In the End
Set in season 7. A mysterious woman shows up in Sunnydale and befriends Buffy and the Scoobies. The First is not the big bad of the story but the Slayer line is still in trouble but no potentials.
A/N: A couple of caveats - Willow still went evil but did not kill Warren Buffy stopped her in time. The 'bathroom' scene between Buffy & Spike never happened mostly because I hated it. It's my story deal with it. Anya & Xander did not get married.
Chapter One
The summer had been quiet, which gave Buffy time to reconnect with her friends and fully be present in Dawn's life. Willow was still struggling with her inner turmoil; she had almost killed Warren for shooting Tara. Luckily Warren was a crappy shot, and she survived the attack. Tara spent a few weeks in the hospital but ultimately was fine and on the road to recovery.
Warren, Jonathan, and Andrew got their just desserts when they were sentenced to prison for their part in the bank robbery. Warren didn't get off as lightly as the others; he was also convicted of attempted murder. The gang didn't have to worry about them for a long time.
Buffy and her friends often spent most summer evenings at The Bronze. Sometimes Buffy even brought Dawn along.
It was a chilled atmosphere that night. The gang sat around on the comfortable couches and sipped on their drinks leisurely.
"So, Will, when does Tara come home?" asked Xander.
"It should be in the next day or two" Willow smiled brightly.
"Ooh, we should totally have a welcome home party!" said Dawn excitedly.
"I don't know, Dawn," said Willow. "She's still kinda fragile."
"Yeah, plus, parties at our house never end well" said Buffy. "We don't want to overwhelm her; her first night home."
Dawn looked deflated.
"Maybe we can make a welcome home banner" Willow offered.
"Yeah, that would be nice" said Dawn.
Anya was also at The Bronze that night, after the wedding that never was. She distanced herself from The Scoobies, it being too painful to be around Xander day in and day out.
Dawn was the first one to spot her in the crowd "Anya's here, Hey! Anya!" Dawn called her over.
Anya came over to the table "Hello"
Girls made small talk whilst Xander retreated into his seat uncomfortably.
"Hello Xander" Anya finally acknowledged him
"Hey" he said softly
"I must go, I'm working" said Anya leaving and disappearing into the crowd
"Anya works here?" Dawn frowned
"No sweetie, she's must be here on vengeance business" said Willow
"Who comes to The Bronze for vengeance" said Dawn
"It's where I come to get my scorn on" said Buffy
"Speaking of scorn… have you seen Captain Peroxide lately?" asked Xander
"No" said Buffy "He's staying out of my way"
"Probably for the best" said Willow
"You're still angry that him and Anya…" Dawn started
Buffy remained silent for a moment "No, I broke up with him remember…"
The truth was that Buffy did care. Seeing Spike having sex with Anya in The Magic Box hurt her. She didn't know why, as she didn't love him. She'd told him enough to let him know she didn't have those feelings for him, but seeing him with someone else definitely hurt.
He hadn't even spoken to her since outing their affair to Xander and Anya outside of The Magic Box. She went to his crypt a few months ago and found Clem crypt sitting for him. Clem had told her that he had left and she didn't know when he would be back. She knew he was back, but she had only seen him once while out on patrol; however, he made no effort to try and talk to her. Maybe he was over her now, at last. Buffy was glad for the space.
"Ooh, I love this song" said Willow. "Anyone want to join me in shaking our groove thing?"
"Ooh, me" said Dawn excitedly.
The redhead and the teenager made their way to the dance floor. Xander had been scouring the crowd since Anya disappeared into it.
"You miss her?" asked Buffy.
"Huh?" asked Xander. "Anya? No... I just wanna make sure she's okay."
"She's a vengeance demon; I'm sure she can take care of herself" said Buffy.
"Right" he said, taking a sip from his beer bottle.
"C'mon, let's dance," said Buffy, dragging Xander onto the dance floor.
The remaining Scoobies danced around to the music, completely unaware that a brunette woman with piercing green eyes was watching them from the shadows.
She looked at them curiously, "So that's her" she said to herself.
XXXXX
The next night, Buffy headed out to patrol. She tried to limit her time in Restfield Cemetery, fearing a run-in with Spike, whose crypt was located there.
As she walked among the tombstones, she tried to resist the urge to visit him. It had been six months since they had any contact with each other. Part of her still yearned for him, his touch, his kiss. But this was better she told herself, no contact meant no harm. She was kidding herself of course, she still had dreams about him, naughty sexy dreams in which he gave her the best sex of her life. Still, it was wrong. She was using him to feel alive.
Luckily just when she thought she was going to break and head for his crypt, a vampire jumped out at her.
"Thank you!" she said, looking up at the sky.
The vampire tackled her and she fell to the ground. He climbed on top of her and tried to go in for the kill. She mustered up the strength to get him off her, sending him flying through the air. Buffy scrambled to her feet, the vampire had already engaged in a fight with Spike, who quickly staked him.
Buffy stared at him blankly for a moment. He nodded his head and turned to walk away.
"Hey!" She called after him. "What's with the silent treatment?"
Spike turned back round to face her "What do you want me to say?"
"Maybe you can tell me where you've been for the last six months?" She asked
Spike smirked "We're not close anymore, Slayer. I don't feel like sharing"
Buffy stood there looking confused.
"All you need to know is I'm back, ready to help out if you need me. If you don't then I'll stay away" he told her
She watched him walk away. Buffy heaved a sigh and decided it was time to call it a night. The woman who had been watching Buffy the previous night emerged from the shadows.
"Interesting" she said to herself.