Oh my goodness I am so sorry for how long this has gone without an update! I had zero intention of letting that happen, which is why there was no warning of a hiatus. In all reality, I shouldn't have been working on this at all right now either =(
Between school getting crazy as finals draw near and some personal stuff happening, writing kinda fell by the wayside. I apologize for that and I hope that my regular readers are still here =(
I also apologize for this chapter. It is by far the weakest chapter I have written and I feel awful for that. Please forgive me =( The rest will be better, I promise. I just needed this to be done with. It is hard to write happy fluffy romantic stuff when you yourself are feeling less than happy, fluffy romantic...
My aim is to post another chapter in the next couple of days, and it is already much stronger than this one.
Chapter Twelve – Drive All Night
"Well that was fun," Buffy moaned, pulling herself up off the ground.
She looked around quickly, but it was in vain. The vampire was long gone by now, leaving Buffy standing alone in the cemetery. Her hand moved up to check if her forehead was bleeding. She flinched at the pain, and her shoulders sunk as she came away with bloody fingers. That should have been an easy takedown, but somehow the vampire had managed to get the upper hand and it had wasted no time in slamming her down into the closest tombstone. It hadn't knocked her out, but it certainly took Buffy a minute or two to get the air back into her lungs. That was all it took for the vampire to get away.
That was embarrassing and she was pretty sure she wasn't telling anyone that story.
He was the fifth vampire she had seen tonight, and this had been a slow night compared to the rest of the week. Ever since the explosion of power that Willow had caused the things that went bump in the night seemed to be stirring more than normal. Buffy had assumed that with the nerd-herd disbanded and with the world saved again that maybe she'd get a chance to breathe for a bit. There was no time for rest on the hellmouth, though, and she should have known better than that. This spike in activity meant that, as much as she'd like to head home and clean out the gash on her forehead, she had to continue on with her patrol.
Buffy paused to wipe more of the blood off that had been trickling down her face, scooped up the wooden stake that had gone AWOL during the last tussle, and then headed off in hopes of finding a vampire that wouldn't manage to get away. She didn't make it far before she could sense something watching her. The feeling of eyes on her was unmistakable and it made her uneasy. Her pace slowed as she worked to pinpoint which direction whatever was watching her was in. Finally she found it, but it was too late. A set of arms came down strongly around her chest, pinning her arms tight. She leaned back against her assailant, lifting her feet slightly off the ground, before rocking forwards, sending the assailant soaring over her body, releasing her. She moved swiftly to plunge the stake into the vampire's heart, leaving nothing but a pile of dust at her feet.
"Well done," a familiar voice sounded behind her.
Buffy spun around, a wide smile breaking out across her face.
"What are you doing here!?" She exclaimed as she bounded across the open grass.
"Really, that's the greeting I get?" Dean asked, matching her smile.
Her arms were thrown around Dean's neck as soon as she reached him, nuzzling her face into the crook between his neck and his shoulders. His arms moved to wrap around her small waist, lifting her up off the ground. Coming back down to her feet, Buffy had to give her head a slight shake. She couldn't believe that he was really here, and so soon. Of course it had felt like an eternity since he was here last, but that didn't change the fact that he had been here only a month or so ago. This couldn't be good.
"You look worried," Dean's voice interrupted Buffy's thoughts.
"Hm? Oh," Buffy replied, "I just can't help but wonder what brought you here this time."
Dean smiled, "you."
"What?"
"Don't act so shocked," Dean teased.
"I was just expecting it to be some big ugly you were tracking or something," Buffy admitted.
"Well, that is partly true. Sam and I were on our way to a case in Oregon. I may or may not have swung it so we kinda sorta passed by," Dean's eyes glinted with mischief as he spoke. "We stopped at a motel a few towns over."
"Where is Sam?" Buffy took a glance around, but Sam was nowhere to be seen.
"Back at the motel. Asleep. As long as I'm back before he wakes up, he'll be none the wiser."
"Dean Winchester, did you sneak out and drive all the way out here just to see me?"
Dean nodded, "and I'd do it again."
"So how long do you have?"
"Not long," Dean looked at his phone and winced, "couple of hours."
"I still have another cemetery or two to check out," Buffy pouted, wishing there was anything better that the two of them could be doing.
"Well lead the way, sweetheart," Dean nodded, holding out his arm for her to grab onto.
Buffy giggled, "you're gonna patrol with me?"
"Well I'm certainly not going to leave."
Buffy smiled gratefully as she looped her arm around Dean's.
Finding nothing in the current cemetery, the two of them headed back out to the street. It took quite some time, but Buffy managed to convince him that walking would be better. He wasn't sure what her aversion to driving around was, but he figured it wasn't worth arguing about too much. It was a gorgeous night, and he was walking with a beautiful girl, what could be so wrong with that?
"Why so heavy on the patrolling lately?" Dean asked, strolling next to the small blonde.
Every time he had checked in with her the last week or so she had been patrolling. She had been out every night rather than the twice a week that he was used to hearing about. His fear was that she was using it as a distraction from everything that was going on. He wasn't about to call her on it, but he felt that after everything she would let him know the truth. Though, he did hope this wasn't the case.
Buffy shrugged, "there's been a huge spike in activity ever since... Well since Willow. Guess the baddies can still sense that charge that she left behind."
There was more to it than that, Dean was certain, but it was a start. It was definitely true, too. He had felt a shift in the air as he drove into town, and it was enough to make the hair on his neck stand up on end.
"I can feel it too," Dean agreed. He paused a moment before asking the question he had been waiting to ask since he arrived, "have you heard from her?"
"No," Buffy shook her head, "not a word."
Dean shot her a sympathetic look, "I'm sure she's just fine, Buff."
"I hope you're right. I miss my friend, Dean. I just hope she's still the person that I'm missing."
Dean wanted to say something encouraging. He wanted to tell her that everything was going to be okay. With every fibre of his being he wanted to tell her that her friend still existed; that she could come back from this. The truth was, though, that Dean didn't know any of that. After everything he'd heard, it was hard to imagine any sort of possibility that she could come back from the dark. He'd never tell Buffy that, though. He couldn't be the one to shatter whatever hope the Slayer was still holding onto.
Dean came to the conclusion that there were no words that could accurately fill this silence. Instead he opted to slip his arm around her slender waist and pull her closer to him. It didn't seem like much, but it did do exactly what he hoped for. The worry was still playing on her face, but a smile spread broke out as well as she leaned into him.
ӁӁӁ
Buffy had hoped that the change of scenery would yield some results. She knew that there were plenty of vamps lurking around town lately, and she was really hoping that she'd be able to put them down before they caused too much havoc. So far, the second cemetery was proving to be a bust as well.
"Sorry for the totally lame outing," Buffy said, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice.
"Lame? I don't know about you, but the company has been awesome," Dean smiled.
Buffy laughed, "that was pretty cheesy. I dunno, I guess I was hoping we'd get some action."
"I thought a quiet night meant good things?"
"I guess," Buffy replied, scuffing her shoe through the dirt in front of her.
"Then what's up?"
"The truth?"
Dean nodded, "usually what I'm looking for."
Buffy shrugged, "I guess I'm just feeling antsy. Like I need to do more. Burn some energy."
"This wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that you weren't the one to save the world this time?"
"Nooooo…."
"Yeeesssss?"
Buffy's shoulders slumped, "Maybe. I just wanna make up for how much I screwed it up."
"You didn't screw up Buffy. You did everything you could," Dean assured her.
"I didn't help my friend, Dean. I let it get that bad," she averted her gaze as she spoke. "I could have helped her."
"Maybe, maybe not," Dean tried to be encouraging, "you had your own stuff going on. You can't fix everything." Even Dean knew how hypocritical that statement was.
"Maybe you're right, but that doesn't change how restless I've felt," Buffy shook out her hands as she spoke.
Dean stopped walking and spun her back to face him. He planted his foot behind him for support, "alright. Let's go."
Buffy was caught off guard and completely confused, "huh?"
"You and me. Let's spar."
Buffy burst out laughing until she realized that Dean wasn't laughing with her.
"Oh! You're not serious are you?"
"Why not?" Dean winked, "afraid you can't take me?"
"Hardly. More like I'm afraid to hurt you," Buffy countered.
"Have to actually touch me to hurt me," Dean teased.
Dean shot his hand out, jabbing towards her side. Buffy grabbed his hand effortlessly and delivered a playful slap to Dean's cheek.
"That your best shot?" Buffy taunted.
Dean took another lazy attempt to make contact with her, easily being thwarted again. This earned him a slap on the other cheek. Buffy's grin had changed from unsure to a rather saucy one. Dean grinned as he realized that she was getting into it now. He attempted a one-two punch, which Buffy dodged easily. As she dodged his attacks he swung his leg out, aiming to knock her off balance.
He succeeded, and Buffy slumped to the ground. It was a brief moment of victory as she quickly flipped back up onto her feet to deliver a roundhouse kick. It was obvious to Dean that she was holding back, that she was moving slower than she normally would, but that was not the aim of this exchange. He wanted her to work off the pent up feelings. He wanted her to tire herself out. He wanted her to finally feel better. The aim hadn't been to injure her, or even come close to that, but if that's what it would take to get to her to take off the kid gloves, then so be it. Dean delivered a strong punch to her face. He hated to risk any sort of damage to that pretty face so he was pretty sure it hurt him more than it did her.
That feeling was confirmed with how quickly she recovered from his blow. The expression on her face was much darker than he had seen outside of Purgatory. He figured that meant he was finally getting her to take this seriously.
Buffy looked at Dean, "you're sure you wanna do this?"
"Oh I'm sure sweetheart," Dean was sure he was going to regret this decision, but if it helped her blow off some of this steam then it'd be worth it.
The regret came to him much sooner than he had anticipated; it came immediately. This roundhouse kick came with much more force than he was expecting, and it was enough to knock him off of his feet. Dean tried to get back up, but struggled to catch his breath. Buffy patiently waited for him to stand back up before delivering a strong jab to his ribs. He staggered back again, but kept himself upright. Buffy went for another hit but this time Dean was able to dodge the incoming fist. He used his hand to deflect the follow up attack and used this time to catch her in her gut.
"Now that's more like it," Dean puffed.
"About time you got a hit in," Buffy said with an impish grin.
Dean grinned back before kicked his leg out and wrapping it around hers, effectively knocking her off balance. Buffy fought to maintain her stability, but for all her strength the fact remained that Dean was both bigger and heavier than she was. His body weight alone was enough to prevent her from regaining her stance. She would have hit the ground if Dean wasn't holding onto her arms as well.
"I thought you wanted to spar?" Buffy said, arching her eyebrow as she spoke.
Dean tilted her further back ensuring that there was no way she would be able to get the upper hand again. When he was convinced that she was completely at his mercy, Dean leaned down and kissed her deeply. She moaned against his lips as she sunk into his hold, no longer fighting to free herself. With his hands on her arms he could feel the shivers moving through her system and relished in it. Dean loved that he could elicit that sort of response from her. She did the same to him, as his shivers matched hers completely.
Dean pulled himself away, pulling Buffy back up to her feet. She swayed a bit as she regained her balance.
"This seemed like more fun," Dean said huskily.
"You're not wrong," Buffy breathed, "does that mean we're done with this silly sparring thing?"
"It wasn't silly - "
The look on Buffy's face told Dean that she had started to pick up on the real reason he had suggested this. Even as he suggested it, Dean knew that Buffy wouldn't think he had suggested this just for fun.
Buffy interrupted his words, "you came here to check on me, didn't you?"
Dean thought about creating a cover story, but he knew there wasn't any point anyways. She was onto him, and it wasn't worth lying about. He worried about her, there was no denying that, and after everything that had been happening he had every reason to check in on her, and he would keep reminding himself of that.
"Well…I mean...I just wanted to make sure you were okay. That's all I ever want, Buffy," Dean stammered as he tried to explain.
Buffy looked at Dean as he stumbled through his words. He was expecting her to be mad at him, but she couldn't really figure out why. How could she ever be mad at Dean for caring enough about her to drive all this way? She had to admit, it was kind of nice to have someone recognize that she has just as hard of a time as anyone when tragedy strikes. Buffy couldn't help but wonder what had happened in his life to make him hesitant to admit that he wanted to help. She couldn't fix that, whatever it was, but she could show him that with her it was different. With a sly smile she reached up on the tip of her toes to give Dean a quick peck.
"This is exactly what I needed."
"What sparring?" He said as he breathed a sigh of relief.
This was something that was new to Dean. Checking in on Sammy was second nature and in that case he didn't care how Sam felt about it. Other than that, there was no one else he had ever felt the need to check on so he didn't really know how this all worked. He was scared that she would see it as stifling, or take it as he didn't believe that he could take care of herself. She wasn't mad and he had made the right call.
Buffy shook her head, "you."
"Ya big sap," Dean said, giving her a playful shove on her shoulder.
"Well ain't this cute?"
The two of them spun around to find where the voice had come from. What they found was a small pack of vampires that had come up behind them. So far tonight Buffy had been knocked to the ground, lost a vamp, and now had some vamps sneak up behind her. She couldn't help but feel embarrassed by the amount of rookie mistakes she had made tonight. She was way off her game.
"Oh so you came back? That was stupid," Buffy said, trying to cover the surprise of be crept up on.
"Came back?" Dean asked.
"I ran into this one not long before you showed up. He ran away!"
"You ran away from the Slayer?" One of the vampires asked.
"Dude it's the Slayer. You'd run too!" The blonde vampire exclaimed.
"No need to get all defensive," the third vampire chimed in.
"Just thought since you're our leader and all that you'd be braver," the first vampire said.
"Shut up Justin, you're just mad 'cause they voted me as leader," the blonde vampire replied.
The discussion was broken up by a stake soaring through the air, plunging into the third vampire's heart and turning him to dust. The small group all turned to face Dean, who still had his hand out after throwing the stake. Buffy shot him a curious look.
"What? I was bored," Dean shrugged, grinning from ear to ear.
Buffy laughed before launching herself at the now smaller group of vampires. She delivered a quick kick to the blonde vampire, the one she had lost earlier. His head snapped back as her foot made contact with his jaw. Dean took his opportunity to engage the last remaining vampire.
After all the mistakes she had made tonight, Buffy wasn't willing to let this battle wage on any longer than it needed to. She had no time for quips or puns and wanted to waste no time with the vampire that had eluded her earlier. Buffy was quick to take the upper hand and had the vampire on the defensive immediately. He got a couple solid shots in, but nothing that was able to slow her down.
She had heard Dean finish off the vampire he had taken on and was about to finish off hers too. She had tossed the vampire hard to the ground and was standing over him, grinning to herself. Grabbing for her stake her eye grew wide. It should have been in her pocket inside her jacket, but it was no longer there. The vampire, recognizing her moment of panic, acted fast kicking her back and flipping onto his feet. He picked her up easily and tossed her aside. She landed in a heap on the grass and struggled to regain her breath.
Dean had been watching, waiting for her to finish off the last vampire. He had taken a casual lean against a tree nearby to watch the fight. He wasn't sure what had happened and it had all happened so fast that by the time Dean had realized that something was wrong it was too late. Buffy was slumped on the ground and the vampire was descending on her quickly. Dean raced towards the muddle, ready to help. His hands clamped down on the vampire's shoulders and spun him away.
"Alright, playtime's over bud," Dean said, hoping to keep the vampire's attention on him.
"I think I'd rather play with the Slayer," the vampire smirked, "imagine the respect I'd get for baggin' a Slayer."
The vampire turned to head back to the small blonde, but Dean was quick to prevent his retreat. Dean delivered a kick to the back of the vampire's knee, dropping it to the ground. Dean was quick to finish what Buffy had started, turning the vampire to dust at his feet.
"Buffy you okay?" Dean called over as he dusted himself off.
When no response came to him, Dean ran full-tilt over to where he had seen her hit the ground. He was relieved to see her sitting upright. That meant she was at least conscious, and after the hit she took, that was more than she had expected.
"Well, vamp is history. You good to go?"
Again she didn't respond. The worry that something had happened to her returned full force, and Dean felt a pit form in his stomach. He started to be able to hear a hitch in her breath, and he could see her form shaking gently. She was trying not to cry, and Dean knew it had to be about something other than the hit she had taken.
"Buffy? What's wrong?"
"I haven't been here in so long…" she spoke, her voice sounding brittle.
"Where?" Dean followed her eye line towards the tombstone. All he needed to see was the last name "Fordham" to understand. This was her friend.
"Ford's buried here?"
"He is. I haven't been here since that night…"
Suddenly something clicked for Dean. They hadn't talked about the story behind Ford; all Dean knew was that he had chosen to be a vampire. At the time Dean hadn't realized what that meant. With the context of him being buried in Sunnydale came a new clarity. She had put him down after he turned. Whatever had brought them to that point, Buffy had been the one to end it all.
"You had to stake him after he turned, didn't you?"
She nodded her head slowly, her eyes still tracing the lettering on the tombstone, "Giles and I waited here for hours. I sat here, knowing what he was going to become. Knowing that I was going to have to…"
He was the first one to criticize anyone for having sympathy for these monsters, but for once Dean had nothing to say. That was a situation that no one should have to be put in.
"It's just been a while since I thought about him," Buffy explained, the guilt clear in her voice.
"Doesn't mean you cared about him any less. He knows that, ya know?" Dean offered.
Dean knew that guilty feeling all too well; it was one that followed him everywhere. There were so many people that he had lost over the years, people he loved, but he didn't think about them anymore. It wasn't because he stopped caring, it was because it was just too much. He figured it was the same for Buffy. She had buried a countless number of people too.
"Wait. How did you know Ford was a…"
Buffy was confused. She was sure that she had never mentioned him to Dean. In fact, Ford wasn't someone she talked about anymore at all. It had just gotten to be too much to think about him.
"Oh, uh," Dean floundered.
Why couldn't he learn to control his mouth when he was around her? On the phone it was so easy to remember what she had said in Purgatory and what she had said since then. Being around her kept blurring those lines and it was dangerous. Dean figured that was why Cas wanted him nowhere near Buffy. He was starting to realize that Cas might have been right. Not that he'd ever give him that satisfaction. No way. Dean could rescue this moment, he had to, if for no other reason than to prove Cas wrong.
"You mentioned him once, just in passing. It was a while ago now," Dean mentally rolled his eyes. That was the lamest cover he could have come up with.
"I did?" Buffy asked, her nose scrunching as she tried to remember.
Dean nodded, "yup. Said something about how it was a real turning point for you as a Slayer."
Buffy thought for a moment which caused Dean to start to sweat. This may not be enough to shatter the walls that Cas had built, but it could be enough to chip at them. No matter what happened with those built memories, it was certainly enough to break down the trust she had in him if she didn't believe him. His worry was ceased when Buffy gave a casual shrug of her shoulders.
"I guess that just means we talk way too much if I can't even remember what stories I've told you."
"I don't think we talk enough," Dean said quietly.
"What was that?" Buffy inquired.
"I said we don't talk enough," Dean said louder.
"Dean we talk several times a week. Nearly every day!" Buffy laughed.
Dean shrugged, "and I still hate hanging up every time."
ӁӁӁ
After the heartbreaking discovery of Ford's grave, it was an easy decision to pack it in for the night. Buffy had taken down several vampires in her patrol and she had burned off some energy. She was spent. This time she put up no fight over Dean driving her home instead of walking.
The drive back to the small house on Revello drive was silent, save for the music playing through the Impala's speakers. As the car rolled through the dark streets, Dean couldn't help but cast a glance over to the passenger seat of his car. He could see her face in the reflection on his window, and he smiled at how beautiful this simple moment truly was. Buffy's eyes were following the streetlights that they were passing, casting moving shadows across her face. She hadn't realized he was watching her just as much as he was watching the road, and that suited him just fine. He just wanted to bask in how perfect she looked in that seat.
The reflection of her face in the window indicated that she had realized he was watching her. Or she had known all along and now she was acknowledging it. Either way, she locked eyes with him through the window and smiled. She turned back to face him and placed a kiss on his cheek. Dean pulled her into him, wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
If only every drive could be spent with her leaned on his shoulder.
When he parked the car in front of the house, Buffy felt a slight slump in Dean's shoulder. Neither of them wanted to get out of the car, and both would have been just fine with sitting there another hour or so. They would have been just fine going inside together too, if they were being honest.
Alas, Dean knew that Sammy would be pretty grumpy if he woke up and Dean wasn't there. Likewise, Buffy knew Dawn would have a mouthful for her. In fact, she could see her little sister peeking out through the curtains looking for her already. Buffy always thought that when she was an adult she'd be able to do what she wanted. So much for that.
"C'mon. Let's get you inside," Dean said, rubbing her shoulder.
"Or we could just keep driving? I've heard Canada is actually quite nice," Buffy suggested, really only half kidding.
"C'mon Buff. You should get some sleep."
Buffy pouted, "okay…"
Buffy slipped out of the car, dragging her feet up her walkway. Dean jogged to catch up, placing his hand on her lower back.
"You're really walking me to my door?"
Dean smiled, "a gentleman always walks his date to the door."
"Does a gentleman kiss on the first date?"
Dean's response was to place his hand on her jawline, fingers lacing slightly through her hair. He pulled her towards himself and kissed her.
Just as Buffy started to move into the kiss, Dean's phone started to ring.
Dean groaned as he broke away from Buffy. Sam's name was displayed on his phone's screen which could only mean that he had awoken to find himself alone in the motel room and was either worried sick or completely pissed. Sam was the only person that he would be willing to answer this phone for right now.
Buffy listened to Dean's side of the phone call, smiling as Dean assured his brother that he was fine and that he would be back soon. This moment was all too familiar to Buffy and she couldn't help but be amused listening to Sam give his brother shit.
Once he hung up the phone, Dean turned to Buffy with an apologetic expression.
Buffy nodded, "it's okay, I get it. I'm surprised my phone isn't ringing too."
"I'm sorry I have to go already," Dean said dejectedly.
"Goodnight, Dean."
"Night Buff. I'll make it back soon. I promise."
"I'll hold ya to that," Buffy smiled.
Dean kissed her again, "and this time I'll actually call."
"You better," Buffy said with a playful glare.
Dean waited until he heard Buffy lock the door before leaving the front step. He headed back to his Impala, a bounce in his step. A couple of hours together was better than nothing, and it seemed like everything was looking up as he made his departure. It was nice to leave on a high note for once. As he reached his baby, a scowl stretched across his face.
"Get your undead ass off my car," Dean growled.
The platinum-blonde vampire smirked as he threw his cigarette to the ground. With a mock-apology, Spike stood up to meet Dean as he drew nearer.
"What do you want?" Dean asked.
"I remember you," Spike replied, his voice filled with amusement.
"Congratulations?" Dean wasn't sure what the vampire was angling for, but he wasn't prepared to put up with it for long.
"You were here before, weren't you? Checking on the lil' bit?"
Dean nodded, "yeah, that was me. Is that a problem?"
"Well that depends on just who the fuck you really are," Spike snarled, baring his fangs.
"Oh put those away, you can't touch me anyways," Dean rolled his eyes.
Spike let the comment roll off of his shoulders and continued, "what the hell do you want with 'em?"
"Told you before, Buffy sent me to check on her little sister. I was a friend then and I'm a friend now."
"I've thought about that. You never did tell me how she sent you from the dead," Spike pushed on.
"I don't have to listen to this shit," Dean grabbed onto the vampire and shoved him aside.
Out of instinct Spike threw out a fist, landing a hard blow to Dean's nose. Much to both of their surprise, Dean was the only one to cry out in pain.
"What the hell?"
"I thought you couldn't hit humans," Dean asked, trying to cover his panic.
"I can hit dead things. Guess I can hit you just like I can Buffy. Start talking mate, or I rip your fucking throat out," Spike said, a new menace in his voice and a smile playing at his lips.
Dean knew enough about William the Bloody to be concerned if the chip wasn't working. He had done some research after meeting Spike the first time. He had taken down two Slayers in his time, and he had caused more chaos alone than most nests ever did together. Dean was a good hunter, a good fighter, but he wasn't sure he could take Spike down if he needed to. Against all his personal feelings, Dean figured he didn't have a lot of options.
"Okay, I'll tell you the truth, but you don't breathe a word of this to anyone. Not even Buffy."
"We'll see about that. Talk."
Dean sighed, "look, that tale she tells about Heaven? Isn't exactly true. When she died she ended up in Purgatory. With me."
Not really believing Dean's words Spike started to question him, "and how'd that happen, mate?"
"My guess? That portal she jumped through sent her straight there," Dean shrugged, not sure of the actual answer.
"If you're lying to me – " Spike threatened.
"I wish I was."
"And she doesn't – "
"No, and she can't. Angel bullshit, it's a whole thing," Dean sighed.
"Angels are real?" Spike asked, lighting up another cigarette.
Dean nodded, "yup. So we good?"
Spike shrugged his shoulders.
"Good enough," Dean said, heading around to his door.
"So Purgatory is actually real?"
Dean nodded again, "and it's just as bad as you think."
Spike watched as Dean drove off. He wasn't completely sure if he bought the story the hunter had told him, but for now that was all he could do. If Purgatory was actually real, if angels were real, then he couldn't afford not to believe him. The simple existence of that place altered the way Spike viewed his world. He always figured when he finally died, when he was finally nothing but dust, he would simply cease to exist. He knew that wasn't true now. Not one monster existed that didn't fear Purgatory.
Beyond that, he had spent years trying to be the man that Buffy would want, would love. He watched as she loved that stupid git that put the hunk of metal in his skull, thinking that's what she wanted. Now, after watching her with the hunter he knew what she wanted. He understood. The way he was now, she would never see him as anything beyond a monster. Spike knew that she would choose this hunter over him.
It was time for a change. Spike knew something had to change. He had to change.
ӁӁӁ
It took the brothers just over a day to drive to Oregon, and most of it was spent listening to the lecture that Sam had stored up for him. It was moments like these that made Dean question who was actually the big brother in this family. He was more than happy to listen to it though. He'd listen to his brother any day, as long as he didn't stop talking to him.
Sam wasn't actually mad, anyways. Once Sam found out that Dean had gone to see Buffy he understood completely. As soon as the case was wrapped up Sam practically forced Dean to call Buffy. Sam had remembered when Dean had been too busy to call her the last time. The whole time Dean had been cranky as hell, and he was sure that Buffy had been disappointed in the radio silence. There was no way this was happening again.
"Look, I'm calling!" Dean chuckled when Buffy picked up the phone.
"You know I didn't actually care that you didn't, right?"
"I know, but I wanted to prove to you that I would call."
Buffy laughed, "well I'm glad to hear from you."
"So, how's things?" Dean asked.
"It's only been a week, Dean. Nothing's really changed."
"That's good though, right?"
"I guess. How about you? How was the case?"
"Total bust. Nothing supernatural at all in the end," Dean shrugged.
"Oh. Anything new and exciting?"
"Not really."
A silence started to hang in the air with both of them realizing that for the first time in a long time they really had nothing to say. It hadn't been long since he had been in town, and nothing had really happened for either of them. If they didn't know better, they'd almost think they lived boring lives. Both searched their minds for something to say.
Before the silence could become too heavy, Buffy spoke up.
"I had a dream about you last night, you know," Buffy said suggestively.
"Oh did you now?" Dean replied, a grin spreading across his face. He did a quick look around to make sure that Sam was out of earshot before returning to the phone, "what kinda trouble did we get up to?"
"You ate my hat."
Dean wilted instantly, "not exactly what I had in mind."
Buffy giggled coyly, "I bet not. Good thing I was just kidding then, huh?"
"Oh were you?"
"Mhmm," Buffy breathed, her voice taking on a sultry quality to it, "our sparring that night ended much differently this time."
Dean laughed slightly, "now that's more like it. What else?"
Buffy hummed lightly as she thought about what other details to reveal, "well the rest you'll just have to wait for."
Dean could practically hear the wink in her voice as she spoke. Even when it was in a good way, this girl was maddening. Must be a special Buffy talent he figured.
"You know you're killin' me here," Dean sighed.
"Guess you'll just have to come back again one day," she smiled, "just to see plain ol' me."
"Trust me, sweetheart, there is nothing plain about you," Dean flirted.
"Maybe sooner rather than later, especially now that things seem to be in a bit of a lull."
"A lull huh? Really?"
"Seems like. Nothing's really happened since you left. My patrols have been completely uneventful."
"So what's next then?" Dean asked.
"Honestly? I don't know. Still no word from Willow or Giles, Xander's still kinda trying to pull himself together, I don't know where the hell Spike is, and Dawn's starting high school at the end of the summer. The house has never felt so empty, but I feel like I can breathe again finally. I'm kinda getting some me time."
"Sounds like you might be catching, what is it that normal people get, a break?"
"I think so. Maybe I can finally pull a real life together," Buffy smiled.
ӁӁӁ
"And that's where we're going..."
The form turned to The Master, grinning sadistically, "...right back to the beginning. Not the Bang... not the Word... the true beginning. The next few months are going to be quite a ride. And I think we're all going to learn something about ourselves in the process. You'll learn you're a pathetic schmuck, if it hasn't sunk in already. Look at you. Trying to do what's right, just like her. You still don't get it. It's not about right, not about wrong..."
Buffy stood in the same place now, a sick grin on her face, "…It's about power."
A/N: I know the scene between Dean and Spike leaves a lot of questions, especially since we all know what he's off to do now...just trust me that this is gonna come back in a big way later down the road. It seems messy now, but it will come together in a good way (I hope haha!)
Sweetie420: D'aw aren't you an absolute gem! I'm so glad you're enjoying everything. I'm really looking forward to finally writing the love connection between the two of them. Dean's done a great job of winning her over a second time, hasn't he? I'm so glad it's working out well! Honestly, I wasn't sure how well received this part of the trilogy would be, mostly because it is just simply retelling season 6 and 7 of Buffy (with a little twist, mind you). It wasn't planned to be honest, it was meant to be the first couple of chapters for my next story, but I soon realized that it wasn't going to work that way because there was so much to cover and because I wanted to really build everything up.
Pantherfan16: Awe thank you! I spend a lot of time working with characterization so that they're the characters we all know and love. There's gonna be some changes a bit next story because it's putting them in a totally new world, so that's going to be really fun to see how they react to my new world.
LoneButterfly05: While it's an important scene in the Buffy-verse, it just didn't make full sense in this world anymore. I still really need Spike to have his soul, since ya know, that's how the crew wins their battle in the end...I'm still working out the logistics on that one, but there's gonna be some good driving factors behind it. I may not explore them fully quite yet, but I certainly will. I look forward to writing the twist in that tale. Ya…..I'm pretty sure if Dean heard about that whole...debacle...he would kindly remove Spike's veins for him, haha. Haha! Yaaa...I had to keep Dawn the way she is for now. I do plan on working with her, making her a less insufferable character. I'm glad she's driving you nuts though! That's exactly what I wanted aha.
Alex - It has become a juggling act for our poor Dean. He's done very well with keeping the worlds separate, hasn't he? He's been very careful, but the more emotional he gets, and the more worked up he gets, it gets much harder to watch what he says.
Ya, Buffy/Sam just doesn't do it for me, so I feel ya there. Fret not, there will be no third-wheeling happening here! It's important to note how enamoured Sam is with the Slayer legend, which is something that he hasn't explained yet. That's going to come back in a big way further down the road.
It is an important scene for the Buffy-verse, but in this world it's lacking context. It would be really awkward to shove it in there this way, and I really don't want to have to write that in anyway. Even with a change of context I don't think I could handle writing this scene. There is definitely some work going into Spike's redemption arc, and a fun little twist in it, and Dean is involved for sure. How...well...that's
Jada - Oh my dear, I've never said that she gets 'em back now have I ;-) It is a fair assumption though…
my-perfect-muse - Oh my goodness. It is such a huge compliment that someone would marathon read my stories! You are such a gem! I'm so excited to still be attracting new readers! I absolutely love this ship! I only discovered it this past summer and I'm in absolute LOVE with it. The author noturbaby was the one that hooked me, so if you haven't read her stuff you probably should! I've heard some great stuff about my writing style, and it means so much to me. I'm still learning and growing as a writer so I hope to keep improving throughout my stories.
HolyCowsAndFlyingPigs - Absolutely there is! As of right now, I'd say we have about...4 or 5 chapters left. Though, as you can tell by how long this took to post, I'm starting to struggle a bit. Sorry about that =/. Between writers block and finals looming over me, writing has become much less enjoyable at the moment. I hope to remedy that shortly, and then I can continue to bring out new chapters! I super hope that everyone loves the next stage of the story, I'm working diligently on the plot structure so that it can be the best by far! Thank you so much for continuing to read despite the unreliable updating! Hope this chapter met the excitement!