Getting Off The Griefmobile
By Annakovsky
See part 1 for all relevant info and disclaimer.
***********
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
***********
After lunch, Buffy poked her head into Xander's workroom, at the top of the house.
He glanced up from what he was working on, sandpaper in one hand. "Hey, you're back. How was your trip to the principal's office?"
"Good," Buffy said, walking into the room. It smelled of sawdust, a good, clean smell, one she associated with Xander. She went over to the big window and perched sideways on the windowsill, in the sunlight. "Dawn's all signed up for the fall. School starts next Wednesday."
"Wow. That was fast."
"I know, the summer flew by," Buffy said, pulling her knees up and leaning back against the window frame. It was bright outside, and the sun was pleasantly warm on her bare legs.
"School starting always makes me twitchy," Xander said. "That adrenaline feel, you know? Back to the ol' demon grindstone."
"Yeah," Buffy said. "But I think it'll be different here. Like, when I was talking to the principal I asked him what the student death rate was, and he looked at me like I was crazy!"
Xander grinned, looking up at her. "You asked him what the death rate was?"
"Well, these are things I want to know," Buffy said sheepishly, beaming back at him. A camera clicked from the doorway, capturing the moment, and she looked up to see Dawn framed there, smiling.
"Gotcha!" Dawn said, then giggled and scampered off. She had been taking pictures constantly since Buffy'd caved and got her a digital camera, and no place was safe. She had the prints all over her room, taped to the walls. Her and Andrew, down at the river, grinning at the camera she was holding out at arm's length, faces squished together. Willow and Xander kissing – then next to that, Willow and Xander looking embarrassed and a little annoyed. Buffy sunbathing on the lawn, gazing skeptically at the camera over the top of a "People" magazine, sunglasses tipped down on her nose.
Buffy rolled her eyes and Xander suppressed a grin as they heard Dawn clump down the stairs.
"So you think Dawn'll like this school?" Xander asked.
"Probably not," Buffy said. "I mean, it's high school. But at least she'll hate it because that skank Meryl was totally macking on her boyfriend, not because they just found another dead body in the locker room."
"Meryl?" Xander asked, amused.
"Or whoever," Buffy said. Xander shook his head and started to fit together some of the wood pieces he'd carved.
"What're you making?" Buffy asked.
"Rocking chair," Xander said. "That store over in Middletown ordered a bunch more. I guess the last ones were really popular." He shrugged self-deprecatingly, smiling a little bit.
"Xander! That's great."
He smiled a little wider. "Can't do construction with only one eye, but at least I can still do this." He traced the grain of the wood with his thumb. "Thinking of leasing store space, maybe."
"Wow," Buffy said. "That's, like, a career."
"Not as glamorous as yours, maybe, but I like it," Xander said, taking out a tool and using it to flake off little bits of one wood piece, smooth it out so it would fit better.
"My career?" Buffy said ruefully. "What would that be?"
Xander looked up, surprised. "Slaying. Training the new Slayers. Setting up the new Watcher stuff. Et cetera."
"That's really more of a hobby. Or a sacred duty," Buffy said self-consciously.
Xander stared at her. "Now you're just talking crazy talk. Aren't you going to be head of a new Slayer school and all that stuff you and Giles were talking about?"
"Well, yeah, but..."
"What's more of a career than that?" Xander asked.
Buffy shrugged. "I guess so. I hadn't thought of it that way." She watched Xander sand down the bit he had just carved, then move to compare it to the others. There was a kind of Zen calm to watching Xander work – the physicality of it, the quiet beauty of the wood. "Oh, speaking of Giles, he called earlier. Did Willow tell you? They're flying in tomorrow afternoon."
"Mission accomplished?"
"Yup. So all we have to do now is meet with the Powers and convince them to make the First back off."
Xander waved his hand dismissively. "Details."
***
After her conversation with Xander, Buffy headed downstairs to the library to see what Willow was up to. But as she descended the front stairs to the ground floor, she was suddenly certain that she saw Spike at the bottom, looking up at her with his head tilted slightly and that expression of wondering adoration he sometimes had – the way, in fact, that he had looked up at her that night she had come back from the dead.
He was only there for an instant and then disappeared, but the sight of him rattled her. Most of all because it left her hoping to see him again.
Who knew what that amulet had done, anyway? Spike could be anywhere, doing anything. Trying to get back to her, or to give her a message.
She didn't tell anyone that she had seen him at the bottom of the stairs. And later, when she was outside sitting on the deck and he appeared thirty yards from her, very pale in the sunlight, his arms stretching towards her, she started up, ready to try to reach him. But he was gone before she had even taken a step.
At dinner, she was distracted and distant.
"Buffy? Buffy?" Dawn said. "Buffy!"
"Huh? What?" Buffy said.
"Peas."
"Peace? What about peace?"
"Buffy. Pass. The. Peas."
"Oh," she said, passing them. "Right." She started when she saw Spike's face pressed against the glass for a moment.
"You okay, Buffy?" Willow asked.
"Huh? Sure. Yeah. Of course."
She looked around the table, at Andrew and Dawn, at Xander and Willow, and felt very much like a fifth wheel. At least Giles and Faith were coming home tomorrow.
*****
TBC...
*****
By Annakovsky
See part 1 for all relevant info and disclaimer.
***********
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
***********
After lunch, Buffy poked her head into Xander's workroom, at the top of the house.
He glanced up from what he was working on, sandpaper in one hand. "Hey, you're back. How was your trip to the principal's office?"
"Good," Buffy said, walking into the room. It smelled of sawdust, a good, clean smell, one she associated with Xander. She went over to the big window and perched sideways on the windowsill, in the sunlight. "Dawn's all signed up for the fall. School starts next Wednesday."
"Wow. That was fast."
"I know, the summer flew by," Buffy said, pulling her knees up and leaning back against the window frame. It was bright outside, and the sun was pleasantly warm on her bare legs.
"School starting always makes me twitchy," Xander said. "That adrenaline feel, you know? Back to the ol' demon grindstone."
"Yeah," Buffy said. "But I think it'll be different here. Like, when I was talking to the principal I asked him what the student death rate was, and he looked at me like I was crazy!"
Xander grinned, looking up at her. "You asked him what the death rate was?"
"Well, these are things I want to know," Buffy said sheepishly, beaming back at him. A camera clicked from the doorway, capturing the moment, and she looked up to see Dawn framed there, smiling.
"Gotcha!" Dawn said, then giggled and scampered off. She had been taking pictures constantly since Buffy'd caved and got her a digital camera, and no place was safe. She had the prints all over her room, taped to the walls. Her and Andrew, down at the river, grinning at the camera she was holding out at arm's length, faces squished together. Willow and Xander kissing – then next to that, Willow and Xander looking embarrassed and a little annoyed. Buffy sunbathing on the lawn, gazing skeptically at the camera over the top of a "People" magazine, sunglasses tipped down on her nose.
Buffy rolled her eyes and Xander suppressed a grin as they heard Dawn clump down the stairs.
"So you think Dawn'll like this school?" Xander asked.
"Probably not," Buffy said. "I mean, it's high school. But at least she'll hate it because that skank Meryl was totally macking on her boyfriend, not because they just found another dead body in the locker room."
"Meryl?" Xander asked, amused.
"Or whoever," Buffy said. Xander shook his head and started to fit together some of the wood pieces he'd carved.
"What're you making?" Buffy asked.
"Rocking chair," Xander said. "That store over in Middletown ordered a bunch more. I guess the last ones were really popular." He shrugged self-deprecatingly, smiling a little bit.
"Xander! That's great."
He smiled a little wider. "Can't do construction with only one eye, but at least I can still do this." He traced the grain of the wood with his thumb. "Thinking of leasing store space, maybe."
"Wow," Buffy said. "That's, like, a career."
"Not as glamorous as yours, maybe, but I like it," Xander said, taking out a tool and using it to flake off little bits of one wood piece, smooth it out so it would fit better.
"My career?" Buffy said ruefully. "What would that be?"
Xander looked up, surprised. "Slaying. Training the new Slayers. Setting up the new Watcher stuff. Et cetera."
"That's really more of a hobby. Or a sacred duty," Buffy said self-consciously.
Xander stared at her. "Now you're just talking crazy talk. Aren't you going to be head of a new Slayer school and all that stuff you and Giles were talking about?"
"Well, yeah, but..."
"What's more of a career than that?" Xander asked.
Buffy shrugged. "I guess so. I hadn't thought of it that way." She watched Xander sand down the bit he had just carved, then move to compare it to the others. There was a kind of Zen calm to watching Xander work – the physicality of it, the quiet beauty of the wood. "Oh, speaking of Giles, he called earlier. Did Willow tell you? They're flying in tomorrow afternoon."
"Mission accomplished?"
"Yup. So all we have to do now is meet with the Powers and convince them to make the First back off."
Xander waved his hand dismissively. "Details."
***
After her conversation with Xander, Buffy headed downstairs to the library to see what Willow was up to. But as she descended the front stairs to the ground floor, she was suddenly certain that she saw Spike at the bottom, looking up at her with his head tilted slightly and that expression of wondering adoration he sometimes had – the way, in fact, that he had looked up at her that night she had come back from the dead.
He was only there for an instant and then disappeared, but the sight of him rattled her. Most of all because it left her hoping to see him again.
Who knew what that amulet had done, anyway? Spike could be anywhere, doing anything. Trying to get back to her, or to give her a message.
She didn't tell anyone that she had seen him at the bottom of the stairs. And later, when she was outside sitting on the deck and he appeared thirty yards from her, very pale in the sunlight, his arms stretching towards her, she started up, ready to try to reach him. But he was gone before she had even taken a step.
At dinner, she was distracted and distant.
"Buffy? Buffy?" Dawn said. "Buffy!"
"Huh? What?" Buffy said.
"Peas."
"Peace? What about peace?"
"Buffy. Pass. The. Peas."
"Oh," she said, passing them. "Right." She started when she saw Spike's face pressed against the glass for a moment.
"You okay, Buffy?" Willow asked.
"Huh? Sure. Yeah. Of course."
She looked around the table, at Andrew and Dawn, at Xander and Willow, and felt very much like a fifth wheel. At least Giles and Faith were coming home tomorrow.
*****
TBC...
*****