THE END IS ONLY THE BEGINNING
Disclosure: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created like Joyce.
CHAPTER 28-INTO THE SURREAL…
"Wesley's still not answering is he," A tired Dawn asked with a concerned frown on her face as she plopped down into the open seat next to Cordelia, with Andrew soon following suit and slipping into the open seat next to Dawn, an innocent smile on his face.
"No…that's the good news…the bad news is that it looks like Robin's finally figured out what's been going on between those two," Cordelia mumbled back with a sad pout on her face as she leaned her head back and groaned.
"It's about time…," Dawn grumbled with a bored look on her face before she yawned deeply and gently laid her head onto Andrews shoulder.
"Careful Dawnie…this is usually when everything goes to hell, from now on we have to play it very carefully around Mr. Wood…, hopefully Angel and Buffy will come up with a plan soon enough and then we can actually get off of our behinds and get rid of the Beast…again," Cordelia grumbled with a worried look on her face as she watched Robin pace around in front of the office where Angel, Giles, Spike, and Buffy were busy discussing the groups next course of action.
"What am I supposed to say to her," Andrew asked with a scared look on his face as he laid his hand on Dawn's thigh, his fear lessening as Dawn did nothing to make him remove it.
"Nice non sequitur there Andrew…," Dawn joked with a happy smirk on her face before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"What are you supposed to say to whom Andrew…," Cordelia asked with a confused and impatient look on her face as she glared over at the former geek.
"Ms. Calendar…uhm I think I still owe her an assignment…you don't think she remembers, do you," Andrew squawked out with a scared look on his face as he hung his head, prompting Dawn to groan.
"I had to fall in love with the wimp…," Dawn mumbled softly with a deep sigh and roll of her eyes as on the other side of the room Angel perked up and tossed a startled and confused look towards the trio, glad that Buffy had not been in the room to hear Dawn's words.
* * * * * *
The dream came again like she knew it would. She had sworn to Lindsey that she wouldn't fall asleep but her eyelids had grown so heavy and she could have sworn that the water that he had given her had tasted a little off, probably laced with something to knock her out for awhile and help her sleep. She was once again thrown back into that same bedroom, the little girl making her way back towards the slightly open door, only to once again witness her parents and their friends being brutally murdered by the demons.
"Sad…isn't it…," A voice from behind the little girl asks with a deep sadness in his voice.
"Who are you," The little girl asks, eyes wider than silver dollars, with a terrified expression on her face as she turns around and stares at the oddly dressed man standing in the corner.
"A friend of your mommy and daddy's…well your mommy's anyway, your daddy and I never really saw eye to eye, probably because I was so close to Angel…," Whistler moans slightly with an impatient frown on his face before he pushes away from the wall and walks to the door, peering out.
"I…I'm gonna," The little girl adds with a scared look on her face as she starts to back away from Whistler.
"You're gonna help your little sister get out of this horrible nightmare of a memory and change the past, making sure that this horrendous night never happens," Whistler quickly replied with a kind smile on his face as he knelt down at the door and closed it softly, locking it thereafter.
"Joan…what…," The little girl asked with a now confused and scared look on her face as she crawled up onto the bed, ready to dive underneath the pile of coats at any second.
"She's the one who's trapped in this repetitive cycle my dear, this was such a traumatic memory for her that the poor dear was a mute until she hit puberty…now no one can get her to shut up…got a hell of a right hook though," Whistler joked with a very serious smile before he chuckled to himself and stood up.
"No you're lying…," The little girl shouted with an angry and scared edge to her voice before she dove back underneath the coats.
"Joyce Ann Wilmington I swear…you're as stubborn as both of your parents put together…," Whistler grumbled with a frustrated and impatient scowl on his face before he dove into the pile of coats after the little girl.
* * * * * *
"We really should get going you know, they're probably wondering where we are…," Wesley whispered softly into Faith's ear before kissing it.
"What's the rush, I'm liking right here a whole lot better than that stupid hotel with everyone staring at me," Faith whispered back with a happy smirk on her face as she delicately trailed her fingers over Wesley's forearm. The two had finally come to rest, in a sense, on the cot in the office of the director of the sports complex.
"Well I hate to break it to you luv…but we're going to have to go back to that…stupid hotel, sometime…we can't stay here forever," Wesley said back with a slightly sad frown on his face as he brought a few strands of Faith's chocolate tresses to his nose and inhaled deeply.
"Damn…I hate it when you're right…but whenever we go back to the hotel we're going to have to come up with a plan to kill the Beast and the Scourge, otherwise we're only delaying our own deaths…," Faith grumbled with an unhappy pout on her face as she brought Wesley's hand up towards her and kissed the back of his hand.
"I've been thinking about that Faith, Angelus destroyed the Beast with a dagger made of its own bone, you didn't by any chance…," Wesley trailed off with a cheesy grin on his face as he gently stroked Faith's right cheek.
"Sorry Wes, but I was a little to busy bleeding to death to remember to pick up that little trinket," Faith replied in her best sarcasm laden voice before she couldn't help but laugh.
"I'm sorry about that Faith, I shouldn't have let you go in there all alone," Wesley added with a regretful frown on his face as his gentle stroking of Faith's right cheek waned.
"Fuck it man, you had two vampires to worry about and I was never one to wait for backup…besides something good did come of it," Faith grumbled with an annoyed scowl on her face as she hated hearing Wesley apologize for something that in her mind was in the past and best forgotten about.
"Oh…and what would that be, you nearly died luv," Wesley asked with an unsure expression on his face as Faith leaned just far enough away to be able to look him in the eye.
"Nearly Wes…nearly, the good part was when I got a free ride out to your jeep," Faith replied with a sly wink before she leaned in close and nestled her face into the crook of Wesley's neck and began a series of kisses that soon brought the fire back.
* * * * * *
"It's settled then, tonight this all will end, one way or another," Angel stated with a very blunt slant to his voice as he paced around the lobby, making sure that everyone in attendance was paying attention. Wesley and Faith had returned only minutes before the briefing had begun and Angel had been forced to take a second or two to compose himself as the tsunami of their scents mixed seamlessly together nearly did him in. Giles and Jenny sat together on one of the couches with a deep in thought Willow on Giles' other side. Spike and Buffy took a more solitary stance in the doorway of Angel's office, leaning against the doorframe on either side. Dawn and Andrew had since separated a bit and were on opposite sides of the lobby however Angel had only said one sentence and had already seen the two sneak a couple of looks at the other. Cordelia and the rest of the Angel Investigations group had commandeered the circular couch for themselves and Xander and Anya sat on chairs that had been carried down from one of the rooms upstairs. Robin stood mostly apart from the group, scowling heavily as he sat behind the counter, with a worried looking Sam and a frustrated Riley nearby.
"A few of you will serve as bait and draw the Scourge out of hiding…," Buffy began with her best General Buffy voice as the entire time she kept her gaze focused across the doorway at Spike.
"Before we kill enough of them for big, bad, and ugly to show his mug, then we take that bloody bastard out with the scythe and what not…and in no time flat battle's over and you can all go home," Spike finished with a proud smile on his face before his smile only widened at the scared looks that he was getting from the new slayers.
"I'm sorry Angel, but exactly how are we supposed to…serve as bait…and draw the Scourge out of their dark and dingy hiding places, we're not really their type," Kennedy asked with an unconvinced frown on her face as she adjusted her watch and looked to Willow.
"Simple…Cordelia's going with you," Angel mumbled softly under his breath as he kept his gaze off of the woman he loved as best he could before she realized what he had said.
"Whoa there Angel, stop right there, I am NOT going to be bait," Cordelia declared with a very certain and angry scowl on her face as she stood up and stormed up to Angel.
"You're not going to be in any danger Cordy, you're only going to be there long enough so that the Scourge see you and charge, and when they do you'll…," Angel started to say with a hopefully reassuring, but yet also nervous, smile on his face as he laid his hands on the former cheerleaders shoulders and looked her in the eye.
"Die…there's no way that you're going to get me to be the worm on the end of the hook for the Scourge to chase, so sorry Angel but you're just going to have to find yourself a new worm," Cordelia stated with a defiant and proud look of anger on her face before she turned away from Angel and stormed off.
"Nice work Peaches…gotta remember that technique for later," Spike grilled Angel with a joking and sly smirk on his face before he shut up abruptly as he caught sight of the glare that Buffy was casting his way.
"Cordy wait," Angel called out with a pleading tone to his voice as he hurried off after Cordelia into the kitchen.
"Those two should take to Dr. Phil…he'd be able to help them work through this little lover's spat," Andrew chimed in with a chummy grin on his face before Molly cut him off.
"Pipe down ya bloody smeghead," Molly shouted with an angry and frustrated frown on her face as she reached over and smacked Andrew on the leg, drawing a mean glare from Dawn and a blubbering look from the former nerd.
"Okay Molly that's enough," Jenny stated clearly with an unhappy frown on her face as she glanced over at the young slayer.
"Sorry…," Molly grumbled softly under her breath with an angry frown on her face as she crossed her arms and looked away.
"It's nice to see everything going so well…," Lindsey announced with a smug grin on his face as he stepped into the lobby, with a skittish Eve behind him, trying her best to look confidant and in control but Spike could see that she was unraveling faster than a spool of thread attached to the back bumper of an Indy car.
"Oh no…you can just turn your little lawyer ass around and walk back out of here," Gunn said with a very threatening slant to his words as he quickly stood up and stepped towards Lindsey and Gunn.
"I'd love to leave, but a mutual acquaintance told me…well told us to be here for this meeting," Lindsey replied with an unafraid smile on his face as he pushed by a startled Gunn and helped Eve to the lone open seat.
"I'm afraid that there's no possible way that you have any such person or persons that could possibly be considered an acquaintance of ours," Wesley said with a very skeptical frown on his face as he set his feet for the possible altercation to come.
"Except for me of course…okay most of you don't know me but the pretty little blonde over there in the doorway does, nice to see you again cutie," Whistler answered with a sheepish grin on his face as he picked his teeth clean with an odd colored toothpick while he walked down the front steps and into the lobby.
"Whistler…didn't expect to see you here, thought we'd seen the last of you after that night in the parking lot," Spike wondered with a skeptical frown on his face as he and Buffy fully stood up and gave each other a quick glance before focusing their gazes on the demon, completely oblivious to the confused and surprised stares that they received from everyone one else in the lobby.
"Yeah well…you two have done pretty well for yourselves without me…these two however are in serious need of help," Whistler replied with a half smile on his face as he shrugged his shoulders and took a seat quickly vacated by a skittish Fred.
"What do you want now Whistler, you helped us get back to our rightful time…what more is there," Buffy asked with an impatient and worried look on her face as her body language begged to suggest that she was about five seconds away from racing up the stairs and making sure that Joyce was still sound asleep.
"An intervention…of sorts pretty lady…you see the lovely Eve here is having the most terrible time with a reoccurring nightmare…a crying shame really, and the only way for her to get the nightmare to end is for her to confront and reconnect with her past…or is it her future," Whistler answered with a sheepish grin on his face as he deposited the brightly colored toothpick into one of his pockets and leaned back in his seat.
"That's all well and good, but what's he doing here," Xander asked with a nervous frown on his face as he could sense the tension building in the room.
"Isn't he the enemy," Vi whispered softly to Molly who sighed and shrugged her shoulders with a bored and unhappy frown on her face.
"Wishing he wasn't, Eve doesn't want or need any help from any of you…but the demon said that he could help her…," Lindsey shrugged back his reply with an unhappy and nervous expression on his face as he glared at everyone that even remotely looked his way.
"Uh…a question, how exactly are we supposed to help her," Willow asked with an interested tone to her voice even though she could tell that she should tread lightly in the current situation.
"No we here or anywhere else Ms. Rosenberg, them…Spike and Buffy, they're the only ones that can help her end this tirade of nightmares," Whistler replied without looking at Willow as he dug around in his coat pockets for something, having to quickly put a hand up to stop his hat from tumbling off of his head.
"Why us…," Buffy and Spike stated their question in unison with confused and worried looks on their faces as Buffy edged a hair closer to the stairs and Spike cast a wary glance towards Lindsey while Molly shifted in her seat, expecting the worst.
"Don't the parents usually help to soothe their child's nightmares, telling them that it was only a dream…that everything was fine and to be there for them," Whistler asked with an almost impish smile on his face, as if he were in on some private joke and was waiting for everyone else to figure it out.
"What…that's it, you drag us all of the way over here for something stupid like this, I don't care if you're supposed to be immortal…," Lindsey exclaimed with an angry scowl on his face as he momentarily left Eve's, who was visibly shaking, side and stormed towards Whistler before he picked the balancing demon up by the collar of his coat and glared at him.
"Hey…easy man, lay off the threads will you, I swear between you trying to rip the collar out of this shirt and Buffy threatening to…whatever, you wanted me to help your girl and I am…she needs her parents help in this, either they help her out or the nightmares will eventually consume her and your lady love will slip into a coma that she'll never come out of," Whistler quickly shot back with a pleading and almost annoyed look on his face as when he neared the end of his reply Cordelia hung her head and stared sadly down at her feet while Faith turned away, instantly preferring to be anywhere else in the world but at her current location.
"But that's crazy…insane even, if Buffy and Spike are her parents then Buffy would have had to have given birth to Eve like…when she was two…it's not possible…well except unless you're a Sloopy demon…," Anya piped up with a deep in thought smile on her face as her mind worked overtime to try to understand what was going on in front of her.
"Okay…may I just say…huh," Xander asked with a completely clueless expression on his face as he held his hand up as if volunteering in class as he turned his gaze to land it on Anya.
"Sloopy demons, filthy buggers, they're worse than tribbles…," Spike grumbled with a less than thrilled frown on his face as he kept his gaze fixed to the floor.
"I like tribbles…," Andrew chimed in with a gleeful smile on his face before nearly everyone in the room turned an eerily confused and mildly alarmed look his way.
"What are you saying Whistler, that Spike and I are…," Buffy started to ask with a clear stutter before she trailed off, unable to fathom the ramifications of the question and its answer.
"Eve's parents…hey now don't everyone give me that look, you know the one, like I've grown a second head or something, the three of you travel back in time through a portal and you're surprised by this," Whistler answered with at first a happy and smug smirk on his face before he calmed down and finished with a defensive glare in his gaze.
"I don't think surprised comes close Whistler…more like …," Jenny started to say with a confused expression on her face before she could only shake her head and turn to Giles.
"But, she can't be my daughter…Joyce is taking her nap upstairs and…," Buffy started to question with a scared look on her face before she looked down and almost fearfully laid a hand on her stomach.
"Bingo gorgeous, Eve is actually your as yet unborn daughter Joan," Whistler chipped in with a relaxed smile on his face as he proudly nodded his head and lightly tapped the end of his nose with the end of his index finger.
"Hmpf…Joan, what kind of stupid name is that…," Rhona wondered aloud with a mocking grin on her face as she sat up and turned towards Buffy.
"It was Buffy's name, she picked it out herself, back when Red did some magic and we all forgot who we were for a bit…," Spike explained with a less than happy to be remembering the moment frown on his face before he shook his head in an attempt to dissolve the memory.
"Ah what's wrong Spike, you didn't like being Giles' son…," Dawn joked with an innocent smile spread across her face as she grinned up at Spike.
"Funny…Umad…," Spike grumbled back with a faux look of anger on his face before Dawn couldn't help but laugh.
"Ooh…so scary Spike, or should I call you Randy," Dawn returned now, almost with tears in her eyes, as she doubled over in a fit of laughter as nearby a completely baffled Molly turned to Spike and gave him a completely perplexed and worried look.
"Excuse me everyone…but can we have a sense of decorum around here…this is very interesting to say the least…," Giles exclaimed with a very authoritative tone to his voice as he stood up and slipped his hands into his pockets, taking a thoughtful pose.
"No…this is insane, you're crazy Whistler, loony, Eve can't be their daughter, she…," Lindsey started to argue with a frustrated and shocked look on his face before Whistler cut him off.
"She was sent to live in one foster home after another from the time she was two, the memory of that night was so bad that it was just to much for her little mind, so she blocked it out of her memory, but now it's all coming back to her," Whistler interjected with a very serious look on his face, and his hands in his pockets, before he turned back towards the kitchen door as Angel and Cordelia walked back into the lobby.
"Oh this had better be good…," Angel stated with a very concerned edge to his voice as he caught site of first Whistler and then Eve and Lindsey.
END OF CHAPTER 28