Chapter 6

A very relative lull

Buffy woke up early the next morning. After getting dressed, she looked for the kitchen which she discovered at the end of the corridor. As she poured milk over her second bowl of cereal, Angel walked in and headed to the fridge.

"How did you sleep?"

"Pretty well, your guest room is very comfortable. You could open a guesthouse," she joked. Angel didn't answer, just warming his cup of blood in the microwave. "Okay, forget the guest room. I don't think that's a good idea after all," the young woman said.

"Why?" Angel asked, turning towards her.

"Because you need to like talking to people, making meals for them and… I don't think that'd suit you."

"Not to mention that in terms of human food… I don't have much. Except for the few human friends that I have. By the way, it's thanks to them that you can eat this morning. Maybe I could do that for the demons though…"

"Sure, especially with the number of demons roaming the streets these days… You'll go bankrupt!" Buffy pointed out ironically.

"Anyway, I'm starting to be bankrupt so I might as well start thinking about professional reassignment."

"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked, surprised.

"You said it yourself; demonic activity is plummeting so people no longer need my services. I'm almost unemployed!"

"True… Who would have thought we'd complain about it one day, eh?" The Slayer grinned.

"I'm not complaining," the vampire replied, "but I need to adapt."

"I'm sure you'll find something."

Calm settled as they finished their breakfast, lost in their thoughts. Suddenly, Buffy broke the silence. "How did it go with that cat-demon?"

"Oh… Uh, fine. No problem," Angel replied, a little embarrassed.

"Was it shaped like a cat?"

"Not really… It's just that these demons have the head of a feline but their bodies don't look like them at all."

"Oh." Buffy opened a new bottle of milk and poured its contents into her bowl. "You, on the other hand, are turning into a cat from what I see," Angel pointed out.

"Eh?" Buffy took a large mouthful of cereal and milk dribbled down her chin. Angel nodded towards the empty bottle on the table then. "Oh. No, it's just that I'm very hungry. I didn't eat last night; I was too tired. You know, it's a myth to say that cats drink a lot of milk! I don't remember seeing Miss Kitty addicted to milk…"

"Who?"

"Miss Kitty. It was Willow and Tara's cat."

"Ah… By the way, Buffy, have you heard from Giles? I wonder if Spike's return has something to do with the necklace that I gave you."

"Really? Why?"

"Well, I know that it had very strong mystical power and that it was very ancient. I know it was destroyed but I don't see any other explanation for his return for now."

"Yeah, you're right… I often call Giles, he's in England at the moment. I'll talk to him, maybe he can give us more clarification."

"Alright. Anyway, like I told you, I didn't have time to do research before giving it to you. I guess you didn't either."

"No… We didn't know how to use it. You told me it had to be given to a champion and that it was dangerous. It was the day before the battle and I gave it to Spike. It seemed obvious. I already had the axe and Willow her magic… Well," the Slayer said after noticing the time and clearing her place, "I'm gonna go back home. Xander and Willow are waiting for me. You, uh… let me know if Spike changes his mind, okay?"

"Of course."

"And if he feels like it, he can come see me. Here is my address." She scribbled her contact details on a piece of paper which she handed to Angel. "Obviously, you're welcome too."

"Thanks."

Buffy left the kitchen and headed towards her room to collect her things, namely her purse. Before leaving, she stopped in front of the vampire's room and knocked. When she didn't get an answer, she pushed the door and entered. The room was filled with books. Books whose old covers and strange characters suggested treatises on demons and whatnot. Buffy approached a shelf and stroked the spine of the books in front of her. Life and death of Kôlsköy; the Demon of the 37th moon; Aromatic Potions; Power Exchanges in the Universe, ...

"Buffy? You need something?" Angel asked behind her. The Slayer jumped and turned around. "I don't, sorry. I wanted to say goodbye but you didn't answer so…"

"I was in the bathroom."

"Sorry." She moved closer and stood on tiptoes to place a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you so much, Angel. For… For telling me."

"Stay safe, Buffy."

"You take care, too."

When Buffy closed the door behind her, Willow and Dawn literally jumped on her. While hugging them, a barrage of questions bombarded her.

"What's going on?"

"Willow told me that you went to see Angel? Why?"

"How did it go with him?"

After a few moments, Buffy waved her hands in front of her to surrender and her interlocutors forced themselves not to ask any further questions. Buffy placed her coat on the sofa followed by her sister and best friend.

Finally, Willow spoke again. "How was the trip?"

"Fine, coming back was faster than going there."

"Of course, you left at rush hour yesterday!" Dawn reminded her.

"How do you know that?" Her sister asked and Dawn nodded towards Willow who started to blush. "Dawn asked where you were so…"

"I see, you were worried about your big sister, weren't you?" Buffy mocked her gently. "What about you? No trouble when you came here from campus?"

"Buffy, it's only a few miles away," Dawn said. "What do you want to happen?"

"I don't know, a car accident, a demon…"

"It's you who worries about me!" The student snickered. The two sisters smiled and Buffy finally began to answer their questions. "Angel wanted to tell me about the necklace we used to defeat the First."

"Does he have information?" Willow asked. "It's true that we didn't really know what it was…"

"Yeah… It could be interesting to have explanations," The Slayer replied.

"What for?" Dawn wondered. "I mean, why now? It's been six months since Sunnydale was destroyed!"

"Oh, uh… Well," Buffy stammered.

Willow frowned and Dawn looked at her sister, "Buffy?" She asked, "What's the matter? The First is back, is that it?"

"No, Dawn! Of course not!" The Slayer replied quickly, "It's just… Spike is said to have come back from the dead and Angel thinks it has something to do with the necklace."

The two young women looked at her, gaping. "Are you saying… that Spike is alive?" Dawn asked.

"That's… wow!" Willow added.

"I know, it's crazy… That's why we need to do research. I'll call Giles," the Slayer said.

"Where is he?" Her best friend asked, "Did he stay with Angel? Is he okay?"

"Um, yes. He's with Angel. He prefers to stay over there."

"Ah, alright. Well… Now that's some news!"

"I told you that if Angel had called it was because something important was going on!" Dawn pointed out to Willow.

"Yeah, I guess…"

"Where's Xander?" Buffy asked suddenly.

"At work. Something came up on the construction site. He should be back in the afternoon," Willow replied.

"I need to go back to campus; I forgot some things there," Dawn said. "I'll also come back in the afternoon."

"All right. We'll have a nice meal together to celebrate our reunion then!" The witch got enthused.

"Can you make the vegetable stew you told me about, Willow? It looked really good!" Dawn asked.

"I can, if I find all the ingredients at this time of year! I don't think we have any cardamom or celery stalks…"

"There is a very big market today near campus! I'll bring some! Thanks, Willow!" Dawn kissed her sister and her friend on the cheek before walking through the front door. Buffy turned to her best friend with a smirk then.

"A vegetable stew?"

"It really is delicious, you'll see! It's a traditional recipe from Tibet, Tsel."

Buffy raised her eyebrows, making it clear that she figured out who she had shared this delicious stew with. Willow blushed and headed to the kitchen to check if she had all the other ingredients.

"I can't believe Captain Peroxide is alive!" Xander repeated for the third time that evening.

They were all seated in Buffy's living room and Willow had worked on preparing a dish of Tibetan vegetable stew with chicken in sauce. Xander had also brought a huge chocolate hazelnut brownie for dessert.

"Xander! When are you gonna get over it?" Dawn laughed.

"Probably never," he replied before helping himself to the chicken.

"I don't see why not," Willow pointed out. "Buffy has died twice and here she is…" With a grin, Buffy waved at Xander to let him know. "Yeah, but this… It's even more supernatural!" He replied.

"Why?" Dawn asked.

"I don't know! He's a vampire, he was pulverized and… a crushed necklace would have brought him back to life?"

"Well, I am a reincarnated key," Dawn said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Maybe it was his soul that saved him," Willow suggested.

"Yeah… For what it was…"

"Xander!" Willow frowned, "I thought you missed him somehow?"

"Yeah, because he was dead! Now it's not the same!" His friend grimaced.

Willow shook her head, smiling, and the rest of the meal ended happily.

The next morning, Buffy finished washing the dishes while Willow put away the last utensils. "Buffy, where do you store the salt?"

"First cupboard on the left," the Slayer told her.

"Ah… What about this big spoon?" Buffy turned to look before nodding towards the drawer in front of her. "Willow, you don't need to do that; I'm almost done with the dishes."

"It's only fair I help you, Buffy!"

"You're my guest, Will!"

"A guest who stays for several months," the young woman pointed out. "I'm more of a squatter actually…"

"Will!"

"I know, I know… It's just… I don't want you to feel obligated to accommodate me."

"We've already talked about it and you know what I think," her friend reminded her.

"But what if you wanna invite a handsome young man and have a romantic evening?"

"I'll let you know and you'll spend the evening at Xander's."

"What if it becomes serious and he spends a lot of time here?"

"I'd tell him that you're my best friend and that we live together."

"But if he knows I'm a lesbian? He'll have questions and I don't wanna interfere in your relationship!"

"Of course you won't! Besides, I could go to his house too."

"What if you wanna move in with him?"

Buffy smiled at her friend's characteristic sudden outburst. "You know, Will… We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, but if it makes you feel any better, I swear that it's not on the agenda," she pointed out with a grimace.

"Yeah, you're right but… I'm getting ready."

Buffy had finished the dishes and she approached her best friend to hug her. "Willow, god, I missed you!"

"Oh… I missed you too, Buffy!"

"You see, that's exactly what I was missing! Giggles, confidences, and the irrational anxieties of my best friend!"

The witch grimaced and Buffy burst out laughing. "It looks like you're happy this morning, Buffy," Willow noticed with satisfaction.

"You're right. I think it's because we were all together yesterday… I feel really good," the Slayer grinned.

"Great. And… uh… that has nothing to do with Spike's return?" She asked innocently.

"Eh? N-No, no."

"Oh." Willow was kind of disappointed. Buffy didn't add anything and Willow was about to return to her room to change when the Slayer suddenly spoke again. "I didn't see him yesterday," she said.

"Oh? He wasn't here?" She replied, surprised.

"No."

"Why?"

"I don't really know."

"Too bad. Do you think we'll see him again?"

"Who knows. I gave Angel my address just in case."

"Good idea. And… How did it go with Angel?"

"Good. It was really nice to see him. He seems to be okay. We'll try to see each other more often in the future. I mean, without waiting for a threat of the end of the world," the Slayer said ironically.

"Well, it'll certainly be more pleasant," Willow agreed. "Buffy, I'll get ready. I'd like to visit the new Museum of Modern Art today."

"All right. I gotta meet Dawn to do some shopping before calling Giles. You wanna come along?"

"You know I do! It's been so long since I last went shopping! I'll go visit the museum later!"

Willow went back to her room and Buffy remained thoughtful for a few minutes. She had wanted to tell her best friend about her doubts and ambiguous feelings towards Spike but she ultimately didn't have the courage. The Slayer shook her head to clear her mind. Why was she thinking about that sort of thing when she might never see him again? Buffy got up and walked briskly towards the bathroom. She felt good today and was determined to stay that way.

"What on earth is she doing?" Buffy got angry. With Willow, they had been waiting for her sister for over an hour for their shopping trip.

"Maybe she forgot?" Her friend suggested.

"Dawn? She'd forget a shopping afternoon?" The Slayer repeated, raising her eyebrows to make her realize her remark didn't make sense.

"Yeah, you're right, she couldn't have forgotten," Willow agreed. "But… it's weird, she's not answering her phone."

"I'm starting to worry." Buffy was suddenly concerned.

"If she had had an accident we'd have been informed. Don't worry, Buffy…"

"I only see one possibility: she was attacked and she's lying unconscious somewhere!"

"What? You're overreacting, Buffy. Dawn knows how to take care of herself!"

"I know but it's been a long time since there were demons or vampires. So it's been a long time since she last trained!"

"Ultimately, it's more likely that she was attacked by humans, but then she'd know how to defend herself after what we experienced, that's for sure!"

"Against a firearm, for example?"

Willow bit her lip. Seeing that this conversation hadn't reassured her friend, on the contrary, she suggested doing a locator spell.

"Yes, please, Willow. We can't be too sure! I have a bad feeling…"

Willow went back upstairs to print out a map of the town and gathered some ingredients she needed. She hadn't wanted to worry Buffy any more than she already was, but the Slayer's sister's delay also intrigued her. Moreover, Buffy's bad premonitions were rarely to be taken lightly… She quickly went back down to the living room and sat down at the table.

"It won't take long," she said.

"Good," Buffy replied. She went near the window while Willow began the spell. Her eyes scanned the street, hoping to see her sister appear at any moment. Despite her efforts to put things into perspective, Buffy felt a dull anxiety creeping into her. An anxiety that she hadn't felt in a long time. For six months exactly.

Her best friend's voice suddenly pulled her from her thoughts. "She's here!" Willow exclaimed.

"Where?" Buffy asked, approaching the map spread out on the table.

"Here." The witch showed her a luminous point on the map. "South Grand Avenue… number 1401," she read from the map.

"Oh my God."

Buffy had turned white. Without waiting, she rushed to the door and ran out. Hoping to understand her friend's reaction, Willow looked back at the map. After a few seconds, she found what she was looking for and with a sinking heart, Willow rushed after her friend. Dawn was in the hospital.

Buffy grabbed the shoulder of a young woman in hospital scrubs who almost wobbled as she turned around.

"Where's my sister?" The Slayer asked strongly.

"Excuse me?" The nurse said, frowning as she recovered from the shock.

"My sister. Where is she?" Buffy repeated.

"Can I know her name at least?" She asked.

"Her name is Dawn Summers," Willow replied, seeing that Buffy was about to lose her patience.

"I'll check," her interlocutor replied.

"Thank you very much." As the nurse walked away towards reception, Willow turned to her best friend. "Buffy, calm down. There's no point in getting upset like that. I'm sure she's fine…"

"I'll be sure when I see her," the Slayer replied, approaching the nurse who was coming back. "Well?"

"She's in room 407 on the second floor."

Willow thanked her while Buffy was already going up the stairs leading to the upper floors. Arriving at the door, she stopped and took a deep breath. No matter what she saw behind, she would be strong. She slowly turned the knob and poked her head into the room but it was empty. Horrified, Buffy turned around and bumped into Willow who had just arrived.

"She's not here!" The Slayer told her.

"What?" Willow was appalled, "Wait, there must be some mistake. Maybe the nurse saw it wrong…"

"Who are you looking for, ladies?"

The two young women turned around. A man in his forties with an open white coat smiled at them. His badge indicated that he was Dr Lopes, a general practitioner.

"I'm looking for my sister, Dawn Summers," Buffy replied.

"Summers… Yes, her room is indeed 407 but she must be in her friend's room, 408. Don't worry, she's fine!"

Buffy felt a huge weight slip off her shoulders. She smiled gratefully at the one who had just taken away all the anxiety she had been carrying since she had learned that her sister was in the hospital.

"Thank you so much, doctor," she replied before heading towards room 408.

She finally entered the room. Her sister was seated on a chair, her back to her. She seemed to be deep in conversation with someone lying in the bed but the Slayer paid no attention to that person.

"Dawn!"

Surprised, the young woman turned and thought she would die of suffocation because of the force of her sister's arms around her. "Buffy… you're gonna kill me!" She managed to say.

Her sister immediately moved away, embarrassed. "God, Dawn, I was so scared! What happened?" She asked, examining her sister. She had several scratches on her face and a bruise on her right cheek. For the rest, she seemed okay.

Willow walked in at that moment and hugged Dawn as well. She had spoken with Dr Lopes who had assured that Dawn would be discharged before the end of the day. He was waiting for the results of the X-ray to be sure that the young woman was fine.

"We were attacked by a group of demons," Dawn explained.

"What?" Willow exclaimed, taken aback. "Are you sure? We haven't seen any demons for months! Just a few vampires in cemeteries and still, rarely in groups!"

"They had horns, a horrible head and superhuman strength so yeah, I'm sure!" Dawn replied.

"It's unbelievable," the witch murmured. "How many were there?"

"A dozen, at least. We were at the movies and they appeared from behind the curtains. It was unexpected and it took us a while to react. They did some damage to the members of the audience," Dawn winced.

"What about you? How are you?" Buffy asked. "Why didn't you call me?"

"I gave your number to the staff. I guess they hadn't had time to call you yet. How did you find me by the way?"

"Willow cast a locator spell. Thank God!"

"But look, I'm okay! The training reflexes weren't far behind. Sadly, I was the only one who knew how to fight and Andrew was injured so…"

"Andrew?" Buffy asked, surprised.

Willow and Buffy finally paid attention to the person lying in the bed behind Dawn and saw that it was indeed Andrew. His right arm was immobilized in a splint and he had a cut on his face.

"Hey," he said, embarrassed.

"Um, hi," Willow replied. She really didn't know what else to say to him. Andrew had been so exasperating during the whole battle against the First…

"How dare you let Dawn fight alone against a dozen demons?" Buffy exclaimed.

Andrew tried to speak, visibly scared. "But I-

"You also trained when we fought against the First! You could have helped her!" The Slayer continued.

"Buffy, stop!" Dawn interrupted her, "Andrew helped me." Buffy gave her sister a suspicious look then turned her attention back to Andrew. "Don't try to defend him!"

"Buffy, I'm telling you he helped me; it's true!" Her sister insisted. "At some point, I was in trouble and Andrew used his camera's flash to blind the demon because we were in the dark. It worked so well that the demon propelled him into the air and he landed against the chairs. Look, he even broke his wrist!"

Buffy glanced at Andrew's bandaged arm but still didn't seem to calm down.

"How did you get out of it?" Willow asked to change the subject.

"Fortunately, most of the demons weren't really trying to attack us. They found the doors to the room and went out that way," Dawn explained.

"This is really weird," Willow pointed out.

"I thought there were almost no demons or vampires anymore?" Andrew dared to ask. "I thought you had dealt with the First and all its minions by destroying Sunnydale!" He said to Buffy.

The three young women turned to him and Andrew shrank against his pillows.

"I thought so too," the Slayer whispered.

Well, here we are…

Fun facts: Tsel is a real Tibetan dish and the address of the hospital is also real!