Part 2
2002-2008
In the image of Buffy Anne Summers
Sunnydale
November, 2004
"And you do this," he gestured through the graveyard, "every day?"
"Yeah. It's not that hard, if you consider that I have super powers," Buffy said as she strolled through the graveyard along him.
"Always wondered why you could open pickle jars without help," he smiled as they stopped near a willow.
"You know me, I'm gifted!" Buffy smiled back.
"In more ways than one!" He pulled her in for a kiss, and his eyes opened to stare back at the gravestone behind her. He pulled away a little confused. "Does that grave say Buffy Anne Summers?"
She hadn't realized she had taken him to that graveyard. She felt stupid for not taking down the gravestone, now that she was no longer dead.
"No, it's ah...misspelled. What it's actually supposed to say is Muffy Anne Summer," she tried, though it was a lousy excuse. "I know, my friends freaked when they saw it too."
"Muffy Summer?" he asked, not buying the story.
"Hippy parents," she suggested. "Let's get out of here, nothing's biting today." She pulled him away before he could ask any further questions. She thought he wasn't ready for the whole 'I died twice' story.
"Here, I got you something, it's pretty stupid," he said, handing her a bag from his jacket as they walked towards her house.
"A present, for me?" she smiled at him. "Thanks!" She gave him a light kiss.
"Don't say that before you actually know what it is. You might be disappointed," he warned her, while she opened the paper bag. It was a teddy bear. She looked at it, smiling. She hadn't gotten a stuffed animal in ages. "It's just…I had to take my little step brother to the amusement park and I fooled around at one of those shooting ranges, you know? And I won it and I thought of you. By the size you realize what a lousy shooter I am," he smiled while the slayer still stared at the bear mesmerized. "You hate it. I told you it's stupid."
"No, it's sweet. I didn't know you could be sweet," she said, smiling at him. "Really, I love it."
"Hey, I'm a sweet guy," he stated proudly, before stopping to kiss her again.
They reached her house, where the lights were out.
"Dawn?" she yelled when they entered the house. No answer. She went upstairs to find her sister's bed unslept in. "She is so dead" she said as she came downstairs.
"Probably with her boyfriend," he suggested.
"Yeah, doing who knows what," Buffy said, and laughed when she realized she was talking like a mother.
"They grow up so fast," he said in that melancholic voice parents used when they referred to their 'little' 20 year old daughter or son.
"Why should she have all the fun?" she asked, a wicked little smile crossing her lips.
"And what are you suggesting, Ms. Summers?" he asked, playing her game.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe we could..." she whispered something in his ear, her gaze meeting his lusty one.
"You really wanna?" he asked again, and she rolled her eyes, giving him a hungry kiss, then stepping back away from him.
"C'mon, Georgie boy, are you afraid I might bite you?" she asked tentatively. He followed her into her bedroom as though hypnotized.
New Year's Eve 2004-2005
"Isn't it beautiful up here?" George asked as he looked over the city of Sunnydale, holding the champagne glass in his hand.
"Yes, it is." She came to his side, sitting down. "George, I have to tell you something very important."
"If it's about what happened with your table, I told you I'm paying," he said, amused by the remembrance of their sexual escapade.
"No, it's about something else. I'm..." Buffy started, but before she could continue, George's head flew off his shoulders, a shiny blade cutting through his neck, snapping it off like a twig. His still smiling face rolled down the hill towards Sunnydale. Buffy stood there in shock for a moment before reacting to the presence of the two demons standing behind her.
Later, two demon heads rolled down the hill in the silence of the night.
They stared at the marble grave, helpless. It was only days after the killing. They were instructed to bury the body as fast as they could before it started decaying.
"You know, like one moment he was there, and the next, no more head" Buffy said sadly.
Xander put a comforting arm around her. "C'mon, it's gonna' be okay," he told her, trying to make her feel better.
"No, it's not!" Buffy said between sobs.
"I didn't know you loved him that much," Anya said. They had been together for only five months before the 'incident'.
"It's not about that," Buffy said, not stopping her sobbing. They all stared at her, awaiting a reason. "I don't even think I loved him."
"Buffy, what are you talking about?" Willow asked, looking at her and then at the grave again.
"I'm..." her voice was shaky from crying. "I'm..."
"You're..." Xander coaxed, trying to make her continue the sentence.
"You're hungry?" Anya suggested. "Cause I really am."
"That too," Buffy said between sobs. "But... I'm pregnant" she finally let out.
"You're going to have tiny babies too?" Anya asked, happy that she wasn't the only one pregnant. "I'm not going to be the only fat one!" By now she was already almost 8 months pregnant. After a long period of separation and grief Xander and Anya rethought their feelings and realized they couldn't live without each other, so they restarted their relationship, taking it back to the basics. When Xander proposed a second time Anya was more then skeptical about it, but Xander swore on his life that he wouldn't abandon her again and to prove it he married her that very day with only the scoobies as their witnesses.
"Not for long, honey," Xander reminded her, turning back towards Buffy. "Did he know?"
Buffy shook her head. "I was about to tell him when..." Buffy gestured towards the grave.
"What do you want to do about it?" Willow asked gently.
"I think I'm going to keep it. I mean think about it; it's the last piece of him, and he's not coming back, ever. He died because of me, it would be the only thing I could do for him, a last gift," Buffy said looking down at the grave.
"That's not a good reason to keep a baby," Xander told her. "You'd actually regret it at some point."
"No I wouldn't. I think I need a change and this baby would be the best thing that could ever happen to me. I already love it. I would've kept it anyway, if he'd wanted me to or not. I need someone who loves me, who won't leave me, a part of me," Buffy said unconsciously touching her still flat stomach.
"Does Dawnie know?" Anya asked all of a sudden. Buffy's little sister wouldn't take this easily.
"No, but I'll tell her. When I have the courage," the slayer added.
"What about the slaying? And the demons?" Willow asked. "I doubt they'll give you maternity leave."
"Yeah, I was thinking about that too," Buffy said, turning away from the grave.
Xander thought things over for a moment, before saying it out loud. "My grandparents have this small house in the middle of nowhere. It has a phone and everything. Luckily for you they moved out two years ago. They're living somewhere in Long Island these days. Don't ask," he said when he caught their gazes. "It's too dull for demons out there, believe me, I spent 3 years of my childhood there, and it's not pretty."
"Are you sure I can..." Buffy asked wiping away her tears.
"Totally, not like my parents would ever go there, it's a place they preferred to dump the unwanted, while they argue," Xander said, a little bitterly.
"And we could hunt for demons, we've done it before, and now we're better. He's stronger and I'm white magic-y without the overall angst!" Willow smiled at her best friend.
"Yeah, I think I can kill anything with this thing," Anya pointed towards her belly.
"You guys are the best!" Buffy hugged them. They walked away, leaving behind the lonely marble grave and the murmuring spirits of the dead.
3 months later
The cool spring breeze blew silently through the forest, moving leaves gently on the branches. The small house was as silent as always. She was standing on the porch thinking things over, the events of the last few months seeming surreal. Leaving Sunnydale, for the first time, after so long... She looked at the horizon, towards the place where the sky met the earth and where, somewhere far away, Sunnydale, as haunted as always, stood, awaiting nightfall. She suddenly remembered the letter the postman had came a long way to bring. She took it out of her pocket and opened it, recognizing Xander's handwriting.
"Okay, so hopefully the phone lines are down because of the storm, not of supernatural disturbance. But let's think happy thoughts. Hope you like the house and everything's okay (otherwise you would've called, right?). Well, congratulate me, I'm a father, can you believe it? It's like a dream, but then I look at that small little boy and think he's a part me and... I can't describe it. So, Anya was a little pissed because of all the pain I neglected to warn her about, but when she saw our son… she is so sweet. She really loves him. I think I'm the luckiest person alive!
We're not really sure about the name yet, but I think it'll be Maxwell Rupert Harris. Sounds pretty good, no? God! I still can't believe it!
Now to Dawnie, she got a really big score on her SATs, she's a smart girl, I always said it. Oh, and she got admitted at UCLA, she really wants to go there, and I think you should let her, even if it means she has to leave us. I know you'll miss her, we'll miss her.
Will got that big promotion she wanted, we celebrated last night. Hope everything's okay with the baby. Wish you were here.
Love,
Xander"
She put down the letter, feeling lonely, wishing she could be a part of them again. She would soon be, along with her child.
5 months later
Sunnydale Hospital
She held the small baby in her arms while she breast fed her. She was so sweet and fragile, with her big green eyes, her own, and blond hair, naturally blond hair, compliments of her father's genes.
She was adorable and she was Buffy's. And she was so vulnerable and helpless, it broke her heart. She smiled as the tiny baby girl fell asleep at her chest, still holding the nipple in her mouth. She pulled her breast from her daughter's mouth, not bothering to call the nurse; she couldn't bare to have her baby taken away from her again.
She stood there holding her and just watching her. She was the most amazing thing that could've ever happened to her. Willow, Xander and Anya had been at the hospital all night through her labor, and had rejoiced with her at the wonder of the birth of her daughter. Dawn was the only one who couldn't make it, being in school. She'd called, though, and should show up any time in the doorstep. She sighed as she looked up the window and then looked down at her baby again.
She suddenly realized how unsafe her baby was, how hunted she would be. It crushed her heart even now to know that she would put this tiny life in so much peril.
But what if she wasn't a slayer? Why couldn't she live a normal life? With her baby safe and out of danger? Why couldn't she?
"Miss Summers? Miss Summers?" the friendly voice of the nurse called her out of her reverie. Buffy turned her head towards her absently. "May I have the baby now?"
"No," she simply said, already knowing what she was supposed to do, for the sake of her baby.
"I see." The nurse was about to push the alarm button, but found that her hand was caught by Buffy's. "Let go of my hand please."
"Okay." Buffy gave her a smile, before knocking her unconscious against the wall. "Well, so much for that. Now mommy's gonna' get you out of here!" The baby had been woken by the fast moves Buffy had made to disable the nurse. She looked sleepily at her mother before falling asleep again. Buffy put her down on the pillow for a moment so she could get dressed.
She closed the door to her room and kept her eye on her little baby while she got dressed. "Compliments of being a slayer, honey, you heal real fast," she told her baby. "Well I don't expect you to understand, you're only a day old," she added smiling. When she was dressed, she took the baby in her arms and with one hand she pulled the unconscious body of the nurse onto the bed, facing the window. She pulled the sheets over her. "See, now she looks exactly like mommy, except unconscious," she showed the baby, smiling.
She opened the door and sneaked out quietly. On her way out of the hospital, she grabbed a mommy bag from one of the patients who was about to leave.
"This is our lucky day," she said, smiling when she saw her car parked outside the hospital; Dawn must've arrived. Buffy checked through her pockets and found her car keys, blessing Anya for bringing Max with them while they shopped, the day she went into labor, putting the baby seat in her car.
"This is perfect," she said out loud, smiling as she put her little baby in the baby seat. The tiny girl curled up in the seat, sleeping. Buffy smiled at her while she started the engine. First of all she had to get home and pick up a few things, then she was going to leave Sunnydale. Forever.
"Who's the lucky mommy?" Dawn asked, smiling as she entered her sister's room holding the big teddy bear in front of her and the balloons in the other hand. "Buffy?" she called out to her when she saw the figure sleeping between the sheets. "Buffy?" she came closer to the bed, shaking the body. The figure groaned before turning onto the other side. "I think I'm in the wrong room," Dawn apologized before exiting.
"Buffy Summers?" she asked at the front desk.
"Ah. 159" the nurse told her.
"No, it can't be, I was just there, and my sister wasn't in that room," Dawn told the nurse.
"You sure she's at this hospital?" the nurse asked, and Dawn let out an exasperated sound before going outside to find that her car was gone. She suddenly realized what happened. She went back to the room and pulled the sheet off the unconscious person in the bed. She wore a nurses uniform and a name tag.
"Shit, Buffy, what are you up to?" she whispered to herself. She exited the hospital, dragging the big stuffed bear behind her. She grabbed a cab home, expecting to see the big jeep in front of the house, but she found nothing.
"Buffy?" she yelled hesitantly into the house, suspecting she wasn't there anymore. "Buffy?" she yelled again. She climbed upstairs; the door to her room was closed. She opened it and was shocked to see the room empty, except for the furniture that was left hollow. The room looked like it hadn't been lived in for years, or ever. She stepped in, an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She opened the door to her locker. The clothes were gone. So were the shoes and boxes, only the big weapons chest was still there. She knelt down and opened it. All her weapons were still there. She looked around, desperate to find some note that explained everything. She didn't find anything.
7 months later
Sunnydale
Xander put the last of the bags in the trunk. He looked at their old apartment one last time.
"You sure this is what you want to do?" he asked Anya when she came out of the apartment, holding a box in her arms.
"Yeah, I think it would be good. Like a new start, and good for your business too," Anya said, smiling. She was pregnant again, she had found out only a few days ago. At the same time, Xander got a proposal from a company for a big construction plan in Chicago. But it implied moving there and without second thought, Anya had agreed to leave Sunnydale and the hellmouth far behind, as had Buffy, who they hadn't heard from in 7 months. As had Dawnie, who was now a student at UCLA, and Willow, who was now working her way up a big computer corporation in New York and how had, a long time ago, Giles, Oz, Cordy and in the very beginning, Angel.
"Oh, you're moving?" the postman asked, surprised. "You should tell people!" he said handing Xander a letter, while Anya put the box in the back seat.
"Thanks," Xander said, wondering who would write them; they usually kept contact by phone.
Anya looked at the envelope in her husband's hands. It was addressed to Xander, and it came from San Francisco. It had an address, but no name; he didn't remember knowing anyone there, but the handwriting he would recognize anywhere. Buffy. He opened the letter.
"Dear Xander,
Sorry I didn't have the guts to write this when I should've, when I left. I'm writing, because, all I have to say, I want to say it without anyone interrupting me or hanging the phone up in my ear. In the first place I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for leaving you in the dark like that... It was a choice I made in a second. I was lying in the hospital bed, when I realized how much danger my life brings to my baby, and the idea of hurting her, it just killed me and it still would right now... It was a stone on my heart, one I had to lift. You have to understand me, I wrote you because I thought you'd understand me more than anyone and I still think so. I'm living in a small house in San Francisco, I'm nowhere in suburbia, don't worry. It's nice, it's mine. I work as a secretary for this big shot corporate type guy. Pay's good, it's hard to get a decent job without a college degree. For a moment there I thought I had to go through something like the Doublemeat Palace again. I hear they're still in business. My slayer skills helped me a lot on the secretary thing, I'm a typing tornado. What happened to the Magic Box anyway, are you keeping it open? And Dawnie, is she okay? She's in college by now, UCLA, right? And how are you? Please, answer me. I'll wait for your letter every day. Tell me what I missed.
How's Max? Fatima's almost a year old. That's her name. Fatima Joyce Summers. And Will, how is she? God... if you haven't heard, there's a new slayer. I've never met her she's from somewhere in Europe. Poor thing, I pity her. I'm so sorry, for everything.
Love,
Buffy"
Xander looked at the letter again, before folding it and putting it back in the envelope, only then noticing the picture that was in the envelope with the letter. He pulled it out. It was a picture of Buffy holding a small golden girl in her arms, a sweet little thing, and smiling, happier than he had ever seen her.
"What's wrong?" Anya asked when she saw him looking intently at the picture. He just showed her the image he was holding. "Buffy?"
"Yeah." He put the picture back in the envelope before going towards the car.
Around 2 months later
She looked at the envelope again, not knowing what it contained. She just wished that her friends weren't mad at her. What she had done she had to, for her baby and herself. She hesitated before taking it in her hands. It had arrived in the morning. She opened it, to find Xander's writing.
"Dear Buffy,
It took me a while to actually decide to write to you. (You should've left a phone number, but I guess it's better this way, for now). Your letter, well, it sort of shocked me; we never expected to hear from you again after your getaway from the hospital.
And I won't hesitate to tell you, you hurt us, a lot, especially Dawn. She never even saw your daughter, Buffy. She's very upset with you, but she tries to hide it... You ran away from us again. I can't say I don't understand you, I do; I wanted to run when Max was born, but I held it in, I didn't scare Anya or you. I knew you were going to be there for us, and we would've been there for you, if you would've just let us.
I didn't realize this until you were gone, but you were the only one still keeping us together.
In other times, when you left, we stuck together, even closer than before... But those times disappeared. Now everyone went their own way. We have to move on and even if you hurt us when you left and we missed and we still miss you a lot, it was a push forward, one we delayed too long. Now, not all the roads lead to Sunnydale anymore.
Willow left first, around six months ago. She's in New York and she's doing great, she's rising up in the world, real fast. She was always a whiz. More than anything, now, I'm happy she got over her dark times and magic. She was up here in Chicago, to visit us, just last week. She's dating this model in her early twenties. She's cute
and funny. You'd like her.
Then Dawn left for LA and UCLA, she's really happy there. She lives on campus and has 2 roommates, and I think she's even dating someone. She finished her first year with big grades; she's smart, she always was. She's spending her summer down in Florida with one of her roommates, and later on she's heading for New Orleans with a big bunch of her friends. I visit her sometimes, though I don't get to go to LA too often. Will, on the other hand, she travels a lot, but she doesn't always have time; she's real busy.
We moved last, the day I got your letter, around two months ago. I got this contract in Chicago from a big company. You know the one I had to build an office building in Sunnydale for? Seems they really liked the way I work so they offered me this contract, but it was in Chicago, so we had to move. Anya's three months pregnant. I wonder what it's going to be... but I won't spoil my surprise, whatever it's going to be we're going to love it. Max can walk and talk now. He's so cute. You should come down to see us sometimes.
Fatima... that's a beautiful name. I'm glad you found a purpose for your slayer powers, one that's useful in your new life. About the Magic Box, we sold it. I know Giles would've wanted us to split the money, so your part is still waiting in a bank account. As for Dawnie, the money you saved was enough to pay for college.
We met the new slayer, a darling girl, Mireille. She's from France, Dijon I think, she was here to kill a big demon. Cute, smart; you'd like her, she's the perfect French version of you. Already giving her watcher a hard time, has friends, maybe she'll make it. I hope she will.
We still love you, and I'd like it if we'd talk. Our phone number is 555-2894. Call me, Buff.
Like always, love,
Xander"
Buffy put down the letter. Things had changed, and the Sunnydale vampire killing clique didn't exist anymore. She pulled from the envelope a picture and a small article. The article had the title 'Young executive director takes Manhattan for a spin,' and a smaller title under it 'A fresh new start for Computer Corporations NY.' Even lower, a small picture of Willow. She smiled and looked at the picture. Xander was standing on a big swing, holding a small boy in his arms, Max, and by his side, resting her head on his shoulder, Anya, a few months pregnant. Buffy sighed, and leaned down on the couch. Her biggest worry now was Dawn.
Fall 2006
She walked nervously in the park, waiting for her sister to arrive. Over the past few months she had tried to retie the old legacies, and she had mostly done it. With Xander and Anya it wasn't a problem, they were happy she was back in their lives sometimes, visiting. Max and Fatima liked each other, even if Max was older than her by almost a year.
With Willow it was harder. Even if she didn't seem to be bothered that she was back, Buffy could feel her resentment sometimes, and she felt sorry she had ever left. She didn't manage to run across Dawn, who was gone all summer, and Xander thought it was better to tell her in person that she was back.
She sighed and sat down on a bench, hoping her sister would be able to forgive her. Only then she noticed the tall girl walking calmly towards her. She seemed so different from the last time Buffy had seen her, even if nothing had actually changed in her appearance. Dawn sat down next to her sister.
"Hi," Buffy said, looking up from the ground.
"Hi," Dawn said. She had never expected to see her sister again. She'd thought Buffy had left for good, even if she wasn't dead this time. There was a long moment of silence.
"So...uh, you like college?" Buffy asked.
"Yeah, it's fun, it's safe. Actually the safest I've ever felt in my life. And that means a lot, cause they're into some wild stuff around here," Dawn said, turning her head towards her.
"Wild stuff?" Buffy arched an eyebrow.
"Oh, yeah, I'm in this sorority, the Alpha Omega and my boyfriend is in this other fraternity, the Delta Pi and we're going from one party to another, every night. It's crazy and some of these people are insane, in a good way," Dawn said, she liked her student life. "And they drink, and they get high some times and they're like..."
"But you don't..." Buffy stopped her.
"No! Well, I drink sometimes, but not in a getting wasted kind of way. Though there was this one time I entered in a beer drinking contest. Last time I tried that, I didn't know where I was walking and I wound up throwing up on Mrs. Reganald's rose bushes. She's one of my professors. The bitchest professor."
"Okay..." Buffy said, a little shocked.
"But that's so over with," Dawn said, and after a moment of thinking about it she added, looking up again: "Yeah, college's good. The professors are pretty good too, some of them are actually cool, if you wanna believe that."
"And you have a boyfriend?" Buffy asked, wanting to know every little detail about her sister's life while she'd been away; she wanted to be close to her again.
"Oh, yeah, Mike, we've been hanging on for almost a year, I can't believe it's been so long," Dawn said and sighed, looking up at the sky. "And how is she? Fatima, was it?"
"She's good, almost a year old," Buffy said. "I wanted to bring her, but she's under a year old, not safe on a plane. I'm living in..."
"San Francisco. Xander told me" Dawn interrupted her.
"You talked to him?" Xander had told her he never found her.
"Yeah, don't be mad at him. I asked him to...tell you he couldn't find me. I just needed a little time, you know? It's hard to think of you as being here again. Will's been paying my bills for a while, she's my cousin, if anyone asks" Dawn said, looking up. "It's been hard, Buffy, I wanted you around, for everything. I wanted to ask my friends over for Thanksgiving, but I realized there was no home to go back to, I don't have a family anymore, all I am is this, the UCLA college girl, and you wouldn't believe how good it feels to belong somewhere again. For me, it's bliss. And I don't know where I'll belong after I finish here, but I'll find a place, somewhere."
Buffy looked down, trying not to show her pain.
"But...it would feel good, to have a home to go back to, if something would go wrong. Yeah, I'd like that."
"Dawnie, I'm so sorry!" Buffy said, trying to hold back her sobs.
"Oh, god, Buffy," Dawn hugged her sister, tears falling down her face.
"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry," Buffy repeated, hugging her closer.
"I missed you" Dawn whispered, while her eyes closed. They were a family again.
End Part 2