Chapter Eight: Surprise!
Buffy was tired after Oz had left and so she had walked upstairs, into her room. It had been a long evening and she had needed some rest. The one thing about being in a coma, it had drained the life from a person. Now Buffy had known how Faith had felt when she had woken up. Buffy stretched and yawned. The sun was just about to set outside her window. The window had been slightly cracked opened and the curtains swayed slightly with the breeze. The breeze was warm, just like everything else in California. Buffy looked at her bed and smiled. It was as if it were welcoming her into its "arms". Buffy walked to her dresser and pulled out a nightgown. It was a white, silk one that had fit her perfectly. She had recognized it almost immediately. This was one of her nightgowns that she had bought in L.A before she had moved to Sunnydale. Buffy was surprised that the nightgown had still fit her. After she was satisfied how the nightgown fit her body, she closed her drawer and her bedroom door.
Buffy walked on her bare feet to her bed and moved the covers over to the side. She crawled into bed and snuggled with her comforter. Buffy was happy that she was home and not in some motel. She was glad that her family was together (except for the fact that Faith was her sister, she had still missed Dawnie terribly) and she was glad that she was in her bed. Buffy closed her eyes and began to mourn the loss of her friends and her family. Tears welled up in her eyes and she sniffled. Her nose had tingled, the kind of tingle sensation that one had gotten when someone had gotten those hiccup tears. Buffy wasn't going to get to that point, but her heart had ached and her chest had burned just ever so slightly. Buffy turned her head on her pillow and fell asleep. However, she was not having the dream of her friends and family. She had a dream about the park.
She had sat on a swing and she had worn a green, summer dress. Buffy looked up at the sky. It was a clear, summer blue sky and it was the kind of skies that she had loved. The wind smelled of lilacs and roses, which were all around her. Buffy breathed in the wonderful smell of summer and her skin crawled with goosebumps. Someone that she had known was near. Buffy turned her head and saw a tall, handsome man. A huge smile grew on her face. It was Angel! Buffy's heart beat sped up quickly. Butterflies flew in her stomach and she felt as though she were on a ride at Disneyland. Buffy stood up quickly and straightened her dress her out with her hands.
"Angel." Buffy said with wonder in her voice.
Angel had walked closer to her and smiled. "Hello Buffy." He said.
Buffy walked quickly around the swing that she had sat in and hugged him tightly. Angel chuckled the way he had when Buffy had known him. She had loved his voice, the way he had moved, and the way he had laughed. She hadn't cared that he had been a vampire. Okay that was a lie. At first she had cared when he had kissed and she had cared when he had lost his soul, but underneath all of that he was the love of her life. No matter how much of a monster he had been in the past or when he had lost his soul. Buffy had still loved him. He was her safe place, the place her heart could go to. Buffy had thought about this day and…Wait! The day! Angel was standing in sunlight! Buffy had started to panic. Her eyes widened and she pushed Angel into the nearest shadow that she was able to find.
"Angel! The sunlight! You can't be here, you shouldn't be here!" Buffy yelled.
"Buffy," Angel said and stood up. Buffy had watched brush himself out. "I'm fine. That was only a dream. There is no such thing as vampires."
Buffy cocked her head to the left and stared at him in confusion. "But Angel, you are a vampire."
Angel shook his head. "No Buffy, I'm not." He said. "That was only in your dreams. This is reality and you need to learn accept that."
Buffy sighed and frowned. "Angel, I'm not sure if I can do this. Faith is my sister for crying out loud!"
Angel had wrapped his arms around Buffy. "You can do this Buffy," he said. "You are one of the strongest people that I know. Even if your dreams weren't real, that doesn't mean that you went through a lot and you did. You broke through every single obstacle your subconscious gave you. The coma patients that I knew never got through their dreams…But you had and you can do this. You need to do this."
Buffy thought about his words for a moment. Then she had decided that he was right. She had survived through a lot. She had briefly remembered all the times where she could have died over the last seven years, only she hadn't. Buffy looked up at Angel as she had realized all of this. Buffy had also realized that she was scared. This was a big step into life and Buffy had realized she had needed to make new friends and a new family.
"I'm scared." Buffy told him honestly and Angel smiled at her.
He leaned down and kissed the top of her forehead. "You can do this Buffy. You're one of the strongest people that I know."
Buffy smiled. "Will I see ever you again?"
Angel chuckled and smiled. "Look into your heart. I will be there."
The summer sky world had started to fade away. Buffy woke up and stared at her digital clock. She sighed again heavily. It was going to be a long walk to the future prize, and that was her life.