This fic is officially on Hiatus until further notice. I DO still plan to finish it, but this semester has turned out to be more work then I expected and school needs to come first. I still plan to work on it when I have free time, but there won't be any regular postings. I hope all of you will tune back in to read it when I have time to finish it (in a few months at the latest) but for right now I just need to put it on pause.
Moving On:
Jayden Avery Summers sleeps soundly in her crib made of love from her Uncle Xander and under a mobile of magic stars from her Auntie Willow. A few feet from her crib Buffy and Spike sleep wrapped up in each other's arms. Spike's mind is far away in a distant dream land, but Buffy's however is being haunted from images of a slayer dream.
Buffy walks through the door of an old Victorian house. A loud creek erupts from it as it swings on its hinges. She steps into the building and the door slams shut behind her, with a rush of fear she spins around and looks at the closed door. It's dark in the house, all the windows are closed and the blinds are drawn shut. Buffy runs to the door and tries to open it but is unable to. Buffy then turns back around and walks farther into the house. The building has an eerie feeling, a feeling that makes Buffy think that she's not alone.
She wanders around not sure of what she's looking for, but knowing that she's there for some purpose. Buffy stops for a moment to stare at a picture on the wall. Then suddenly the picture falls to the ground landing at Buffy's feet. The glass shatters into a million pieces and the frame breaks in two. Buffy glances back up at the wall, then screams; it appears as if someone is trying to push their way through the wall. She sees a figure stretching the wall out and reaching for her.
Buffy bolts straight up in bed sweat dripping from her forehead. Her eyes are wide as she stares down at the still sleeping Spike. Buffy's dream has woken her and now she sits upright panting and sweating from the fear it has invoked.
--
Buffy sits at the end of the table in Giles's office with Willow adjacent to one side of her and Xander to the other. She got a call from Giles early that morning saying that he wanted to see her and to come alone. Now she sits alongside her best friends wondering what's going on that Giles doesn't want Spike or anyone other then the four of them to be apart of. Giles sits at the head of the table with three folders in his hand and is avoiding their gazes at the moment.
"What's this about Giles?" Willow says breaking the silence in the room.
"I um… I have something that I need to discuss with the three of you," Giles responds.
"What's going on, should we be worried?" Xander says
"No, no… nothing to worry about."
"Then what's going on Giles?" Buffy asks.
"I um… Well I suppose it's best to just come out and say it. I'm retiring."
"What, no… you cant," Willow protests.
"Who's gonna be the head of the council if you're off living the retired life?" Xander asks.
"You are… all of you… I've gone over every piece of business involved with the council and divided it up," Giles says handing the three of them each a folder. "I've outlined it all in here, but basically, Willow you will be in charge of any magic related issues and general decision making, Xander you will be in charge of the arsenal and weapons training, and Buffy… I've put you in charge of the troops and slayer assignment."
The three of them sit there in total shock as they look down at the folders before them. Sure Giles hadn't always been there, but they never thought he'd be leaving the council. They each finds themselves too stunned to form words and for a moment Giles just stares at them waiting for a response, however, none come.
"Now, I'm only a phone call away if you need me," Giles says.
"Giles… how serious are you about this?" Buffy questions.
"Quite serious… I have full confidence that the three of you can handle this, it's time for me to move on."
--
Three Styrofoam mugs of coffee are held in three battle worn hands in the cool October air. Buffy, Willow and Xander walk briskly down the sidewalk, after Giles's announcement they needed to get out, needed time to think. They stopped for coffee and then decided that a walk seemed like a logical idea. The movement helps calm Buffy thoughts as does having her best friends at her sides.
"I can't believe he's actually retiring," Willow says.
"I know… I mean, Giles was all book guy and now he's retired guy. It's like the world is spinning backwards," Xander says taking a sip of his coffee.
"I don't know I mean… he did leave once before… but then he came back, I just thought… I just didn't expect this now," Buffy says.
"Maybe he'll change his mind… maybe he'll see how boring things are being retired and come back," Willow says with hopefulness in her voice, but Buffy and Xander give her a look that tells her that they don't think so, "or maybe not."
"I just don't get why he's doing this right now… right after he tells me about this prophecy with Jayden," Buffy says.
"Exactly, his timing is…"
Willow's words trail off in Buffy's mind as she stops dead in her tracks. There before her is the house from her dream. It hovers before her like some ominous evil calling out to her. After a moment Xander and Willow realize that she's not walking with them anymore and move to stand next to her to stare that the building that has caught her gaze.
"What is it Buff?" Xander asks.
"This house… I've seen it before," Buffy responds.
"Well, I'm sure we've probably walked past it before," Willow says trying to explain.
"No… no I saw it in my dream last night."
"See, now my first instinct here would be to go to Giles for some direction, but since Will is in charge of general decision making… What do you say Will, what do we do here?" Xander says, but Buffy has already started to move toward the front door. After a glance at each other Willow and Xander follow her.
--
A loud wailing sound invades Spike's ears. Spike cradles baby Jayden in his arms bouncing her lightly, but nothing seems to quiet her screaming. She's been fed and her diaper's been changed but Spike can't seem to find a way to calm her. He walks from room to room with her humming softly then his hums break into a lullaby. "Early one morning…" Spike sings softly as he continues to bounce the unhappy child.
"Come on bit, what will it take to put you back to sleep," Spike says softly, but Jayden's cries continue.
Spike walks over to the couch and is about to sit down with the baby in his arms when he feels a burning beneath his foot. Spike lets out a loud growl from the pain and plummets into the cushions of the couch. Instinctively he vamps out from the pain and looks down at his foot to see a cross shaped burn imbedded into his heel. Either Buffy or Dawn must have dropped the cross necklace to the floor. Spike picks it up by the chain and sets it on the coffee table, his face still reflecting his vampire form. It's then that Spike notices a different sound coming from his baby girl. A soft giggle erupts from her lips. Spike looks down at her and Smiles a wide toothy grin showing off his vampire teeth and Jayden's giggles grow louder as he does.
"So you like funny faces huh," Spike says happy to have a solution to her cries.
--
Once Buffy, Willow and Xander are all standing inside the entrance way of the abandoned Victorian house the door slams shut behind them with no reason for it to have done so. The noise from it slamming reverberates through the building. Xander and Willow turn around from the sound, but Buffy does not. Some part of her had been expecting that to happen so instead she walks further into the house completely unaffected. Willow tests the door knob and tries to open the door.
"It won't open," Willow says looking at Xander. They both spin to watch Buffy walking farther into the house.
"Uh, Buffy," Xander says, but Buffy doesn't turn around, "I think we may have a problem here."
"No… we're supposed to be here," Buffy says without looking back at her friends.
Xander and Willow share a glance then follow Buffy through a doorway and deeper into the house. They all feel it; there is a presence in the house a dark needful presence. The three of them walk down a dark narrow hallway and at the end they come to a picture hanging on the wall. It's a photograph of a woman with curly brown hair. On the adjacent wall there is a door. Buffy stops in front of the picture then glances back at Willow and Xander. Her friends stare at her with worry for her odd actions and lack of fear for their current situation.
"This was in my dream, this picture," Buffy says and then turns to look at the open door, "this way."
Slowly Buffy turns the doorknob then pushes the door open. It lets out a loud squeak as it swings slowly on its hinges. She stops for a moment and simply stares into the dark room. Buffy glances back at Buffy and Xander one last time and then she walks into the room, after a second they follow.
--
Now that Spike has finally gotten Jayden to sleep for her afternoon nap Spike is in search of his cigarettes. He's planning to step out on to the shaded balcony for a smoke, but he's having one serious problem. He can't find his smokes, anywhere. Since the baby was born Dawn has stepped up her battle strategies in her war against second hand stinky-ness. Her most recent tactic has been taking his cigarettes and lighters hostage. After digging through the pockets of his duster and looking in all the usual places Spike starts to get annoyed. He pulls the couch apart and opens all the kitchen drawers, as quietly as possible Spike pulls the house apart looking for them.
"Alright, that's it… when the bit gets home I'm ripping her throat out," Spike says as he picks up the phone and begins dialing a number.
--
Dawn and Alden are sitting in the back of a dark movie theater when Dawn's phone starts to flash, Dawn fails to hear it however because she has it on silent and she doesn't see the red blinking light for other reasons. What's playing across the screen neither Dawn nor Alden pays any attention to. Eye lids are shut and lips meet in a fevered make out session in the back of the theater. Alden's hands trail across Dawn's exposed skin where her shirt meets her jeans and Dawn runs her fingers through Alden's hair. They've skipped out of one of one of their classes and are using up there lunch hour for this passionate get away. As they kiss in the dark and mostly deserted theater Dawn thinks to herself that she enjoys college life far more then high school.
--
A loud thump is heard in the dark room that Buffy, Willow and Xander enter. Sunlight shines peeking through the cracks in the boarded up windows casting rays across the floor in a broken pattern of lines. The gang is looking over the room when suddenly from behind the wall something moves. The gang watches as a figure appears as if it were trapped behind the wall paper, then just as quickly as it appeared it's gone.
"Ok Buffy, this place is starting to give me a serious case of the wiggens," Willow says looking at the wall move.
"I second that, lets get out of here Buff," Xander says grabbing Buffy by the arm, she turns around to face him.
"No… we can't leave… Something here needs my help,"
Another loud thump sounds in the house, this time louder then before, so loud that it makes everyone in the room twitch from the sound. This time, the floor boards shake from the sound and it's very obvious that whatever this entity wants its intent upon getting it. Willow and Xander turn back to look at the door and as they do it slams shut.
"Okay, this is so not of the good," Willow says.
Suddenly the room lights up in a bright flash, a flash so bright that they wonder for a moment if an atomic bomb has been exploded outside the house. For a moment the light blinds the scoobies. As the bright light fades they find themselves in the same room; however now it's not broken down. There are no boards on the windows, no dust floating in the air. The room is clean and there's furniture filling the space, a queen size bed, nightstand and a dresser.
"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," Xander says.
"No defiantly not," Willow says.
"It's trying to show us something," Buffy says.
Then from behind them they hear the door swing open. A woman walks through. She has long curly light brown hair and green eyes. As she enters the room she doesn't seem to notice the scoobies at all and as she moves farther into the room she walks straight through them. Xander pats his chest feeling wigged out from the experience of having the ghost woman walk through him. They watch as the woman goes to the closet and pulls out a suitcase. She starts to fill it with clothing from the closet. It's then that someone else walks through the door behind them; they notice him as he walks through their bodies and moves to the female person to confront her.
"You're not bloody doing this to me," the man says in an angry English accent to the woman.
"It's over Randolph, I'm leaving," the woman responds zipping up her suit case and standing up.
"So what… these past five years, they just mean nothing to you," Randolph says, his anger boiling, "Well they bloody meant something to me," he says taking a step toward the woman.
"I'm moving on, I'm sorry… it's just over," the woman says moving past Randolph.
"You stupid bint," Randolph says grabbing the woman by the arm and pulling her back to him, "You're not leaving me," he says pushing her into the nightstand and watches as the corner of the table is smashed against her temple.
"Oh God," Buffy says.
"He killed her," Willow says.
There is another flash of light that takes over the room. The scoobies are again blinded for a moment then the light again fades. As their vision returns they find themselves in the same house but back in their own time. The windows are boarded up again, the floors squeak and every inch of the room is again coated in dust. Buffy takes a few steps further into the room then she sees it. The wallpaper has been replaced some time ago and there is a dark water mark down the center of the wall. Buffy walks up to it and trails her fingers across the dark line. Buffy steps back and then punches her hand through the wall. She pulls at the drywall ripping it apart. As the wall falls to the ground in a white mist the gang can see something behind it wrapped in plastic.
Buffy steps back and Willow and Xander step up to stand beside her. There in the wall is a skeleton wrapped in a clear shower curtain. All they can do is glare at the sight before them. Their thoughts are so lost by what they have discovered that they fail to notice the door behind them slowly swing open.
--
Buffy walks into Xander's apartment with a small smile and closes the door behind her. Xander is sitting on his couch with a bowl of popcorn next to Willow who has her laptop set on her lap. She walks up to them and takes a seat in between them. Tonight they're having an exclusive Scooby movie night just the three of them.
"How's the baby?" Xander asks.
"Just got her to bed… Spike's practically passed out on the couch, I guess he had a long day with her… watcha looking up there Wills?"
"Huh… Oh, I looked up the history of that house… it says here that Randolph and Abigail Barnes lived there about thirty years ago… Randolph moved out after his wife went missing… she disappeared twenty-eight years ago almost to the day, they never found her."
"Until now."
"Guess he just couldn't let her move on."
A/N: Sorry about the late post, I'm having some issues with my house that are gonna end in expensive remodeling so I've been dealing with that. The next Episode "9.07 Sweaty Thoughts, Salty Solutions" will be up by this weekend... and then sad to say after that I'm starting up school again so my posts might start to get down to only one a week... I do my best to get out about two, but we'll see what happens. Thanks again to all my reviewers. You're all great.