Chapter Three: Reborn
Buffy looked around the living room. The house definitely looked the same from her dreams. Buffy was overwhelmed. This was a new house, new parents, and a new life. She needed to get used to the new surroundings and it was difficult. Buffy sighed heavily and Jasmine turned to her.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Oh nothing." Buffy lied. "I'm just exhausted." She paused and stood up. "Mind if I go to bed?"
Jasmine looked at Evan and Evan nodded. Jasmine shook her head and hugged Buffy one more time.
"Not at all. Your room is still upstairs." Jasmine told her.
Buffy smiled. "Thank you."
She walked upstairs and found the bedroom. She turned on the light and closed the door behind her. Buffy pressed her back against the door and slid down onto the floor. She put her face in her hands and her eyes watered. She held back the tears. She needed to be strong. Buffy sniffled and wiped away the tears. She was not going to cry about this. Things would work out. Eventually, she thought.
Buffy walked to the dresser and opened it. She found some clothes and shrugged. Buffy changed into pajamas and turned on the light on the nightstand. She truly was exhausted. She walked over to the door and turned off the main light. Buffy walked to the bed and crawled under the covers. This was strange. Everything felt so strange.
She closed her eyes and dreamt of the First Slayer. The two were in a room covered in darkness. Buffy bit her bottom lip and remained very still. The First Slayer was silent and just stared at her. Buffy wondered what the message was this time. If there was a message at all. Then her dreams changed. Her surroundings swirled and grew brighter. There was light all around her.
There was peace. She was in Heaven. Buffy felt happiness. She felt safe. Then she opened her eyes and she was still on earth. When she looked at the clock, it was early in the morning. The sun wasn't up yet. She rolled over on her side and closed her eyes again. She wondered if she would ever get real sleep. The next time she woke up, the sun poured into the room. Buffy got up and stretched.
She threw the covers off her and got up. Buffy tiptoed to the door. She didn't want to wake anyone up. She opened her door and poked her head out. The door to her new parents room was still closed. Buffy was grateful and walked downstairs. She went into the kitchen and looked all around. She was slightly hungry. She heard someone behind her and whirled around. Evan put his hands up and said,
"Whoa. Easy there." He put his hands down.
"I thought you were asleep." Buffy said.
"I woke up early. Your mom is still in bed." Evan told her.
"Oh." Buffy said and looked down.
"Ya hungry?" Evan asked her. "I could make you something."
"You don't have to do that." Buffy protested. "Do you have a granola bar?"
"No, really." Evan said. "It's your first morning home. Let me make you something. How do you feel about waffles? You used to love waffles."
Buffy looked up at him and nodded. "Sure." She said, "Sounds good."
There was no use in fighting it. She was going to get a full meal today. Evan went to the cabinets and pulled out the necessary items. He started to make the meal. Buffy walked into the living room and started to look at the pictures again. In the end, she decided that they all look so happy. How was she going to tell them that their daughter was gone and that she was Buffy? Creaks came from the stairs and Buffy turned her head. It was Jasmine. She was dressed in daytime clothes and wore slippers.
"Good morning sweet pea." Jasmine said.
"Good morning." Buffy told her.
"Is your dad making waffles?" She asked.
Buffy nodded. "I told him he didn't have to, but he insisted."
"He wants to welcome you home." Jasmine paused and smiled. "We all do."
Buffy sat down on the couch. Jasmine noticed that she didn't seem to be happy. She shrugged it off and walked into the kitchen to join Evan. Buffy looked all over the room. There were neat knick knacks on the shelves and pictures of happy times. Buffy sighed heavily. She wanted to go home. Jasmine walked into the living room and sat down on the couch next to Buffy.
"I missed you, Maddie." Jasmine said and hugged her.
Buffy cringed, but hugged her back. "It'll get back to normal soon, I promise." Jasmine said.
She let go of Maddie and Evan walked into the living room. "Breakfast is ready." He announced.
Buffy and Jasmine got up off the couch and walked into the dining room. They sat at the table. There was waffles, bacon, blueberries, and eggs. Buffy smiled at the table. It all looked great. She sat down. Jasmine and Evan sat down across from each other.
"Dig in." Evan said.
Buffy grabbed some waffles and a few eggs. She also grabbed some blueberries and bacon. They all started to eat in silence. Buffy thought about Wesley and thought how it would be nice to have him over for dinner. She wanted to start a conversation about him, but wasn't sure how to go about it. Evan and Jasmine spoke about their work. He was a construction worker and she was a school teacher. She let them talk and ate her meal. Jasmine turned to Buffy and asked,
"How is everything?"
Buffy managed to smile and said, "It's good."
Evan smiled. "Thank you."
Jasmine smiled at the both of them. "This feels right, doesn't it?"
Buffy nodded and continued to eat her meal. She stopped for a moment. "I want to invite Wesley over for dinner."
"The man at the hospital?" Evan asked her.
"Yes." Buffy said. "He helped me a lot and I want to get to know him."
She was trying to establish a relationship with her new parents. Buffy wanted them to know that Wesley was safe. She figured that with a dinner party that they could get to know Wesley and Buffy could slowly start to fit him into her new life. Evan put his fork down and looked at Jasmine. Jasmine nodded in approval. Evan turned to Buffy and said,
"He did give us a phone number at the hospital." He paused. "We can invite him over for dinner tomorrow. How does that sound?"
Buffy smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a plan."
"I'll call him after breakfast." Evan told her. "Now eat up, gotta get your strength back up."
"Thank you." Buffy said and continued to eat her meal.
After breakfast, the three of them cleaned up the dishes and put the food away. Evan grabbed his cell phone and dialed Wesley's number. He waited for a response. Once Wesley picked up the phone, he stated his name.
"Mr. Wyndam-Pryce?" Evan asked for. "This is Evan Pierson from the hospital." He paused. "Yes it's good to speak to you too. Maddie and I were talking and we were wondering if you would like to come over dinner tomorrow." Evan paused again. "Oh good, how about six o' clock? Good see you then."
Buffy watched him from afar and listened to Evan give Wesley the address. Good, she thought. It was happening. Evan hung up the phone and put it in his pocket. He turned around and saw Buffy.
He smiled and said, "Wesley will be coming over tomorrow at six o' clock for dinner."
Buffy smiled. "Thank you."
He nodded. "You're welcome."
Jasmine walked into the room and asked, "Do we know if he has any allergies to food?"
"I forgot to ask." Evan said and sighed. "I'm sure it'll be fine."
"I'll make chicken and mashed potatoes. That sounds simple enough." Jasmine said and turned to Buffy. "What do you think?"
Buffy nodded. "I think that sounds good."
Come to think of it, she didn't know much about Wesley. She didn't really get to know him when she worked with him. Buffy didn't know what he liked or didn't like. Perhaps she'll get to know him now. Now that he was back in her life, maybe she would get to know him this time. She thought of Giles and shook her head. She didn't want him to see her like this. Not yet at least, Buffy thought.
She didn't want her friends and family to see her like this yet either now that she thought about it. Buffy wanted to wait. She wasn't The Slayer so she thought that she had plenty of time to discover what she was all about. She was a Potential and she wanted to know what that meant for her. Then she would see everyone. Buffy realized that her parents were staring at her and she blinked.
"Sorry, I spaced out." Buffy said. "What were you saying?"
"Oh nothing." Jasmine said. "We were just talking about sides and what else to have for dinner."
"Um, maybe green beans?" Buffy suggested.
Jasmine nodded. "That sounds good."
"I'm going to go upstairs and shower." Buffy told them.
She wanted to get away from them for a little while. Buffy walked away and walked upstairs. Buffy grabbed some clothes and walked into the bathroom. She looked at her reflection and studied it. Her new body was the complete opposite of her original body. Buffy sighed heavily and turned on the shower. She made it lukewarm. Buffy undressed and stepped into the shower.
Buffy washed her hair slowly. It felt odd to shower again. It still felt odd to be here. To breathe. To live. Buffy moved onto the conditioner and let it set. Then she washed her body. She stared at the soap and watched it go down the drain. Buffy finished cleaning her body and washed the conditioner out of her hair. She then washed her face. Once she was finished with everything, Buffy turned off the water.
She stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel. She wrapped it around her body tightly and dried off. Buffy slipped into the clean clothes that she brought and then dried her hair. This was different. Her body was different. Buffy shook her head and turned away from the mirror. She hung up the towel and picked up her dirty clothes. Buffy took her dirty clothes and walked into her bedroom. Jasmine passed her on the way in there and asked,
"Are you okay sweetie?"
Buffy nodded. "Just needed to shower." She lied and paused. "I think I am going to rest for a little bit."
Jasmine nodded and watched Buffy walk into her room. Buffy closed the door and put the clothes into her hamper. She pressed her back against the door and slid down it. Outside of her door, Buffy heard quiet sobbing. It must have been Jasmine. She didn't know how to comfort her. She wasn't her real mother. Buffy sighed heavily and walked to her bed. She crawled into the covers and closed her eyes.