Chapter 8
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"Hold me when I'm here, Right me when I'm wrong, Hold me when I'm scared, and love when I'm gone.
"When I'm gone" 3 Doors Down
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"Uh - Spike." Xander looked round at the advancing vampire's as he clutched Anya's and Tara's hands to give them support. Or to give himself support, he wasn't sure which at the moment,
"Lets not piss the nice vampires off."
"Sod off Harris." Spike said without moving his eyes from the leader, whom he recognized from the bar he had been at last week,
"Come on mate. Think about this, 'aye?" The vampire's eyes narrowed on Spike,
"What's there to think 'bout Spike? Slayer's gone, been gone for a while. Only you've been keeping secrets." The vampire smirked, taking a step forward,
"You and your friends are going the same way as her by the looks of it." The vampire struck out at Spike and that was the signal to start the fight.
Xander felt both of the girls' hands being dragged from his grasp. He reached into his pocket for a stake as he turned but it was soon taken from his hand and then he was fighting for his life.
As he hit the floor for the second time he suddenly wished he had Buffy.
He wished that she were still alive.
The vampires would be dead within minutes.
Everyone would be safe.
He rolled over and pushed himself to his feet. He lashed out at the nearest vampire with a punch. A second one followed and before the vampire had even hit the ground another one was upon him.
They were fighting a lost cause. It was hopeless. He knew this day would come sometime. He had dreamed about it before. The source of all nightmares.
'Except from the one where you turn up to class wearing nothing but your underwear.' He thought to himself as he retrieved his stake from the ground and dusted his second vamp. He pulled a third off of Tara, dusting that one too.
He was on his knees again in a matter of seconds. The vampire at his throat. Another two followed close behind.
So this was it. This was how Alexander Lavelle Harris was going to die. After all these years saving the world from impending doom, he was going to die at the hands of vampires.
He wondered if they would get the grass stains out of his beige cargos he had on. He doubted it.
He closed his eyes as he waited, the energy in him drained before the first vampire's fangs even pierced his neck. He tried to throw them off, but it was too late.
The load was getting lighter. One disappeared; the second one was dust. Then the last one was gone and he could breath again.
Xander opened his eyes to look for his savior, catching a glimpse of the blond hair above him. Spike again. Xander had lost count of the number of times Spike had saved his life,
"Thanks, I -" a hand reached down to him to help him to his feet. The hand was softer than the vampires should be, smaller too. His eyes looked back up as his vision began to clear, and dots stopped dancing in front of his eyes. He realised that the blond figure that stood before him wasn't Spike,
"Buffy?"
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Willow was already on the bottom step when she heard her name called with desperation. She took the next step shakily as she started up the stairs, scared of what she would fine. The second call of her name brought her running up the stairs two at a time, Aura right behind her. She weaved round the corner, heading straight into Buffy's room where a frightened Dawn stood,
"Dawn what -" she trailed off as she saw Giles, Aura moving past her to the man at the same time. Giles was slumped back on the bed, his eyelids translucent as his head rolled from side to side as if fighting something inside his head.
"Rupert." Aura squeaked feebly as she moved beside the bed, sitting on the edge. Her hand went to his head feeling the fever there. Another hand tried to stop his head from rolling from side to side. The blood running down his chin brought a pained gasp from her lips as Willow moved up behind her,
"Giles?" there was no answer, not that she was expecting one. Her hands went to her head, running her fingers through her hair.
"Willow? Do you -"
"Hush Dawn, let me think." Willow watched Giles for a moment before turning away, thinking. How could she think though? She wished she had Tara, she couldn't think straight. Buffy would have known what to do and Willow so desperately wished she were still alive.
Everyone would be safe.
"Aura!" Willow said turning back to the woman, she looked as though she would burst into tears any moment,
"Can you teleport him back to England?" Aura sniffed, looking away from Giles for a moment. She was obviously distracted and the desolation in her eyes suddenly made her realize how much Aura cared for Giles,
"I can't." she said shaking her head unhappily,
"I can't send him back. Not - he has to be conscious. He has to concentrate on where he's going, otherwise we'd lose him. He could end up in - he could end up anywhere." She looked back at Giles, her hand brushing his hair from his sweat-drenched forehead,
"This is all my fault. If I had just taken him to the hospital, he would -" Aura trailed off, knowing where the sentence was leading but not wanting to speak it out loud.
Dawn slipped out of the room quietly as Willow continued to pace, not even having the energy to comfort Aura. She couldn't even comfort herself and say that it would be ok. Giles would be fine and he wouldn't die. She wouldn't lose him like she lost Buffy.
A tear slipped down her check. She was going to lose him though,
"We have to take him to the hospital." She said eventually,
"We can't - I can't watch him die here." She shook her head as she sunk into the chair beside the bed,
"I just can't."
"He's in the country illegally though." Aura said, not looking away from Giles, keeping her hands on his head, trying to cool it down,
"How are we going to explain that?"
"I don't know. I just - we'll think of something."
No more words were shared between the two women. No more words were needed. It was strange how grief brought people together. Willow and Aura had only met a few minutes ago, yet it already seemed like they had known each other a lifetime. They felt as if that they had shared everything, knowing Giles had brought them closer. And losing Giles would bring them closer still.
Dawn came back into the room, a bowl of water and cloth in hand. She managed to get past Willow and Aura so she could set the bowl down on the edge of the table. She dipped the cloth into the water before ringing it out and placing it on Giles forehead. His head seemed to desist rolling as it relished the coolness of the water.
Dawn wanted nothing more than to break down into tears but someone had to keep their head when all about were losing theirs. She would be just as devastated if she lost Giles, but she didn't want to think about losing him. She had lost too many people she loved already. She wished Buffy were still here though.
Everyone would be safe.
She had just got him back, she wasn't planning on losing him again. But then losing someone was never planned.
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Xander was pulled to his feet and left to stand and stare. There was a moment when Xander's hand would not let go of hers, scared that if he let go she would disappear forever. But she pulled her hand free,
"Xander I have to help them." She said running back down the hill towards his friends. Towards her friends. Xander's eyes watched her go, unable to form vowel sounds let alone words. She hadn't changed in those three years. She was older maybe and now she was so very much alive. His knees shook beneath him and he grasped the nearest headstone, letting it take his weight as he watched her and the other's fighting.
Had someone heard his wish? His pray? He doubted it. He had prayed so hard before to have Buffy back and no one had let him have her. So why was she back now? Or had she ever been gone?
Xander shook his head. Of course she had, he had been there the day they had buried her. The day they had laid her to rest.
He felt like he had been asleep the past three years and now he was finally waking up, realising that Buffy had not been lost, Giles had never gone away and Dawn had never been the key. His big wedding day was still to come and he had the rest of his happy life ahead of him. Yet he knew that he had been awake the whole time and everything he wished had been a dream had actually happened.
His knees finally found their strength again and he started back down the hill. The vampires had begun to disperse yet no one but himself had noticed Buffy. Maybe he was delusional. But the hand that he had held had been very real.
The grave he had taken strength from continued to stand tall and fast the name of 'Buffy Anne Summers' defining its strength.
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"Hold me when I'm here, Right me when I'm wrong, Hold me when I'm scared, and love when I'm gone.
"When I'm gone" 3 Doors Down
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"Uh - Spike." Xander looked round at the advancing vampire's as he clutched Anya's and Tara's hands to give them support. Or to give himself support, he wasn't sure which at the moment,
"Lets not piss the nice vampires off."
"Sod off Harris." Spike said without moving his eyes from the leader, whom he recognized from the bar he had been at last week,
"Come on mate. Think about this, 'aye?" The vampire's eyes narrowed on Spike,
"What's there to think 'bout Spike? Slayer's gone, been gone for a while. Only you've been keeping secrets." The vampire smirked, taking a step forward,
"You and your friends are going the same way as her by the looks of it." The vampire struck out at Spike and that was the signal to start the fight.
Xander felt both of the girls' hands being dragged from his grasp. He reached into his pocket for a stake as he turned but it was soon taken from his hand and then he was fighting for his life.
As he hit the floor for the second time he suddenly wished he had Buffy.
He wished that she were still alive.
The vampires would be dead within minutes.
Everyone would be safe.
He rolled over and pushed himself to his feet. He lashed out at the nearest vampire with a punch. A second one followed and before the vampire had even hit the ground another one was upon him.
They were fighting a lost cause. It was hopeless. He knew this day would come sometime. He had dreamed about it before. The source of all nightmares.
'Except from the one where you turn up to class wearing nothing but your underwear.' He thought to himself as he retrieved his stake from the ground and dusted his second vamp. He pulled a third off of Tara, dusting that one too.
He was on his knees again in a matter of seconds. The vampire at his throat. Another two followed close behind.
So this was it. This was how Alexander Lavelle Harris was going to die. After all these years saving the world from impending doom, he was going to die at the hands of vampires.
He wondered if they would get the grass stains out of his beige cargos he had on. He doubted it.
He closed his eyes as he waited, the energy in him drained before the first vampire's fangs even pierced his neck. He tried to throw them off, but it was too late.
The load was getting lighter. One disappeared; the second one was dust. Then the last one was gone and he could breath again.
Xander opened his eyes to look for his savior, catching a glimpse of the blond hair above him. Spike again. Xander had lost count of the number of times Spike had saved his life,
"Thanks, I -" a hand reached down to him to help him to his feet. The hand was softer than the vampires should be, smaller too. His eyes looked back up as his vision began to clear, and dots stopped dancing in front of his eyes. He realised that the blond figure that stood before him wasn't Spike,
"Buffy?"
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Willow was already on the bottom step when she heard her name called with desperation. She took the next step shakily as she started up the stairs, scared of what she would fine. The second call of her name brought her running up the stairs two at a time, Aura right behind her. She weaved round the corner, heading straight into Buffy's room where a frightened Dawn stood,
"Dawn what -" she trailed off as she saw Giles, Aura moving past her to the man at the same time. Giles was slumped back on the bed, his eyelids translucent as his head rolled from side to side as if fighting something inside his head.
"Rupert." Aura squeaked feebly as she moved beside the bed, sitting on the edge. Her hand went to his head feeling the fever there. Another hand tried to stop his head from rolling from side to side. The blood running down his chin brought a pained gasp from her lips as Willow moved up behind her,
"Giles?" there was no answer, not that she was expecting one. Her hands went to her head, running her fingers through her hair.
"Willow? Do you -"
"Hush Dawn, let me think." Willow watched Giles for a moment before turning away, thinking. How could she think though? She wished she had Tara, she couldn't think straight. Buffy would have known what to do and Willow so desperately wished she were still alive.
Everyone would be safe.
"Aura!" Willow said turning back to the woman, she looked as though she would burst into tears any moment,
"Can you teleport him back to England?" Aura sniffed, looking away from Giles for a moment. She was obviously distracted and the desolation in her eyes suddenly made her realize how much Aura cared for Giles,
"I can't." she said shaking her head unhappily,
"I can't send him back. Not - he has to be conscious. He has to concentrate on where he's going, otherwise we'd lose him. He could end up in - he could end up anywhere." She looked back at Giles, her hand brushing his hair from his sweat-drenched forehead,
"This is all my fault. If I had just taken him to the hospital, he would -" Aura trailed off, knowing where the sentence was leading but not wanting to speak it out loud.
Dawn slipped out of the room quietly as Willow continued to pace, not even having the energy to comfort Aura. She couldn't even comfort herself and say that it would be ok. Giles would be fine and he wouldn't die. She wouldn't lose him like she lost Buffy.
A tear slipped down her check. She was going to lose him though,
"We have to take him to the hospital." She said eventually,
"We can't - I can't watch him die here." She shook her head as she sunk into the chair beside the bed,
"I just can't."
"He's in the country illegally though." Aura said, not looking away from Giles, keeping her hands on his head, trying to cool it down,
"How are we going to explain that?"
"I don't know. I just - we'll think of something."
No more words were shared between the two women. No more words were needed. It was strange how grief brought people together. Willow and Aura had only met a few minutes ago, yet it already seemed like they had known each other a lifetime. They felt as if that they had shared everything, knowing Giles had brought them closer. And losing Giles would bring them closer still.
Dawn came back into the room, a bowl of water and cloth in hand. She managed to get past Willow and Aura so she could set the bowl down on the edge of the table. She dipped the cloth into the water before ringing it out and placing it on Giles forehead. His head seemed to desist rolling as it relished the coolness of the water.
Dawn wanted nothing more than to break down into tears but someone had to keep their head when all about were losing theirs. She would be just as devastated if she lost Giles, but she didn't want to think about losing him. She had lost too many people she loved already. She wished Buffy were still here though.
Everyone would be safe.
She had just got him back, she wasn't planning on losing him again. But then losing someone was never planned.
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Xander was pulled to his feet and left to stand and stare. There was a moment when Xander's hand would not let go of hers, scared that if he let go she would disappear forever. But she pulled her hand free,
"Xander I have to help them." She said running back down the hill towards his friends. Towards her friends. Xander's eyes watched her go, unable to form vowel sounds let alone words. She hadn't changed in those three years. She was older maybe and now she was so very much alive. His knees shook beneath him and he grasped the nearest headstone, letting it take his weight as he watched her and the other's fighting.
Had someone heard his wish? His pray? He doubted it. He had prayed so hard before to have Buffy back and no one had let him have her. So why was she back now? Or had she ever been gone?
Xander shook his head. Of course she had, he had been there the day they had buried her. The day they had laid her to rest.
He felt like he had been asleep the past three years and now he was finally waking up, realising that Buffy had not been lost, Giles had never gone away and Dawn had never been the key. His big wedding day was still to come and he had the rest of his happy life ahead of him. Yet he knew that he had been awake the whole time and everything he wished had been a dream had actually happened.
His knees finally found their strength again and he started back down the hill. The vampires had begun to disperse yet no one but himself had noticed Buffy. Maybe he was delusional. But the hand that he had held had been very real.
The grave he had taken strength from continued to stand tall and fast the name of 'Buffy Anne Summers' defining its strength.