Part two of this story continues on with back elements of season six, so it
contains spoilers through "Flooded." The characters in this story are those
from BtVS and AtS.
Although it goes without saying, the characters in this story are the property of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
Feedback is welcome (please).
Wake and Rise (part two)
Dawn sat quietly in her mother's old room, looking at the crystal ball on the nightstand, the hairbrushes on the dresser, these ornaments, belonging to Willow and Tara nearly eradicating all traces of Joyce. She understood how she had gotten used to it, Tara and Willow's overtaking this room had been slow. Little things crept in one by one, until one day, Dawn no longer thought of it as "Mom's room" but as "Willow and Tara's," until Buffy came home. The shock Buffy had registered at these changes saddened Dawn; made her feel guilty and lost. Buffy had had no time to adjust to these things and it seemed to Dawn, Buffy had still not adjusted to all the changes.
"L'il Bit? You okay?" Spike called up the stairs, interrupting Dawn's reverie.
"I'm okay Spike," Dawn called back. Dawn was glad when the gang asked Spike to watch Dawn again. She was afraid all of that would be gone now that Buffy was back. At first, Buffy hardly left the house, or if she did, Dawn was in tow. Then, Buffy had started actively patrolling again and Dawn stayed alternately with Tara and Willow, or Xander and Anya. But Tara and Willow were so concerned with how Buffy was acting, and Xander and Anya seemed so cool lately, always in a tiff about something. Dawn didn't know what. Then Giles came back, and Buffy left for a couple of days to meet with Angel (that had really bothered Dawn). Spike came back and just sort of picked up where he had left off. Not without some protest, though.
"Do you think Buffy would be.okay with this?" Xander had whispered to Giles.
"I really don't think." Giles whispered back.
"I think that she would be really pissed if you left her alone," Spike called out from the living room.
"Remind me sometime to ask Willow how she does that Jedi-speak," Xander said to Giles.
"Yes, it would come in handy," Giles said, his face looking troubled.
Dawn laughed at that. Now, though, it had been two days without a word from Buffy, and no one was laughing, everyone tense. Willow had called Cordelia a couple of times, but Angel had not checked in either.
"You coming down?" Spike called up again.
"Yeah, on my way," Dawn called back.
*****
It's Dawn's turn to shuffle and deal the cards, she and Spike are playing the never-ending game of rummy.
"Spike, do you think Buffy's.alright?" Dawn asked tentatively.
"Yeah, I do. Big sis can take care of herself. Besides, she's got hero-boy to look after her," Spike replied, quite jealously.
"I know.but, I mean she just took off, ya know? She can barely carry on a conversation for a few minutes before she gets all blank-eyed but Angel calls and she's off and running," Dawn says equally jealous.
Spike looks at Dawn for a moment, taking in the breadth of her emotion.
"She'd do anything for you L'il bit, you know that don't you?" Spike asks quietly.
"Do you know where I found Buffy after she came back?" Dawn asked venomously.
Spike said nothing, just shook his head.
"At the tower-" Dawn continued.
"Well, seems natural," Spike stammered, rocked by what Dawn was saying, "the last place she remembered, and all."
"Yeah? She was on it Spike. She was going to jump." Dawn nearly yelled.
Spike tried very hard to register shock on his face and not betray what he knew to Dawn.
"And do you know what she asked me? When she finally spoke?" Dawn was now yelling.
Again, Spike just shook his head.
"She said, 'Is this Hell?'" and Dawn started crying.
Spike just sat, stunned for a moment. So much revealed in those three words. He moved next to Dawn and tried to reassure her, patting her back somewhat lamely. Then he stopped, because he knew Dawn just needed to cry it out and he was afraid if he said anything, he would spill Buffy's secret.
Finally, Dawn quieted a little, the racking sobs subsiding into sniffles and hiccoughs.
"Spike?" Dawn asked, very hesitantly, "do you think that Willow and the others were wrong to bring Buffy back?"
Spike, momentarily stunned, stammered a bit suspiciously, "What are you gettin' at?"
"I don't.I just wonder. Willow used some pretty big magic to bring Buffy back, didn't she?" Dawn asked.
"Yeah, she did. Willow's getting pretty powerful there." Spike answered simply, not wanting to offer more.
"Well, you remember when I tried to bring Mom back?" Dawn started. Spike nodded.
"Tara told me that Wiccas took oaths to not mess with the 'natural order of things'" Dawn said, "and I just think that's what they did, you know? I mean, don't get me wrong, I am happy to have Buffy back, but.what if?"
"What if she isn't right?" Spike ventured, completing Dawn's thoughts, "No, they brought her back all together. She just.it takes time to adjust to coming back, that's all. She's just, not fully grounded, you know?" Spike was trying to sound more convincing than he felt.
"I understand that, but.when Glory took me, she kept changing back and forth between Ben and her. And she could feel what Ben felt, and remember what he did. And same for him. And they were both pretty freaked out about it. I heard one of Glory's followers say that the magicks keeping them separate were breaking down." Dawn said.
"Well, some magicks can be.unstable," Spike offered, then seeing Dawn's look, added, "and Glory was nearing the.you know, ritual time. Maybe that's why things were breaking down."
"Maybe," Dawn said, unconvinced, "but, it seems that putting a god in a human is pretty much a slap in the face of the 'natural order of things.' What if that type of magic just breaks down eventually?"
And now Spike understood where this was going, "And what if the spell used starts to break down?"
Dawn nodded, fighting back tears.
"I don't know, pidge. I don't know what spell Red used, but I'm sure she was.thorough.in her research to find one.that was stable. I mean, this isn't what we tried to do for your mum." Spike said, "Maybe the magic Red used is stable, I don't know. Whatever, big sis is back. Okay? I don't think magic is keeping her here."
"It's keeping me here," said Dawn very resigned.
To be continued.
Although it goes without saying, the characters in this story are the property of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
Feedback is welcome (please).
Wake and Rise (part two)
Dawn sat quietly in her mother's old room, looking at the crystal ball on the nightstand, the hairbrushes on the dresser, these ornaments, belonging to Willow and Tara nearly eradicating all traces of Joyce. She understood how she had gotten used to it, Tara and Willow's overtaking this room had been slow. Little things crept in one by one, until one day, Dawn no longer thought of it as "Mom's room" but as "Willow and Tara's," until Buffy came home. The shock Buffy had registered at these changes saddened Dawn; made her feel guilty and lost. Buffy had had no time to adjust to these things and it seemed to Dawn, Buffy had still not adjusted to all the changes.
"L'il Bit? You okay?" Spike called up the stairs, interrupting Dawn's reverie.
"I'm okay Spike," Dawn called back. Dawn was glad when the gang asked Spike to watch Dawn again. She was afraid all of that would be gone now that Buffy was back. At first, Buffy hardly left the house, or if she did, Dawn was in tow. Then, Buffy had started actively patrolling again and Dawn stayed alternately with Tara and Willow, or Xander and Anya. But Tara and Willow were so concerned with how Buffy was acting, and Xander and Anya seemed so cool lately, always in a tiff about something. Dawn didn't know what. Then Giles came back, and Buffy left for a couple of days to meet with Angel (that had really bothered Dawn). Spike came back and just sort of picked up where he had left off. Not without some protest, though.
"Do you think Buffy would be.okay with this?" Xander had whispered to Giles.
"I really don't think." Giles whispered back.
"I think that she would be really pissed if you left her alone," Spike called out from the living room.
"Remind me sometime to ask Willow how she does that Jedi-speak," Xander said to Giles.
"Yes, it would come in handy," Giles said, his face looking troubled.
Dawn laughed at that. Now, though, it had been two days without a word from Buffy, and no one was laughing, everyone tense. Willow had called Cordelia a couple of times, but Angel had not checked in either.
"You coming down?" Spike called up again.
"Yeah, on my way," Dawn called back.
*****
It's Dawn's turn to shuffle and deal the cards, she and Spike are playing the never-ending game of rummy.
"Spike, do you think Buffy's.alright?" Dawn asked tentatively.
"Yeah, I do. Big sis can take care of herself. Besides, she's got hero-boy to look after her," Spike replied, quite jealously.
"I know.but, I mean she just took off, ya know? She can barely carry on a conversation for a few minutes before she gets all blank-eyed but Angel calls and she's off and running," Dawn says equally jealous.
Spike looks at Dawn for a moment, taking in the breadth of her emotion.
"She'd do anything for you L'il bit, you know that don't you?" Spike asks quietly.
"Do you know where I found Buffy after she came back?" Dawn asked venomously.
Spike said nothing, just shook his head.
"At the tower-" Dawn continued.
"Well, seems natural," Spike stammered, rocked by what Dawn was saying, "the last place she remembered, and all."
"Yeah? She was on it Spike. She was going to jump." Dawn nearly yelled.
Spike tried very hard to register shock on his face and not betray what he knew to Dawn.
"And do you know what she asked me? When she finally spoke?" Dawn was now yelling.
Again, Spike just shook his head.
"She said, 'Is this Hell?'" and Dawn started crying.
Spike just sat, stunned for a moment. So much revealed in those three words. He moved next to Dawn and tried to reassure her, patting her back somewhat lamely. Then he stopped, because he knew Dawn just needed to cry it out and he was afraid if he said anything, he would spill Buffy's secret.
Finally, Dawn quieted a little, the racking sobs subsiding into sniffles and hiccoughs.
"Spike?" Dawn asked, very hesitantly, "do you think that Willow and the others were wrong to bring Buffy back?"
Spike, momentarily stunned, stammered a bit suspiciously, "What are you gettin' at?"
"I don't.I just wonder. Willow used some pretty big magic to bring Buffy back, didn't she?" Dawn asked.
"Yeah, she did. Willow's getting pretty powerful there." Spike answered simply, not wanting to offer more.
"Well, you remember when I tried to bring Mom back?" Dawn started. Spike nodded.
"Tara told me that Wiccas took oaths to not mess with the 'natural order of things'" Dawn said, "and I just think that's what they did, you know? I mean, don't get me wrong, I am happy to have Buffy back, but.what if?"
"What if she isn't right?" Spike ventured, completing Dawn's thoughts, "No, they brought her back all together. She just.it takes time to adjust to coming back, that's all. She's just, not fully grounded, you know?" Spike was trying to sound more convincing than he felt.
"I understand that, but.when Glory took me, she kept changing back and forth between Ben and her. And she could feel what Ben felt, and remember what he did. And same for him. And they were both pretty freaked out about it. I heard one of Glory's followers say that the magicks keeping them separate were breaking down." Dawn said.
"Well, some magicks can be.unstable," Spike offered, then seeing Dawn's look, added, "and Glory was nearing the.you know, ritual time. Maybe that's why things were breaking down."
"Maybe," Dawn said, unconvinced, "but, it seems that putting a god in a human is pretty much a slap in the face of the 'natural order of things.' What if that type of magic just breaks down eventually?"
And now Spike understood where this was going, "And what if the spell used starts to break down?"
Dawn nodded, fighting back tears.
"I don't know, pidge. I don't know what spell Red used, but I'm sure she was.thorough.in her research to find one.that was stable. I mean, this isn't what we tried to do for your mum." Spike said, "Maybe the magic Red used is stable, I don't know. Whatever, big sis is back. Okay? I don't think magic is keeping her here."
"It's keeping me here," said Dawn very resigned.
To be continued.
