Chapter 8
Buffy looked at her ringing phone for the 20th time that day.
"B, ya can't keep ignoring him," Faith said from the driver's seat. Usually Faith would have been the first one to tell B to kick him to the curb, but now wasn't a time to alienate potential allies.
"I think he said all he needed to say," Buffy said stubbornly.
Faith shook her head and pulled into a gas station, "I need to hit the ladies." Buffy nodded in acknowledgement, still staring at her phone.
Out of eyesight, Faith pulled out her phone and wrote a text message, 'heading to HQ.'
Faith, you leather wearing angel.
"Alright, we're heading to Cleveland," Dean said with a smile, putting his phone away.
"Buffy pick up?" Sam asked surprised.
Dean chuckled, "No, but I don't expect her to. Faith gave us a heads up."
"So you're going to go to a school for Slayers, after breaking the heart of the toughest, strongest Slayer there is? I don't see that ending well," Sam said with a smirk.
"Yeah, well she wouldn't be my girl if she lets me off easy," Dean laughed, getting back into the Impala.
Sam stayed quiet for a while before finally asking, "Dean, what happened? One moment you never want to see Buffy again, and the next she's back to being 'your girl'".
Dean thought for a moment before replying, "I saw the future. Zachariah showed me what happens to the world if we don't say 'yes'. It ain't pretty."
"What's that got to do with Buffy?"
"Zach took me back to convince me to say yes. It didn't work. But it did show me that we need to stick together. All of us. You, me, Buffy, Faith, the whole shebang," Dean paused, thinking, "we're stronger together."
The Winchesters arrived at 'Athena School for Girls' half a day after the Slayers. They walked through the huge wooden doors to find an empty reception desk. They walked through the school to find it close to empty.
"Where is everyone?" Dean asked, quietly.
"Doing their jobs," a voice replied behind them. The boys whipped around to find Faith standing behind them, leaning against the wall, with her arms crossed. "See with you two bringing Lucifer and angels into the mix, our girls are working double time."
Sam looked down, ashamed.
Faith uncrossed her arms, walking over to the boy and slapping Sam on the back, causing him to wince, "don't worry about it, stretch. Who hasn't brought on an Apocalypse or two? I figured we're owed one after how many we stop."
Dean chuckled, "atleast we got you on our side."
"Yeah, and you might need it. B ain't gunna be happy to see you."
"I figured. Where is she?"
"War Room. C'mon."
The three warriors walked the rest of the way together, with the boys flanking Faith. She pushed open the dark wood doors to reveal the Scoobies in full research mode.
Andrew was at the computers with Kennedy, trying to find any signs of demons or Dawn. Any sign of electric storms or cattle mutilation. Anything.
Willow and Giles were at the War table, pouring over old books. Finding anything that could help track Dawn, or Lucifer.
Xander was pacing the room, on the phone. He had been calling every contact he knew, every Slayer on the road. Putting out the word and gaining any information he could.
And sitting on a chair, leaning her elbows on the giant table was Buffy. Her face was buried within her hands. Her hair hung down the sides of her face, concealing any emotion that would be shown on her face. Sitting beside her was Spike, leaning forward and talking quietly to her. His arm wrapped around her waist, trying to comfort her.
Dean could practically feel his blood boil in rage. Before realising he had taken a step forward, Faith had put her arm in front of him and stopped any movement, "nows not the time, Deano."
Spike's attention went to the new arrivals before anyone else. He unwrapped himself from Buffy and softly shook her, "pet, I believe you have a gentleman caller."
Buffy looked up from her hands, looking at Spike in confusion, before turning towards the door. Quick as lightening, she was out of her seat, standing with her fists clenched to her side. Before she had a chance to cross over to the door, Spike had hold of her elbow, pulling her back. "Easy, love. He might not be the knight in shining armour anymore, but think of Niblet. Let's not burn our bridges."
Buffy nodded in consideration, before walking calmly over to the newcomers. Once she was close enough, she stood there, waiting for an explanation.
Dean relaxed, feeling relieved that Buffy wasn't looking for a fight, "Buff-"
Buffy's fist connected with Dean's face, sending him to the ground.
"Alright, I deserved that," he grumbled, getting up off the ground.
"Ya think?" Buffy gritted out, "What do you want?" She spat out each word with impatience.
Sam stepped up to explain, "Dean was abducted, I guess, by an angel. He showed Dean the future."
Within seconds the Scoobies were rapidly shooting questions.
"Adbucted? I thought the angels were the good guys?" Zander asked.
"Dean, you've seen the future? That could cause things to become quite complicated." Giles stated.
"Shown the future, how? With a dream? A vision?" Willow eagerly asked.
Louder and more intently than any other question Buffy asks, "Did we find Dawn? Is she okay? Where is she?"
Dean's pained expression gave Buffy all the answer she needed.
For the next ten minutes Dean spent his time explaining what he saw, and how it happened.
"Great, so Dawn becomes Lucifers meat puppet and that's it? Why are you here, Dean?" Buffy spits, "this information is good and everything, but you could have put it in a letter, or got Sammy to give us a call. You made it clear you wanted nothing to do with m- with us, so I ask again, why are you here?"
Dean grabbed Buffy by the elbow and dragged her away from the group so he could talk to her privately.
"I'm sorry Buff, I was wrong. Everything I said. I thought being with you would make the job harder."
"The job? This job is my sister, Dean."
"You're right, I was an idiot. Am an idiot," Dean grabbed Buffy's shoulders and looked her deep in the eyes, "Please Buffy, were stronger together. What Zach showed me proved that. Apart we have no hope of saving Dawn, but together, all of us, we can do this."
Buffy stared into Dean's eyes, considering. Dean felt hope blossom in his chest. "Buffy, please, I was wrong about everything. About us. Being together makes sense. Together we can save Dawn."
Abruptly, Buffy shook off his hands, "Fine. We work together," she replied with anger in her eyes, "but you broke my heart. Once this is over, were over. For good."
Before Dean had a chance to respond Buffy walked away from him, taking a seat next to Spike.
Not long after Dean and Buffy's confrontation everyone had gathered around the large table in the middle of the room.
Buffy had done her best to avoid any looks Dean had thrown her way. She couldn't bear to look at him.
She had mourned Dean for months, years, even. She had ached every day after he died, even when she tried her hardest to move on. She couldn't understand why he had done this to her. When Spike kept his resurrection a secret, Buffy understood. She had spent years treating him like crap. But with Dean? She loved Dean, and thought he knew that and loved her too.
Focus, Buffy.
Buffy was pacing along one side, "Okay, so we know that Lucifer will eventually be in Detroit. We don't know if he's there now, and we don't know where the Colt is, or even if it will actually kill him."
"So basically, we don't know squat." Faith replied, putting her feet on the table.
"We do know that Lucifer is weak. He needs a vessel. And he needs that vessel to say yes," Buffy said, almost to herself. "If we find Dawn before they complete their ritual, we can halt his plans."
"Yes, well, finding Dawn seems easier said than done," Giles added.
"We should go to Detroit," Buffy said, stopping her pacing.
"Buffy, don't be reckless," Giles sighed, "even if Dawn was there, Lucifer could be as well. Even without his true vessel, his power would be beyond anything we have faced before."
"Giles is right," Willow agreed, "Before we make any moves, we need to be sure we know where Dawn is. If we try and fail, they'll make sure we'll never find her again."
Xander nodded before speaking, "right, but we also need to find a way to pin point Lucifer's location. We don't want him popping up at the wrong time."
"Okay," Buffy said in thought, processing all the information. "We need information. So we need a lackey. If we get hold of one of Lucifers minions, we can get the sitch on his lo-cal."
"Right," Giles agreed, "Xander, can you make a few calls and get some of the girls on it?"
"Can the Flash move at the speed of light?" Xander quipped, getting confused looks from everyone except Andrew, who nodded knowingly. Xander sighed before moving away.
Buffy was still pacing and thinking, "Willow, Dawn is the key. Mystical energy. There has to be a way to track that with magic, some residue of power, or something?" she asked, reaching out in hope.
Willow considered, "I haven't heard of anything, but there has to be something. If Glory was able to track Dawn to Sunnydale, there has to be something," Willow finished the end of her sentence in a mumble as her and Kennedy went to look into some ancient books that she pulled from the back wall.
Buffy stopped her pacing and faced the Winchesters. "The Colt. Maybe the demons can tell us something, but if not, you may want to ask your feathery friend to start searching."
"Yeah, no worries, Buff," Sam replied quickly.
"Right," Buffy said, "I want everyone else searching for any hints of Lucifer or Dawn surfacing. We'll meet back here early tomorrow morning. Come find me if you find something." With that she walked out of the room, closing the door with the slam.
Dean had left the War Room an hour after Buffy, deciding to take some tension out in the gym.
Seeing Buffy pulled on something inside him that he had never felt before. A mix of joy, terror and adoration filled inside of him at the sight of her. He wanted to keep her close to him, and never let her go, but at the same time, the urge to push her away to keep her safe overwhelmed him.
He knew he did the right thing staying away from her. She was out of the game, and safe. If Dawn had never been taken, Buffy would have stayed out. When he saw her in that motel room, he wanted nothing more to wrap his arms around her and never let go. But he knew that was the most selfish thing he could do. They'd find Dawn, and she would go back to whatever life she had made without him. He thought that was for the best.
But then Zach changed everything.
He had never been so wrong in his life. Staying away from Buffy wasn't going to keep her safe. They needed to be together to bring down the bad guys. He knew that now.
Dean scoffed to himself, bit late.
Buffy had made herself clear, they were done. Dean punched the boxing bag with vigour when remembering the scene he walked into when first arriving. Spike's arm around Buffy.
He had left Buffy alone for two years, was that bleached freak the one that kept her warm at night? Dean scowled to himself and kept punishing the boxing bag in front of him. That wasn't the normal life he envisioned for her. He wanted her to settle down with the white picket fence and 2.5 kids, not shack up with Spike.
Dean started attacking the bad with added vigour, just as Sam walked in, "woah dude, what did the bag do to you?"
Dean chuckled, "wrong time, wrong place, I suppose."
"Yeah," Sam chuckled in return, "Wanna come grab some food?"
"As long as it's in liquid form."
Sam laughed as he followed his brother out of the gym.
They left the school and drove to the nearest bar. They sat in a quiet corner and order a round of drinks and some dinner.
"Ya know, I always forget how long Buffy has been doing this stuff," Sam started, "she takes control and leads like a general."
Dean smiled, "yeah, she does. Hell, she practically is a general."
"She reminds me of dad."
Dean choked on the beer he was drinking, spluttering the liquid all over the table, "dude, do not compare a chick I've dated with dad, it's creepy.
Sam laughed, "Well it's true! Think about it, she takes control, she knows her stuff. She's a total hardass," he muttered that last one while taking a drink.
Dean looked bug eyed as he really thought about it, "oh god, I'm dating dad."
Sam started laughing uncontrollably, "talk about daddy issues."
"Shut up!" Dean yelled, making Sam laugh harder.
He wiped some laughter tears from his eyes and became sombre. "Dean, what are we going to do?"
Dean paused, surprised at Sam change of mood, "what we always do, Sammy. We're going to fight the bad guys, and rescue the pretty girl."
Sam scoffed, "yeah we'll just take the mystical key from underneath the nose of the Devil," he replied sarcastically.
Dean leaned in, becoming intense, "listen, we can do this. Buffy will move earths to get Dawn back, and we will find a way to stop Lucifer. We've always found a way, and we will again." He leaned back and taking a drink of his beer.
Sam mulled this over before changing the subject, "what about Buffy?" He asked with a grin, "she didn't exactly welcome you back with open arms."
"More like 'welcome back with a mean right hook," he replied rubbing his jaw, making Sam laugh again.
Sam still smiling replied, with a crinkle in his brow, "I haven't felt like this in a long time. Happy. Carefree. With everything that's going on, it's weird, ya know?"
Dean nodded, "Yeah," he agreed, "Having the scoobies," he added with a mocking tilt and air quotes, making Sam laugh, "with us, it makes it better. Knowing we got back up."
Sam agreed. "So what are you going to do about Buffy."
"I don't know, man." Dean sighed, "like many women before her, she wants nothing to do with me," he said bitterly, taking a drink of his beer, "except this time, I actually give a crap."
Sam nodded to the waitress who dropped off their food before replying, "you gotta talk to her."
"And say what? 'Oh yeah, I was pretending to be dead, when I've actually been alive for almost two years, and yeah sorry about saying you make me weak.' I don't really feel like being hit in the jaw again."
Sam chuckled, "maybe try and explain why you did those things? She loves you, dude. She just needs an explanation and some time."
Dean nodded in consideration, eating his food.
Spike found Buffy in her room later that night. She was sitting on the side of her bed, staring out the window.
"I don't have to go get Red do I, ducks?" He said, sitting next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
Buffy chuckled, resting her head on his shoulder, "no, no spirit walks necessary. Just thinkin'."
"Don't want ya to strain anything there, love."
Buffy chuckled again and pushed him away, "har har, very funny."
Spike smiled before pulling her back to him, "you alright?"
"Hmm, let me answer that question with another question, what's it about me that makes the men in my life pretend that they're dead?" She asked, bitingly.
Spike ducked his head, "can't see I didn't see that coming."
"Is it my quips? Am I too snarky? Really, what is it?"
Spike was quiet before answering, "I can't talk for Fabio, but I wanted to be better. For you. I wanted to prove that I was something before coming back to you."
Buffy was quiet as she considered, "I don't need people making decisions for me."
"I know, ducks."
They sat quietly with each other, lost in their thoughts.
"This, him being back, it changes things between us, doesn't it?" Spike asked, not really wanting to hear the answer.
Buffy looked up to him, her eyes full of apologies and sorrow, "yeah, I think it does."
Spike nodded in understanding, "I meant what I said, pet. 'M not sorry for our time together. I'm still here. Not matter what."
Buffy smiled, leaning over to hug him. They stayed in their embrace for a long moment before Spike pulled away, "alright, pet, I best be off. Key to find, world to save."
Buffy got up to walk him to her bedroom door. As they reached it, the door opened revealing Dean.
Dean slowly made his way to Buffy's door, trying to come up with an explanation that she would understand. Before long, he was standing in front of it, with no clue what to say.
Figuring Buffy wouldn't let him in if she knew it was him knocking; Dean opened the door and stepped into the room.
He stopped in his tracks, seeing Buffy and Spike standing close together in the middle of the room.
Spike quickly broke the tension, "haven't heard of knocking, mate?"
Before he knew it, Dean was across the room, hitting Spike squarely in the jaw. In the next second, he was flying across the room.
Getting up, Dean saw Buffy standing between him and the vampire. "What are you doing?" She asked in anger.
"What am I doing? What are you doing!? Why is that freak in your room?" Dean shouted back.
"You don't get to ask me that question," Buffy replied defensively, "Why are you here?"
Dean calmed down, remembering what brought him to Buffy's room in the first place. "I wanted to talk to you, apologize."
Buffy scoffed, "and this is how you do it? Punching my friends?"
Deans anger rose again as he caught sight of the vampire standing behind Buffy, looking at him in amusement.
"Is this what you were doing when I was dead? Shacking up with him?" Dean shouted, pointing at Spike for emphasis.
Buffy stood shocked, before sitting on the bed with her head in her hands. "My sister has been kidnapped by the forces of evil, and my ex-boyfriend, who pushed me away 'for my own good', is yelling at me for talking to another ex-boyfriend, who also avoided me 'for my own good'." She looked up at the two men in her room, "I really wish this was a rare occurrence."
Spike chuckled before walking to the door, "I think I'll leave you two kids to it." He walked out and shut the door behind him.
Dean stood their awkwardly, not sure how to start. "What do you want, Dean?" Buffy asked, tiredly.
He hesitated before taking a seat beside her. "I came and saw you. After I was brought back. It was one of the first things I did. I came to the building you work in, and I saw you there, standing in the sun light. You were smiling, and laughing. You looked beautiful. And safe," He paused to look at her, to find that she was already staring at her, "I knew I couldn't drag you into the darkness with me."
"I would have done anything to be with you," Buffy replied, brokenly. "Light, or dark, New York, or the Impala. I wouldn't have cared."
Dean turned to face her properly, and took her hands with his own. "I know, and I'm an idiot. I know that now."
Buffy stared into his eyes, before snapping out of it and getting off the bed and away from him, "what do you want me to say, Dean?" She yelled, pacing around the room, "you pretended to be dead to keep me away, and when I found out you're alive, you couldn't leave quick enough! And now you want to get back together? Mixed signals much?"
Dean wanted to laugh, but restrained himself. He was surprised how much his missed her angry rambles and 90s catch phrases.
"I thought I was doing what was best."
"Yeah, and what's stopping you from doing it again?" She stopped in front of him with her hands on her hips.
Dean got off the bed to stand closer to her. "Honestly? Nothing. I am always going to do what I can to protect you. The only difference now is that protecting you means staying right beside you, no matter what. I was an idiot to think that we'd be better off apart," he stepped a bit closer, causing a still closed off Buffy to step back, "when I went to Hell, I did things, and saw things. They changed me, Buffy. I'm not the man I was."
The thought of Hell, caused Dean to grimace, his mind going back to the months he spent torturing souls under the guidance of Alastair.
The pain of the memories of Hell showed clearly on Dean's face, and Buffy stepped forward to take his hands. Dean looked down at her, "I'm not the man I was, Buffy, and I didn't want to taint you with who I had become, but when I'm around you, I feel like I could be, I don't know, better."
Dean was obviously uncomfortable speaking so candidly about his experience in Hell, and it showed. Buffy stayed silent, unsure whether she could open herself up to a relationship that had left her so broken hearted.
Dean stepped closer, cupping her face in his hands, "Please, Buffy, give me another chance. Give me another chance to fix this."
Buffy was hesitant, but with her eyes shining with unshed tears, she nodded and softly replied, "okay."
Dean leaned down to kiss her, but was stopped by the sound of the door banging open.
Standing at the door was Willow. Her eyes were wild, and clothes dishevelled, but she was smiling.
"I think I've found a way to track Dawn."
Hello!
Just a couple of things, some people will probably think Buffy would have ran back to Dean as soon as he said sorry but the Buffy I was raised watching is a strong woman who wouldn't let a man treat her like that and just forgive him. In the end, she was always going to go back to him because she loves him, but that doesn't mean she would change who she was as a person.
Also, I realise I use the 'interrupting door' trope and cliff hanging chapters a lot. I'd say im sorry, but Im not. It works and I like it.
Anyway, enjoy and please review! everytime I get a review it makes me to want to write so much more. Thanks :)