torture.
"Oh my God!" Buffy suddenly yelled out.
"What! What's wrong Buffy? Are you alright? You feel okay?" Giles had run up to her side.
"No no. I'm fine. But I got so wrapped up in my other emotions.......Will, you called Angel right?"
"Yeah, I didn't tell him what happened, I thought that wasn't really something to be told over the phone so
he said he could be here within three hours - that means 2 and a half more hours until he gets here."
"OK. That's excellent. But, back to my point... I forgot about Spike! I gotta go find him! Where is he? Is
he still in Sunnydale? Does he still live in the same crypt?" Buffy said. It came out a lot more anxiously
than she had intended but she was excited. She really wanted to talk to him. He had done some really
amazing things for her and she really had to let him know that they meant a lot more to her than she let
him know.
Xander got up. " Yeah, Buffy he is. But you stay here. I'll go get him for you. You've earned your rest."
"Thank you Xander."
And at that point, he grabbed his coat and walked out the front entrance to the store. He
continued to walk to the crypt being a little thankful that the demon side of Sunnydale was in a bit of a rut
recently. Surprising to say the least, considering there had been no slayer to keep them held back. Xander
remembered that that had been one concern everyone had after receiving the news no new slayer was
being called. The demons and vampires would join forces and rule the town with no slayer to hold them
back. OK. He was here now. What should he do? Knock? Just walk in? Throughout the summer, he had
never come to Spike's crypt by himself. Willow had always volunteered for that. Xander decided to just
walk in. He slowly pushed the door open and walked in cautiously.
"Spike?"
He said looking around. Nobody there. But then he remembered the second level to this place. Xander
walked over to the hole in the ground and climbed in.
"Spike??" He said starting to think that he wasn't home but then he saw him. Spike was lying on his bed
on top of his covers just facing the wall. At the sound of his name, he rolled over to see who it was. At
that point he brought himself to sitting position and leaned over to get a cigarette from his top drawer and
lit it up.
"What do you want Xander?" He said in a muffled tone through his cigarette.
"I've got some good news Spike. You have to come to the magic shop to see it though. So get up, let's go."
He said taking a step in the right direction but unfortunately for him, Spike didn't move.
"I don't feel up to it Xander. Maybe I'll stop by tomorrow." Spike said, not moving from his position of
sitting upright with his back to the backboard and his legs stretched out in front of him with his feet
crossed.
"Spike, trust me on this. You are REALLY gonna want to see this. I guarantee this will lighten up your
mood." Xander tried to talk him into it.
"Look Xander, I already said, I don't feel up to it. Alright? Maybe tomorrow."
"Spi-"
"Xander! For the love of God! I'm in a foul mood and I don't want to come! Now BUGGER OFF!!!!"
That was it. He had tried but Spike was too damn stubborn to listen. Xander had chosen to not say why he
wanted to come because the look on his face upon seeing Buffy would have been priceless. Xander knew
that he wasn't Spike's number one fan but Spike had proven that his love for Buffy had been genuine.
Also, Xander had found himself utterly shocked that Spike had stayed so depressed for so long.
Once he got back to the shop, he was questioned by everyone as to Spike's whereabouts.
"I tried to get him here without telling him why- you know, not to ruin the surprise- but he wouldn't come.
I tried two more times and he told me to bugger off so I left.
Buffy got up from her chair and started to walk out.
"Are you going to go get him?" Tara asked.
"Yeah." Buffy said with a smile.
"Buffy wait! You're weak. I'm not gonna risk something happening to you. Not now. God! Of all times,
not now."
Buffy couldn't help but chuckle. It was true. The irony of her dying by some random demon would be far
too much for anyone to handle. So the two of them left together.
At Spike's crypt, he had retreated to his curled up position on his bed when Buffy and Xander started to
walk down the stairs to the lower level. This time, he heard the footsteps coming.
He started to turn around as he was talking.
"Xander! I told you to leave me alo-" He stared in complete shock. There in front of him was Buffy. The
Buffy that was buried under the ground last time he checked. He didn't fail to notice Xander standing
there behind her yet he did not take his eyes off of her. For a moment, The two of them just stood there
looking at each other. Spike in complete shock and Buffy just with a big grin.
"Oh Spike!" She said and walked over to him and threw her arms around his neck. Spike remained in
shock. He just stood there. The complete joy Spike was feeling was beyond anything he had ever felt. Even
with Drusilla. He just closed his eyes and felt a few hot tears roll down his cheek and let out a breath.
Xander just watched his reaction and almost started to cry himself. The expression on Spike's face was
truly priceless. Unfortunately Buffy wasn't so lucky. From her point of view, Spike wasn't reacting at all.
She gently slapped him across the back of the head.
"Well, hug me back stupid!"
Xander chuckled under his breath. And for Spike, the slap had brought him back from the cloud nine he
was on. He brought his arms up from his sides and wrapped them around Buffy. He held onto her as
tightly as possible. He didn't know how or why she was here but the truth was he didn't care in the
slightest. He placed one hand in between her shoulder blades and the other one below it and to the side.
The way he held her was surprising to Buffy to say the least. She WAS aware of his feelings toward her
but she never actually thought of them as being as real as she felt them to be at that moment. She
understood the severity of what was happening at that moment so she let him hold her a few minutes more
until she suggested that they head back.
Spike had no complaints on going this time.
On the way back Spike decided to ask about how Buffy had returned. "So, Slayer, how is it that you're
back in the union? So to speak."
"Oh. Well, see. There's this group of Gods that think I'm a hero so they gave me back my life." She
explained matter-of-factly.
"You are a hero." Spike said.
'Oh, just brilliant Spike. Tell her something she already knows.' Luckily, Buffy gave him a response he
didn't quite expect.
"Thank you."
When they got back to the magic shop. Everyone was very welcoming and there was an all-round
good feeling in the room. Buffy had re-lit all the flames that had been extinguished when she died.
Feelings of life, happiness, passion and especially love. Buffy took Dawn over to the front corner of the
store. So Spike sat down where Buffy had been.
"So Dawn, You've been kinda quiet. Are you okay?" Buffy asked, genuinely concerned.
"Of Course I'm OK Buffy! Why wouldn't I be? You're back. I'm so happy."
"That's good. I'm happy I'm back too." She said.
"Buffy, I wanted to tell you again how much what you did for me meant. You've been so brave throughout
our whole lives. You've saved my life hundreds of times. The fact that you di-....that you died for me is
so...." She started to cry. Talking about it was just bringing back all the pain she felt for the entire
summer.
Buffy could watched as Dawn's face swelled up so she wrapped her arm around her. Dawn didn't cry at
full force so she regained her composure rather quickly.
"Anyway, I'm glad you're back." She repeated.
Buffy started to laugh. Throughout this entire ordeal, Dawn hadn't lost her sense of humor.
"Oh, Dawn. I love you. You're so funny. So can you do me a favor?"
"Oh course, Buffy! What do you want?" Dawn replied
"I want you to tell me about how Spike was with you while I was gone."
"Oh! That's easy. Well, First of all. I'll start by telling you that he was never the same guy. That's for sure.
He was all quiet and self-reserved. But he came over all the time to check on me-"
"DID YOU LIVE IN THE HOUSE ALL ALONE?!?!?!?!?" Buffy interrupted.
"Well, I wasn't always alone. Giles stayed over a lot. And Spike spent the night sometimes too. But don't
worry, we put like a hundred spells on the house. No demons of any kind can come in there. It's like a
church Buffy. Seriously. Spike, Willow and Tara spent 3 days doing those spells."
"Why didn't you move in with Giles or Dad?"
"Well, firstly, Dad only finally resurfaced TODAY! He showed up about an hour before you did! And
secondly I didn't want to leave the house. I wa- wasn't ready to give it up."
"Oh. That's too bad that Dad was a jerk. OK. Here's my question. Where did Giles and Spike sleep when
they stayed over?"
"Giles had a cot that he put in the livingroom. He kept in the closet when he wasn't using it and Spike had
a cot set up in the basement. You know...Better for that whole sunlight problem."
"Oh course. So what happened in the rest of the summer?"
"Well....To keep busy, and to keep my mind off the fact that my mom and my sister were dead, I signed up
for summer school for history. You know how I kinda stopped going to that class after mom died? Yeah,
well anyway, my mark in that class wasn't so good. I didn't fail or anything but I thought that summer
school would be a good distraction and give me a chance to raise that mark for my transcripts. Anyway,
Spike came over every night to help me with my homework. Everyone else helped too but Spike was
especially useful because he was alive and present at some of the events I was studying. Anyway. I passed
that course with a whopping 93%!!!"
"Oh Dawnnie, that's so good! I'm so proud of you!" Buffy said, ecstatic that she had shown that kind of
maturity that she herself had only achieved a few short years ago.
"Yeah! I know. Who's so smart? ME! Yeah well as a congrats present, Spike took me on a trip to Las
Vegas!"
"WHAT?!??!?"
"I know! I was shocked! But anyway, after getting Giles' permission. Off we went just the two of us, on a
four day trip. And guess what? Spike got me a fake ID so that I could gamble! Isn't he so cool? But when
we left, he made me give it back to him. Anyway, he'd been there before so he took me to the cooler
tourist attractions, a lot of casinos, but a lot of other cool stuff too. You know what the best part is Buffy?"
She really had her attention now. Buffy was completely blown away by what Dawn was telling her.
"What's the best part?"
"At the casinos, Spike won a lot of money. I mean a good chunk of change. But he gave it to me. Well,
not all of it, of course, he needed some to live on himself but he gave me enough to cover all the bills for
the house and stuff and he insisted that I had lots to spend on myself to go to movies with my friends and
buy clothes and stuff. I was so touched Buffy. It was so nice of him. Anyway. For the rest of the summer,
things were REALLY normal. I went out with my friends and of course spent time with the gang, but
there were no demons or vampires AT ALL. No apocalypses or anything remotely dangerous. Spike kept
coming over and that's pretty much been it."
Buffy just nodded. She realized something that Dawn obviously hadn't picked up on. No demons? Ha!
That would never happen. Buffy knew all too well that with news of her death, demons would be jumping
for joy. Xander had mentioned something along the same lines of everything being quiet which only
meant one thing. Spike had taken over her slaying duties and that he must have been working over-time.
Buffy said thanks to Dawn for telling her everything and then she got up. She walked over to Spike who
was now on his way back to his seat after helping Giles move a box of books. She draped her arms around
his shoulders and got on her tip-toes so she could whisper in his ear.
"Thank you so much Spike. Dawn just told me what you did and I'm positively blown away." She waited
for a response from him. She wanted to say thank you without misleading him into thinking that she felt
something for him but judging from the way he hugged her this time suggested that he knew nothing
would ever happen.
He too wanted to appear in control of things so he, too chose to talk into the ear but not in a whispering
tone.
" I told you I'd take care of her." He said quietly.
She was shocked at his reply. She kissed him on the cheek and said:
"All I asked you to do was protect her that night, and you did so much more."
After that, she released him but made him go sit on the back steps with her so they could discuss things
further.
Giles stood up. "Wait Buffy! Before you go. I just remembered! You must be so hungry! Do you want me
to go pick something up for you?"
Buffy was so happy. She actually hadn't thought about food but no that he mentioned it she was starving.
"Would you really Giles? Thanks, that would be great....um...you might wanna get a pen for this. OK! I
want...oooh! A cheeseburger, and a regular burger! And a big bottle of sprite. And I want salt and vinegar
chips and carrots! A big bag! And I want chocolate chip cookies! And um..... pizza! Just a slice. With
pepperoni and pinapple and bacon. And a mega-sized bottle of water! Did you get that all, Giles?"
"Yes, I did! I'm going to go to that 24 hour supermarket down on Rowland street. I'll be back in an hour
or so." Giles said and walked out to his car.
"Wow Slayer. I'm proud of you. That's a good chunk of food. I greatly approve." Spike said, and then the
two of them walked out to the back steps together.
"Spike....so d'you do anything fun this summer?" Buffy asked, a little nervous.
"You are joking. No! No one did. This has been the worst summer ever."
Buffy was a little shocked at his reply. But she wanted to get his side of what had happened in regards to
Dawn.
"You wanna know what happened with Dawn don't you?" Spike asked, interrupting her thoughts.
Wow. He really did know her better than she thought.
"Well, I know what happened from her point of view, but you know how teenyboppers get, they never tell
it exactly how it is...or was...as the case may be."
" Alright...I helped the bit with her schoolwork...I made sure she was alright.....me and the witches did
some house protection spells and............"
"What about Las Vegas?" Buffy inquired honestly.
"Hmm. She told you about that huh?"
"Yeah, she did." Buffy said.
"Well. She passed her summer school course with flying colors and I took her on a little trip to the old
land of gambling. Don't ask me why I chose that particular place because the truth is that I don't really
know. But I um...I got her a phony piece of identification so that she could play the slot machines and
such...But! Don't worry slayer, I made her give it back to me afterward so she couldn't go out and buy
booze for all of her kiddie friends and such. And the rest of the summer was kinda of a drag. Very dull. I
hated the entire summer."
"Even the trip with Dawn?"
"Don't get me wrong Slayer. She's great fun to be with and we had a blast but that little factor was always
there." Spike said, looking in her eyes hoping she would understand what he was talking about.
"What factor?" Unfortunately for Spike, Buffy had no clue.
" Well...As much fun as that girl is, she bears a striking resemblance to, um...someone and it was just a
constant reminder of the way things were at that time. Do you understand?"
'Oh my God.' Buffy was touched. Spike had trouble being around Dawn because she reminded him of her!
That was incredible and the best part was. It didn't stop him from keeping his promise.
"Wow. Spike. .... I am truly amazed. All I asked you to do was protect Dawn the night of the ritual and
you did that in spades"
"Not really, the nibblet still got cut and you died! How did I help?" He said, not really expecting an
answer. He just wanted her to know that he wasn't satisfied with how he had done his part.
"No! Spike. You did everything. Had you not been up there, Dawn would have probably been cut a lot
more severely than she was. Also! You can't blame yourself for being pushed off of the platform by that
guy with the tail. You were still weak from the last time you protected Dawn!"
Suddenly, Willow opened the back door. "Uh, hey, sorry to interrupt but Giles is back with your food,
Buff."
"Oh great!" Buffy said with a big smile on her face. Willow headed back into the shop and Buffy and
Spike started to get up. Spike had no problem getting to his feet but Buffy on the other hand wasn't so
lucky. She was still very stiff and started to put her hand on the brick wall behind her for support. To her
surprise, Spike held out his hand to help her up. Buffy just looked at him and took his hand. He helped
her as she put her weight into his hand and then he kept hold while she slowly climbed the stairs back into
the store.
Meanwhile, in the store, Giles brought in the 3 grocery bags full of food and placed them on the
table. Buffy sat down, excited. All of her favorite foods that she hadn't had in so long, just sitting there,
right in front of her.
"Alright, Buffy. I'm gonna head out now."
"What? No Spike! The party's just getting started!" Buffy complained. She really was starting to enjoy his
company.
"No, no. This is a scooby reunion. I don't feel right about this. I'm gonna go back home now." Spike said
sounding more sure of himself than he felt. He really did want to stay, but tonight was a big night and he
felt she deserved to spend it with her true friends.
"Are you sure? Because you're welcome to stay, you know." Buffy said not really sure why he was so
insistent on leaving. To her confusion, he just nodded said bye once again and walked out. She was a little
disappointed at first but then the food caught her eye again and all was forgotten.
She ate the cheeseburger first. And then snacked around with everything else. She then opened the bag of
cookies.
"mmmmMM! Alright you guys, you can help yourselves to whatever you want but the cookies are mine!"
She said jokingly. Giles was so happy that she was enjoying the food so much. He felt the irony that the
happiest she had been in the past year was right now...eating regular foods. Such a minimal thing was
bringing her more joy than anything she had experienced over the past 12 months. Oh Shit! He had
forgotten to count the 3 spell books in the basement!
"Um! Willow? Do you think you could go into the basement and fetch me those 3 spellbooks?" Giles
asked.
Willow nodded and started to get up. Buffy got up to. "I'll help you Will."
And the two girls went into the basement. A few minutes after that, Angel walked through the door.
"Alright guys. What was so important that I get here immediately?"
Giles took the liberty of explaining. He wanted to make it as amazing as it was for everyone else.
"First of all, Before anything, Angel, I just need to get someone up here first." He turned to face the
basement stairs. Uh...um....honey! Would you please come up here? Angel's arrived."
"Be right up!" Buffy called rather quickly. At the sound of her voice Angel brought his head up rather
slowly, with a confused look on his face.
'Who's voice had that been? Could it have been Buffy?' But then he remembered where Buffy was and
went back to staring at his feet. When Buffy got up to the top of the stairs, Giles stopped her and said: "I
think we'll show first and explain later? Sound like a plan?" Buffy started to respond but Angel beat her to
it.
"No, I think I would prefer explanation first, then to see what's going on here." Angel said sounding very
sure of himself.
Giles was a little surprised but decided to follow with Angel's wishes. "Alright. First of all. Are you
familiar with the Gods of Refugon group?"
"Yes, is it still just the 6 of them?" Angel asked.
"Yes yes. Anyway, Dawn stumbled across them on her visit to Buffy. Turns out they decided that Buffy is
an important aspect to this world and her selfless and heroic act was far beyond her calling so they gave
her back her life." Giles said and Buffy stepped out from behind the door.
"Buffy?" Angel said as his face started to swell up. The sight of his beloved Buffy was far too much for
him to handle. Tears started to stream down his face as he ran up to her. He lifted her off of his feet and
didn't put her down. He held her so tightly and his arms had enough strength that he had no problem
supporting her minimal body weight. All he cared about was that she was back. Buffy was here in his
arms, breathing, moving, her heart beating. At that moment, his knees gave out and he fell to the floor
carrying Buffy with him. He had his legs stretched out in front of him and she sat on his thighs and had
her legs draped over to the left of him. At that moment, everyone else decided to give them a little privacy
and they moved their party into the backroom.
And Buffy. Poor Buffy. Seeing Angel had brought out a whole new wave of emotions that no one
else managed to touch. The severity of what had happened to her was finally sinking in. Buffy buried her
face in Angel's neck and cried to her heart's content. All Angel managed to do was hold her equally as
tight tears flowing silently down his face as well. When he tried to speak, all he managed to do was blurt
out her name.
For a long time, they just sat there wrapped in each other's arms. After a long while, they started
to break apart.
"I'm sorry Angel. I've managed to drench your shirt with my tears." She said, laughing a little trying to
lighten the intensely emotional scene the two had found themselves in.
"Buffy. I don't care about the shirt. I'm just stunned that you're here. You're here and you're alive and well.
Far too skinny but it's a small price to pay to see your beautiful face again."
Buffy was so happy. She had missed him more than she had thought. She gave him a quick kiss on the
cheek.
"Well, no worries Angel. I ate a HUGE amount of food before you got here. That probably put twenty
pounds back on so...I'm on the right track."
"That's good. I like you better the way you were before."
"Don't worry. Me too..... I'm so glad you're here Angel. I've missed you so much."
Angel said nothing. He couldn't. The tears were starting to swell in the back of his eyes again and so he
just wrapped his arms around her again. It felt so good to feel her next to him again.. He couldn't believe
she was here. Buffy was here. Just last week he was spouting his true feelings to her grave and now she
was here in his arms. Things were going to be different from that point on. Buffy was back in town and
everyone's lives would change for the better.
This is the end. Was it entertaining? Hopefully, I'm slightly sleep-deprived because of this story.
Have a nice day!
Author's Note: Here's my sequel to my Buffy Resurrection story. I highly recommend you read that one
first. Not because you'll need to in order to understand this, just because I want you to and I want
feedback. Hey, I may be selfish, but at least I'm honest right? I realize now that I probably should have
mentioned in my first one that I was planning a sequel. I proudly claim that I am not as stupid to forget
completely about BOTH love prospects (a.k.a. Spike and Angel) discovering Buffy's rebirth
She sat there. Absorbing everything her friends told her about what she had missed. There was so
much. Giles and Olivia were back together and he was moving there to be with her, Xander and Anya
were engaged and Tara and Willow had become two of the most powerful witches the earth had ever seen.
She couldn't believe so much could change over such little time. Buffy found herself somewhat stunned
that she even missed the magic shop. The shelves, the familiar setting...just the sense that something
stayed the same during her absence was making her happy.
"So, Giles! I can't believe you're leaving! What am I gonna do without you? Oh! And who's gonna hold
down the fort during your absence?" She inquired purposely showing her distaste at the idea of life sans
Giles.
"Oh, Buffy. I really want to stay-"
"NO! You aren't gonna screw around with your new life just because of me." Buffy interrupted.
"Well, Don't worry, I will return for visits once a month. This was my plan anyway. Secondly, by "the
fort" I assume you are referring to the shop. Anya will be manager and shopkeeper. I feel that she can
handle it. If not, she now has the power to hire assistants if that is what she feels she needs."
"She won't need to. We'll all help out of course...uh..If she needs us that is.." Willow said quickly
remembering Anya's self-confidence level was completely in tact.
Meanwhile, Buffy just sat quietly staring at everyone. She marveled at how much being with these people
made her happy. She started to wonder how the other slayers survived. Living with such a high-stress life
is one thing. But to live it alone, completely isolated from the real world would just be utter torture.
"Oh my God!" Buffy suddenly yelled out.
"What! What's wrong Buffy? Are you alright? You feel okay?" Giles had run up to her side.
"No no. I'm fine. But I got so wrapped up in my other emotions.......Will, you called Angel right?"
"Yeah, I didn't tell him what happened, I thought that wasn't really something to be told over the phone so
he said he could be here within three hours - that means 2 and a half more hours until he gets here."
"OK. That's excellent. But, back to my point... I forgot about Spike! I gotta go find him! Where is he? Is
he still in Sunnydale? Does he still live in the same crypt?" Buffy said. It came out a lot more anxiously
than she had intended but she was excited. She really wanted to talk to him. He had done some really
amazing things for her and she really had to let him know that they meant a lot more to her than she let
him know.
Xander got up. " Yeah, Buffy he is. But you stay here. I'll go get him for you. You've earned your rest."
"Thank you Xander."
And at that point, he grabbed his coat and walked out the front entrance to the store. He
continued to walk to the crypt being a little thankful that the demon side of Sunnydale was in a bit of a rut
recently. Surprising to say the least, considering there had been no slayer to keep them held back. Xander
remembered that that had been one concern everyone had after receiving the news no new slayer was
being called. The demons and vampires would join forces and rule the town with no slayer to hold them
back. OK. He was here now. What should he do? Knock? Just walk in? Throughout the summer, he had
never come to Spike's crypt by himself. Willow had always volunteered for that. Xander decided to just
walk in. He slowly pushed the door open and walked in cautiously.
"Spike?"
He said looking around. Nobody there. But then he remembered the second level to this place. Xander
walked over to the hole in the ground and climbed in.
"Spike??" He said starting to think that he wasn't home but then he saw him. Spike was lying on his bed
on top of his covers just facing the wall. At the sound of his name, he rolled over to see who it was. At
that point he brought himself to sitting position and leaned over to get a cigarette from his top drawer and
lit it up.
"What do you want Xander?" He said in a muffled tone through his cigarette.
"I've got some good news Spike. You have to come to the magic shop to see it though. So get up, let's go."
He said taking a step in the right direction but unfortunately for him, Spike didn't move.
"I don't feel up to it Xander. Maybe I'll stop by tomorrow." Spike said, not moving from his position of
sitting upright with his back to the backboard and his legs stretched out in front of him with his feet
crossed.
"Spike, trust me on this. You are REALLY gonna want to see this. I guarantee this will lighten up your
mood." Xander tried to talk him into it.
"Look Xander, I already said, I don't feel up to it. Alright? Maybe tomorrow."
"Spi-"
"Xander! For the love of God! I'm in a foul mood and I don't want to come! Now BUGGER OFF!!!!"
That was it. He had tried but Spike was too damn stubborn to listen. Xander had chosen to not say why he
wanted to come because the look on his face upon seeing Buffy would have been priceless. Xander knew
that he wasn't Spike's number one fan but Spike had proven that his love for Buffy had been genuine.
Also, Xander had found himself utterly shocked that Spike had stayed so depressed for so long.
Once he got back to the shop, he was questioned by everyone as to Spike's whereabouts.
"I tried to get him here without telling him why- you know, not to ruin the surprise- but he wouldn't come.
I tried two more times and he told me to bugger off so I left.
Buffy got up from her chair and started to walk out.
"Are you going to go get him?" Tara asked.
"Yeah." Buffy said with a smile.
"Buffy wait! You're weak. I'm not gonna risk something happening to you. Not now. God! Of all times,
not now."
Buffy couldn't help but chuckle. It was true. The irony of her dying by some random demon would be far
too much for anyone to handle. So the two of them left together.
At Spike's crypt, he had retreated to his curled up position on his bed when Buffy and Xander started to
walk down the stairs to the lower level. This time, he heard the footsteps coming.
He started to turn around as he was talking.
"Xander! I told you to leave me alo-" He stared in complete shock. There in front of him was Buffy. The
Buffy that was buried under the ground last time he checked. He didn't fail to notice Xander standing
there behind her yet he did not take his eyes off of her. For a moment, The two of them just stood there
looking at each other. Spike in complete shock and Buffy just with a big grin.
"Oh Spike!" She said and walked over to him and threw her arms around his neck. Spike remained in
shock. He just stood there. The complete joy Spike was feeling was beyond anything he had ever felt. Even
with Drusilla. He just closed his eyes and felt a few hot tears roll down his cheek and let out a breath.
Xander just watched his reaction and almost started to cry himself. The expression on Spike's face was
truly priceless. Unfortunately Buffy wasn't so lucky. From her point of view, Spike wasn't reacting at all.
She gently slapped him across the back of the head.
"Well, hug me back stupid!"
Xander chuckled under his breath. And for Spike, the slap had brought him back from the cloud nine he
was on. He brought his arms up from his sides and wrapped them around Buffy. He held onto her as
tightly as possible. He didn't know how or why she was here but the truth was he didn't care in the
slightest. He placed one hand in between her shoulder blades and the other one below it and to the side.
The way he held her was surprising to Buffy to say the least. She WAS aware of his feelings toward her
but she never actually thought of them as being as real as she felt them to be at that moment. She
understood the severity of what was happening at that moment so she let him hold her a few minutes more
until she suggested that they head back.
Spike had no complaints on going this time.
On the way back Spike decided to ask about how Buffy had returned. "So, Slayer, how is it that you're
back in the union? So to speak."
"Oh. Well, see. There's this group of Gods that think I'm a hero so they gave me back my life." She
explained matter-of-factly.
"You are a hero." Spike said.
'Oh, just brilliant Spike. Tell her something she already knows.' Luckily, Buffy gave him a response he
didn't quite expect.
"Thank you."
When they got back to the magic shop. Everyone was very welcoming and there was an all-round
good feeling in the room. Buffy had re-lit all the flames that had been extinguished when she died.
Feelings of life, happiness, passion and especially love. Buffy took Dawn over to the front corner of the
store. So Spike sat down where Buffy had been.
"So Dawn, You've been kinda quiet. Are you okay?" Buffy asked, genuinely concerned.
"Of Course I'm OK Buffy! Why wouldn't I be? You're back. I'm so happy."
"That's good. I'm happy I'm back too." She said.
"Buffy, I wanted to tell you again how much what you did for me meant. You've been so brave throughout
our whole lives. You've saved my life hundreds of times. The fact that you di-....that you died for me is
so...." She started to cry. Talking about it was just bringing back all the pain she felt for the entire
summer.
Buffy could watched as Dawn's face swelled up so she wrapped her arm around her. Dawn didn't cry at
full force so she regained her composure rather quickly.
"Anyway, I'm glad you're back." She repeated.
Buffy started to laugh. Throughout this entire ordeal, Dawn hadn't lost her sense of humor.
"Oh, Dawn. I love you. You're so funny. So can you do me a favor?"
"Oh course, Buffy! What do you want?" Dawn replied
"I want you to tell me about how Spike was with you while I was gone."
"Oh! That's easy. Well, First of all. I'll start by telling you that he was never the same guy. That's for sure.
He was all quiet and self-reserved. But he came over all the time to check on me-"
"DID YOU LIVE IN THE HOUSE ALL ALONE?!?!?!?!?" Buffy interrupted.
"Well, I wasn't always alone. Giles stayed over a lot. And Spike spent the night sometimes too. But don't
worry, we put like a hundred spells on the house. No demons of any kind can come in there. It's like a
church Buffy. Seriously. Spike, Willow and Tara spent 3 days doing those spells."
"Why didn't you move in with Giles or Dad?"
"Well, firstly, Dad only finally resurfaced TODAY! He showed up about an hour before you did! And
secondly I didn't want to leave the house. I wa- wasn't ready to give it up."
"Oh. That's too bad that Dad was a jerk. OK. Here's my question. Where did Giles and Spike sleep when
they stayed over?"
"Giles had a cot that he put in the livingroom. He kept in the closet when he wasn't using it and Spike had
a cot set up in the basement. You know...Better for that whole sunlight problem."
"Oh course. So what happened in the rest of the summer?"
"Well....To keep busy, and to keep my mind off the fact that my mom and my sister were dead, I signed up
for summer school for history. You know how I kinda stopped going to that class after mom died? Yeah,
well anyway, my mark in that class wasn't so good. I didn't fail or anything but I thought that summer
school would be a good distraction and give me a chance to raise that mark for my transcripts. Anyway,
Spike came over every night to help me with my homework. Everyone else helped too but Spike was
especially useful because he was alive and present at some of the events I was studying. Anyway. I passed
that course with a whopping 93%!!!"
"Oh Dawnnie, that's so good! I'm so proud of you!" Buffy said, ecstatic that she had shown that kind of
maturity that she herself had only achieved a few short years ago.
"Yeah! I know. Who's so smart? ME! Yeah well as a congrats present, Spike took me on a trip to Las
Vegas!"
"WHAT?!??!?"
"I know! I was shocked! But anyway, after getting Giles' permission. Off we went just the two of us, on a
four day trip. And guess what? Spike got me a fake ID so that I could gamble! Isn't he so cool? But when
we left, he made me give it back to him. Anyway, he'd been there before so he took me to the cooler
tourist attractions, a lot of casinos, but a lot of other cool stuff too. You know what the best part is Buffy?"
She really had her attention now. Buffy was completely blown away by what Dawn was telling her.
"What's the best part?"
"At the casinos, Spike won a lot of money. I mean a good chunk of change. But he gave it to me. Well,
not all of it, of course, he needed some to live on himself but he gave me enough to cover all the bills for
the house and stuff and he insisted that I had lots to spend on myself to go to movies with my friends and
buy clothes and stuff. I was so touched Buffy. It was so nice of him. Anyway. For the rest of the summer,
things were REALLY normal. I went out with my friends and of course spent time with the gang, but
there were no demons or vampires AT ALL. No apocalypses or anything remotely dangerous. Spike kept
coming over and that's pretty much been it."
Buffy just nodded. She realized something that Dawn obviously hadn't picked up on. No demons? Ha!
That would never happen. Buffy knew all too well that with news of her death, demons would be jumping
for joy. Xander had mentioned something along the same lines of everything being quiet which only
meant one thing. Spike had taken over her slaying duties and that he must have been working over-time.
Buffy said thanks to Dawn for telling her everything and then she got up. She walked over to Spike who
was now on his way back to his seat after helping Giles move a box of books. She draped her arms around
his shoulders and got on her tip-toes so she could whisper in his ear.
"Thank you so much Spike. Dawn just told me what you did and I'm positively blown away." She waited
for a response from him. She wanted to say thank you without misleading him into thinking that she felt
something for him but judging from the way he hugged her this time suggested that he knew nothing
would ever happen.
He too wanted to appear in control of things so he, too chose to talk into the ear but not in a whispering
tone.
" I told you I'd take care of her." He said quietly.
She was shocked at his reply. She kissed him on the cheek and said:
"All I asked you to do was protect her that night, and you did so much more."
After that, she released him but made him go sit on the back steps with her so they could discuss things
further.
Giles stood up. "Wait Buffy! Before you go. I just remembered! You must be so hungry! Do you want me
to go pick something up for you?"
Buffy was so happy. She actually hadn't thought about food but no that he mentioned it she was starving.
"Would you really Giles? Thanks, that would be great....um...you might wanna get a pen for this. OK! I
want...oooh! A cheeseburger, and a regular burger! And a big bottle of sprite. And I want salt and vinegar
chips and carrots! A big bag! And I want chocolate chip cookies! And um..... pizza! Just a slice. With
pepperoni and pinapple and bacon. And a mega-sized bottle of water! Did you get that all, Giles?"
"Yes, I did! I'm going to go to that 24 hour supermarket down on Rowland street. I'll be back in an hour
or so." Giles said and walked out to his car.
"Wow Slayer. I'm proud of you. That's a good chunk of food. I greatly approve." Spike said, and then the
two of them walked out to the back steps together.
"Spike....so d'you do anything fun this summer?" Buffy asked, a little nervous.
"You are joking. No! No one did. This has been the worst summer ever."
Buffy was a little shocked at his reply. But she wanted to get his side of what had happened in regards to
Dawn.
"You wanna know what happened with Dawn don't you?" Spike asked, interrupting her thoughts.
Wow. He really did know her better than she thought.
"Well, I know what happened from her point of view, but you know how teenyboppers get, they never tell
it exactly how it is...or was...as the case may be."
" Alright...I helped the bit with her schoolwork...I made sure she was alright.....me and the witches did
some house protection spells and............"
"What about Las Vegas?" Buffy inquired honestly.
"Hmm. She told you about that huh?"
"Yeah, she did." Buffy said.
"Well. She passed her summer school course with flying colors and I took her on a little trip to the old
land of gambling. Don't ask me why I chose that particular place because the truth is that I don't really
know. But I um...I got her a phony piece of identification so that she could play the slot machines and
such...But! Don't worry slayer, I made her give it back to me afterward so she couldn't go out and buy
booze for all of her kiddie friends and such. And the rest of the summer was kinda of a drag. Very dull. I
hated the entire summer."
"Even the trip with Dawn?"
"Don't get me wrong Slayer. She's great fun to be with and we had a blast but that little factor was always
there." Spike said, looking in her eyes hoping she would understand what he was talking about.
"What factor?" Unfortunately for Spike, Buffy had no clue.
" Well...As much fun as that girl is, she bears a striking resemblance to, um...someone and it was just a
constant reminder of the way things were at that time. Do you understand?"
'Oh my God.' Buffy was touched. Spike had trouble being around Dawn because she reminded him of her!
That was incredible and the best part was. It didn't stop him from keeping his promise.
"Wow. Spike. .... I am truly amazed. All I asked you to do was protect Dawn the night of the ritual and
you did that in spades"
"Not really, the nibblet still got cut and you died! How did I help?" He said, not really expecting an
answer. He just wanted her to know that he wasn't satisfied with how he had done his part.
"No! Spike. You did everything. Had you not been up there, Dawn would have probably been cut a lot
more severely than she was. Also! You can't blame yourself for being pushed off of the platform by that
guy with the tail. You were still weak from the last time you protected Dawn!"
Suddenly, Willow opened the back door. "Uh, hey, sorry to interrupt but Giles is back with your food,
Buff."
"Oh great!" Buffy said with a big smile on her face. Willow headed back into the shop and Buffy and
Spike started to get up. Spike had no problem getting to his feet but Buffy on the other hand wasn't so
lucky. She was still very stiff and started to put her hand on the brick wall behind her for support. To her
surprise, Spike held out his hand to help her up. Buffy just looked at him and took his hand. He helped
her as she put her weight into his hand and then he kept hold while she slowly climbed the stairs back into
the store.
Meanwhile, in the store, Giles brought in the 3 grocery bags full of food and placed them on the
table. Buffy sat down, excited. All of her favorite foods that she hadn't had in so long, just sitting there,
right in front of her.
"Alright, Buffy. I'm gonna head out now."
"What? No Spike! The party's just getting started!" Buffy complained. She really was starting to enjoy his
company.
"No, no. This is a scooby reunion. I don't feel right about this. I'm gonna go back home now." Spike said
sounding more sure of himself than he felt. He really did want to stay, but tonight was a big night and he
felt she deserved to spend it with her true friends.
"Are you sure? Because you're welcome to stay, you know." Buffy said not really sure why he was so
insistent on leaving. To her confusion, he just nodded said bye once again and walked out. She was a little
disappointed at first but then the food caught her eye again and all was forgotten.
She ate the cheeseburger first. And then snacked around with everything else. She then opened the bag of
cookies.
"mmmmMM! Alright you guys, you can help yourselves to whatever you want but the cookies are mine!"
She said jokingly. Giles was so happy that she was enjoying the food so much. He felt the irony that the
happiest she had been in the past year was right now...eating regular foods. Such a minimal thing was
bringing her more joy than anything she had experienced over the past 12 months. Oh Shit! He had
forgotten to count the 3 spell books in the basement!
"Um! Willow? Do you think you could go into the basement and fetch me those 3 spellbooks?" Giles
asked.
Willow nodded and started to get up. Buffy got up to. "I'll help you Will."
And the two girls went into the basement. A few minutes after that, Angel walked through the door.
"Alright guys. What was so important that I get here immediately?"
Giles took the liberty of explaining. He wanted to make it as amazing as it was for everyone else.
"First of all, Before anything, Angel, I just need to get someone up here first." He turned to face the
basement stairs. Uh...um....honey! Would you please come up here? Angel's arrived."
"Be right up!" Buffy called rather quickly. At the sound of her voice Angel brought his head up rather
slowly, with a confused look on his face.
'Who's voice had that been? Could it have been Buffy?' But then he remembered where Buffy was and
went back to staring at his feet. When Buffy got up to the top of the stairs, Giles stopped her and said: "I
think we'll show first and explain later? Sound like a plan?" Buffy started to respond but Angel beat her to
it.
"No, I think I would prefer explanation first, then to see what's going on here." Angel said sounding very
sure of himself.
Giles was a little surprised but decided to follow with Angel's wishes. "Alright. First of all. Are you
familiar with the Gods of Refugon group?"
"Yes, is it still just the 6 of them?" Angel asked.
"Yes yes. Anyway, Dawn stumbled across them on her visit to Buffy. Turns out they decided that Buffy is
an important aspect to this world and her selfless and heroic act was far beyond her calling so they gave
her back her life." Giles said and Buffy stepped out from behind the door.
"Buffy?" Angel said as his face started to swell up. The sight of his beloved Buffy was far too much for
him to handle. Tears started to stream down his face as he ran up to her. He lifted her off of his feet and
didn't put her down. He held her so tightly and his arms had enough strength that he had no problem
supporting her minimal body weight. All he cared about was that she was back. Buffy was here in his
arms, breathing, moving, her heart beating. At that moment, his knees gave out and he fell to the floor
carrying Buffy with him. He had his legs stretched out in front of him and she sat on his thighs and had
her legs draped over to the left of him. At that moment, everyone else decided to give them a little privacy
and they moved their party into the backroom.
And Buffy. Poor Buffy. Seeing Angel had brought out a whole new wave of emotions that no one
else managed to touch. The severity of what had happened to her was finally sinking in. Buffy buried her
face in Angel's neck and cried to her heart's content. All Angel managed to do was hold her equally as
tight tears flowing silently down his face as well. When he tried to speak, all he managed to do was blurt
out her name.
For a long time, they just sat there wrapped in each other's arms. After a long while, they started
to break apart.
"I'm sorry Angel. I've managed to drench your shirt with my tears." She said, laughing a little trying to
lighten the intensely emotional scene the two had found themselves in.
"Buffy. I don't care about the shirt. I'm just stunned that you're here. You're here and you're alive and well.
Far too skinny but it's a small price to pay to see your beautiful face again."
Buffy was so happy. She had missed him more than she had thought. She gave him a quick kiss on the
cheek.
"Well, no worries Angel. I ate a HUGE amount of food before you got here. That probably put twenty
pounds back on so...I'm on the right track."
"That's good. I like you better the way you were before."
"Don't worry. Me too..... I'm so glad you're here Angel. I've missed you so much."
Angel said nothing. He couldn't. The tears were starting to swell in the back of his eyes again and so he
just wrapped his arms around her again. It felt so good to feel her next to him again.. He couldn't believe
she was here. Buffy was here. Just last week he was spouting his true feelings to her grave and now she
was here in his arms. Things were going to be different from that point on. Buffy was back in town and
everyone's lives would change for the better.
This is the end. Was it entertaining? Hopefully, I'm slightly sleep-deprived because of this story.
Have a nice day!