Chapter 8: Buffy's Confession
*****Friday After Thanksgiving******
Buffy sat down with her uncles and aunt and discussed her life until Dawn called them down for breakfast.
"I cannot believe this is real," Beth said. "If someone doesn't take me to a liquor store soon, I don't know what I might do."
"Why don't we go to the store after breakfast?" Buffy said. "Isn't it Black Friday?"
"I am so not in the mood for that type of shopping," Beth said, glaring at her.
"I know, but we can use that as our excuse with Grandpa," Buffy said.
"When are you talking to Dad?" Jamie asked.
"I wanted to put it off as long as possible," Buffy said.
"You should tell him tonight," Kayce said. "It's not cool to tell him right before he leaves."
"I want to speak to your mentor, Mr. Giles," Jamie said. "Can you take me to him? I'll talk to him about Faith."
"Okay," Buffy said. "I'll tell Dawn to ask Grandpa to take her to the movies or something just the two of them."
They joined John for breakfast, and he smiled at Buffy, who hugged him.
"Good morning to both my girls," John said as Beth kissed his cheek next.
"Good morning, Dad," she said.
"Hi, Aunt Beth," Dawn said, smiling at her.
"Hey, kiddo," Beth said. She went to the coffee pot.
"Do you want some pancakes?" Dawn asked.
"No, just some coffee," Beth said.
"She doesn't eat breakfast," Jamie said.
"It's the most important meal of the day," Dawn said. "It fuels you for the entire day."
"I destroy companies for a living," Beth said. "Do you think I need to be even more fueled?" She sipped her coffee and smirked at her niece whose mouth was an O shape.
Buffy went over to her sister and whispered, "I really need you to agree with whatever I suggest with Grandpa, okay?"
She gave her a puzzled look but nodded. "Do you want to move to the dining room?" she asked her grandpa.
"Beth's not eating. I think the kitchen table is big enough," John said.
"I always eat here on the stool at the island," Buffy said, sitting next Beth, who was sitting on the other stool.
"So what do you want to do today?" John asked.
"Well, Dawn was hoping you might go to the movies with her," Buffy said. "I have trouble focusing sometimes at the movies. The dark theatres put me to sleep. Beth and I were talking about hitting the mall for some Black Friday shopping."
"I don't know if Beth wants to do that," John said, grinning. "I don't know if she can keep up."
"Shopping with Buffy is nearly an Olympic sport," Dawn said, grinning.
"Oh, I just want to show her things we like to give her ideas for Christmas," Buffy said. "Not really serious shopping. I don't want to break her." Her grandfather and Dawn laughed.
They ate breakfast and got ready for the day. As it was Thanksgiving Break, there was an eleven o'clock showing of movies at the theater at the mall, so they headed there. Kayce decided to go with Jamie to the Magic Box to hang out with Giles. He used the pretense of wanting to find a unique souvenir for Monica from the Magic Box.
Buffy dropped them off and headed to the mall where the movie theatre was located next to.
Jamie and Kayce were shocked to discover that the Magic Box was so busy. "I didn't expect this," Jamie said.
"Me either. But it is Black Friday," Kayce said.
Anya was happily working the register while Giles was helping a customer as was Willow.
Tara and Xander were sitting at the back table. "Hey!" Xander said, calling them over.
They headed toward the table. "Good morning," Jamie said. "I wanted to speak to Mr. Giles. It didn't occur to me that his store would be so busy."
"Well, the people in this town love their magical trinkets," Xander said.
"Buffy told us about this town being on a hellmouth and her calling," Jamie said.
"Okay, then, you know that there are people in this town who are aware," Xander said. "Or they just know something isn't right, and they want protection crystals."
"Giles sells a lot of those," Tara added. "How are you holding up?"
"It's a lot to process," Jamie said.
"Buffy took Beth to find some alcohol," Kayce said, smiling.
Xander laughed. "It'll probably take a lot of alcohol," he added.
Kayce nodded. "I told Buffy that she had to tell Dad tonight," he said. "We're leaving tomorrow, so she can't dump it on right before we leave. It won't be right."
"That was what she wanted to do," Xander said.
"She didn't want the visit to be ruined by upsetting him," Tara told them.
"Our father is as tough as they come," Kayce said. "He'll deal."
"What do you think he'll do?" Xander asked.
"I think he'll drag Dawn out of here as fast as possible," Jamie said. "It's what I want to do. She has no business living a life worried about monsters and evil on a daily basis."
"I can understand that," Tara said.
"I do, too, but I would really miss her," Xander said, looking sad.
"You will just have to come to Montana," Kayce said. "I'll teach you how to ride a horse."
"So no work today?" Jamie asked him.
"No, our boss gave us a four-day break since we finished up our last project on Wednesday. We're starting a new on Monday," Xander said.
When there was a lull in the traffic, Giles came over to greet them, and Jamie spoke with him about Faith.
Giles knew that he was going to lose his slayer to her family because Jamie wanted the name of Faith's lawyer.
"I will have Willow give you Angel's information as he would know that," Giles said, motioning her over after she finished talking to her customer.
Giles resumed his work while Jamie spoke with Willow, who was glad the family was taking things so well.
She called Angel and explained about Buffy's family.
"Yeah, Faith told me about it," Angel admitted. It was sad that he and Buffy no longer talked much about their lives unless it was an emergency situation, but they kept up with one another through mutual friends. "That's really great for her."
"Her uncle Jamie is an attorney, and he wants to talk to you about who represented her," Willow said.
Angel was happy to speak to the uncle, who was willing to help both of the women he cared deeply for.
*****The Mall****
Dawn took her grandfather to the movie theatre while Buffy and Beth walked to the liquor store across the street before going into the mall. Beth put most of her liquor into the back of the car first before proceeding into the mall after her niece.
Beth kept a small bottle in a paper bag and was downing it as Buffy pointed out things Dawn liked to wear.
"Oh, I have to buy this skirt for Willow. It's on sale!" Buffy said, grinning as she went into a store. Then she saw a dress that she knew Tara would like, and the store did gift wrapping.
"What should I get Anya?" Buffy wondered aloud after she left the shop.
"Shares in coin. It's going to blow up soon, and it will make her very wealthy," Beth said.
"Not only do I not know what that is, I don't know how to do that," Buffy said.
"It's online currency," Beth explained. "More and more countries are starting to trade with it. It's only a matter of time before America does, too."
"Okay, then, I'll do that," Buffy said, grinning. "Or I'll give you money to do it for me?"
Beth nodded. "Happy to," she said.
Buffy was anxious about the upcoming talk with her grandfather, so she didn't buy too much. They had just a few bags to carry before she and her aunt went to the food court.
Beth curled her lips. "I do not eat this kind of shit," she told Buffy.
"Why not?" Buffy asked as she ordered a burger and fries.
"It's nothing but processed garbage," Beth said.
"Well, over there is the Chinese buffet. They have healthier stuff. Go get your veggie on," Buffy suggested.
"You need to read a book about nutrition before nature catches up to you," Beth told her.
Buffy smirked. "I've already died twice," she told her. "Besides, I have the slayer healing and metabolism. I don't worry about that kind of thing. Give the book to Dawn. She's the one that has to worry."
Beth did go over to the yogurt bar and order a smoothie after thinking about her niece's disturbing words.
When they were at a table, she prodded Buffy. "So tell me about your two deaths," she said. "Not the sanitized version you gave us in front of Dad. Now that I know about your calling, I would like the details."
Buffy debated on what to say. Then she decided that Beth was very pragmatic and could handle her truth. "The first time was my sophomore year. I hadn't been in Sunnydale very long. The Master, this very ancient vampire who had turned Spike and Angel and Angel's sire, Darla was trapped in the hellmouth. He was about to get out. There was prophecy that said that I was to face him and die," Buffy said. "It was the night of the spring formal. Angel gave Giles this old book that confirmed the prophecy with Giles."
"God," Beth said, looking surprised. "Prophecies? You believe that shit?"
Buffy nodded. "I have to because sometimes they come true, and sometimes they're possible futures that I can thwart," she told Beth. "In this case, I went down to the hellmouth."
"Wait, you can go into the hellmouth?" Beth asked, surprised.
"Well, yeah, if I want," she said. "I've had to a few times. This time, I faced the Master, he had the power to mesmerize me, so I was nearly frozen—I didn't fight him. He bit me and threw me into a fountain, and I drowned."
"God!" Beth exclaimed, more than a bit disturbed.
"Xander, though, had followed me," Buffy said, smiling. "My brave, only human, sixteen-year-old friend insisted on backing me up. Angel came with him, and they pulled me out of the fountain. Xander gave me CPR, and he saved my life."
Beth smiled. "I knew that I fucking loved that man," she said, taking a drink of the small bottle she had in her purse.
"He has been the best friend I could ever have," she said.
"And you never dated?" Beth asked.
"He had a crush on me when I came to town, but Willow was crushing on him," Buffy said. "Crushes come and go, but friends are forever. I wouldn't trade my Xander-shaped friend for anything. He is the only man in my life that has never let me down."
"I can see why Anya is threatened by you," Beth said with a smirk. "I would scratch your eyes out if I was dating him."
"I am happy that Xander has found love with Anya," Buffy told her. "He deserves it. Anya is a bit weird and all, but she loves him and makes him happy. God knows that he has never dated any normal girls."
Buffy started to get into Xander's history of dating, but Beth held up her hand. "Let's not get off topic," she said. "I want to hear about the second time you died. You told us that you fell off a tower. I want more details about that one. You can tell me about Xander's dating disasters another time."
Buffy looked uncomfortable. "This one is a bit harder to talk about," she admitted. "It has to do with Dawn." Buffy knew she could tell Dawn's tale without telling her origins, but it was still a hard story to tell.
"Dawn? Why?" Beth asked, surprised.
"Her blood had some properties in it that this hell god named Glorificus—Glory—needed to open a door to her home world," Buffy explained. "But only at a certain exact time last May, a few months after Mom died. The entire time I was dealing with Mom's illness I was fighting this indestructible, insane—she was crazy—hell god. She was stronger than me, stronger than any opponent I've ever faced. Basically invulnerable."
"How did you beat her?" Beth asked.
"It wasn't easy," Buffy said. "She had taken Dawn. I went a little nuts. Willow was the only one who had managed at all to hurt Glory. Glory had hurt Tara, and Willow went after her with her magic actually rattling her. So we worked together—it is what we do. I wouldn't be so effective without my friends. We figured out where Glory was. She had Dawn on this very high metal tower—several stories high, poorly constructed. I had Glory defeated, and Dawn screamed for me. But one of her worshipers had cut Dawn. The thing I hadn't mentioned is Dawn's blood didn't just open up the doorway to Glory's dimension, but it did to all dimensions, which would have destroyed not only our reality but every reality in existence. There are countless. I got up to Dawn and untied her, but it was too late. Blood had dripped into where it needed to go to open the doorway. A dragon came out, demons were starting to break through."
"No fucking way!" Beth said, her eyes wide, trying to decide if she could believe her niece. However, Buffy's eyes were so haunted that she couldn't dismiss the tale.
"It's true. I wish I could make this up, but my imagination isn't that good," Buffy said with a bitter note. "Dawn told me that it needed her blood to close, so she wanted to jump."
Beth's face took on a look of horror as she realized the scene up on that tower.
"I told her that our blood was the same—Death is my gift the first slayer told me when I went on a vision quest," Buffy shared, a faraway look in her eye. "I thought that meant that a slayer was just a killer in the end, but in that moment, I knew. It was my time. I was finished. In that moment, death—my death—was the gift I could give Dawn. So I jumped in her place, closing the door."
"Damn," Beth muttered. Her nieces' lives were a fucking horror show, and she didn't know what to say. "How are you here now?"
"Willow. She, Tara, Anya, and Xander did a spell and resurrected me," Buffy said. "Of course, it was Willow who has the power. She got Osiris to release me. Since my death wasn't natural, she was able to get my soul back in my body."
"Bullshit!" Beth exclaimed loud enough to cause people to look at her.
Buffy's phone buzzed. "Dawn says their movie is over, and they are at the diner next to the theatre eating," she said.
"So when you say the word resurrected, what exactly do you mean?" Beth asked.
"I died toward the end of last May and was resurrected just ten days before I came to see Montana," Buffy shared.
"No fucking way. I don't believe you," Beth said.
Buffy looked down at her hands. "I wish I was lying, but you never forget waking up in your own coffin and having to bust out of it, and the dirt coming in your face and eyes and crawling out of it," she said. "My knuckles were bloody."
Beth just stared at her in shock, unable to comprehend the image that her niece painted. It was too horrifying for words. Instead of speaking, she got up from the table. Buffy thought she was ready to leave and stood also. However, Beth simply moved and hugged her.
Buffy couldn't know how rare it was for her aunt to ever hug another anyone, especially another woman. For a moment, Buffy pretended it was her mother holding her.
Beth didn't say anything because she couldn't. After Buffy threw away her food tray, she followed her out of the food court and over to the diner where her dad was sitting with Dawn.
"How was the movie?" Buffy asked, smiling at Dawn as she sat in the booth next to her.
"Good. Did you get anything good in the sales?" she asked.
"A few things," Buffy said. "I got Willow and Tara's gifts."
"Cool," Dawn said.
"Are you okay?" John asked Beth.
"I'm fine," Beth said, still rattled. "Buffy was telling me stories of the past year. It has been hard for her and Dawn."
John nodded. "It's good that we've found the girls. Kismet," he said, smiling.
Dawn grinned. "You believe in fate, Grandpa?" she asked.
"Only when it's convenient," he admitted, chuckling.
He paid for lunch, and they got into the car, driving toward the Magic Box. Dawn and John got out right away, but Beth lingered, waiting for Buffy.
Buffy met her eyes in the rearview mirror. "My friends resurrected me because they were afraid I was stuck in a hell dimension. That happened once to my ex-boyfriend Angel. He was gone a few months, but it was hundreds of years of torment for him," Buffy explained. She paused. "I-I haven't told them. Only Spike because I know they love me. Sometimes too much. They need me here. I understand. The hellmouth is too much to handle without a slayer."
"Tell them what, Buffy?" Beth asked, dreading to discover what secret she felt she could only tell Spike.
"I wasn't in hell," Buffy admitted. "I-I think I was in heaven. I'm not very religious, but wherever I was, I was at peace. It was warm. I was happy; I was finished. Willow pulled me out of heaven and brought back to hell."
Beth felt the blood rushing to her head as she took in Buffy's words. How could it be true?
"Look at me, Buffy," she ordered.
Buffy turned around and faced her.
"You're not bullshitting me?" she demanded.
"Of course not! It's true. You can ask Dawn or any of them. Giles was the only one that wasn't here, but he was at my grave site. He knows I was buried. Probably paid for it," she said.
"God, Buffy, I don't know what to say," Beth said. "Thank you for telling me."
She got out of the car while Buffy took a minute to compose herself. When Beth made into the Magic Box, most of the traffic had cleared out. There were just a few left. Beth, however, was looking for the witch and located her talking to someone by a shelf.
Rage like she hadn't felt in a very long time if ever filled her, and she attacked, knocking Willow into the shelf.
"Hey!" Willow yelled.
Beth punched her in the stomach hard, causing her to double over and followed up with a hard blow to her chin and face.
"I'm going to rip your fucking head off!" Beth screamed.
Willow was so shocked by the violence that she couldn't react.
However, Kayce did. He quickly moved to pull Beth off Willow, but Beth was determined to hurt the witch. "Let me go! If you knew what she did to Buffy, you would put a bullet in the bitch's head yourself!" Beth screamed.
"Sisters fighting over some guy!" Xander called out to the customers, who looked freaked out.
"It's best if you all leave until we settle this," Giles said, ushering them out the front door.
Giles quickly went to the door and flipped the sign to close as Buffy came through it.
"What is going on?" Buffy asked.
"You aunt just came in and physically assaulted Willow," Xander said, looking upset and at a loss.
"I'm going to kill her," Beth vowed, struggling to get out of Kayce's arms.
"That's enough, Beth!" John yelled. "Stop it!"
"You don't know, Dad! You don't have any idea what she did to Buffy. What they all did to Buffy, but she is the ringleader, the fucking witch with real power," Beth said, pulling away from Kayce.
Buffy stood in front of Willow, mentally groaning as she realized what had happened. "Are you okay, Willow?" she asked her.
"I don't know," Willow said, wiping the blood off her busted lip.
"You are hurting the money, Beth," Anya said, frowning at her. "Can't you attack Willow after business hours?"
"Sorry, Anya, but Buffy told me that she died and was dead for months. You, Xander, and Tara, helped Willow do a spell to bring her back," Beth said, looking at Anya.
"I told them it was a bad idea, but no one ever listens to me," Anya said.
"Well, it worked. Buffy was brought back," Willow said. "You're welcome."
Beth found the arrogant bitch's word infuriating and charged at her again, but this time Buffy grabbed her. "Aunt Beth, stop it," Buffy said. "I'm not going to let you hurt my best friend. I didn't tell you my secret, so you could do that. I'm not angry at her, and you shouldn't be either. If she hadn't done it, I wouldn't know you."
"What kind of fucking best friend pulls you out of fucking heaven, Buffy?" Beth said. "I don't even believe in heaven, but you were at peace, and she took it from you. She had no right. No fucking right to bring you back to this hellhole because she wants you to keep fighting."
"What?" Willow asked the same time as Giles and John.
Everyone stood looking at Buffy.
Buffy wished that she had just kept her big mouth shut.
*****To Be Continued******
So John is ALMOST in the know now. I just pictured Beth reacting with violence and had to write this scene. If you don't watch Yellowstone, this is EXACTLY how she would most likely react. If you do, I hope you agree with me!
