ONE NORMAL LIFE / TWO EXTRAORDINARY LIVES
folder
BtVS AU/AR › Het - Male/Female › Buffy/Spike(William)
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
210
Views:
10,606
Reviews:
182
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
BtVS AU/AR › Het - Male/Female › Buffy/Spike(William)
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
210
Views:
10,606
Reviews:
182
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
SUMMER SCHOOL, PHILOSOPHY, AND THE AMULET
CHAPTER 12 - SUMMER SCHOOL, PHILOSOPHY, AND THE AMULET
Buffy had been able to secure a position for the following fall, not at the elementary school she'd hoped she would, the one where she'd done her student teaching at, but at a smaller, private Montessori school right in Santa Ysabel, only a few miles from home. It didn't pay as much as the elementary schools did, but she didn't need much, either.ke hke had left her well taken care of. It was the chance to be useful, to matter, to make a difference that wasn't related to slaying.
Buffy had told herself that she would take this summer off, to travel with Dawn, before she started teaching in the fall, but Dawn had plans to work in the field that summer. So Buffy, although she hadn't wanted to four years ago, now saw that taking the biology couoverover that she'd only marginally passed in Sunnydale more than 7 years ago would help her and her future students. Also, there was a course she'd always wanted to take, but hadn't needed it for her degree. Philosophy. She'd remembered the time she'd spoken to Spike about it at dinner that time, after listening to him, realizing how smart he really was, she'd said, "...Wish I had time for deep, long, philosophical debates on issues, on history, on God, the universe, the meaning of life, death, all of it…I just don’t. No time for Buffy to have…to think what ifs…" and he had tried to make her feel better, telling her that the armchair philosophers should be "...grateful to her for making the world safe for the likes of them." But this was her time now, her time to find out what the great minds of the past thought, what they had to offer her, did she agree or not agree with them, and why.
It was during this summer, while at school one day, that her old world and her new, normal one, collided.
After a her biology clase dae day, Buffy had decided to go and find her professor, after receiving her test back and ask him something about that damned Krebs Cycle. She'd almost understood it, but somehow, she'd messed up explaining the middle of the process. She was walking by the display cases near the geology and anthropology departments, when a picture caught her eye. She stopped dead in her tracks and looked at the picture in the case and the title above it, "Student archaeologists at the site of the former town of Sunnydale, dig up lots of artifacts and some antiques."
Heart pounding, she read on, "Student archaeologists from Prof. Harold Lipton's class at U.of C. San Bernardino, have been given a great opportunity to hone their skills in the former town of Sunnydale. Four years ago, Sunnydale fell victim to the largest earthquake to rock Southern California in nearly 4 decades, swallowing the town whole." It went on to say, that the dig had to be stopped when some former residents objected to having their lives dug up and put on display. "We just want them to leave sleeping dogs lay," Former Post-Master Jill Jones, was quoted as saying, from her new home near L.A. And so on, went the article. Buffy read the article 3 more times, but couldn't find anything about the picture that accompanied the article. The picture showed a bunch of stuff taken from the dig, and off to the right side of it, clearly, was the amulet.
amulamulet that Spike had worn. Four years, 2 months, 17 days, and 4 hours before. But hey, who was counting?
The article was dated, July 1, 2007. Two weeks ago.
Heart pounding, Buffy walked into the archaeology department and asked to speak to one of the professors. The secretary told her Professor Haughton was in and pointed Buffy in the direction.
"Professor Haughton? I'm Elizabeth Worthington," the name rolled off her tongue like water after four years, "Um, I was looking at the picture in the hall, in the display case, the one about students studying the Sunnydale site," she'd said, all in one breath.
"Yes?" Prof. Haughton asked, looking at the intense young woman.
"Well, you see, I have a friend who is not only studying archaeology at UCLA, but is also a former resident of Sunnydale, who would love to be involved in any more digs they may have there," Buffy said.
"If you read the article, you'll see that the courts have stopped the digging for now," he said to her.
"I know, but I don't think that will last, I think they'll be allowed to return, and my friend would be a great asset to the dig. Not only does she know how to dig and preserve specimens, but she knows where everything in the town was," Buffy said.
"And what do you want from me, Ms. Worthington?"
"From you? Oh, I just wondered if you could get me Professor Lipton's phone number and address?" she asked, trying not to sound too excited, while not sounding too disinterested.
"Harold? Sure, let me just look that up. I knew Harold back when we were both in the Midwest. Ah...here you go, he said, writing something on a piece of paper and handing it to Buffy, "I'm sure he'd like to have your friend's help, if he gets back to the site," he said, and with that he shook her hand.
"Thank you, this will mean a lot to her," Buffy said, leaving his office.
"That's ok..." he looked up, but she was gone. He scratched his head, perplexed.
On the way out, Buffy stopped and asked the secretary if she could get a Xerox of the article, "Yeah, sure," the secretary said, rather grumpily, as she closed down the Free Cell game she'd been playing on the computer. She opened the case up and took the newspaper out, going over to the Xerox.
"You wanna color copy?" she asked.
Buffy couldn't believe her good fortune, "Sure," she said, trying to not sound too excited.
"There you go," she said, handing her a copy.
"Thanks!" Buffy said.
"Welcome, good thing the machine is working today...." she turned and Buffy was gone, "hummppfff!" she said, as she put the article back into the case and went back to Free Cell.
If anybody had been looking, they would have seen a young woman dashing across campus as if she'd just found out her house was on fire.
Hands shaking, Buffy got the key into the door and igni and and peeled out of the University's parking lot, disobeying all traffic laws between San Marcos and Julian.
She pulled up in front of the house and ran into the kitchen, pulling out a junk drawer and dumping it on the counter.
She found it after a few minutes, a magnifying glass. She took the article and held the magnifying glass up to the picture.
There it was, no mistaking it, it was definitely the amulet that Spike had worn.
She looked at the article again. She'd never noticed before, but the article came from The National Sun, it's byline by Andrew Wells.
END CHAPTER 12
Buffy had been able to secure a position for the following fall, not at the elementary school she'd hoped she would, the one where she'd done her student teaching at, but at a smaller, private Montessori school right in Santa Ysabel, only a few miles from home. It didn't pay as much as the elementary schools did, but she didn't need much, either.ke hke had left her well taken care of. It was the chance to be useful, to matter, to make a difference that wasn't related to slaying.
Buffy had told herself that she would take this summer off, to travel with Dawn, before she started teaching in the fall, but Dawn had plans to work in the field that summer. So Buffy, although she hadn't wanted to four years ago, now saw that taking the biology couoverover that she'd only marginally passed in Sunnydale more than 7 years ago would help her and her future students. Also, there was a course she'd always wanted to take, but hadn't needed it for her degree. Philosophy. She'd remembered the time she'd spoken to Spike about it at dinner that time, after listening to him, realizing how smart he really was, she'd said, "...Wish I had time for deep, long, philosophical debates on issues, on history, on God, the universe, the meaning of life, death, all of it…I just don’t. No time for Buffy to have…to think what ifs…" and he had tried to make her feel better, telling her that the armchair philosophers should be "...grateful to her for making the world safe for the likes of them." But this was her time now, her time to find out what the great minds of the past thought, what they had to offer her, did she agree or not agree with them, and why.
It was during this summer, while at school one day, that her old world and her new, normal one, collided.
After a her biology clase dae day, Buffy had decided to go and find her professor, after receiving her test back and ask him something about that damned Krebs Cycle. She'd almost understood it, but somehow, she'd messed up explaining the middle of the process. She was walking by the display cases near the geology and anthropology departments, when a picture caught her eye. She stopped dead in her tracks and looked at the picture in the case and the title above it, "Student archaeologists at the site of the former town of Sunnydale, dig up lots of artifacts and some antiques."
Heart pounding, she read on, "Student archaeologists from Prof. Harold Lipton's class at U.of C. San Bernardino, have been given a great opportunity to hone their skills in the former town of Sunnydale. Four years ago, Sunnydale fell victim to the largest earthquake to rock Southern California in nearly 4 decades, swallowing the town whole." It went on to say, that the dig had to be stopped when some former residents objected to having their lives dug up and put on display. "We just want them to leave sleeping dogs lay," Former Post-Master Jill Jones, was quoted as saying, from her new home near L.A. And so on, went the article. Buffy read the article 3 more times, but couldn't find anything about the picture that accompanied the article. The picture showed a bunch of stuff taken from the dig, and off to the right side of it, clearly, was the amulet.
amulamulet that Spike had worn. Four years, 2 months, 17 days, and 4 hours before. But hey, who was counting?
The article was dated, July 1, 2007. Two weeks ago.
Heart pounding, Buffy walked into the archaeology department and asked to speak to one of the professors. The secretary told her Professor Haughton was in and pointed Buffy in the direction.
"Professor Haughton? I'm Elizabeth Worthington," the name rolled off her tongue like water after four years, "Um, I was looking at the picture in the hall, in the display case, the one about students studying the Sunnydale site," she'd said, all in one breath.
"Yes?" Prof. Haughton asked, looking at the intense young woman.
"Well, you see, I have a friend who is not only studying archaeology at UCLA, but is also a former resident of Sunnydale, who would love to be involved in any more digs they may have there," Buffy said.
"If you read the article, you'll see that the courts have stopped the digging for now," he said to her.
"I know, but I don't think that will last, I think they'll be allowed to return, and my friend would be a great asset to the dig. Not only does she know how to dig and preserve specimens, but she knows where everything in the town was," Buffy said.
"And what do you want from me, Ms. Worthington?"
"From you? Oh, I just wondered if you could get me Professor Lipton's phone number and address?" she asked, trying not to sound too excited, while not sounding too disinterested.
"Harold? Sure, let me just look that up. I knew Harold back when we were both in the Midwest. Ah...here you go, he said, writing something on a piece of paper and handing it to Buffy, "I'm sure he'd like to have your friend's help, if he gets back to the site," he said, and with that he shook her hand.
"Thank you, this will mean a lot to her," Buffy said, leaving his office.
"That's ok..." he looked up, but she was gone. He scratched his head, perplexed.
On the way out, Buffy stopped and asked the secretary if she could get a Xerox of the article, "Yeah, sure," the secretary said, rather grumpily, as she closed down the Free Cell game she'd been playing on the computer. She opened the case up and took the newspaper out, going over to the Xerox.
"You wanna color copy?" she asked.
Buffy couldn't believe her good fortune, "Sure," she said, trying to not sound too excited.
"There you go," she said, handing her a copy.
"Thanks!" Buffy said.
"Welcome, good thing the machine is working today...." she turned and Buffy was gone, "hummppfff!" she said, as she put the article back into the case and went back to Free Cell.
If anybody had been looking, they would have seen a young woman dashing across campus as if she'd just found out her house was on fire.
Hands shaking, Buffy got the key into the door and igni and and peeled out of the University's parking lot, disobeying all traffic laws between San Marcos and Julian.
She pulled up in front of the house and ran into the kitchen, pulling out a junk drawer and dumping it on the counter.
She found it after a few minutes, a magnifying glass. She took the article and held the magnifying glass up to the picture.
There it was, no mistaking it, it was definitely the amulet that Spike had worn.
She looked at the article again. She'd never noticed before, but the article came from The National Sun, it's byline by Andrew Wells.
END CHAPTER 12