ONE NORMAL LIFE / TWO EXTRAORDINARY LIVES
folder
BtVS AU/AR › Het - Male/Female › Buffy/Spike(William)
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
210
Views:
10,613
Reviews:
182
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
BtVS AU/AR › Het - Male/Female › Buffy/Spike(William)
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
210
Views:
10,613
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.
LETTING FRIENDS BACK IN
CHAPTER 18 – LETTING FRIENDS BACK IN
Buffy returned home and to her new job at Santa Ysabel Montessori, after finishing up her two-week training course. She taught 4th and 5th graders in a small, self-contained classroom. All specials were off campus, with generous learning trips to local museums, art galleries, zoos, and nature centers, and the local YMCA for gym. All in all, it was a good place to work, with less stress of a big, public school, and more leeway for individual teaching and learning.
She tried to put the amulet, that is, the missing amulet, out of her mind.
It was around Valentines' Day that following winter, always a particularly hard time for Buffy, that she awoke trembling, heart pounding. She had stopped having either dreams or nightmares of Spike after a couple of years, so she was painfully aware that this was not just out of the ordinary, it was something much more.
She had lost contact with Willow over the past couple of years, but that following evening, after endless pacing and endless debatiith ith herself, that she decided to try the old number. After about 10 rings, a groggy Willow answered the phone.
"Hello?"
"Will?"
"Buffy? Is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me. Sorry if I woke you?"
"That's alright. What's up? Is something wrong?" asked Willow immediately.
"No, just calling to see how you were," Buffy hedged.
"Buffy, I haven't heard from you in almost 2 years, and all of a sudden you're calling me in the middle of the night to find out how I am?" Willow laughed.
In the background she could hear Willow telling Kennedy, "Just an old friend, hon, go back to sleep."
"I'm sorry...I shouldn't have called, sorry..."
"Wait,” Willow said, taking the phone into the living room, so as to not disturb Kennedy, “Buffy! I'm glad to hear from you, no matter why you called! I know that you've been busy with school and all that. You graduated, right?"
"Yeah, last May."
"That's great, Buffy! Did you go to commencement?"
"Yeah, Dawn and my dad were there. I even have a job and everything," she said, and went on to tell her friend a little bit about her new position.
"That's great Buffy, I'm proud of you. I always knew you could do it," Willow gushed, "you just never had the time before.
"Yeah," Buffy said, "that was it. No time."
"Yeah," Willow said, then paused.
"Buffy?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you happy?"
Buffy paused, not knowing quite how to answer that.
"I'm happy to not be fighting an apocalypse every other day, if that's what you mean. I'm happy to have been given a chance to..." she paused remembering who gave her the chance. "I guess I'm not complaining."
"Oh...I see," Willow said, not sure how much she should pry, now that they weren't as close as they once were.
"Willow?"
"Yeah?"
"I need to know something. It's about the amulet...the one that Spike..." Buffy swallowed, trying hard not to lose it just by saying his name, "the one that Spike wore. There was an archaeology professor who was digging in Sunnydale, and he found it."
"Holy shit!" Willow said, using a word Buffy had never heard her say. "He did? It survived?"
"That's about what I said when I saw a picture of it in a display case at school last summer."
Buffy went on to tell Willow how her and Dawn had gone to Chicago, but that they hadn't been able to locate it at either his apartment or the museum.
"When Angel brought it to me," Buffy explained, "he thought he was going to be the one to wear it. He said his sources told him it had purifying or cleansing power or something. What I want to know is how it survived...when Spike....didn't. I mean, Willow, those last minutes, Spike was channeling all that light, all that energy, right through that amulet. It was him and he was it, so what does that mean? Is it just some useless bauble now? Is there some...." she couldn't finish.
"Some connection to him?" Willow asked, gently.
"Yeah."
"Why now?"
"Huh?" Buffy asked.
"Why didn't you call last summer, when you found out about it?" Willow asked.
"I don't know, just wanted to check it out for myself first, I guess. Afterward, I tried, have been trying to put it out of my mind again...you know, get on with my life, new job and all that. I mean, I just went through 5 years of schooling in about 4 years, heck, I even have classes toward my masters," she paused. "But lately, more and more, I'm feeling something...I don't exactly know what, then last night...I had this dream about Spike, it was so real. Willow, I haven't dreamed of him or seen his face in my dreams in more than two years, and last night was like he was in the same space as me, he was..." she stopped.
"He was what Buffy?"
"Real, Willow. He was real."
"You mean, you felt he was real? " Willow asking for clarification."
"No, Willow. He was real. But, not yet…I can't describe it," Buffy said, anguished.
"I don't know either, but I believe you if you say it’s so. I'll get right on it, I promise, Buffy, if there's something to this, I'll find it out for you."
"Thanks, Willow. Oh, can you not mention this to anyone?"
"You mean Giles? Wasn't going to, anyway. Him and I haven't seen eye to eye for a while."
"I'm sorry," Buffy said.
"I'm not, I just don't think that through all this, that Giles has learned his lesson in how to handle the new slayers. Think he’s trying to control them in ways he never could control you, hoping to keep them safe. It’s making them rebel and when they do, sometimes it puts them into dangerous situations, just to spite him. He should lay off a little."
Buffy was quiet for a minute, “Kinda ruined that Slayer/Watcher expectation of his, didn’t I? I sorta thought he’d been proud of me, back when…”
“He was, he is…just you were…different than these girls are. He’s just afraid. He’s older now, too, Buffy. Just think he’s less willing to take chances than he was before.”
“You mean the ones I forced on him, don’t you?”
“Tomatoes, Tamatoes, same diff Buffy, we all just worked together as a certain kind of dynamic, that’s all. Your personality, Giles’, ours…”
“Yeah, dynamic. That was us,” Buffy replied, lost in her own memories of all the years they’d spent together, growing up and fighting demons. One big, happy family.
They spent a few more minutes talking about Xander, his new family, Anya, and Andrew.
"Well, I'll let you go then," Buffy said, "say hello to Kennedy for me, but don't let on about..."
"I will and I won't," Willow said. "Oh, and Buffy? Could you send me a copy of the newspaper clipping that you first saw the amulet in?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’ll fax it to you right now, ok? What’s your fax number? Okay, got it.”
“Okay, talk to you as soon as I find something out!"
"See ya!" Buffy said, hanging up.
She closed her eyes, as she leaned back on the couch, feeling better than she had in a while. She'd been separate and apart from her friends for a long time now. Maybe it was time to let some of them back in.
END CHAPTER 18
Buffy returned home and to her new job at Santa Ysabel Montessori, after finishing up her two-week training course. She taught 4th and 5th graders in a small, self-contained classroom. All specials were off campus, with generous learning trips to local museums, art galleries, zoos, and nature centers, and the local YMCA for gym. All in all, it was a good place to work, with less stress of a big, public school, and more leeway for individual teaching and learning.
She tried to put the amulet, that is, the missing amulet, out of her mind.
It was around Valentines' Day that following winter, always a particularly hard time for Buffy, that she awoke trembling, heart pounding. She had stopped having either dreams or nightmares of Spike after a couple of years, so she was painfully aware that this was not just out of the ordinary, it was something much more.
She had lost contact with Willow over the past couple of years, but that following evening, after endless pacing and endless debatiith ith herself, that she decided to try the old number. After about 10 rings, a groggy Willow answered the phone.
"Hello?"
"Will?"
"Buffy? Is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me. Sorry if I woke you?"
"That's alright. What's up? Is something wrong?" asked Willow immediately.
"No, just calling to see how you were," Buffy hedged.
"Buffy, I haven't heard from you in almost 2 years, and all of a sudden you're calling me in the middle of the night to find out how I am?" Willow laughed.
In the background she could hear Willow telling Kennedy, "Just an old friend, hon, go back to sleep."
"I'm sorry...I shouldn't have called, sorry..."
"Wait,” Willow said, taking the phone into the living room, so as to not disturb Kennedy, “Buffy! I'm glad to hear from you, no matter why you called! I know that you've been busy with school and all that. You graduated, right?"
"Yeah, last May."
"That's great, Buffy! Did you go to commencement?"
"Yeah, Dawn and my dad were there. I even have a job and everything," she said, and went on to tell her friend a little bit about her new position.
"That's great Buffy, I'm proud of you. I always knew you could do it," Willow gushed, "you just never had the time before.
"Yeah," Buffy said, "that was it. No time."
"Yeah," Willow said, then paused.
"Buffy?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you happy?"
Buffy paused, not knowing quite how to answer that.
"I'm happy to not be fighting an apocalypse every other day, if that's what you mean. I'm happy to have been given a chance to..." she paused remembering who gave her the chance. "I guess I'm not complaining."
"Oh...I see," Willow said, not sure how much she should pry, now that they weren't as close as they once were.
"Willow?"
"Yeah?"
"I need to know something. It's about the amulet...the one that Spike..." Buffy swallowed, trying hard not to lose it just by saying his name, "the one that Spike wore. There was an archaeology professor who was digging in Sunnydale, and he found it."
"Holy shit!" Willow said, using a word Buffy had never heard her say. "He did? It survived?"
"That's about what I said when I saw a picture of it in a display case at school last summer."
Buffy went on to tell Willow how her and Dawn had gone to Chicago, but that they hadn't been able to locate it at either his apartment or the museum.
"When Angel brought it to me," Buffy explained, "he thought he was going to be the one to wear it. He said his sources told him it had purifying or cleansing power or something. What I want to know is how it survived...when Spike....didn't. I mean, Willow, those last minutes, Spike was channeling all that light, all that energy, right through that amulet. It was him and he was it, so what does that mean? Is it just some useless bauble now? Is there some...." she couldn't finish.
"Some connection to him?" Willow asked, gently.
"Yeah."
"Why now?"
"Huh?" Buffy asked.
"Why didn't you call last summer, when you found out about it?" Willow asked.
"I don't know, just wanted to check it out for myself first, I guess. Afterward, I tried, have been trying to put it out of my mind again...you know, get on with my life, new job and all that. I mean, I just went through 5 years of schooling in about 4 years, heck, I even have classes toward my masters," she paused. "But lately, more and more, I'm feeling something...I don't exactly know what, then last night...I had this dream about Spike, it was so real. Willow, I haven't dreamed of him or seen his face in my dreams in more than two years, and last night was like he was in the same space as me, he was..." she stopped.
"He was what Buffy?"
"Real, Willow. He was real."
"You mean, you felt he was real? " Willow asking for clarification."
"No, Willow. He was real. But, not yet…I can't describe it," Buffy said, anguished.
"I don't know either, but I believe you if you say it’s so. I'll get right on it, I promise, Buffy, if there's something to this, I'll find it out for you."
"Thanks, Willow. Oh, can you not mention this to anyone?"
"You mean Giles? Wasn't going to, anyway. Him and I haven't seen eye to eye for a while."
"I'm sorry," Buffy said.
"I'm not, I just don't think that through all this, that Giles has learned his lesson in how to handle the new slayers. Think he’s trying to control them in ways he never could control you, hoping to keep them safe. It’s making them rebel and when they do, sometimes it puts them into dangerous situations, just to spite him. He should lay off a little."
Buffy was quiet for a minute, “Kinda ruined that Slayer/Watcher expectation of his, didn’t I? I sorta thought he’d been proud of me, back when…”
“He was, he is…just you were…different than these girls are. He’s just afraid. He’s older now, too, Buffy. Just think he’s less willing to take chances than he was before.”
“You mean the ones I forced on him, don’t you?”
“Tomatoes, Tamatoes, same diff Buffy, we all just worked together as a certain kind of dynamic, that’s all. Your personality, Giles’, ours…”
“Yeah, dynamic. That was us,” Buffy replied, lost in her own memories of all the years they’d spent together, growing up and fighting demons. One big, happy family.
They spent a few more minutes talking about Xander, his new family, Anya, and Andrew.
"Well, I'll let you go then," Buffy said, "say hello to Kennedy for me, but don't let on about..."
"I will and I won't," Willow said. "Oh, and Buffy? Could you send me a copy of the newspaper clipping that you first saw the amulet in?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’ll fax it to you right now, ok? What’s your fax number? Okay, got it.”
“Okay, talk to you as soon as I find something out!"
"See ya!" Buffy said, hanging up.
She closed her eyes, as she leaned back on the couch, feeling better than she had in a while. She'd been separate and apart from her friends for a long time now. Maybe it was time to let some of them back in.
END CHAPTER 18