Buffy and Willow were eagerly decorating the living room with a bright mass of multi-colored streamers and balloons. They had dug them out of the hall closet, not even caring that there were a few pumpkins and Santas mixed in. The room exuded the vibrance they were feeling--SUMMER.
In the kitchen, Joyce was chopping celery for a veggie tray. The counter was already filled with various other goodies--cookies, cake and even finger sandwiches. She had been keeping herself busy.
She heard the phone ring. "Can you get that sweetie? My hands are kind of tied up."
"Sure mom," called Buffy, running in to grab the cordless off the kitchen wall. "Hello?"
"Hi Buffy," said the voice on the other end.
"Riley, hi," she answered, smiling bigger than she was before. "When are you coming over? We're almost done getting everything together."
"Very soon. Actually, I was wondering if I could bring someone."
Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"Graham," replied Riley. "He just seems like he's felt really out of place since the Initiative went down. I thought this might do some good."
"Sure," she said, smiling at his thoughtfulness. "He's not all psycho or anything, is he?" she asked on second thought.
Riley laughed. "No. Graham's tame. He just believed in following orders absolutely ." He paused. "I'm not sure if he does anymore though."
"Yeah, bring him along. This is going to be all fun. No business tonight." Her voice oozed perkiness.
"Good. I'll see you in a little bit then, OK?"
"Sounds good," said Buffy. "We'll be waiting."
"OK, bye."
"Bye." She hung up the phone. Willow looked at her questioningly, wondering what they had been discussing. "Graham. Riley's going to bring him tonight. He thinks the whole downfall of the Initiative has left the guy all purposeless or something." She brightened. "Nothing a little fun won't cure."
The doorbell rang.
"Speaking of fun," said Willow, "Here comes some right now." She walked over and swung open the door to reveal Xander and Anya.
"We come bearing wholesome goodness," he said with a large smile, holding a large box of Twinkies out in front of him. He glanced back at his girlfriend.
Anya stepped into the house. "Hi," she said and then looked back at Xander. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Buffy looked surprised and raised an eyebrow in Xander's direction. He shrugged innocently and continued to smile.
"Yeah," said Buffy, showing the girl into the kitchen. "Mom, this is Anya."
Joyce smiled at the newcomer. "Right. Xander's girlfriend. It's nice to finally meet you."
Anya smiled back, trying her hardest. "Can I help with something?" she repeated.
Ms. Summers gladly relinquished her knife. "If you could finish with the vegetables, I'll tend to this last batch of cookies."
Buffy supressed a giggle as Anya gazed unsurely at the carrots, sighed and started on them. She went back into the living room where Xander was helping Willow put up the last of the decorations. Her gaze fell on Xander, and she got that deja vu feeling again.
"What's up Buff?" he asked, looking back at her. "You look thoughtful."
Buffy shook her head. "Nothing. I've just been a little spacey today. Too many exams--it's all making my head spin."
"But that's done now," said Willow with a smile. Even someone as book-happy as her was ready for a break. "This party should clear your head right up."
"Still," said Buffy, not quite able to get rid of the feeling. "Something's nagging at me and I can't figure out what it is." She paused. "It's almost like a dream I can't quite remember or something."
"Oo! Dream!" said Xander suddenly. "I almost forgot with all this party fun. Anya and I had the same dream last night." He seemed proud of himself, like he was finally getting a piece of the action.
"How cute," said Willow, not quite smirking.
"No, it was really freaky. Anya was pretty weirded out this morning."
"Freaky!" blurted Buffy loudly.
"Yes," said Xander slowly. "I said that."
"No. I remember it now." She pointed at him. "It was you."
"You had a dream about me?" said Xander, a little too excitedly. "Suddenly I'm much more interested in your dream."
Buffy rolled her eyes. "No, Xander. It was freaky. You were-" She paused a minute, thinking. "You were a vampire."
Willow shuddered. "Eww. Like me vampire. Ick."
Buffy nodded. "Yeah. Except ..."
"Except what?" asked Xander.
"Well. I killed you. The vampire, that is."
Xander blinked a few times, a bit weirded out by it, and then shrugged. "Well, so goes the job description, right?"
Buffy still didn't look satisfied. She was still thoughtful. "There was something else, though. Before that."
"Like what?" asked Willow anxiously. Buffy's dreams didn't have a good track record of being just dreams, and when it involved Xander being a vampire ....
"It's fuzzy," replied Buffy, "But I want to say it was a big black cloud, only it was all shimmery. Weird, huh?" This time, she shrugged.
But somehow Xander no longer thought it was a shrugging matter. His face got white. "A big black cloud that was going to swallow you, and then a bright flash of light," he mumbled softly.
"Yeah," said Buffy, brightening. "That was it." Then she noticed his expression. "How did you know?"
Xander actually looked more scared now than proud of his participation in the dream. "Because that's the same dream Anya and I had."