Buffy sunk on the couch, bitterly aware of how foolish she must have appeared, but not really caring all the same. Slowly the masses began to filter into the living room with her. Willow and Xander coming to sit by her side. Both of them with looks of concern plastered on their faces. "You okay?" Willow asked as she patted her friend on the shoulder, Buffy's head in her hands as she rubbed her eyes once more. She looked up smoothing her hair out as she did.
"I'll be fine. I just…" She looked up at the now filled room. Giles had brought home two more potential slayers, and with Amanda that brought the total up seven. She was going to need Xander to build another bathroom soon. Sigh.
"It was that dream Will, its got me feeling all," She moved on the couch like her skin itched, "All bumpily." She shook her head once more, placing her hands on her knees and pushing herself off the couch. "Something's coming, and soon. We need to get into serious research mode." She saw the expression on the faces of the Scoobies around, "Okay, more serious-er…I don't know what exactly the dream was," She met Giles gaze, "It didn't feel like a usual Slayer dream, it was so," She clasped her hands together, and then dropped them at her sides, as she plopped back down on the couch. "I don't know exactly, something was just different." She sunk her head into her hands; feeling waves of exhaustion sweep away the last vestiges of willpower she had left. "I need to rest."
Everyone nodded, looks of concern on all their faces, as she began to head upstairs, Giles voice stopping her, he moved towards her on the stairs, 'Buffy, I know that your tired and that you need your rest, but it might help us with the research if we knew what you dreamt about." She just shook her head.
"I can't right now Giles," Then seeing the look in his eyes, like she was in grave danger of a good old fashioned watcher lecture, she added; "Ask Spike, we talked about it, al- already. He can tell you want you need to know, not that I think it will help any." She found herself glad once again that Spike was around. Before Giles could respond she used the last of her strength to climb into her bed, stylish boots and all, and was soon unconscious.
Spike sat down with a mug of blood and explained what Buffy had told him to the Scoobies. The potentials, except for Kennedy who was by Willows side, were already down for the count, one way to get their constant yammering to stop was the mention of research; he'd have to remember that one for later. Andrew sat at the end of the table, an ice pack over the bruises the slayer had made over his recently healed bite marks. Spike smirked slightly as he finished the tale and quirked an eyebrow in Andrew's direction taking a sip from the mug. The kid might have been trying to make amends, but he'd been in Nibblet's room, and that left him on the far end of Spike's bad side. Curious though, Spike had always thought the kid was gay, Hrmph, Make him wish he were if he lays a hand on my Nibblet. Spike's gaze had landed on Andrew, the demon in him gazing at the boy like the nummy treat Buffy had said he could be.
"Hey, quit looking at me like that!" Andrew whined. Everyone turning to look at him, and Spike's expression changing sharply as his new soul beat the demon into submission.
"Oh, uh, sorry, I," Spike stumbled on his words. Dawn glaring at him, her eyebrow cocked.
"Nummy treat, huh, Spike?" Her voice laced with venom. All Spike could manage out was a half gag half chuckle.
'No, I, was just noticing the pretty pattern your big sis left on his neck," He tilted his head, "Kinda looks like a snowman," he stated, sounding very serious.
Willow piped in looking at Andrew's neck as well, "Oh, or like a bowl of grape jello." She sounded very pleased with herself, "Except without the jiggles," She glanced at Kennedy who was smiling behind tired lids, and squeezed her hand.
"Yes, quite," Added Giles, not looking up from his book as he cleaned his glasses. "Perhaps we should turn in for the night. We aren't going to accomplish much if the most useful thing we have to study is the 'pretty pattern' on Andrew's neck." He sounded annoyed, they had spent the better part of two hours trying to find a way to tie Buffy's dream in with any of the records they had of the First, but so far no such luck. Maybe she was right, and the dream had been senseless. Somehow, though, Giles didn't think so.
Everyone agreed it was time to turn in, and they all moved off to their respectful resting places, weaving through the bodies of potentials strewn on the floor as they went. Xander took his place on the couch beneath the window that could not be fixed, looking with longing as Anya curled up in the comfy chair, her feet stretched out over the ottoman, already fast asleep.
Spike headed down to his cot in the basement, chaining himself to the wall as he prepared for another restless night, replaying his last few encounters with Buffy in his head. Friends. He snorted. "In my dreams maybe." He then, very uncharacteristically for a vampire (Not that he was much of one anymore these days) he drifted off to sleep with the moon still high in the sky.
Buffy was sitting in a plain white room, the lights so bright that they should have been blinding, but for some reason they weren't. Instead she felt a sense of calm come over her, as she leaned back, eyes closed basking in the glow. She drifted off for a moment before rousing again as she heard the light patter of footsteps as someone approached. She glanced up and saw, herself. "What the…"
"I could say the same for myself, but" She shrugged, "Its your dream, so anything goes."
Oh, how stupid of her, she was dreaming, and hadn't known she was dreaming, but now she did and…God, I can't even relax in my sleep!
"Nope, you don't have the luxury of relaxing anymore, Buffy. You have work to do." The other Buffy crossed her arms in front of her chest, staring placidly back at herself.
"I always have work to do," The real Buffy, or at least, the dreaming Buffy, plopped back down, exhaustion coming over her in nauseous waves. Oh, God, she felt sick.
"Yes, yes you do." The other Buffy took a seat beside her. "But…" Her voice trailed, "You do need to let yourself go from time to time. Take a breather."
"I don't have time to be all breathy." She looked up at herself, almost surprised to see sadness there, and not the least bit perturbed that she was conversing with herself. It felt, kinda, therapeutic.
The other her chuckled, "It would do you good. How are you supposed to function when it's all slay no play? Hmm? Tell me that." She stood up, moving across the room. "Besides, it's not like you've got all the time in the world. Hell, you could be dead by tomorrow."
"What?' Am I dying, why am I dying?" She called out to the ceiling, "I just wanted to rest, what the bloody hell is wrong with that!"
"Bloody hell?" The other her quirked an eyebrow. "When did we start saying that?"
"Right 'bout the time I started talking to myself. Besides, what difference does it make; I'm supposed to be dreaming. Thing is, I don't want to be here, so way am I still. I just want one night of undisturbed rest. Just one." Glancing back to the ceiling, "Is that so much to ask?" she dropped her hands to her side, before hugging her chest slightly, rocking back on her heels. Her normally bright eyes dull from the effort.
The other Buffy looked back at her, "Don't know why, maybe you just need to sort things out for yourself. Learn to let go. You aren't dying. Not at the present anyway. You will though. All those speeches you've been making to the girls, about how they are all going to die. Well, you aren't immune to that." She shook her head. "And the next time you go, it'll be your last. No one's going to bring you back that time. I think you know that." She shrugged as the dreaming Buffy joined her on the seat once more. "It's just a question of when, and I think we both know it won't be that long. You aren't going to get the luxury of a long life. You won't get to see Dawn grow and have children. You'll never have children yourself. You've got anywhere from an hour, if the First or a sudden case of Ebola comes around, to maybe ten years, max. That's it. You should learn to enjoy the moments in between the fights. There won't be many left. Especially not with the way you've been working yourself lately. Making yourself so tired that you can't even focus on a Slayer dream enough to see it for what it is." She stopped taking a breath.
"Is that what this is, a Slayer dream? Cause it has got to be, by far, th-"
"No, God girl, not this dream. This is just you getting in touch with your inner Buffy." She shook her head, a frown on her face. "No, no, not this dream. The other one…"
The dreaming Buffy cocked her head towards the Inner Buffy for just a moment before she was thrown very forcefully from the room. She nearly cried out, but her breath was pulled from her as she found herself on the same precipice as before, staring down into a void.
Nothing, there was nothing. All the way down, down, down, she strained to look, the winds buffeting her from all sides before…
It caught her off guard. The swelling of yellows and blues, pale purples, and greens all swirling together like a giant neon sign.
"Oh."
She watched from the edge as the mounds of energy came pouring forth. Faster and faster. The sound of them deafening. They swirled up and out as she just stood and watched. Soon they filled the black sky above her, filtering out. She watched in horror as the ground peeled back, strangely reminiscent of a banana peel. Soon the whole sky was filled with the energy, and the blackness at her feet grew, till there was nothing else beneath her. In fact, beneath her, there was nothing.
She fell.