Drops of Jupiter
Prompt for LikeWinning: BtVS, Buffy Summers, When we die, we come back different / like, with greener eyes / or as some far off star
When Buffy came back, she came back different. Everyone said so, but she knew it before she even realized where and when she was. She felt raw and unfinished after her time elsewhere, and nothing her friends did or said helped the matter.
She saw Dawn, and all the lost chances. She looked at Tara, and wished she didn't dream of something terrible for Willow and her. Xander and Anya...seeing them just hurt. Giles couldn't seem to offer anything, and it scared her that Spike seemed to know so (too) much. Angel saw it too, looking at her, and he could give no more help than anyone else, even if he did offer.
At night, she stared at the stars, and wished - but her wishes never, ever came true. And to be back among them, well, that probably wouldn't happen now for decades.