Just Dreaming

[Angelic]

"MOM!" Buffy screamed in horror.
Buffy looked around her room. 'It was just a dream' she muttered to her self 'Just a dream. But it had felt so real.'
The door to her room burst open and Dawn rushed in.
"What's the matter?" Dawn said her eyes wide. "I heard you scream!"
Buffy sat up and muttered "I had a nightmare"
Dawn shut the door and came to sit next to Buffy. "Tell Me." she said plainly scared. "Was it a 'Slayer Dream'?"
Buffy sighed and said, "No. It was about Mom." and she launched into the explanation.

Her mom had been walking through the garden and she spotted Buffy. It wasn't her mom as she usually was. She was paler and dead looking. She had come to tell Buffy something...something important. Buffy reached for her mom but she stepped back. The day suddenly whooshed into night. Buffy had asked her mom why she had came and she merely pointed to a dark shadow that Buffy recognized. Buffy had looked at her Mom inquiringly. Her mom tried to speak but she couldn't. She kept trying and finally she opened her mouth...

Buffy stopped speaking. She couldn't tell Dawn about the blood. The blood that had spilled from her mom's mouth and dripped down onto the green leaves. And the scream! The blood curtailing scream that had issued from her the second before. No she wouldn't tell Dawn who was standing behind Joyce. Who had the knife...that stabbed her mom. No she would tell Dawn nothing.
"Then what?" Dawn interrupted her thoughts.
Deciding not to tell her the truth. She said "Nothing! She disappeared!"
"Can I uh...sleep in here?" Dawn looked scared
Buffy was startled "Yes. Of course"
Dawn snuggled close to Buffy and within seconds was asleep.
But Buffy couldn't sleep. Not after the dream.

In the morning Buffy woke much earlier than Dawn.
She walked outside to where she had seen her mom. She fell to the ground and almost screamed.
What she saw...
Blood.
Blood staining the green leaves scarlet.
Her mom's blood.


That Night

"Hey Will!" Buffy yelled up the stairs.
"Just a minute Buff!" Willow came down the stairs and said, "Yeah? What did ya need?"
"Oh nothing. I just wanted to ask if you could drop Dawn off at Janice's, I'm going patrolling." Buffy's eyes looked cloudy.
"Oh fun. Sure, ok. I'll take her" Willow looked at Buffy. "You miss him don't you?"
Buffy looked at her. "What? Bye!"

The Graveyard
Buffy was walking past the last grave when she stopped tears flooding her eyes. The grave she stopped by read

Joyce Summers
Loving Mom
Caring Friend
Buffy fell to the ground as tears fell from her eyes.
I miss you mom! I wish you were here to tell me what to do. To comfort me! I miss him! I miss you.
"I think I loved him!" she whispered at her moms grave. Suddenly she screamed. The knife she had seen in her dream was lying on the grave dripping with blood.
Buffy heard leaves rustling behind her and she jumped up.

"Slayer! Not doing to well, huh?" The shadow that was speaking moved toward Buffy, but she still couldn't see who it was. But the shadow was from her dream and…she recognized the accent!
Spike? No what am I thinking? Spike is dead. Now a pile of ash.
The shadow moved into the moonlight. She gasped. She recognized the high cheekbones and sparkling, ice cold blue eyes.
He strode over to the grave, picked up the knife and licked it vamping out. "Summers' blood."
Buffy almost fainted. She muttered "Spike."


Spike threw the knife aside and said, "That's right Buffy. Big Bad is back...here to stay."
Buffy goggled at him and said, "What? How? What?"
"Three excellent questions." Spike strode over to Buffy and grabbed her arm, "I missed you, luv"
She jerked from his grasp and turned around.
"Buffy, I know its…well…shocking, but" Spike didn't have time to finish.
Buffy ran.
Spike said, "What the bloody hell is wrong with that woman?" He turned and disappeared into the dark.

Buffy ran and ran and ran. She stopped when she reached the "Welcome to L.A." sign. Tears flooded her eyes as she fell to her knees in the middle of the road.
"This is a dream." She muttered to herself, "A horrible nightmare. I just can't…My God Willow! I gotta get home!"
She turned back and started her way home.

TO BE CONTINUED....
Feedback

[Angelic]

Willow asked questions...a lot of them really. Buffy had answered them truthfully...well mostly.
Buffy tried not to go to sleep. She had put crosses up to stop Spike coming in. She was scared alright...he was back and she didn't know how...or why. She had tried so hard not to go to sleep but after awhile sleep washed over her.

She woke up after a peaceful nights sleep. She got up to the wonderful smell of pancakes and coffee. She got dressed and went into the kitchen to meet a grumpy Willow and a cooking Dawn. "Smells yummy, Dawn. Almost ready?" said Buffy walking in. "What's up Will? You seem kinda, blechy."

"Thinking bout what happened...you know, last night." Willow said with a short glance at Dawn. Willow stared at Buffy, 'Does she know?'
Immediately Buffy tensed. She looked at Willow and shook her head.
"Oh...what thing?" Dawn asked sliding pancakes onto a plate and setting them in front of Willow and Buffy.
Willow and Buffy looked at each other the looked at Dawn. Buffy spoke up first "Dawn honey...uh...Spike is, um , hes back."
CRASH
Dawn dropped the two glasses she had got from the cupboard. "WHAT?"
And Buffy told her the story.

They left for the Bronze at 9:00. Dawn and Willow finally coaxed Buffy into going. "It'll be good for you to have a night off. From slaying and...uh...Spike." they said pleadingly.
"Ok..." Buffy finally said smiling at the look on their faces

At the Bronze Willow and Xander danced while Dawn was talking with some friends from school. Buffy was left sitting all alone. She was looking around when she had that feeling that she got when Angel was around. She turned and her stomach lurched. Spike has just walked in. He saw Buffy and headed straight for her.

"Buffy...we have to talk." Spike said. "I have to explain what I know about me, being back here."
"No we don't have to talk and you don't have to explain aything." She snapped back at him. The she strode of to find Willow.

Xander stood in awe on the side of the dance floor when Buffy and Willow told him the story of Spike's sudden here-ness or nondead-ness, as Willow put it.
"He wants to talk to me. I can't..." Buffy exclaimed as she sat down at a nearby table.
"We know, Buffy, there he is. I think he's looking for you." Willow had sat down and put her arm around Buffy, leaving Xander still in awe.
Xander looked over at Spike who was looking kind of sad and broody.
"Something's up with him. I think he..." Buffy started to say.
"He is human again." Xander finished.
"Got his chip out, is what I was gonna say but...do ya think so? No way! No possible way!"

Xander merely pointed at Spike, who had spotted Buffy and was making his way over to her. Buffy looked up then turned and ran out the door.
"Here we bloody go again." Spike exclaimed when he reached Willow and Xander. He sat down next to Willow and told her and Xander the whole story. When he finished Xander grabbed his coat and ran after Buffy. She was about to get on a bus to LA when Xander pulled her aside.

"Look I'm not the first guy who whould stand up and defend Spike but you have to talk to him." Xander said, "At first he was 'oh I love Buffy cuz I'm getting lucky'. He was out of contorl because you gave into him. But now he's changed. He's different and if you couldn't tell you're blind. I don't know how or why but he has changed. Spike is on his way right now. Do you remember what he did? He tried to rape you and saved the world. Two things you'll never forget he did."

"Xander, shut up!" Buffy yelled.
"No, Buffy!" Xander said, "Do you remember the look on his face when he saw you kissing Angel last year? Think about that when he finds you kissing Angel now...after you promised your love to him. Think about the feeling that you had when you saw Riley in that vamp place. How did you feel when the guy you loved gave into a vamp?"
Buffy turned and ran in the direction of the Bronze.
"That's the second time I gave her romantic advice." He said following her, with a smile on his face.


When Buffy got back to the Bronze she made a beeline for Spike. She pulled him aside from the others and explained everything that has happened.
"I'm sorry" she repeated every 20 secs.
"It's ok." he answered every time she did this.
"Tell me about...you know. Why are you back? How?" Buffy asked.
Spike looked at her for a long time and didn't answer her right away.
"I don't know exactly why I'm here but I've got a general idea..." Spike said choosing his words carefully. Then he launched into the whole story. At last Buffy will get answers.

The dream Buffy had had a couple nights back came into light. Spike mentioned a dream he had with Joyce in it...and a shadow he recognized but couldn't name. Buffy froze here. She looked at Spike almost as if she was begging for answers. She found her voice and explained all about HER dream. Spike listened intently and said finally, "That's exactly what my dream was except I was the one she was facing."

Evanescence's "My Immortal" began to play and Spike suddenly stopped speaking.
"Buffy, do you - uh - wanna dance? With me?" he asked sheepishly.
Buffy looked startled then blushed and accepted.
Spike continued to tell Buffy the story. Buffy's eyes shone with tears as he went on about his torture and how he escaped and ...his being human.


TBC....