Once More with Déjà Vu: Chapter Five
Disclaimer: If I owned AtS or BtVS you'd see many happy endings and a lil less angst... And the songs are owned by their respective singers and record labels.
Glor: (stretches) Homework is evil! And so is school... And all the subjects I might fail... Argh! I wanna go to Italy but if I fail I can't go this summer... There's my reason if this takes a while for this to be posted, I got failing grades to fix... Sorry 'bout the ranting... Here's the fic...
The two slim brunettes made their way downstairs into the kitchen after their long night of talking. They had gotten little sleep but weren't as sleepy as they should be.
"Are you hungry, 'cause all that talkin' made me real hungry?" Fred said as Dawn rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
"Can you make pancakes?" Dawn asked hopefully.
"I dunno, I can try," Fred smiled as she walked over to the cabinets then turned to Dawn, "So, where do you keep the pancake mix?"
Wesley rubbed his eyes as he awoke to the smell of pancakes and fresh coffee brewing. He pulled himself of the couch and glanced over to see Gunn still asleep on a cot that was brought up from the basement last night and Lorne sprawled over one of the armchairs.
Wes wandered into the kitchen to see Fred and Dawn giggling as Fred made pancakes and Dawn made coffee, "Hello, ladies" Wesley spoke up, surprising the girls.
"Wesley! Look! Fred taught me how to brew coffee and she's making pancakes!" Dawn exclaimed happily as she poured a cup of coffee for Wesley.
"Thank you," he smiled as he looked over to Fred who had some pancake mix on her face, "Trouble?"
"No, I think I'm pretty good at this..." Fred answered as she slid another pancake onto the plate, "But I dunno if they're edible... Dawnie, do you wanna try one and see if they are?"
"Sure, but don't worry, there's no way they can be any worse then Buffy's attempts at pancakes..." Dawn answered as she took a bite of a pancake, "Mmm! These are good!" she mumbled with a full mouth.
Fred and Wes both broke into laughter, "Dawn, you shouldn't talk with your mouth full!" Fred said as her laughter died down.
"What smells so good?" a voice asked from the doorway of the kitchen.
Fred turned to see Gunn, "Good morning, Charles. Pancakes and coffee so sit down and grab a plate,"
Gunn sat next to Wesley, "Are the others awake yet?" Wesley asked.
"Nah, and they say we sleep like rocks..." Gunn answered as Lorne walked in grabbing a cup of coffee.
"The only time you two don't sleep rocks is when you smell good food, so whatcha makin', Fredikins?" Lorne asked as he sat and took a sip of his coffee.
"Pancakes"
"And they're good, try some, Lorne," Dawn said as she gave Lorne a plate and went to get a plate for Wesley and Gunn.
Upstairs, Connor began to cry, which woke Cordelia and Angel from their slumber. Cordelia sat up first and gathered Connor into her arms. She made soothing sounds and rocked him to quiet him.
"Angel, get his bottle from the baby bag," Cordelia ordered him. Angel smiled at her authoritative tone and complied.
"I'll be right back with your bottle, little man," Angel told his son as he left the room.
Cordelia smiled as Angel jogged out of the room, "Your daddy loves you so much, Connor..."
"Seems so..." Buffy said from the door as Cordelia looked at her, "Can I hold him?"
"Sure, but be careful," she answered as she helped get Connor into Buffy's arms, "Make sure you hold his head. Yeah, just like that... I think he likes you, Buffy..."
Cordelia had spoke too soon because after she had said that Connor had broke into another fit of wailing and tears, "Uh..." Buffy stuttered as she gave the baby back to Cordelia, "Not that much, I think he likes you better..."
"Shhh... Your daddy's coming with your bottle..." Cordelia soothed as Connor quieted a bit.
"Wow, Cordy, you're good with him..." Buffy said in awe.
"Yeah, Lorne says it's because I'm the closest thing he has to a mother, since Darla's dust... But he's not mine and I can't just take over as his mother because she died... It wouldn't be right..." Cordelia said as she rocked the baby.
"Cordy, don't worry... It's not like he'll never know about his mother... It's just he needs a mother and you're it,"
"I guess..."
Angel came back into the room with a warm bottle in hand, "Hey, Buffy..."
"Hey..." Buffy said as Cordelia put Connor into his father's arms.
Buffy smiled as Angel fed Connor but she felt out of place, "I should go... See you guys downstairs..."
Buffy left the Joyce's old room leaving Cordelia alone with Angel and the baby. Soon, Connor had finished his bottle and fell into pleasant sleep.
"Who made pancakes?" Buffy asked as she tiredly wandered into the kitchen.
"Fred did and I saved some for you... Fred and the others went to the Magic Box, said they were gonna start some researching..." Dawn answered as she put the dirty dishes into the sink, "What time do you have to go to work?"
Buffy looked up from her pancakes, "Uh..." she looked at the clock which read 11:29am, "In about two hours... Why?"
Dawn shuffled her feet, "Well... I've got something to tell you... And promise not to yell?" Buffy nodded, "Last night Fred talked to me and she told me that I should tell you about what I'm doing..."
"Go on..." Buffy coaxed.
Dawn gulped, "I've been stealing stuff from the Magic Box..." she said hardly audible tone that Buffy heard just barely heard.
"What!?"
"You said you wouldn't yell!"
Buffy calmed herself, "Have you been stealing from anywhere else?" she asked calmly.
"No..."
"Good, then you can give back what you stole, whatever you don't have anymore you can work off, and you're going to have to face Anya's wrath but it's better then having to settle this with the police," she took in a breath, "I'm deciding to only let you have the punishment Anya will give considering you told me about this... And you're going to stop now, right?"
Dawn nodded, "Thanks, Buffy," Dawn enveloped her sister in a hug, "For the not punishing thing but not for the having to face Anya's wrath..."
A smile crossed Buffy's face for the first time in a while as she hugged her sister back.
Willow came into the house to see the two sisters hugging, "Is hugging only a Summers' thing or can I join the hug fest?" Willow asked shyly as she came into the kitchen.
Dawn broke the hug when Willow spoke and glared her at her. She silently went to her room, ignoring Willow.
"Guess she's still a little mad with me..." Willow's shoulders slumped as she sat down.
Buffy put her empty plate into the sink, "Give her a little more time, she'll forgive you soon enough..."
"Yeah..." Willow sighed.
"So..." Buffy said, "Where did you stay last night?"
"Well... When I came back her I saw there was no room so I went to Tara's... She let me sleep on her couch... We talked for a bit and she sang..."
(Flashback)
Knock knock knock.
"Coming!" Tara said as she rolled out of her bed and straightened her clothes a bit before opening the door, "W-willow..."
"Uh, Hi... Sorry to come by so late... Can I come in?" Willow asked nervously.
Tara nodded, "O-of course... Come in..." she stuttered as she moved out of the way and closed the door behind Willow, "So why are you here?"
"Well I... The Fang Gang is at Buffy's and I needed a place to crash and I didn't want to disturb Anya and Xander in case they wanted, um... You know... Time together... And I thought I could stay here... On the couch! Yeah, on the couch... And I'm babbling aren't I?" Willow asked, embarrassed.
A small smile came onto Tara's face, "Just a little..." she said with a small giggle.
Willow gained some more courage at seeing Tara's smile, "Maybe we can talk? Try to fix things between us... That is if you want to fix things between us, that is..."
"Yeah! I mean, yes, I wanna fix things between us, Willow,"
Willow let out the breath she was holding and fell onto the couch, "Good... 'Cause I was afraid you might not want to..."
"I want to..." Tara said as an uncomfortable silence came over them for a few minutes.
Willow was the one to break it, "Tara, baby, just tell me what you're feeling..."
When Willow finished her sentence, a sad melody began to play and Tara got up from the couch, turned away from Willow. Piano playing could be heard then Tara began to sing, "When somebody loved me Everything was beautiful Every hour we spent together Lives within my heart..." she placed a hand over her heart.
Willow watched sadly as Tara swayed and sang to the melancholy music, "And when she was sad I was there to dry her tears And when she was happy So was I When she loved me," she sang as she turned to Willow.
"Through the summer and the fall We had each other that was all Just she and I together Like it was meant to be..." Tara smiled and brought Willow into her arms on the couch, "And when she was lonely I was there to comfort her And I knew that she loved me..."
Tara pulled away to Willow's dismay, "So the years went by I stayed the same But she began to drift away" Tara made a motion like drifting, "I was left alone Still I waited for the day When she'd say: 'I will always love you'" Tara looked into Willow's eyes at that very moment, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Lonely and forgotten Never thought she'd look my way And she smiled at me And held me Just like she use to do Like she loved me When she loved me..." Tara wiped away stray tears from Willow's face as well as her own, "When somebody loved me Everything was beautiful Every hour we spent together Lives within my heart When she loved me..." she finished singing, tears running down her face, as the music faded out.
"Oh, baby... I love you... I still love you..." Willow said as she pulled Tara into her loving embrace to soothe away her tears.
"I love you..." Tara said through her tears.
"I know, baby, I know... I love you too..."
(End of Flashback)
"We're gonna start over... Tara's gonna help me with my magic abuse and show me how to use music the right way... It'll take a while but she thinks with her help and some help from the coven that I'll be okay with magic..."
"That's great, Wills!" Buffy said as she pulled her friend into a hug and saw the time, "Oh, I've gotta go, shift at the Doublemeat... See you later at the Magic Box for a REAL Scooby meeting?"
"Yeah..." Willow answered then looked up the stairs, "Is the baby still here? I didn't get a chance to hold it..."
Buffy headed up the stairs, "Mm-hm... They're in your room... Later, Wills," she went into her room to change into her Doublemeat uniform.
"Spike?" Dawn's voice echoed though the top level of Spike's crypt.
Dawn walked towards the opening to the lower level and peered in to see Spike come up with a bottle of whiskey. She jumped away in surprise, "Hey, Nibblet, whatcha doin' here?"
"Can't a friend just come over and visit another friend?"
"Most can, but not you right now, I can tell. Now what is it Nibblet?"
Dawn's face fell and she pouted as she crossed her arms, "Hmph... You know it's rude to say that when someone was just tryin' to visit you..." she said indignantly. Spike raised an eyebrow at her as he took a sip out of his bottle, "...oh, alright! Are you boinking Buffy?"
Spike almost spit out his whiskey and sputtered, "What the hell gave you that idea, Nibblet?" Spike said as he regained his composure.
"Well... I saw you guys kissing outside the Bronze after that thing with Sweet, then I saw you guys making out under the stairs at the Bronze and then I figured since Buffy has been doin' SO much 'patrolling' lately..." she trailed off as she made air quotes at the word patrolling.
"That's none of your business, 'Bit," Spike said as calmly as he could then he turned to walk away, "Go home,"
Dawn giggled, "So cool! You and Buffy ARE boinking!" she said with a smile as she paused for a moment of thought, "Oh! Oh my God!" she exclaimed as Spike turned around with a puzzled look, "That one night when she didn't come home! And she said she was fighting! I knew those looked more like hickeys then bruises!"
Spike winced, "Dawn..." he said in a warning tone.
"Hm?" she said as she was knocked out of her excited reverie.
"You're wrong," he lied.
Dawn gave him a 'Yeah, riiight' look, "Sure, Spike..." she paused, "Don't worry, I don't mind... I think it's cute!"
"You would but Big Sis would stake me in a second if she knew I told you..."
"But the great thing is, you didn't tell me! I figured it out all on my own!" she said with a big smile, "Don't worry, I won't tell the Scoobies or the Fang Gang, 'cause God knows Angel would stake you in a minute if he knew..."
"Tried already, failed thankfully..." he muttered but Dawn heard.
"Angel knows and you're not dust in the wind? Wow!"
"Yeah, wow..." Spike said wearily as he sat in his armchair, "Now, Nibblet if you don't mind, I think you should go home. You've had enough excitement for one day..."
Glor: Ooh... The last scene in this got erased... I was SO mad... Then I fixed it and it's good again! The flashback scene's song was called 'When Somebody Loved Me' by Sarah McLachlan and it's from the movie 'Toy Story 2', ya know, when the cowgirl toy sings? It's SO sad... It's the perfect Tara/Willow angst song... By the way, if anyone has any free time and wants to write a fic, give me an e-mail 'cause I got so many ideas for challenges that I don't know what to do with! Please Review! Bye-e!
Disclaimer: If I owned AtS or BtVS you'd see many happy endings and a lil less angst... And the songs are owned by their respective singers and record labels.
Glor: (stretches) Homework is evil! And so is school... And all the subjects I might fail... Argh! I wanna go to Italy but if I fail I can't go this summer... There's my reason if this takes a while for this to be posted, I got failing grades to fix... Sorry 'bout the ranting... Here's the fic...
The two slim brunettes made their way downstairs into the kitchen after their long night of talking. They had gotten little sleep but weren't as sleepy as they should be.
"Are you hungry, 'cause all that talkin' made me real hungry?" Fred said as Dawn rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
"Can you make pancakes?" Dawn asked hopefully.
"I dunno, I can try," Fred smiled as she walked over to the cabinets then turned to Dawn, "So, where do you keep the pancake mix?"
Wesley rubbed his eyes as he awoke to the smell of pancakes and fresh coffee brewing. He pulled himself of the couch and glanced over to see Gunn still asleep on a cot that was brought up from the basement last night and Lorne sprawled over one of the armchairs.
Wes wandered into the kitchen to see Fred and Dawn giggling as Fred made pancakes and Dawn made coffee, "Hello, ladies" Wesley spoke up, surprising the girls.
"Wesley! Look! Fred taught me how to brew coffee and she's making pancakes!" Dawn exclaimed happily as she poured a cup of coffee for Wesley.
"Thank you," he smiled as he looked over to Fred who had some pancake mix on her face, "Trouble?"
"No, I think I'm pretty good at this..." Fred answered as she slid another pancake onto the plate, "But I dunno if they're edible... Dawnie, do you wanna try one and see if they are?"
"Sure, but don't worry, there's no way they can be any worse then Buffy's attempts at pancakes..." Dawn answered as she took a bite of a pancake, "Mmm! These are good!" she mumbled with a full mouth.
Fred and Wes both broke into laughter, "Dawn, you shouldn't talk with your mouth full!" Fred said as her laughter died down.
"What smells so good?" a voice asked from the doorway of the kitchen.
Fred turned to see Gunn, "Good morning, Charles. Pancakes and coffee so sit down and grab a plate,"
Gunn sat next to Wesley, "Are the others awake yet?" Wesley asked.
"Nah, and they say we sleep like rocks..." Gunn answered as Lorne walked in grabbing a cup of coffee.
"The only time you two don't sleep rocks is when you smell good food, so whatcha makin', Fredikins?" Lorne asked as he sat and took a sip of his coffee.
"Pancakes"
"And they're good, try some, Lorne," Dawn said as she gave Lorne a plate and went to get a plate for Wesley and Gunn.
Upstairs, Connor began to cry, which woke Cordelia and Angel from their slumber. Cordelia sat up first and gathered Connor into her arms. She made soothing sounds and rocked him to quiet him.
"Angel, get his bottle from the baby bag," Cordelia ordered him. Angel smiled at her authoritative tone and complied.
"I'll be right back with your bottle, little man," Angel told his son as he left the room.
Cordelia smiled as Angel jogged out of the room, "Your daddy loves you so much, Connor..."
"Seems so..." Buffy said from the door as Cordelia looked at her, "Can I hold him?"
"Sure, but be careful," she answered as she helped get Connor into Buffy's arms, "Make sure you hold his head. Yeah, just like that... I think he likes you, Buffy..."
Cordelia had spoke too soon because after she had said that Connor had broke into another fit of wailing and tears, "Uh..." Buffy stuttered as she gave the baby back to Cordelia, "Not that much, I think he likes you better..."
"Shhh... Your daddy's coming with your bottle..." Cordelia soothed as Connor quieted a bit.
"Wow, Cordy, you're good with him..." Buffy said in awe.
"Yeah, Lorne says it's because I'm the closest thing he has to a mother, since Darla's dust... But he's not mine and I can't just take over as his mother because she died... It wouldn't be right..." Cordelia said as she rocked the baby.
"Cordy, don't worry... It's not like he'll never know about his mother... It's just he needs a mother and you're it,"
"I guess..."
Angel came back into the room with a warm bottle in hand, "Hey, Buffy..."
"Hey..." Buffy said as Cordelia put Connor into his father's arms.
Buffy smiled as Angel fed Connor but she felt out of place, "I should go... See you guys downstairs..."
Buffy left the Joyce's old room leaving Cordelia alone with Angel and the baby. Soon, Connor had finished his bottle and fell into pleasant sleep.
"Who made pancakes?" Buffy asked as she tiredly wandered into the kitchen.
"Fred did and I saved some for you... Fred and the others went to the Magic Box, said they were gonna start some researching..." Dawn answered as she put the dirty dishes into the sink, "What time do you have to go to work?"
Buffy looked up from her pancakes, "Uh..." she looked at the clock which read 11:29am, "In about two hours... Why?"
Dawn shuffled her feet, "Well... I've got something to tell you... And promise not to yell?" Buffy nodded, "Last night Fred talked to me and she told me that I should tell you about what I'm doing..."
"Go on..." Buffy coaxed.
Dawn gulped, "I've been stealing stuff from the Magic Box..." she said hardly audible tone that Buffy heard just barely heard.
"What!?"
"You said you wouldn't yell!"
Buffy calmed herself, "Have you been stealing from anywhere else?" she asked calmly.
"No..."
"Good, then you can give back what you stole, whatever you don't have anymore you can work off, and you're going to have to face Anya's wrath but it's better then having to settle this with the police," she took in a breath, "I'm deciding to only let you have the punishment Anya will give considering you told me about this... And you're going to stop now, right?"
Dawn nodded, "Thanks, Buffy," Dawn enveloped her sister in a hug, "For the not punishing thing but not for the having to face Anya's wrath..."
A smile crossed Buffy's face for the first time in a while as she hugged her sister back.
Willow came into the house to see the two sisters hugging, "Is hugging only a Summers' thing or can I join the hug fest?" Willow asked shyly as she came into the kitchen.
Dawn broke the hug when Willow spoke and glared her at her. She silently went to her room, ignoring Willow.
"Guess she's still a little mad with me..." Willow's shoulders slumped as she sat down.
Buffy put her empty plate into the sink, "Give her a little more time, she'll forgive you soon enough..."
"Yeah..." Willow sighed.
"So..." Buffy said, "Where did you stay last night?"
"Well... When I came back her I saw there was no room so I went to Tara's... She let me sleep on her couch... We talked for a bit and she sang..."
(Flashback)
Knock knock knock.
"Coming!" Tara said as she rolled out of her bed and straightened her clothes a bit before opening the door, "W-willow..."
"Uh, Hi... Sorry to come by so late... Can I come in?" Willow asked nervously.
Tara nodded, "O-of course... Come in..." she stuttered as she moved out of the way and closed the door behind Willow, "So why are you here?"
"Well I... The Fang Gang is at Buffy's and I needed a place to crash and I didn't want to disturb Anya and Xander in case they wanted, um... You know... Time together... And I thought I could stay here... On the couch! Yeah, on the couch... And I'm babbling aren't I?" Willow asked, embarrassed.
A small smile came onto Tara's face, "Just a little..." she said with a small giggle.
Willow gained some more courage at seeing Tara's smile, "Maybe we can talk? Try to fix things between us... That is if you want to fix things between us, that is..."
"Yeah! I mean, yes, I wanna fix things between us, Willow,"
Willow let out the breath she was holding and fell onto the couch, "Good... 'Cause I was afraid you might not want to..."
"I want to..." Tara said as an uncomfortable silence came over them for a few minutes.
Willow was the one to break it, "Tara, baby, just tell me what you're feeling..."
When Willow finished her sentence, a sad melody began to play and Tara got up from the couch, turned away from Willow. Piano playing could be heard then Tara began to sing, "When somebody loved me Everything was beautiful Every hour we spent together Lives within my heart..." she placed a hand over her heart.
Willow watched sadly as Tara swayed and sang to the melancholy music, "And when she was sad I was there to dry her tears And when she was happy So was I When she loved me," she sang as she turned to Willow.
"Through the summer and the fall We had each other that was all Just she and I together Like it was meant to be..." Tara smiled and brought Willow into her arms on the couch, "And when she was lonely I was there to comfort her And I knew that she loved me..."
Tara pulled away to Willow's dismay, "So the years went by I stayed the same But she began to drift away" Tara made a motion like drifting, "I was left alone Still I waited for the day When she'd say: 'I will always love you'" Tara looked into Willow's eyes at that very moment, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Lonely and forgotten Never thought she'd look my way And she smiled at me And held me Just like she use to do Like she loved me When she loved me..." Tara wiped away stray tears from Willow's face as well as her own, "When somebody loved me Everything was beautiful Every hour we spent together Lives within my heart When she loved me..." she finished singing, tears running down her face, as the music faded out.
"Oh, baby... I love you... I still love you..." Willow said as she pulled Tara into her loving embrace to soothe away her tears.
"I love you..." Tara said through her tears.
"I know, baby, I know... I love you too..."
(End of Flashback)
"We're gonna start over... Tara's gonna help me with my magic abuse and show me how to use music the right way... It'll take a while but she thinks with her help and some help from the coven that I'll be okay with magic..."
"That's great, Wills!" Buffy said as she pulled her friend into a hug and saw the time, "Oh, I've gotta go, shift at the Doublemeat... See you later at the Magic Box for a REAL Scooby meeting?"
"Yeah..." Willow answered then looked up the stairs, "Is the baby still here? I didn't get a chance to hold it..."
Buffy headed up the stairs, "Mm-hm... They're in your room... Later, Wills," she went into her room to change into her Doublemeat uniform.
"Spike?" Dawn's voice echoed though the top level of Spike's crypt.
Dawn walked towards the opening to the lower level and peered in to see Spike come up with a bottle of whiskey. She jumped away in surprise, "Hey, Nibblet, whatcha doin' here?"
"Can't a friend just come over and visit another friend?"
"Most can, but not you right now, I can tell. Now what is it Nibblet?"
Dawn's face fell and she pouted as she crossed her arms, "Hmph... You know it's rude to say that when someone was just tryin' to visit you..." she said indignantly. Spike raised an eyebrow at her as he took a sip out of his bottle, "...oh, alright! Are you boinking Buffy?"
Spike almost spit out his whiskey and sputtered, "What the hell gave you that idea, Nibblet?" Spike said as he regained his composure.
"Well... I saw you guys kissing outside the Bronze after that thing with Sweet, then I saw you guys making out under the stairs at the Bronze and then I figured since Buffy has been doin' SO much 'patrolling' lately..." she trailed off as she made air quotes at the word patrolling.
"That's none of your business, 'Bit," Spike said as calmly as he could then he turned to walk away, "Go home,"
Dawn giggled, "So cool! You and Buffy ARE boinking!" she said with a smile as she paused for a moment of thought, "Oh! Oh my God!" she exclaimed as Spike turned around with a puzzled look, "That one night when she didn't come home! And she said she was fighting! I knew those looked more like hickeys then bruises!"
Spike winced, "Dawn..." he said in a warning tone.
"Hm?" she said as she was knocked out of her excited reverie.
"You're wrong," he lied.
Dawn gave him a 'Yeah, riiight' look, "Sure, Spike..." she paused, "Don't worry, I don't mind... I think it's cute!"
"You would but Big Sis would stake me in a second if she knew I told you..."
"But the great thing is, you didn't tell me! I figured it out all on my own!" she said with a big smile, "Don't worry, I won't tell the Scoobies or the Fang Gang, 'cause God knows Angel would stake you in a minute if he knew..."
"Tried already, failed thankfully..." he muttered but Dawn heard.
"Angel knows and you're not dust in the wind? Wow!"
"Yeah, wow..." Spike said wearily as he sat in his armchair, "Now, Nibblet if you don't mind, I think you should go home. You've had enough excitement for one day..."
Glor: Ooh... The last scene in this got erased... I was SO mad... Then I fixed it and it's good again! The flashback scene's song was called 'When Somebody Loved Me' by Sarah McLachlan and it's from the movie 'Toy Story 2', ya know, when the cowgirl toy sings? It's SO sad... It's the perfect Tara/Willow angst song... By the way, if anyone has any free time and wants to write a fic, give me an e-mail 'cause I got so many ideas for challenges that I don't know what to do with! Please Review! Bye-e!
