A Blast From The Past

By Dannette

Buffy is losing her emotional battle, but an unlikely savior will come, and it's someone from her past.






***

"Pike?" Buffy repeated her question, her eyes were shining with confusion and shock. Was it really Pike? LA Pike? Buffy hadn't seen him in ... god it had to be at least 8 years, yeah the least. She had been expelled from school after blowing up the school gym and then soon after that Buffy and her mom had moved away, and that was the last she had even seen or heard from Pike. But here he was standing in front of her, he looked just a tad bit older, but in so many ways, he was still Pike. Pike. God that name still sent shivers down her spine. He was still silent, his eyes holding a shocked look in them. Buffy wanted so badly to reach out and touch him, to just prove he was real or not, but she was frozen. What was he doing here? Why was he in Sunnydale? Why?

Pike shook the cobwebs out of his head, his eyes finally retreating back to their normal size. The girl in him in some ways resembled his Buffy, but there were so many things, that didn't resemble her. Her hair wasn't as blonde as it used to be, but of course it had been 8 years since the last time they had seen each other, so of course things about Buffy would change. Buffy. He could still remember how she used to be the valley girl that had no cares, then he could remember her as the kick ass vampire slayer in the white prom dress, saving the day. He had long stopped thinking of her, after the first 2 years she was gone, it just seemed useless. He had to move on with his life, he couldn't dwell on Buffy Summers for the rest of his life, but here she was.

~*~ Flashback ~*~

"Blow up the gym?" Buffy mused, her hair up in a bun as she stared at Pike, who was crouched down next to her, both of them hidden behind by bushes. "I'll get in trouble Pike. Blowing up the school gym, in the principle's mind ... is BAD." Buffy replied.

Pike just shrugged. "Come on, how are you going to kill all of those vamps Buffy? You going in there and going to kill all of them? There has to be at least 30 or 40 of them. It's daylight, they can't leave, because if they do, they're toast. We blow up the school gym, they'll be dead. Unless you have a better plan, because if you do, enlighten me Buffy." Pike said, raising up his eyebrow.

Buffy groaned. "Well, no, actually I don't."

"Good, we go with my plan then." Pike said, with a grin.

"It's dangerous!" Buffy nearly shouted.

"And leaving those 30 or 40 vamps alive in the school gym, isn't dangerous Buffy?" Pike asked, questioningly.

"Well, when you put it that way ... " Buffy said, sighing in defeat.

~*~ End of flashback ~*~

"Is it really you?" Pike asked, leaning forward, staring at Buffy. He still held onto his injured shoulder, but his concentration wasn't on his injury at all, it was completely on the young woman in front of him, that could possibly be Buffy Summers. But the question that posed, if this was Buffy, then why in the hell did she need him saving her? The real Buffy Summers could have staked all five of those vampires in less than a few seconds. Hell he wasn't that good of a fighter, after Buffy had moved away, he had stuck to helping LA, killing vamps and other evil things around. He even learned a few combat moves, but nothing big, just something to keep him alive. He had soon found about demons and such, and he needed more moves to keep himself alive, but Buffy was so much stronger than him, it just didn't make sense. If this was the real Buffy, she shouldn't have needed him saving her, it didn't make sense.

"I might ask you the same thing." Buffy said in a low tone. "What are you doing here?"

"How do I know you're, you?" Pike asked, in his usual Pike fashion. Ask a question with a question, now Buffy had taught him that. After Merrick died and they had the whole 'dance' event where the lead vampire and 'lefty' as Pike called him, had invaded the school and tried to get Buffy ... Buffy and Pike learned to ask questions first, then answer the prior questions after you get what you want.

"Well how do I know you're, you?" Buffy asked the same question Pike did.

"Well, who do you think I am?" Pike asked, as he began to circle around Buffy, still holding onto his shoulder.

"Pike, too cool or rebellious to have a last name." Buffy snapped, her patience wearing thin. "Who was my first watcher?"

"Merrick." Pike answered quickly. "Who was my best friend, turned into vampire?" Pike asked.

"Benny." Buffy replied quickly, but then she felt a pang of sadness take her over. You would think after the whole 8 years since her exit from LA, she wouldn't think about the people that had died in LA, but seeing Pike again, brought it all back up.

"It's really you," Pike said, his voice in a quiet tone, only one him and Buffy could hear. "So this is where they sent you?" Pike asked, not knowing how to react to anything. He had never in a million years ... thought he would be ... seeing her again.

Buffy nodded, but then rolled her eyes. "I wasn't sent anywhere, we moved here." Buffy replied slowly. "I've lived in Sunnydale for 8 years Pike, ever since I was expelled from school, for blowing up the gym, which was your idea." Buffy replied, she watched him stand still. "What are you doing here Pike? In Sunnydale? What were you doing in the graveyard?" Buffy curiously asked.

"Well I would ask you the same thing, but you're the Slayer, so yeah that makes sense." Pike said, his eyes shining. "Big things were happening in LA, serious things. I needed to get out of there, so I packed up all my stuff and jetted out of there as soon as I could. My car broke down, a few miles from here, I was trying to find a gas station. I think I got lost, and then I heard you scream."

Buffy brushed a few strands of her blonde hair out of her eyes. "You're bleeding." Buffy said, touching Pike on the shoulder.

"I'm fine," Pike said, looking at his shoulder. "Just a scratch."

"A big one." Buffy retorted. "Come on, let me take you to my house, I'll get you fixed up. Then I'll have someone go get your car."

Pike opened his mouth to refuse the offer, but when Buffy started walking, he just followed her without a second thought.

***

"Nice place," Pike commented as he followed Buffy into the big house. His eyes scanned the whole house, his eyes stopped at a picture of Joyce and Buffy. Pike picked up the picture and stared at it, Buffy was smiling, a big wide smile. Pike brushed his fingers across the picture, he could hear Buffy rummaging through the bathroom, followed by a few mutters. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Oh fine --- " Buffy said, entering the living room, she froze when she saw Pike looking at a picture of her and her mom.

"Where's your mom?" Pike asked, turning to Buffy.

"Gone." Buffy answered, her eyes narrowing. "She died." Buffy replied in a soft tone, she walked over to Pike, and looked at the picture. "We were so happy in that picture, looking at it, you would never think ... that things ended up the way they did."

"Natural cause?" Pike asked sympathetically. He put the picture down where it was before and stared at Buffy, there was such a sadness in her eyes, it made him want to hold her, but he didn't, he didn't even reach out to touch her. It had been too long, too long since they were together, too long since they even smiled at each other. He didn't want to cross a boundary.

"Yeah." Buffy replied.

"I'm sorry Buffy." Pike said in a soft tone, his eyes shining in genuine concern. Pike turned to the dresser of pictures, he stopped at a picture of Buffy with a few people he guessed were her friends. Pike picked up the picture and stared at it, there was a dark haired boy and a red headed girl, all three of them smiling. Pike stared at the picture, like it was a piece of art he didn't understand.

"That's Xander and Willow, they're my best friends." Buffy replied, holding onto the first aid kit. She watched Pike, how he moved, how his eyes seemed to shine whenever he concentrated deeply on one thing. Buffy let out a deep breath, she remembered the last time they were in the same house together, it was 8 years ago, and even then he had sent butterflies in her stomach.

"That must be nice." Pike muttered underneath his breath, he shook his head and put the picture down. He turned around and stared at Buffy, she was holding onto the first aid kit tightly, her pinkish lips puckering slightly. "To have best friends." Pike replied, to his prior statement, when Buffy looked at him questioningly, Pike just shrugged. He then winced inwardly when he felt his left shoulder start to burn painfully, reminding him of his injury. During the fight his left shoulder had gotten sliced open pretty badly.

"Come into the kitchen, we need to patch that up." Buffy replied, she felt a stab of curiosity flow through her body because of Pike's earlier comments, but right now she needed to see how bad his shoulder was. Buffy walked into the kitchen, smiling softly to herself when she heard Pike following her. Buffy flipped the kitchen light on and turned to face Pike, but she moved too quickly and she bumped into Pike. "Sorry." Buffy said nervously, god he felt so warm, it seemed like she hadn't felt warmth near her for so long. "Sit down over there." Buffy replied, she watched Pike take a seat with a cautious look in her eyes. "Okay, let me see."

Pike relaxed in the wooden chair, he slipped the leather jacket off, just revealing a white tanktop. He put the semi bloody jacket on the table, he could feel Buffy kneeling down next to him, so she was eye level with his left shoulder. Pike looked down at her, her blonde hair was relaxing around her face neatly, her eyes were narrowed at his shoulder. "How bad is it?" Pike asked, breaking whatever silence that was between him and Buffy. It felt so awkward, this was the exact reason why he didn't want to come to her house.

"Bad," Buffy mused. She brought up her hand and barely touched the deep gash, she winced when she felt Pike stiffen underneath her touch. It struck her as odd ... he stiffened, not winced or even pulled away in pain; he had to be in pain, the gash was so deep, and it was still bleeding heavily. Buffy looked up at Pike, her eyes softening, she felt as if he was hiding something. She knew all about that, hiding things, hiding the pain she was feeling, and she saw a resemblance of her in Pike's eyes, and that hurt. "Those vamps got you pretty bad, you're still bleeding, but I think if I get this bandaged, it might stop the bleeding, but I'm no doc."

"It's not like we can exactly go to the hospital Buffy. Cause of injury? A pack of vampires did it sir." Pike replied, rolling his eyes. "Look, I'll be fine, just bandage me up, and I'll be on my way." Pike snapped, his eyes narrowing and also hiding the story they were trying to tell Buffy, a girl he once could tell anything, but that was such a long time ago. 8 years had passed, and LA was a rough and supernatural city, and a lot of pain had been bestowed upon him, and that would be his secret, no one needed to know.

Buffy nodded, she opened the first aid kit out and started to work on Pike's shoulder. "I want to thank you Pike, for what you did. You saved me, I wasn't looking for a fight, I was just trying to clear my mind, and without you I think ... no, I know, I would have been in a whole lot of trouble." Buffy replied, trying to talk to Pike, to get him to talk to her back, while she bandaged him up. "And you know Pike, you can stay here for the night. It's not like there are a lot of places in Sunnydale you can stay in, and you're obviously not getting anywhere until the morning, probably not even then, you have to get your car fixed." Buffy stated delicately.

"No, it's okay." Pike protested.

"We're old friends Pike," Buffy replied, taping the cloth to Pike's shoulder. "Let's act like it. Sure it's been a long time, but you're a friend, and you shouldn't have to stay in some dingy hotel room, you can stay here. There's a guest room, actually a few of them, you can take one of them. I wouldn't trust anyone to be alone with an injury like that, you might get hurt, at least further hurt."

Pike sighed, at least some things about Buffy stayed the same, she would never give up on an argument. "Sure, whatever."

"So, what have you been up to all these years?" Buffy asked, standing up. She walked over to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door and pulled out two cans of soda. "You've been in LA this whole time? The whole 8 years? You never left?"

Pike brought up both of his hands and rubbed his face gingerly, he winced a bit at the pain, but pushed it to the side. "Yeah," Pike said slowly. "I always wanted to leave, and after you got expelled and moved away, it seemed like the perfect time, you know? But it never really happened, I taught myself how to fight, to protect myself. Over the years I fought, helped some people, but mostly just fought to save myself. But recently bad things have been going down in LA, I decided to finally just jet out of there, while I still could. Any smart person would leave that city in a heartbeat ... I had no one there, so I just left, packed up everything and left."

Buffy shut the refrigerator door, she walked back over to the kitchen table and sat down next to Pike, she slid a can of soda over to Pike. "I thought you would have been out of LA, the first chance you could get." Buffy stated, taking a sip of her soda.

Pike merely shrugged. "What happened back in the graveyard Buffy? Since when do you need me saving you? I've seen you fight, and that was 8 years ago, I bet your fighting abilities have sky rocketed, and yet you were just letting those vampires attack you. It looked like you just froze out there, like you had no will to fight. That's not you." Pike said, staring at Buffy.

"You don't even know me anymore Pike." Buffy snapped. "You don't know about the sacrifices I had to make." Buffy replied, standing up, she walked over to the kitchen sink, and stared into the sink with a soft but scared look in her eyes. Why did Pike always have to ask questions that always seemed to pierce straight into her heart and right into her soul? That was Pike.

Pike pushed himself up, he walked over to Buffy and stood behind her. "I know all about sacrifices Buffy. Sure I don't know which ones you had to make, but I know about sacrifices. I've been hurt, I've been pulled down, I've felt like I couldn't go on. It hurts yeah, but I never gave up, not like you, I saw you in the graveyard. You just laid there, you didn't fight back, until a few seconds before you could have possibly been killed, you could have died. You're right, I don't know you anymore, it's been such a long time Buffy. Too long, but I know about fighting, I know about sacrifices, and I know about wanting to give up, wanting it all to end."

Buffy turned around and stared at Pike. "Do you really Pike? Tell me about it."

Pike turned his face away from Buffy. "I'll take the couch." Pike replied, he brushed past Buffy slightly, walking out of the kitchen.

***

Dawn pushed open the door to the Summers' residence slowly and quietly, in case Buffy had fallen asleep watching a movie, she didn't want wake her big sister up. Dawn had been at the magic shop, spending some time with Xander and Anya. But Dawn had finally given up on waiting for Buffy to come up, it was nearly 11 pm, and no word from Buffy. Dawn was worried, Buffy never acted like this before, Dawn wanted her big sister back, but Buffy was so ... distant, quiet, fidgety around everyone. Dawn sighed, she walked inside the house, she shut the door behind her, she winced at the slamming of the door. Dawn shook her head and went to take off her coat, but she froze when saw a young man, in a white tanktop, his shoulder bandaged up, and blue jeans sitting up on the couch, with a crossbow aimed right at Dawn's chest. Dawn could feel her heart pounding in her chest. "Who are you?"

Pike raised up his eyebrow, keeping the crossbow in place. "Who are YOU?" Pike asked.

"Hey, I asked the question first." Dawn protested, but then she groaned when she realized she was arguing with an armed man.

"Answer the question, or this goes straight through your chest." Pike said, standing up, keeping the crossbow in place.

"I'm Dawn." Dawn answered with a shaky voice.

"Dawn who?" Pike questioned, he walked over to Dawn and reached into her jacket, he felt her stiffen against him. He pulled out a wallet, he started rummaging through the wallet, trying to find an ID. "You have a last name Dawn?" Pike questioned once more.

"Summers." Dawn answered. "Dawn Summers."