Title: Every Day
Series: Leave it Behind
Author: Autumn
Email: autumnleaves@autumnpenguins.com
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon owns everything.
Pairings: X/A, W/T
Developing: B/G, S/D
*If either squicks you, don't read it. If either squicks you and you're a B/A shipper, then shut the hell up.
Summary: Buffy and Giles discuss the latest big brewing evil in Sunnydadle. Dawn and Spike have 'a moment.'
Author's Notes:
There have been a LOT of questions brought up about why Giles raised Dawn, and why the Scoobies reacted as they did, when in the show they raised Buffy.
1. Buffy was their friend, not their friend's sister. I don't care if it seems cruel, but that's just how it is. Giles on the other hand is in ways much, much closer to Buffy and would have altruistic reasons to bring Dawn back for Buffy's sake. He killed Ben, because Buffy couldn't do it, and in following with that particular trait (in my head anyway), Giles would have raised Dawn from the dead, with no qualms about possibly killing Spike. This isn't an anti-Giles piece, I like Giles very much as a character, but even he has limits to his inherent 'goodness.'
2. This is my fic, and an AU, so while I don't ask you to suspend disbelief, I do ask that you trust me to steer you around the twists of the plot, and trust that I'll give the answers to questions. I'm a big fan of the 'slow reveal'.
3. Thank you for reading this story to this point. I'm really happy to have received so many questions, comments and ccs about this story.
Story order: Equilibrium, The Lesser, Of Two Evils, Lost, You Can't Go Home Again, Warning Signs, Soul to Squeeze, Hearts Speak, First Rain, Every Day
I do speak Swedish, but not perfectly so please let me know if a translation is off.
For those who watched Selfless (7 X5)): We go back to Anya's roots here. She is either Swedish, or at least lived there with pre-troll Olaf long enough to have picked up the language. Most of the language in 'Selfless' was gibberish, but there were enough phrases in there to identify the language 'Jag ar Olaf!' as Swedish. Aud, is also an old Swedish name.
The Stockholm Bloodbath was a real historical event, but names, and dates have been changed for fic purposes. Anya probably didn't cause it, but hey we don't know that....
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Stockholm, Sweden
1532
"That was some impressive work Anyanka." D'Hoffren commented.
"Yeah, any excuse to visit the old homeland." The vengeance deamon said to her boss.
"It'll go down in the history books. You're barely 500 and already you're shaping the course of the future." The head of vengeance was proud of his charge; she had proven over and over again to be incredibly inventive.
"Tack sa mycket/Thank you much/." Anya thanked him.
As the two left, they failed to notice the lithe young woman behind them attacking the King of Denmark. She quickly dispatched him and moved onto the King's loyal servant Erik. It had been he who had told the Danish royal that the young Swedish queen carried in her veins the blood that would unmake the world.
The child she had conceived had been prophesized about long ago, and was destined to begin a line of what would become the greatest ruling family of Scandinavia. A seer in a Danish coven had foreseen the fall of Denmark to their northern neighbors. King Fredrik had been sent to stop this, and ordered to kill every member of Swedish nobility in order to erase the line and ensure the safety of the costal nation.
The real bloodshed had only begun when Anyanka appeared on behalf of the Queen to punish her husband for laying with the Countess of Gothenberg. Queen Ulra had cursed, "I wish that you feel what it was like to have your soul torn out and spliced in two! Curses upon this blood line for 479 years!"
"Granted." Anyanka had cried out, and extracted the soul of the unfaithful King.
His screams were dying upon his lips as the Queen fled the castle. Minutes later, the mangled body was discovered, and Sweden's honor was defended as Fredrik's henchmen began to dispatch of the Swedish nobility. Anika the Vampire Slayer herself was killed in the battle after taking down Fredrik.
Her watcher, Jonas Anders duly recorded the event, but was too numb too recall precisely what had transpired. Jonas himself disappeared from the country, leaving behind an incomplete account, which eventually made it into the history books.
*********
479 years later....
Giles and Buffy sat in the Magic Box discussing a much closer impending doom. Giles had relayed the now common pronouncement that the earth was in peril. Something had triggered Giles' memory when he learned of the fragmented soul. The Stockholm Bloodbath wasn't seen as incredibly significant at the time, there was always some kind of bloodbath in Europe. But the combination of magic, bloodshed, prophecy and vengeance had impacted the destiny of many centuries, and prepared the end of time laying in wait. The final ingredient needed was a spliced soul. Dawn's resurrection with Giles' choice of a Vestal sealed the fate of the world.
"So you're saying that the world's going to end- again. And you didn't see this apocalypse coming because of how?"
"Buffy, if I had to count every prophecy ever made about the end of the world, I would be crunching numbers like a CPA in April for several lifetimes."
"You joked. I haven't heard you do that in awhile."
"Things haven't been terribly humorous lately."
"I'm still pissed at you."
"Should I break my other arm myself then, save you the trouble?" Giles said wryly.
"Lightness aside, this is very serious Buffy. Prophecies about the Hellmouth's last guardian tend to come to pass."
"You think that we're going to die?"
"I didn't just think it, I felt it Buffy."
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Spike's Crypt:
"So, how long do you think it'll be before Buffy comes back for you?"
"Hours or days I guess it just depends on how worried she is."
"So what would you like to do to pass the time? 'Fraid I don't have any boardgames or any teen angstathon DCD's around to keep you entertained."
"DVD." Dawn corrected with a ghost of a smile on her face.
"Oh sure, make fun of the dead guy who's not up on the times." Spike pretended to be hurt.
"What did you do before you died?"
"What exactly do you mean? For entertainment?"
"As a job."
Spike looked ashamed and Dawn started to think that maybe she shouldn't have asked. "I was-a law student by day, and a poet by night."
Dawn burst out into a real laugh. "I guess you got the bloodsucking thing down early."
Spike pounced on her, pinning her down to the couch. "You take that back!"
Dawn squealed as the vampire attacked her. "That's it, this is so a tickle off now!"
The two touseled on the narrow couch with Dawn quickly gaining the upper hand as Spike was much more tickelish than she was. His lack of breath reset the scales, and he had Dawn completely immobilized.
She felt suddenly, Closter phobic and pushed at Spike to get off of her. "What's the matter Pet?" Spike asked after he pulled her to a sitting position?"
"I just, I froze up, felt like I couldn't breath." Dawn said.
"Cause of the memories? Have a flashback to the night you came back?" Spike asked, immediately remembering that Dawn's first vision upon waking was a naked vampire hovering mere inches above her.
Dawn actually giggled and blushed before finally answering. "No, more like, I was thinking that this hot man has been on top of me twice and naked with me in the shower once and all he did was wash my hair."
"Whishing you'd gotten some more action is that it?" Spike chuckled.
"Yeah. I kinda was." Dawn said, leaning in towards Spike.
Their lips met in a slow, soft kiss. Neither of them heard the Crypt door opening, until "Merciful Zeus can't you leave any of the Summres women alone?"