A/N : Seems like everybody's been looking for a good Normal Again Spuffy and they think this is it! I only hope I can deliver, and that you don't all start to hate where this goes half way through! Well, I guess we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, big thanx to you reviewer types; spuffy-monica, funkydevil206, Daniel Wesley Rydell (hopefully I spelt it right this time, sorry about the mistake before!), Lifes-Slayer, Spuffy2008, RachelMarsters, spikegothicchick, wicked-angel-413, ash, Fabiola, spuffygurl11, and Rebel Goddess. Little more stealage from the ep in this chapter, but hopefully it has enough twists that you won't mind...
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapters 1 & 2)
Chapter 3
"So, she's having the wiggins, is she?" Spike sighed as he walked through the graveyard alongside Xander, "Thinks none of us are real. Bloody self-centred, if you ask me" he grumbled.
"No-one did ask you" the brunette pointed out, "and can I remind you that you're here because we need muscle, not colour commentary" he added, clearly annoyed at having to spend any time with the vamp.
"On the other hand" Spike continued as if he hadn't heard a word Xander had said, "it might explain some things - this all being in that twisted brain of hers" he considered, "Thinks up some chip in my head, make me soft, fall in love with her, then turn me into her soddin' sex slave..."
"What!" the whelp exclaimed suddenly and Spike realised what information he'd just divulged.
"Nothing" he answered fast, shaking his head, "Alternative realities, where we're all little figments of Buffy's funny-farm delusion" he said, before changing the subject in the nastiest way possible for Xander "You know, in a different reality, you might not have left your bride at the altar. You might have gone through with it like a man"
Momentarily forgetting the demon they were hunting, the young man got up in Spike's face and spoke with a low voice, waving the rifle he held in his hand
"One more syllable about Anya, and I swear..." was all he managed to say before the demon they were tracking jumped out at them with a hiss and an evil stare.
"Oh, balls" Spike complained "You didn't say he was a glarghk guhl kashmanik"
"That's because I can't say glar-" Xander started but unsurprisingly never finished as the demon attacked.
It was no real problem for Spike to knock it down momentarily, giving Xander the opportunity to shoot it with the tranquilliser gun.
"Let's get this to Buffy's basement" the boy gestured, as he and the vampire he loathed hauled the unconscious body of the glarghk-whatever out of the graveyard and towards Revello Drive.
An hour later, the demon was chained in the basement and Willow set about snapping the spine from it's hand. She put it into a jar and fastened the lid, whilst Spike tightened the creatures bonds as it struggled.
"Xander, go to the magic shop" Willow told him as she turned towards the stairs, "I'll need alkanet root and a handful of nettle leaf, just for the medicinal properties, no magic" she assured him, "When you've got them, meet me at the campus lab. I'll see if I can brew up an antidote the old-fashioned way"
The boy did as he was told and Spike promised to keep the demon at bay in their absence.
"Mess with my girl, would you?" he spat when the others were gone, clocking the snarling demon across the face, "Oughta break you into bite-sized bits you son of a bitch!" he yelled, taking great delight in pummelling the creature. He knew just how to hit it so it was in constant pain but never quite made it to an unconscious state. If it did it wouldn't be the end of the world, so long as it didn't die yet. With this thing dead, if Willow's concoction when kaboom that was it for the Slayer, and Spike refused to lose her to some other world that she'd dreamt up, a world where he couldn't be with her.
When the demon he was beating on finally lost consciousness, the vampire moved towards the stairs and ventured up to ground level. Careful to avoid the sunlight that crept in though the windows he dodged over to the main stairs and went on up to Buffy's room.
It was early morning and he could hear the Nibblet's even breathing from the hallway, meaning she was still sleeping. The Slayer seemed calm enough too, and he suspected she was also asleep. He wanted to talk to her, check she was okay, but that was impossible now. Still, there was nothing to stop him just sticking his head round the door and taking a look at her. She always looked so peaceful and a different kind of beautiful like this, he realised as he stood at the door and took in the sight of her laid out on the bed with her eyes closed.
He only remembered one or two occasions when she'd fallen asleep after their sessions together. Usually she just kicked him in the head and ran out, virtue fluttering, but just a couple of times she'd exhausted herself so much she'd fallen asleep right there beside him, and he'd laid there for hours just watching her breathe, a slight smile gracing her lips when she dreamt of a more pleasant world. The smile left Spike's lips when he realised that perhaps the dream she had now was not a dream at all. If the hallucinations took her during her sleep, there was no way to know if she could fight back.
Glad that the drapes were closed, he came further into the room, leaning over the edge of the bed to look at her properly. He was in two minds whether to wake her or not when she began to stir herself.
"No! No!" she yelled, beginning to writhe about. Spike sat down on the edge of the bed, catching her by the arms to still her movements. He was afraid she'd throw herself clean off the bed or just scratch herself to ribbons with her own nails.
"Buffy!" he shouted, trying to shake her out of nightmare, "Buffy, come on, luv. It's not real" he told her.
"Not real, not real..." she rambled to herself, eventually giving up the struggle against him, even allowing him to pull her into his arms, something that surprised Spike greatly, "Not real, none of it's real" she continued mumbling against his chest, until tears started streaming from her eyes.
"Come on now, pet" Spike said gently, rubbing her back, "Keep up the racket and you'll scare little sis half to death" he told her, not realising he hadn't got her as far back to reality as he thought.
"Not real" she repeated, crying hard, "I don't have a sister" she sobbed.
Spike frowned at that, about to ask what the hell she was talking about when he heard a gasp from the door and turned to see Dawn with her hand over her mouth, two fat tears escaping from her eyes.
"Dawn" he said, feeling terrible for the little girl as she bolted back to her own bedroom, the door slamming behind her.
"Buffy" Spike said again, pushing her away a little and trying to see her face. Her eyes were still shut like she slept, but she was awake, just not here.
"It's getting harder, Hank" Joyce said sadly to her husband as they sat either side of their daughters bed, "Everytime she comes out, it makes it so much worse when she goes back" she said tearfully, gripping Buffy's hand. The girl stared straight ahead, eyes unseeing, in this world at least.
"We have to believe in her, Joyce" her husband reminded her, "She's getting better. The doctors say it's a good sign that she's lucid even for the short amounts of time that she is"
"I know" his wife nodded, "but it breaks my heart to have her come and go like this. I keep wondering if this next time she'll go too deep again..." her voice cracked with emotion and Hank moved to put is arm around her.
"Come on, sweetheart" he said gently, "You need a break"
"We can't leave her alone" Joyce shook her head, "What if she... comes back"
"I can sit with her" said a voice from the door and Buffy's parents both turned to see William hovering behind them, "I'd like to, really"
"William, that's very sweet" Joyce smiled, "but you're shift is over, you should be heading home"
"Mrs Summers, caring for Buffy is more than just a job to me" he admitted as he came into the room, "Of course all the patients here matter but..." he looked away quite embarrassed, not having meant to say quite as much as he had, but it was all true. Buffy meant so much more to him than the other patients he cared for. She'd been here longer than most of the others and ever since his first day at the hospital, almost four years ago now, he'd adored the young blonde in room sixteen-thirty.
"If you're sure" Hank told the younger man, "We'll just go get a coffee and freshen up"
"Take as long as you need" William smiled and nodded as he traded places with Joyce and sat down on the bed beside Buffy.
"Just us again, luv" he said when her parents were gone, "Yes, I know, I told you I was going home before but... to be honest home holds little comfort for me. I find as soon as I leave your side I wish I were back here" he smiled to himself as she stared straight past him, oblivious to his presence, "I sometimes wonder if perhaps I should take up a bed here instead of a job. People would think I was insane if I told them how I felt about you. I have no doubt you'll think the same thing when you finally come back to me and I explain it all to you"
He picked up her hand in his and squeezed it, hoping against hope that she might respond, just look at him like she really saw him.
"You will come back to us, Buffy" he said firmly, "I believe in you" he assured her, praying she might hear him, that his voice might reach her some how. His heart leapt when he thought he felt her hand move within his.
"Buffy?" he said cautiously, "If you can hear me, luv, come towards my voice. Fight through whatever you're seeing because it's not real, pet, none of it. I'm real, concentrate on me, please"
Buffy briefly closed her eyes and when she opened them again she looked straight at William, and she looked petrified.
"No, no, no" she chanted, pulling her hand from his grasp and holding her knees up to her chest as she glanced around the room. She had no idea how she'd got back here. One minute she'd been in bed, sleeping and dreaming, and the next she was here.
"No, no, no" she repeated, trying to push it away, concentrate on Sunnydale because that was real and this was all a demon-poison-induced illusion. She replayed what she was thinking in her head and realised it was crazy. What if this was the real world, and she really was a nut-job in a mental ward? The thought made her more afraid than any demon ever had.
"Buffy, come on, luv" William begged her, reaching to hold onto her arms and keep her still before she hurt herself, "It's not real, Buffy" he told her again, "What you think is there, it's not. None of it is real"
"Not real" she echoed looking over at him, finding the sight of him brought more comfort than it really should, "Not real, not real" she repeated wondering whether she was trying to convince herself that this place didn't exist or Sunnydale. Her breathing calmed slightly but she looked so lost, William felt terrible for her.
"Come on, pet" he said softly as she fell into his arms and wept. He had her here, in the real world, and willingly in his arms. He only wished it were under better circumstances, that she knew it was him that held her now, whispering words of comfort as he rubbed her back and promised her he'd help her, that it would get better.
"Your parents are so worried about you" he told her gently as he rocked her in his arms, "They need you better, you're all they've got"
The thought of her parents being here only made Buffy cry harder. She couldn't help but think how much simpler life might be if this world were real. She could be with her mother and father, and this wonderful human version of Spike. No demons and monsters to fight, but without her friends.
"My friends" she mumbled a she cried, William almost didn't hear her, "and Dawn"
"Ssh, Buffy, no" he told her, pushing her away a little til he could see her face, "They're not real" he said firmly but gently, hoping he was getting through, "Those people aren't your friends, and you don't have a sister" he reminded her, knowing the names of her delusions off by heart after so long of hearing her ramble about them.
"Not real" Buffy repeated sadly, tears still steaming down her face, "I, I don't have a sister" she realised, crying into Williams arms.
He held her close and kept on talking to her in an attempt to keep her grounded, as her parents reappeared at the door, smiling and crying at the same time. Slowly their daughter was clawing her way back to them, and it seemed she would not be lacking a friend when she made it back from the dark.
To Be Continued...