AUTHOR: Emily
E-MAIL: DoylesPrincess@aol.com
DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, 20th Century Fox, etc. I'm merely borrowing them - please don't sue! I don't have any money!
RATING: Nothing worse than the show.
NOTES: This idea just kinda popped into my head while I was on the phone with my friend a little while ago - I don't know where it's going, what it's gonna be called, or anything. (Titled August 30, 1999) (Retitled September 3, 1999) (Finally finished on: February 21, 2000)
MORE NOTES: It's the 3rd season, right after "Amends". Basically, Faith's still good, Oz and Willow have just made up, Cordy and Xander aren't on speaking terms, and Buffy and Angel are whatever they are. Giles is doing his watcher stuff, and Wesley obviously hasn't shown up yet. Oh, and yes, I realize that they way Riley and Xander meet is the same way that Cordy and Buffy met; I'm not that dense!
EVEN MORE NOTES: I wrote a story, "The Resurrection" a few months ago, and I did use the same curse in that story that I did in this one. I can re-use my own stuff, right?
AND THE FINAL NOTES: Okay, so I finally finished this on February 21, 2000 after working on it since August of 1999. Basically, the character of Riley is not Riley Finn, she is her own character and I named her before I knew about Riley Finn. I tried to come up with something more interesting, but trying to think of a name and looking one up was giving me a headache so I gave up on that…
It was raining out, the sky was dark although it was about 7 in the morning. School didn't start for an hour, but already the slayer and her watcher were training.
"So Giles - how was your Christmas?" Buffy asked, mid-kick. Giles winced, then replied.
"It was all right - the snow was a bit odd, and now the rain - " His voice trailed off, Buffy stopped attacking him, his gaze was focused on the window.
"Giles?" Buffy looked at him, a look of concern crossing her face. "Giles!" He turned to look at her.
"Hmmm?"
"What's with the snow and the rain?"
"Ummm… how many days has it been raining?"
"Uh - two or three, why?"
"Was it two or three?"
"I don't know! Giles, what's wrong with you?" He walked over and sat down, pulling a book towards him.
"There's something…something I read about…it never snows in Sunnydale, maybe every hundred years or so. After the snow comes the rain. It'll rain for five days, five nights. On the sixth morning, there will be an eclipse of the sun. All vampires are free to walk for one hour. They feed, and they kill. There's a way to stop this from happening, but I don't - " Buffy sat down across the table from Giles, looking at him seriously.
"So, we find whatever this is we need to find to stop it. But what if we can't?"
"But we have to. There's a loophole… since they're able to go out in the daytime, they can do whatever they please - they can enter people's homes uninvited. No one's safe. If we don't stop it, all of Sunnydale could die."
**********
"Three days." Willow slammed her locker and looked at Buffy. "It's rained three days. Today's the fourth. That gives us about two days to stop this, right?" Willow looked at her friend hopefully; she managed a weak smile in return.
"Yeah, which is a plus, ya know? It's just - Giles seemed really freaked about the whole thing. Maybe you could do some searches, find out more about it?"
"Yeah, you know, whatever I can do to help."
"Thanks, Will." Buffy walked down the hall, Oz walking towards Willow.
"Oz, hey!" Willow said happily, yet with a hint of nervousness in her voice.
"What's wrong?" He looked at her, suddenly concerned.
"Uh, Giles has this new thing that's supposed to happen. It doesn't sound so good. Buffy needs me to look up some way to stop it." Oz smiled at her and kissed her forehead, she blushes a little. She was way beyond happy that they were together again; she hadn't realized how much she missed him until he was out of her life.
"You'll find a way…" With that, he grabbed her hand and walked her to class.
**********
It was fifth period, and Xander Harris sat in history. Yawning, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He couldn't stand it - the teacher's monotonous voice, and the history. Oh God, the history. The door slamming woke him up. He glanced up, a girl stood at the front of the room. From what he could tell, she was about 5'5", shoulder-length black hair, and deep green eyes. He looked around the room, and noticed that the only empty seat was next to him. He sat up; suddenly realizing that Xander Harris' streak of bad luck may actually come to an end.
"Class, this is Riley Peterson. She just came here from New York." For probably the first time ever, Xander listened to the teacher talk. Riley smiled at the class, and was directed to the seat beside Xander.
"Now, if you'll open your books to page 365 - " Riley shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"Hey, uh, Riley - you can share my book, if you'd like. Of course, I usually use it as a pillow but - " Riley laughed at this.
"Thank you…" She moved her desk closer to his. And for once, Xander learned something.
**********
"Giles?" Xander walked into the library ahead of Riley, searching for the librarian. He stepped out of his office.
"Has Buffy spoken to you yet - " his voice trailed off as he saw Riley. "Uh, can I help you?"
"This is Mr. Giles - the librarian. We like to call him Giles." Riley extended her hand.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Riley Peterson, I just moved here from New York." Giles smiled at her.
"Welcome to Sunnydale. Is there something I can help you with?"
"Yeah, I was supposed to get a history book - " Giles reached under the shelf and pulled one out, placing it on the counter. "That's the one. Thank you." She picked up the book, he nodded at her.
"So how do you like it so far? Sunnydale, I mean…" Giles questioned, feeling as though he'd seen the girl somewhere before.
"It's nice…a lot hotter than New York, but I'm coping - " His face fell at those words. She was coping. Jenny. She reminded him of Jenny. Everything but the eyes… he regained his composure as quickly as possible.
"Yes, well, I imagine it would be. How'd you manage to meet up with him?" Giles glanced towards Xander, Riley smiled.
"He's in my history class. He was sleeping when I came in - but all of a sudden he was awake and willing to learn."
"She sat next to me." Xander grinning sheepishly, the tips of his ears reddening - Giles shook his head in frustration. Did Xander think of anything else?
"I assume he has behaved himself so far."
"He's been a perfect gentleman."
"Did you expect something less?" Giles could do nothing but glare at Xander after his remark, as Buffy, Willow, and Oz came in. Giles sighed heavily, thankful for the interruption. Willow looked at Riley and smiled.
"Are you new here? I don't think I've seen you around before."
"Oh, yeah, I'm new. I'm Riley."
"I'm Willow. This is Oz, and that's Buffy." Willow said, pointing at each of them. Buffy replied with a "hi", Oz nodded in acknowledgment.
"Well, I should probably get going - gotta get to French. I'll see you guys around." She smiled at them and waved as she left, a chorus of "byes" and "see ya's" echoing her departure. Buffy turned to her watcher.
"Nice girl."
"Yes, she was…" Giles nodded, obviously distracted. Buffy, however, didn't notice.
"So, you find out anything new about our little hell on earth problem?" Buffy questioned, jumping onto the counter.
"Uh, no, not as of late. I found some books that may be useful, if you're all up for some research - " Willow smiled happily at this and took a book from him, Oz following her. They went to sit down at the table. Buffy and Xander looked back to Giles.
"What should we do?" Buffy asked.
"Well…perhaps you could go visit our good friend Willie. He seems to give us information - " At Buffy and Xander's glares, Giles thought better of his words. "…at times. Maybe he'll know something we don't."
"Good idea. Xander, you up for it?"
"Anytime. Let's go." Buffy and Xander turned to leave, Giles stopped them.
"Just be careful."
"When aren't we?" With that, Buffy grabbed Xander by the arm and walked out.
**********
Xander and Buffy walked through the doors of Willie's bar. He glanced nervously from them to the one vampire sitting at the bar. He leaned over and whispered something to it, it growled, got up and left. Buffy smiled.
"You're getting better at this, Willie - " He shrugged at her.
"Don't want to lose my customers, ya know?"
"Right - " Buffy elbowed Xander, urging him not to speak.
"So - twice in one week. Must mean trouble, huh?"
"You might say that. Do you know anything about this eclipse that's gonna happen later this week?" Buffy and Xander sat on stools, glaring at Willie.
"There's an eclipse this week? Solar or lunar?"
"We're not asking for your sarcasm, Will, we're really not - " Xander jumped in, unable to help himself.
"Supposedly all vamps are able to walk for an hour, they're free to enter anyone's homes without invitation. We have to stop it, but we don't know how." Buffy looked over at Xander, begging him not to say anymore. Willie looked thoughtful for a minute.
"I haven't heard anything. Come back later this week - I might have something by then." Buffy stared at him, debating on whether or not to trust him.
"All right. But if you're just trying to get out of this - " She stood up out of her seat, Xander doing the same. Willie put his hands in the air as if to surrender.
"I'm not." He replied, Buffy nodded, believing him. They turned and left the bar, Willie lowered his hands and sighed heavily.
***********
The research gang looked up as Buffy and Xander re-entered the library hours later.
"Well?" Giles stood up from the table, hoping for some kind of news. Buffy shook her head.
"Nothing. He said to come by later this week." Giles rolled his eyes at this and sat back down.
"Of course - " He removed his glasses and rubbed his temples wearily, then looks at the clock. "7:15? Shouldn't Faith be here by now?"
"I'm here - chill out…" Faith entered the library, fashionably late, as usual. "So B - ready for some slayage?" Buffy shrugged.
"Whenever you are." Giles glanced over at Willow and Oz.
"Why don't you three go out?" He implied Xander. "We haven't found anything yet, and we've been looking all day - " Willow, Oz, and Xander looked at him happily.
"Really, you mean it?" Willow's mood suddenly turned grim. "No, we can't leave you to do all the work alone." Giles looked at her reassuringly.
"Willow, I'll be fine. Just be here early tomorrow morning, all right?" Willow jumped out of the chair a little * too * eagerly.
"See ya tomorrow, Giles!" All five walked out the doors together, Giles watched after them sadly, afraid for yet another time that he may not be able to save them.
**********
Riley sat at the counter of the Bronze, bored out of her mind. She sipped on a mocha, trying to enjoy the music. It just wasn't fun if there was no one there to share it with. She glanced around, attempting to find * some * friendly face in this crowd of dancing bodies. She sighed, defeated at her attempt.
"Riley!" Xander's voice was heard above the crowd, Riley whirled around in her chair, relieved to see him standing there.
"Hey!" She smiled, genuinely happy to see him. He sat in the chair next to her.
"Uh - I'll have what she's having - " Xander said to the guy behind the counter, then turned back to face Riley. "So - what do you think of our little hangout?" Xander asked.
"Better now that I actually know someone here - " she replied, as Oz and Willow walked towards them.
"Hey Riley!" Willow said, glancing at Oz to say something.
"How's the mocha?"
"It's good. So - what do you guys normally do for fun here?"
"We basically sit around, drink various beverages, dance…speaking of, would you like to?" Xander managed to choke out, glancing downward.
"I'd love to - " she replied, he took her by the hand and led her to the center of the room, Oz and Willow took their seats.
"When do the Dingoes play again?" Willow asked, watching Riley and Xander dance.
"Uh - Saturday night.." Oz replied, following her gaze. "What?" He was suddenly worried once again about her feelings for Xander.
"Huh? Oh, nothing…it's just…you're normally on stage, so we never really dance together…" Her voice faded, glancing at the menu behind the counter. Oz looked at her a minute, a slow smile spreading across his face. He stood up and grabbed Willow's hand, then pulled her into the middle of the room. She looked at him, her eyes sparkling. He put his arms around her waist, she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder.
**********
Xander and Riley were sitting at a table about an hour later when Willow and Oz finally rejoined them.
"Does anyone know what time it is?" Riley asked, suddenly alarmed. Oz glanced at his watch.
"10:15…no, 16, sorry…" He said, Riley jumped up from her seat.
"Oh! I'm sorry - I gotta be home by 10:30." She threw an apologetic look at Xander. "I'll see ya tomorrow?" She looked at him hopefully.
"Yeah, of course…" he said, grinning at her. She waved at Willow and Oz, then walked out.
"So Xander…you really like her, huh?" Oz asked nonchalantly.
"Yeah, I do…she's just…she's different. There's something about her…" He stared off into space, continuing to babble, as Willow and Oz exchanged glances.
**********
Riley burst through the doors of the library, praying that Giles would still be there. Luckily for her, he was.
"Riley - " He stood up out of his chair, startled by her entrance.
"Mr. Giles…I need to speak to you." She gestured for him to sit back down as she did.
"What's wrong? Why are you at school this late?" He began asking questions, not understanding her being there. She merely shook her head.
"Mr. Giles. I need you to listen to me…believe what I'm about to tell you…" For a moment he thought she had seen a vampire, was looking for his help for some reason.
"Yes, of course - " He replied softly, sitting forward in his chair.
"I'm a relative of Janna's. Uh, Jenny Calendar. Her cousin, actually. I was sent here to speak to you, about her, for her…" He looked at Riley, not believing her. Why would it have taken so long for someone to show up? Why not at her funeral? Why now?
"What do you mean?"
"We were lucky. I'm sure by now you've heard of the events that are to occur later this week, am I right?" Giles merely nodded in response. "Well that's our day - that's our hour. It's a Kalderash curse, meant to bring back members of our clan who have recently died. We know of the whole vampire thing, that couldn't be stopped. While the elders were working on the one curse, the other happened simply by accident, we've never found a way to reverse it…But that opens the doors - allows us to do the impossible - " Giles cut her off.
"What exactly are you saying?"
"I'm saying that on that day, in that hour, we can bring her back. Resurrect her. She'd be alive again, be able to live her normal life, the one she never got to have." Giles sat back in silence, trying to absorb what she just said. He could be able to have Jenny back - something he never thought could ever possibly happen. But in order for that to occur, they couldn't stop the eclipse - or the so-called doors opening. Did he save Jenny or Sunnydale? And would she want to be brought back, or would she just want to stay where she is? He missed her so much, but could he really risk the chance of losing her again?
"I - how would you do this? How would you know how?"
"I'm a gypsy, I know these things…but we need you for the resurrection - and we need Angelus."
"What? What for?"
"To resurrect her, we need the one who loved her and the one who killed her. It's part of the spell."
"But if we perform this, all of Sunnydale could die."
"You have to weigh your options, Mr. Giles. You have tomorrow to think about it - please promise me that you will."
"I will."
"Thank you." Riley got up to leave.
"Riley - "
"Hmmm?"
"What if I don't agree to it? Or if Angel doesn't?"
"Then you can stop the eclipse, but never know what might have happened…" She walked out the doors at that, leaving Giles to a sleepless night.
***********
It was the next morning at Sunnydale High, yet Giles had not left his office. All night he had read through numerous volumes of the Watcher Diaries, among other references which might be able to aid in stopping the eclipse. But he was too distracted to work. It had been almost a year since Jenny had died, probably one of the hardest and most painful of his life. But he had managed to deal with it, move somewhat on with his life. Yet there were times when he thought he could live no longer, he was unhappy and alone, although no one saw that but him. Jenny had given him something…she had made him appreciate life as he never thought he could. He thought he was destined to live a life of solitude, performing his watcher duties and that would be it. Once she had entered his life, his thoughts had changed. His plans for the rest of his life had changed. He didn't feel so alone anymore, he felt he had finally met someone who understood him, who listened to him for more than what they were supposed to. Than they had to.
The actual possibility of having that again…he wanted to do it. But he knew it would be the wrong thing to do, he couldn't save her and risk the rest of Sunnydale…although he would do it in a second. But that would also risk the life of his slayer…and he knew that she was more important than his own selfish wants and desires. But his thoughts kept wandering to what might have been…
He would redo everything all over if he could. He wouldn't have lied to her about Eyghon, he would have understood her coming to keep an eye on Angel. But he couldn't take that back. Everything that had been said between them, everything that had been done. And at this time in his life, he didn't want to be anywhere anymore… he couldn't go into her classroom when he needed to see Willow for something… he would simply send Buffy to get her, claiming he had to look something up. He had managed to start sleeping in his room once again, but had bought a new bed, unable to bring the images of her lying there back to the surface.
He had stopped caring so much about himself, how he'd be hurt, started worrying more about the people he cared about. He didn't stop himself from saying things as much as he did around Jenny, because she was proof that life is so precious and so short, that you have to treasure the time you have with people. That had been the absolute hardest way to learn it, unfortunately for him. And he still wanted Angel to pay for what he did to him…to Jenny…to Buffy…to everyone that he cared about the most in the world. But he couldn't do anything against him.
Because of Buffy. Buffy still loved Angel, whether or not she would admit it, he would never know. But he knew how it felt to lose the person that you loved the most, and no matter how much he hated Angel, he couldn't take him away from Buffy. He didn't want her to fall apart as he had, hide her pain as much as he did. What's done was done. Maybe it was supposed to stay that way, maybe that's the way it was supposed to happen. But that didn't keep his mind from wandering, from wondering…
"Giles?" It was 6:15 in the morning, and Giles had told everyone the night before to be there early the next morning. He was glad that someone had listened. The redhead walked into his office, checking to make sure he was there.
"Willow…so glad you came…" He was thankful for the company - five more minutes and his thoughts would probably have driven him insane.
"Did you find anything?" He shook his head in response.
"No…did you?" Willow pulled a stack of papers out of her bag.
"I sure did! Not an actual spell of course, but I did find the openings…where they would be coming from. I'm pretty sure that if we couldn't find a way to stop it, we could stay by the openings, wait for them to come to us…" She handed him the pages.
"Really? How many openings are there?" She peered over his shoulder, glancing at the writing.
"I think four. Now Buffy and Faith could each cover one, me and Oz could take another, maybe you and Xander could take the other?" She spoke hopefully, she knew how well Xander and Giles got along.
"Yes, that would work…" His voice trailed off, he sat back down.
"What?" He glanced up at Willow, wanting to tell her everything, ask someone else's opinion.
"There's something…something you need to know…" His voice was soft, Willow kneeled down next to him, worried.
"What is it?" She asked quietly, worry filling her eyes.
"It's Riley…" A look of horror flashed across her face.
"Oh no…she's not…she's…still alive, right?" Giles chuckled a little.
"Yes, she's very much alive…but she told me something last night…and I'm not sure whether or not to believe it…"
"Last night?"
"Yes…she came here, it must have been almost 11 o'clock…" Willow frowned.
"She told us she had to be home by 10:30."
"Really?" Giles' sat forward, interested with what Willow had to say.
"Yeah, we were at the Bronze, and she asked Oz what time it was, he told her, and she left…saying she had to be home by 10:30…"
"Well she certainly wasn't…"
"Huh…" Willow shrugged and looked back at Giles. "You were saying?"
"Oh, right…she said that she's related to Jenny… that during the eclipse she could be brought back, that it was an old Kalderash curse…"
"She could bring back Ms. Calendar?"
"That's what she said."
"Giles, we have to do this!" Willow exclaimed, Giles was shocked at her response.
"What?"
"We have to! You've been given like this second chance… I know what it feels like to be given a second chance, Giles… you can right all your wrongs, make things right again…"
"Willow - this could mean everyone in Sunnydale could die…" Willow shook her head.
"No, it doesn't… what did Riley say you needed for the curse?"
"Me and Angel…" Willow nodded her head knowingly.
"Okay, then, we could cover the bases, we could handle the openings. We just need to get someone else, someone else who knows… Cordelia! It may not be easy to convince her, but she could at least attempt to help…ya know?" Giles thought about this for a minute, then nodded his head.
"We'd have to make sure that Buffy would be up to it…"
"I'll talk to her! I'm sure it would be okay…we've faced worse, Giles - " Giles still wasn't convinced.
"And if you can't handle it?"
"Well with that attitude we can't! But we will! It'll be fine…" She stood back up, looking at him firmly. "We can do this. We can. We'll stop the bad vampires from coming up, and you can get Ms. Calendar back…it will work."
***********
"And he agreed to this?" Buffy walked down the hall with Willow about an hour later, listening to everything she just said.
"Well, kinda…I think he still wants your okay with it… but you are okay with it, right?" Buffy nodded.
"Yeah. Whatever will make him happy again - and as long as it keeps him away from my mom." They both laughed at this, Buffy grew serious again. "He's done so much for me…it's the least I can do for him."
"That's what I figured…" Willow replied, reaching the library. "I guess you go talk to him now?"
"Yeah, I guess so…"
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"No…I think he just needs to hear this from me…" Willow looked at her, understanding.
"I'll see you later then?"
"Yeah…" Willow walked off in search of Oz, Buffy entered the library.
***********
Cordelia walked down the hall, pausing as she walked by Xander's locker. She had refused to speak to him for a few weeks now, and he deserved it. He had hurt her in a way she had never thought imaginable…and she thought he deserved to feel her pain. What he had done was so unforgivable… and still it baffled her on how quickly Oz managed to forgive Willow. He couldn't be that desperate, could he? Cordelia shook her head, clearly not understanding this. And still part of her wanted to go to him in the hallway, say that all was forgiven, to move on with their lives. Part of her wanted to talk to him, tell him that they'd be okay, they might have to work on it, but it would be okay… but the rest of her still hurt too badly. She never knew that her, Cordelia Chase, could be that jealous, could feel that way about someone else. It was always someone else who was jealous of her, that wanted her clothes, her car, her life. But it was different now. She wanted what Oz and Willow had, that trust that she could always count on to be there.
Yet she wasn't a trusting person. After being hurt the way she had been hurt, she couldn't even conceive of going through that again. After you gained Cordelia's trust, then lost it, it would never be there again. But that fire still burned within her…when she saw Willow and Xander talking in the hallway, all she could picture was them kissing, and she had no one there to listen to her, to tell her that she'd be able to move on. Since Harmony and all her sheep had decided she wasn't cool enough for them anymore, she was left in the dust, alone. She never thought that would ever happen to her, that she would turn into the people that she had put down so many times before. Yet it did.
She did all she possibly could to not walk over to his locker, wait for him to come to his locker, get his books… but then she saw them. Xander and Riley were walking down the hall towards her, laughing and talking. She could feel the tears rising in her eyes, and, not wanting him to see her standing there, she went in the other direction, towards the bathroom.
Once inside, she checked the stalls, and, seeing that no one was there, broke down crying.
************
Xander and Riley walked to his locker, he opened it. She glanced inside, examining the inside.
"Nice locker.." She commented, smiling at him.
"Well, it's kinda messy…" He blushed slightly, then closed it. "So - what are you doing tonight?" Riley looked thoughtful for a minute.
"Nothing I can think of…why?"
"I was just wondering if you'd like to…you know…maybe go to the movies or something… there should be something playing now, right?"
"I don't pay much attention to movies… but yeah, I'd like that…" He smiled, then saw Willow and Buffy walked towards them.
"Okay, well, I gotta get going - but I'll pick you up at 7?"
"Yeah…" Riley nodded, Xander walked over to Willow and Buffy.
"Hey guys!" Xander said happily, Willow and Buffy exchanged glances.
"Xand - we need to talk to you about Riley."
***********
A few minutes later, Riley walked into the bathroom, and heard muffled crying. Curious, she knocked on the stall it was coming from.
"Are you all right?" She asked, Cordelia opened the door and glared at her.
"I want to know how he does it." She pushed by Riley and walked over to the door, locking it. Riley looked at her uneasily.
"Who does what?"
"Xander…how he manages to get over people as quickly as he does…" Riley stares at Cordelia in the mirror, obviously not understanding her anger. "Oh, don't act like he hasn't told you." Riley shrugged at this.
"Told me what?"
"You mean…you have no idea who I am?" Cordelia turned to face her, surprised.
"No…I'm Riley, I just came here from New York…"
"Yeah, that's great. I'm Cordelia… Xander's ex. We just broke up a few weeks ago because I caught him kissing his best friend. You know her as Willow. At least, I assume you know who she is."
"Yeah…" Cordelia glared at her.
"I don't want him to know we had this little talk, all right? Cuz I don't care about him anymore…" Riley shook her head disbelieving.
"I'm sure you don't." She replied sarcastically, then walked over to sit on the windowsill.
"Excuse me?" Cordelia put one hand on her hip, shocked that Riley would dare say anything to her in such a voice.
"If you didn't care about him so much, you wouldn't be confronting me right now. You wouldn't be acting like you want him back so badly that it practically kills you inside. You wouldn't be putting up this amazing front so everyone thinks you're okay, but inside you're not. You don't have anyone to listen to, no one to blame this on but yourself. And all you want to do is go to him, tell him you're sorry you've been so harsh with him, and that you'd like to talk it out. And unless I'm way off the mark, then I'm sorry. Then I'm the one who's wrong. I should go." Riley went to get off the windowsill, Cordelia's look stopped her.
"And where do you get off telling me what I feel, Ms. I-Just-Came-Here-From-New-York-and-I-can-go-and-analyze-everyone's-problems?"
"I'm not telling you how you feel, I'm merely stating what I see. I mean, why else were you broken down in a bathroom stall when you're probably supposed to be sitting in English or math or whatever class you have now?"
"I have a free." Cordelia retorted, Riley rolled her eyes.
"Whatever. People like you don't normally walk around lacking a huge following. Yet I seem to notice that you're all by yourself. Now why is that?"
"And remind me again why I should tell you this?"
"Because you have no one else." Cordelia thought about this a minute, and if anything she said made this girl no longer like Xander, then that would hurt him. And that was her goal right now, wasn't it? And she wouldn't hurt as bad either, cuz she wouldn't have to see Riley and Xander together in the hall anymore. This could be a good thing.
"It's because I dumped all of my friends to go out with him. Xander's the town loser, in case you didn't know that already, and it was him or my friends. At the time, I thought he was the right choice. And boy was I wrong…" Cordelia stated, trying to see what Riley thought of that.
"So you got rid of all your friends for him? And yet one kiss with his best friend made you give that up? You're even dumber than I thought…" Riley said, crossing her arms and looking at Cordelia. "God, it's people like you that make me sick. You think you're all high and mighty, but when it comes down to it? You're just like the rest of us. You have feelings, you feel bad about insulting another person… you fall in love with the people that you know you shouldn't, but you can't help it. You can't help but thinking that this must be the one, the one that no one else saw but you. So you take your chances, but when you get hurt? You give up instantly. No trying for forgiveness, no second chances. That's not what you're supposed to do. Just because you were hurt once doesn't mean it can't be fixed. If you really cared about this guy, enough to give up people you had probably been friends with your entire life, he's gotta mean something to you. But you're too stubborn to realize it." Cordelia was taken aback by her words, knowing that everything she said was true yet afraid to admit it. Riley continued. "And then - this is where it gets good, you try to return to your old self afterwards. But your old friends don't want you. And still you try your best to hurt all those who have hurt you, but this time around? Your conscience is working on overdrive. Every time you go to say something, there's this little voice in your head that tells you not to, yet you do anyway. And you want to scream, and apologize, but it's just not possible. Because you can't do it. In your heart you want to, but you yourself won't do it. You need to stop being so selfish and stop thinking about all the ways that you've been hurt and realize that he might be as hurt as you are." Riley jumped down from the window and brushed by Cordelia, leaving her alone for a while.
**********
"So she's a gypsy?" Willow, Xander, and Buffy all sat in the library about half an hour later, Xander once again on the losing end of a relationship. "What is it with me? Do I send out these vibes asking for these people to be drawn to me?" He sighed heavily, Buffy put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"It'll be all right…" He shrugged away her hand.
"Sometimes I wonder why I even try anymore…and you know what else? We're even supposed to go to the movies tonight… guess I'm gonna have to cancel that one…"
"Why? Why should you cancel?" Willow looked at Xander, never understanding his logic.
"Because - there's no point in going if she's just gonna leave anyway…"
"But it's not like she's this horrible demon, she's trying to help Giles. She's not trying to cause any harm." Xander glanced up at Willow and sat up in the chair.
"Maybe you're right…"
"I am right! Now I want you to go home and get ready for that date tonight! No excuses!" Willow stated firmly, Xander shrunk a little in the chair.
"Okay…" He got up and left, Buffy smiled at Willow.
"Nice job."
"I've been practicing." Giles steps out of his office.
"Does everyone know what they're doing tomorrow?" He questioned.
"Yup. I have to go and tell Angel that he's needed here tomorrow morning… then I'll take one opening, Faith another, Willow and Oz another, and I guess Xander'll have to cope on his own - I'm too afraid to ask - "
"What's going on? What does Xander have to do on his own?" All three heads turned to face Cordelia, who had just burst into the library.
"Cordelia." Willow finished, sitting down in a chair. Cordelia glanced from Giles to Buffy, begging for an explanation.
"There's this thing that's supposed to happen tomorrow - we're gonna need your help. Of course, that does mean working with Xander, but - " Buffy, offered, Cordelia cut her off.
"Whatever you need. I'm there." Willow and Buffy looked at each other uneasily, Giles spoke up.
"We need you here by 7am tomorrow morning…"
**********
6:45 the next morning, Willow, Oz, Buffy, Xander, Cordelia, Faith, and Riley all piled out of Oz's van. Angel had stayed at the library overnight, trying to avoid the sun that would be up until the eclipse would occur. They filed in, Giles and Angel sitting at a table, planning on what had to be done. They stood at their entrance.
"Good morning - " Giles said, as he picked up a piece of paper off of the table. "This is what we came up with - " He held it so everyone could see it.
"Everyone got it?" Buffy asked a minute later, after everyone had a chance to read it. Murmured responses signified a yes, and she looked back at Giles. "Are you sure you're up for this?"
"Uh, yes…what about you?" Buffy nodded.
"I'm ready. Whatever's coming up - I'm ready. I just don't want to see you hurt again." Giles looked at her knowingly.
"I'll be fine."
"Then I'm outta here. Come on, guys." She signaled to everyone except for Riley and Angel to leave, Riley looked to Giles.
"Okay, do you have everything we need?"
"I believe so."
"Good. Only about a half an hour now…"
**********
Oz dropped everyone off at their respected areas, then pulled his van to a stop in front of where he and Willow were supposed to stay.
"Are you okay?" He asked, looking at her concerned face.
"Yeah…uhh…no, not really…" She got out of the van, he followed her.
"What is it?"
"It's just… well, I'm worried. For everyone… for us, for Giles…" Oz looked at her, understanding.
"It'll work…it's got to…" He said, looking up at the sky, noticing the eclipse starting to occur. "Come on, let's get the stuff out of the trunk."
***********
Riley sat on the table, Angel and Giles sitting in chair at opposite ends. She handed them each a piece of paper, each with something to say. Leaves burned in a dish in the center of the table, producing a horrific smell.
"Okay, first I speak - then you do, then Angel. In doing that, it will bring the body back to it's regular form. However, while you are speaking, you must let a drop of blood spill onto the leaves, which is why you're both needed here. The two most important people in her life. Got it?" She asked, glancing between the two men. They nodded in response, she smiled. "Then this will work…" She began to chant, the fire rising from the dish, then nodded to Giles. He said what he was to, and cut his finger to produce the blood. As he did so, the sky grew darker, and wind began to blow through the library. He finished, and Angel did the same. Darkness filled the sky, and then it was silent. Riley looked around, trying to figure out where Jenny was. Angel growling turned both of their heads. He smiled devilishly, in full vamp mode. Giles stood up out of his chair, Riley on top of the table. He looked to Giles, but instead ran to the window and broke out.
"What happened?" Giles demanded, Riley looked around, confused.
"I don't know! We did the curse and then - " Giles walked quickly into his office, and glanced at the calendar.
"You turned back time!" He called out, Riley went in to where he was.
"What?"
"It's February 24th, 1998. You've changed it back to the original night that she was killed. It hasn't affected us, but it changed what's happened - Angel was reverted back to his old form. We have to find Buffy and tell her what happened!" Giles went to leave, Riley grabbed him by the arm.
"But where's Jenny?" Giles turned back to face her.
"I don't know…"
**********
Buffy, Faith, Cordelia, Xander, Oz, and Willow all met at the same spot, in front of the cemetery gates where they had agreed to meet in case of any problems.
"What happened?" Buffy asked, looking around the group.
"I don't know - the sky got dark, but it's not from the eclipse - there's the moon…" Willow said, pointing towards it.
"Then this eclipse thing probably isn't going to happen, right?" Oz asked, Buffy shook her head.
"I'm not sure…but I don't think so. We gotta find Giles - " With that, they went to Oz's van and drove towards the school.
**********
Giles and Riley pulled up in front of the cemetery, Buffy and crew nowhere to be found.
"Where'd they go?" Giles said more to himself than to Riley, who merely shrugged.
"Wait!" Giles turned to face her at her outburst.
"What?"
"I changed the time, right?" Giles looked at her, wondering where she was going with her question. "Well, that means Jenny would be wherever she was when she died. What time did she die?"
"Soon after I left, around 7:45 I guess..why?"
"What time is it now?" Giles glanced at his watch.
"7:18…"
"This is the way it was supposed to happen! We were supposed to be able to go back in time to change what happened, she's still at the school!" Giles looked at Riley, doubting her for a minute, then realized that it made sense. He turned his car back on and went back towards the school.
They got back there about ten minutes later, Giles barely turned his car off before he went running inside, Riley attempting to catch up to him. To his dismay, the door closest to Jenny's classroom was locked.
"We have to go around the front - " Riley grabbed Giles' wrist and looked at his watch, displaying the time.
"We don't have time for that! It's 7:35…by the time we get around the front, we won't have time to get to her…" Giles realized that she was right, then looked around frantically. He finally found a rock on the ground, and heaved it through the window, shattering it. He reached in through the broken glass and pulled the door open, then started to walk quieter through the hallway, in case Angel was already there. He could see a dim light coming from her room, and as he got closer, he could hear her typing. He stopped at the doorway, but Riley continued inside.
"Janna! You're all right!" Her entrance startled Jenny, who stood up out of her chair.
"Oh - you scared me!" She replied, then smiled at her. "What are you doing here?" She asked, obviously happy to see her.
"It's a long story - we gotta get you out of here…" Giles stepped inside the classroom, he stared at Jenny, barely believing that she was standing there in front of him, like he had only imagined in his dreams. Tears filled his eyes, but he managed to hold them back. Jenny looked at him strangely.
"Hey - you all right?" She asked, walking towards him. Riley went over to the computer, looking at what she had been working on.
"Yes..I - I'm better than I have been.." He replied, attempting to smile. She nodded, obviously worried about him.
"You found it?" Riley asked, looking back at her.
"Found what?"
"The curse - to recurse Angel? You found it?" Jenny walked over to the computer.
"Yeah - I just have to print it…" She replied, then glanced back to Giles. "That's what I was working on…but I thought you were leaving?" She looked from Giles to Riley, who was now printing out the curse.
"Jenny, we have to leave - now… I'll explain later, please, let's just - "
"Now why would you want to leave now?" Angel's icy voice rose from the other side of the room, they all turned to face him. "I was just gonna have some fun with the nice teacher, but since we're all here, may as well make a party out of it…" He smiled, his fangs illuminated by the glow of the computer. Giles stepped in front of Jenny as if to protect her.
"We have to leave…" He muttered, Riley put the paper with the curse on it in her pocket, then looked at Giles, trying to see what he was going to do next. Angel stood up slowly, Giles pushed Jenny towards the door. "Get out of here!" He shouted, she looked at him, not wanting to leave them alone with Angel, but his glare made her run. Angel ran towards them, trying to go after Jenny, Giles' fist stopped him from doing so. He pulled Riley from the chair and they ran in the direction of Jenny, who had stopped at the end of the hallway, but when she saw they were all right, she continued to run.
"Go to the library!" He yelled, she turned down the other hallway in that direction. Angel was suddenly close behind them, and grabs Riley from behind.
"Mr. Giles!" Riley screams - he stops and looks back at Angel, who now holds Riley, preparing to kill her. "Just go! I'll be all right!" She says, knowing her part in this. Giles doesn't want to leave, but realizes that he has nothing to stop Angel from killing them all. He turns back in the direction he was running, Angel throws Riley to the ground and goes after Giles. She hits the ground hard, knocking her unconscious.
Giles goes running through the library doors and finds Jenny hiding in his office, he runs inside there and locks the door, then turns out the light. She looks at him for an explanation, but Angel enters.
"Oh, so we're playing hide and seek now?" Angel says sarcastically, looking around the library. "You people are no fun. You don't want to participate in my fun, why should I in yours?" He walks around slowly, a deep growl coming from within.
"But you forget…I can smell your fear…"
**********
Oz stopped his van next to Giles' car, they all get out. Xander runs to the door, and sees the broken glass on the ground.
"Something's wrong…" He says, going inside.
"Xander, wait - " Buffy says, he doesn't listen. They go down the hallway, and see Riley unconscious on the floor."
"Riley!" Xander ran over to her and kneeled down on the floor beside her, Cordelia couldn't hide the jealousy she felt for her. Buffy noticed this, but decided to put it off for now.
"Is she…"
"She's alive…" Xander lifted her head up off the ground, trying to get her to wake up. "Riley?" He asked, glass shattering in the background alerted them of danger, as well as Jenny screaming.
"Let's go!" Buffy looked at Faith and they went running, leaving everyone else to stay with Xander and Riley.
**********
The two slayers reached the library to see Angel chasing Giles and Jenny towards the doors.
"Buffy, get out!" He yelled as they reached the exit, Buffy and Faith turned around, and ran in the other direction.
"Guys! Get out of here! Get in Oz's van!" Buffy screamed, hoping that they heard her down the hallway. Luckily they did, Oz grabbed Willow's hand and ran with her to the door, Cordelia following them, Xander picked up Riley and ran after them.
Seconds later, Buffy, Faith, Giles, and Jenny went running out the door and towards the open van door, they all jumped in and Oz drove away, leaving Angel in the parking lot.
**********
"Giles what is going on?" Buffy asked, out of breath.
"Uh, apparently the spell Riley used changed the time…we basically traveled back in time, to change what happened…we had no idea it would turn Angel back…" Giles' voice faded, feeling as though he had let Buffy down.
"But we can turn him back. We've got the curse, don't we?"
"Yes, Riley printed it out…" Giles said, Xander looked in her hand at the crumpled up piece of paper. He took it and handed it to Giles.
"How easy is it to perform?" Buffy asked, Willow responded.
"Well, last time I did it, it didn't seem to take too long… we need an Orb…" It was time for Jenny to speak up.
"Hey guys…I must be totally lost here because I don't know about anything you're talking about…" They all turned to look at her.
"Oh God, Ms. Calendar!" Willow exclaimed, then got out of her seat and hugged her. Jenny looked at her strangely.
"Nice to see you too, Willow, but…" Willow looked at Giles.
"She doesn't know?" Giles shook his head, Willow cast her eyes downward. "Are you going to tell her?"
"Tell me what?" Jenny looked to Giles for an explanation.
"I…I don't even know where to begin…" He removed his glasses, no longer looking at her. It was so hard for him to say what he had to, when she was sitting there, more alive than ever. "Basically, it's not February 24th… its December 28th…" Jenny looked at him.
"But…"
"You know how Angel was in the school tonight? Planning to kill you?" Jenny could do nothing but nod. "Well he did. Only you don't really know that - because we went back to save you. But it didn't turn out like we thought - we thought that we would remain in our time and you'd return, but that's not the way it happened… the one part of the spell that we didn't know was that we would be going back in time… we barely made it there before we relived that whole thing again…" Jenny sat back in her seat, not understanding what he just said.
"So I'm supposed to be dead?" Giles nodded. "But I'm not, because you went back in time to save me? And that's why Riley's here?"
"Yes."
"Oh God…" Jenny breathed deeply, trying to stop herself from crying. "I guess I really don't know what to say to that…" She said, not able to look at anyone. Oz pulled up in front of Giles' house.
"Do you need to get anything from here?" Oz directed towards Giles.
"Uh, yes, actually…Jenny?" She looked up at him, and followed him inside his house. They watched them walk inside, then Faith spoke up.
"Should one of us stand outside? You know, in case Angel shows?" Buffy glanced towards the house.
"Yeah, do you think you could?" She asked, Faith jumped out of the van.
"Do I slay him if he comes?" Buffy nodded.
"Yeah."
**********
They stepped inside Giles' apartment, Puccini playing the background, roses spread around, wine in place. Giles gasped in horror, forgetting that those things would be there. Jenny looked back at him, smiling.
"Oh, I'm supposed to be dead, huh?" She walked over to the wine and picked it up, examining it. "This is good stuff…" Giles saw her reaching for the paper, he grabbed her hand.
"I don't want you to look at that…"
"Why not? I can't believe you set this all up…" She picked up the paper, reading the one word "upstairs" written on it. "Cute, Rupert, real cute…" She folded it back up and turned to him. "Nice setup, though…"
"Jenny, I didn't do this… it was Angel…he was planning on killing you, he had this set up…" She reaches over and picks up the other paper lying next to it, the one with the drawing of her dead on it. She looks it over, tears filling her eyes.
"I…Oh God…" She dropped the paper to the floor, covering her eyes, trying to keep the tears from escaping. Giles walked over to her, putting his arms around her, trying to keep away the thoughts of what was supposed to have happened.
"Jenny…it'll be all right…I'm not going to let him hurt you again…" He tried to keep his voice from cracking, he knew what had happened and what could happen again if they didn't hurry out of there.
"I'm so sorry…" She spoke, her voice muffled. She pulled away, looking up at him. "I shouldn't have stayed at the school so late by myself…I wouldn't have even been there if I had never lied to you in the first place…" He reached over and wiped a tear off of her cheek, his gaze softened.
"Jenny, that's not your fault… there's really no one you could really blame for anything that's happened… but we got a second chance. We can do this over, make things right again. I don't…" A knocking at the door interrupted him.
"Hey - we gotta get going…" Faith said softly, Giles looked around quickly.
"I just have to…get the Orb…" Jenny looked at him strangely.
"You just happen to have an Orb lying around?"
"Well, we traveled back in time. I had one, was using it for a paperweight…but then Willow used it when we restored Angel's soul last time. If I'm right, it should still be…" He pulled it out of a drawer in his desk. "Right here. Will you be okay? To go back out there, I mean…"
"I think so…" They walked to the door and opened it, Faith standing outside. She smiled at the sight of the Orb.
"Great..let's boogie." They walked back to Oz's van and got in, on their way to Buffy's house.
**********
About fifteen minutes later they arrived at Buffy's, they all got out of the van and went inside.
"Hello everybody…" Joyce looked at Buffy strangely, not understanding why everyone was there. "Why is everyone…"
"Don't worry about it, Mom. School project." Joyce shook her head, they all went up to Buffy's room, Willow and Buffy sat across from each other on the floor, Oz sat behind Willow, Xander laid Riley down on the bed and then he, Cordelia, Jenny, and Giles all sat on the edge of it, and Faith made herself comfortable in a chair. They put the Orb, along with the other necessary ingredients into the middle of the circle. Willow rubbed her hands together and looked around the group of people, she smiled uncertainly.
"Is everyone ready?" They nodded as Willow began to read from the spell, everyone else merely watching. Riley slowly sat up from the bed, and looked around, confused.
"What's going on?" She asked, rubbing her head.
"Will's trying to recurse Angel - " Xander replied, whispering. Riley was silent after he said that, and slowly sat forward. The surge of energy went through Willow again, only Oz and Cordelia are able to understand this. Buffy looked at Giles frantically.
"Is she all right?"
"It's part of the spell - " Jenny replied, although the question wasn't directed at her. Buffy turned back to Willow and looked at her hopefully. A moment later Willow finished and she sat back, exhausted.
"Are you all right?" Oz asked, she nodded her head in response.
"It worked…" She replied quietly, then looked to Buffy to see what to do next.
"We go find Angel." Buffy said at her look, they all got up from their positions and left again.
**********
"Where to?" Oz asked, glancing into the back of the van.
"The factory…" Buffy replied, then looked to Giles. "You burnt it down after - " her voice trailed off, looking at Jenny. "Uh, so it should still be there, right? Along with Spike and Drusilla - "
"Yes, it should - "
"Sounds like a plan." Oz turned on the van and drove off down the street.
A few minutes later they pulled up in front of the factory, Buffy slid the door open.
"Me and Faith'll go inside, see if Angel's here. The rest of you stay outside, in case he's not.." Buffy said, getting out of the van, Faith following. They closed the door behind them and went inside.
Once there, they looked around and moved in the direction of the voices they heard. They looked down on the three people talking.
"You feeling better now? After that attack I was sure you had changed back - and what a pity that would have been…" Spike said sarcastically, Buffy looked to Angel.
"I'm fine. I'm gonna go find her -"
"Be careful… things aren't the way they should be…" Drusilla spoke, sitting down at the table.
"Ta ta - and don't fall on a stake…" Spike waved at him, the bitterness edging his voice, Angel turned and left. Faith turned to Buffy.
"Do we kill them?" Buffy shook her head.
"They're not threat to us right now without Angel. We should go see if he's okay - " They turned and went in the direction that Angel had gone.
**********
"Hey - there he is - but where's Buffy and Faith?" Oz asked, pointing towards Angel - Giles got out of the van.
"Giles - where's Buffy?" Giles glared at him, trying to figure out whether or not to trust him.
"Right here - " Buffy said, her and Faith coming up behind him. He looked at her, tears in his eyes.
"How many times is this going to happen? Why did it happen again?" Buffy gestured towards the van.
"I'll explain later."
**********
They filed back into the library, hoping to find a way to return to where they came from. Angel glanced around at the broken glass.
"What happened?" He asked, looking around at everyone.
"You uh - went after Giles and Ms. Calendar - " Buffy said, he looked to them.
"I'm sorry - " He said, Giles looked at Jenny was staring down at the floor, he turned to walk into his office.
"We have to find a way back - " He said from inside the office, Willow looked to Jenny.
"Should we go on the net?" Jenny nodded, Giles stepped back out of his office.
"All right. You two look on that, Xander, Oz, and Cordelia can start looking through some of the Watcher Diaries, see if anything's there. Riley and I will look through some of the Romanian texts, Buffy and Angel can go hunting, Faith will stay here in case there's any trouble. " Everyone seemed to agree with what he said, and went off in their separate ways.
**********
"I'm assuming Giles still has his computer fear - " Jenny said from behind a monitor, Willow laughed.
"Yeah…but he's actually gotten better about it. We've caught him using one a couple times." Jenny raised her eyebrows at this.
"Really? Hm…"
"He's changed a lot - he's not the same person he used to be. I think it's just because he's been through so much - " Willow's voice trailed off, Jenny stopped searching for a minute.
"Is it because of me?" She asked, Willow also stopped doing what she was, and walked over and sat down next to Jenny.
"Buffy told me that he said that you were the only person he ever loved. After losing you, he just wasn't the same. He wanted Angel dead. And part of me thinks he blamed Buffy partially for it - for too many reasons. But I think now that you're actually back, things can be okay again. He can go back to being happy, and that would make it easier on everyone. So yeah, it was because of you --but not in a bad way. Just because he missed you so much…" Willow glanced up and saw Giles coming out of his office, both him and Riley carrying a couple books. Willow got up from where she was sitting and went back to the computer, Jenny watched Giles as he walked to the table and put the books down, then sat. He took off his glasses and rubbed his temples, sighing heavily. Willow was right. He seemed to have aged a lot in the past year - he seemed older, more tired.
"Wait - I have one book at my house - " He spoke out of nowhere, startling Jenny who was still watching him.
"What is it?" She asked, he looked at her.
"The book you gave me, actually. The one that wouldn't allow Angel into any home he had been invited into. I should go get it - " He stood up out of his chair, closing the book sitting open on the table. He pushed it towards Riley. "Do you think you could skim through this one? I should be back in twenty minutes…"
"Sure - " She said, not even looking up from what she was reading. Jenny stood up.
"I'll go with you."
"No, it's safer here - " He said, turning to go back into his office, she followed him.
"You're not going by yourself - " She stated firmly, leaning against the doorframe, crossing her arms. He turned his back to her.
"It's just - we don't know what's out there right now. We're not in the right time, nothing is what it's supposed to be. It's just safer if you're here with Faith and everyone else." He finally found his jacket buried underneath some books that had fallen earlier, and put it on. She stood up straight, blocking the exit. He sighed heavily.
"Jenny - " She raised her eyebrows at him once again, he gave up, defeated. "All right - " He said, she moved out of his way, they walked back into the library. "We're going to get a book from my house - we'll be back in a few minutes." Willow looked up at them and waved, they turned and left.
**********
Xander, Cordelia, and Oz sat in the stacks; Xander laying on his stomach, feet in the air, Cordelia sitting in a chair, and Oz sitting on the floor.
"These books are useless - you know that…" Xander said, closing one of the books.
"Xander - stop complaining." Xander and Oz both looked up at her as she spoke, she rolled her eyes. "Look..you want to be here. I have so many more things that I could be doing right now…"
"Then why are you here?" Xander glared at her, she looked down at the book.
"They asked for my help."
"And you gave it. When you didn't have to. So I'm pretty much guessing that if you're here, you either have nothing better to do or you miss hanging out with us." Cordelia looked back at Xander at his remark.
"Xander, are you trying to say that I miss you guys so much that I - " Oz cut her off, standing up.
"You know what? If you two want to fight I don't want to be in the middle of it." He went and walked out of the stacks, leaving Cordelia and Xander alone. Xander moved to a sitting position, both refusing to look at one another.
"God, Cordy - I am so sick of acting like we're five years old again…"
"What are you talking about?" She looked up, annoyed.
"Ever since that whole thing with me and Willow, we have done nothing but shout insults at each other and try to see who could hurt who more. And we're 18, and we should be able to deal with what happened and get past it. But apparently the word forgiveness isn't in your vocabulary."
"Ooh - Xander used a big word - "
"And that is exactly what I'm talking about. I mean, you never give up, do you?"
"No, Xander. I don't. Only when it seems like maybe I should because I might get hurt. Or already did." Xander looked away at her remark. "And you - you're sitting here, saying that we're supposed to try and talk, but you want to avoid it now that we're here."
"I miss you, Cordy.." He spoke softly, his voice cracking. He stood up, turning his back to her.
"What?" She also stands, staring at his back.
"I miss you. Ever since that night, I have done nothing but regret my actions and wish I could take them all back. I never wanted to hurt you - never meant to. There isn't a night that goes by that I want to call you, pray that you'll answer the phone, that you'd talk to me and forgive me. But I suppose that's not gonna happen…" Cordelia walked over to him, making him face her.
"Xander - " Her face has softened, she puts her hand on his arm, he pulls away. She casts her eyes downward, crossing her arms. "I've never been hurt so badly in my life than I was that night. Seeing you and Willow together… it hurt in way I never imagined that I could hurt. As much as it pains me to say this, you were probably the first person in my life that I've ever really cared about… but that was just destroyed by that night." She stops, she's finding it hard to admit what she is.
"I'm sorry. I never knew that I could hurt someone like that… and when I thought that you could die because you were there to save me… I don't know if I would have been able to live with myself afterwards. So seeing that you were okay, that made me happy. I guess I've gotten to a point where if you're happy I'm happy… even if you're not… even if you're not with me…" Xander turned away from her again, tears filling his eyes.
"But I'm not happy, Xander. I've learned to realize that the only time I was ever truly happy was with you… I could be myself around you and you liked me for who I was… not the person I was trying to be. But I'm scared. I'm scared that you're going to hurt me again… I don't think I'd be able to go through that a second time…" She quickly wipes her tears away, not wanting him to turn around and see them.
"I'd like you to give me a second chance… if you could.." Xander turned back to face her, she smiled a bittersweet smile through her tears.
"I don't know about that… I don't know if I'm ready…"
"Please…" He looked at her, pleading with her.
"Oh, please don't look at me like that…" She said, she tried to break their eye contact, but couldn't. "I…what about Riley?" She asked, breaking whatever spell they had woven between each other.
"Riley?" Xander looked at her blankly, clearly not remembering. "Riley! Oh, well, she's not you… there was really nothing between us…" He said, praying that she believed him. She looked at him, trying to read his thoughts.
"You promise?"
"Yes, I promise. Please, Cordy…" He put his hands together, begging. She smiled.
"All right. I'll give you another chance. But this is the last one. I have the whole trust issue thing…" He went over to her and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her. He buried his head into her shoulder.
"Thank you…" He said, she smiled and hugged him back and closed her eyes, a single tear falling from her eye.
"Thank you…" She repeated.
**********
Giles and Jenny walked through the doors of his apartment, and he headed straight for the bookshelf. He pulled the book off after looking for a minute.
"Find it?" Jenny broke the silence in the room, he merely nodded. They hadn't talked in the car, both having too much on their mind to do anything but think. He turned the pages quickly and stopped - two pages in the middle of the book had been ripped out.
"Good Lord - " He said, removing his glasses and looking to the ceiling. Jenny took the book out of his hands and quickly skimmed the rest of it.
"Why isn't it here?" She said, more to herself than to him. "So what do we do now?" Giles shook his head.
"I don't know…" He replied, staring off into space, she leaned her head back on the couch. "Is there anyone you could call from your family? They sent Riley here to save you - maybe they know a way to get us back…"
"They probably didn't even know it would have this reaction." Giles looked at her strangely, she continued. "They're famous for having loopholes in their spells… stuff that they're not even aware of. They probably have no idea… they would have told her."
"They didn't tell you about Angel's curse." Jenny glances over at him, knowing that he was right.
"Can I use your phone?" He nodded, gesturing towards it. She got up off the couch and picked it up, dialing. After about three rings, someone answered.
"Hello?" They spoke, Jenny sighed heavily.
"Hello…This is Janna… who am I speaking with?"
"This is Anicka… what's wrong?" Jenny glanced over to Giles, then began to tell the story. After talking with her, and numerous other people for about 20 minutes, she finally hung up, exasperated.
"They don't know." She sat down on the couch heavily, running her hands through her hair.
"What do you mean?" Giles asked, sitting forward as he questioned her.
"That's never happened before…when they've done something like that. It wasn't supposed to happen. Somehow something was reversed when you did the spell… something was done in the wrong order…whatever it was, they can't fix it…" Her voice trailed off, and Giles looked at her, worried.
"Are you all right?" He asked softly.
"No…" She was honest, he commended her for that. "Ugh…maybe…" She shook her head at her thought. "Never mind…" Giles looked at her, concerned.
"Maybe what?" She looked over at him, seeing nothing but concern in his eyes. She debated for a minute over saying what she wanted to, what she needed to, but she continued.
"Maybe this was a bad idea. You bringing me back, I mean. Because now we're all stuck in this alternate time where we don't know what might happen and we can't change it back… you shouldn't have put the entire world in danger because of me… for me… I would never want any harm to come to any of you… if you hadn't done it, Angel wouldn't have turned again, no one would be stuck here and everyone's lives would be back to normal - " Giles cut her off, upset by her words.
"Jenny… " He looks at her, the hurt evident in his voice. "I would rather be stuck here forever than to not have you here with me. I would rather live in a world with total chaos and absolutely no control than to have what I did without you. That was worse than anything I had faced in my entire life… worse than anything I ever would face. I don't know how I lived the past year after knowing that I could have stopped what happened to you…if I had only been there instead of ignoring you, if I had offered to help instead of turning you away. Things could be so different now…" He looked away from her quickly, blinking away the tears out of his eyes. She continues to look at him, and he eventually meets her gaze once again.
"What?"
"Do you really mean that?" She asked, he smiled slightly.
"Of course I do." His expression turned serious once again. "I've never cared for anyone the way I have you… I realize that it may not have seemed like it, like I was always preoccupied with Buffy and my duties as her watcher, but that never meant anything… and if I could change everything that's happened between us, I would do it in a second. Perhaps after we figure this all out we could talk about it but right now…"
"Isn't a good time. I know…" She looked at him understanding. "So what about you? Don't you have anyone you could call that could maybe figure this all out?" He looked thoughtful for a moment then glanced at the phone.
"I suppose I could try calling the council… they probably don't know anything either but you never know…"
"Right." Jenny nodded and Giles picked up the phone, dialing. A heavy British voice answered on the other end of the line.
"Yes, hello…this is Rupert Giles - I need to speak with Henry Cunningham…"
"Mr. Cunningham isn't currently available…is there someone else that you can speak with?" Giles rolled his eyes at this.
"It's a rather important matter that I need to discuss with him… " The guy grumbled something under his breath.
"Hold on…" The phone rang two times before being answered once again.
"Henry Cunningham…"
"Henry - it's Rupert Giles." The man laughed.
"Rupert Giles! I haven't spoken to you in months… this has got to be important…"
"Yes, well, we have a certain situation here…" Giles went on to explain what had happened and how Jenny's family wasn't sure exactly how to change it back.
"So, what you're telling me is that you need a time travel spell? What gave you the idea that we might have something like that?"
"Believe me, you're my last resort…"
"Well… we have something. I'm not sure if it'll help… but we'd need to speak to that Riley girl. Can you arrange a phone conversation with her?" Giles nodded his head, then realized that Henry couldn't see that.
"Of course. I could have her on the phone tonight or tomorrow morning, if you'd like - " He replied, looking over at Jenny.
"Have her call us tomorrow morning at 8am - your time. Hopefully by the afternoon you'll be back in your normal time." Giles' face fell as a thought crossed his mind.
"I have one more question, Henry…"
"Go ahead."
"We did this spell to reverse what happened to a friend of mine… When we went back in the past, it reversed the spell we had cast upon Angel - made him soulless again. Will going back into the future reverse the spell we did to get my friend back?" Henry was silent for a minute, not particularly sure of the answer. He sighed heavily, and Jenny and Giles avoided eye contact with one another, both fearing his answer.
"I don't think it should. Because you were able to change the events that happened to her, you did technically change the past. She should be fine."
"Thank you, Henry…"
"I'll be speaking with you in the morning. Good night, Rupert."
***********
Giles and Jenny walked back through the doors of the library, Willow, Faith, and Oz glanced up at them.
"What happened?" Willow asked, turning away from the computer.
"Are Buffy and Angel back yet?" Giles asked, glancing quickly around the room.
"Right here - " Buffy said from behind them, her and Angel coming through the doors. Giles looked at her, then back to Willow.
"Where's Riley?"
"Here - " She said, sticking her head out from behind one of the stacks. Xander and Cordelia came out as well, they all gathered in the center of the library.
"So Giles - quit with the dramatics. What happened?" Faith asked, sitting on top of one of the tables. Giles adjusted his glasses and began.
"They pages were torn out of the book I thought they were in. Jenny called her family - apparently when the spell was cast it was done in the wrong order. They don't know how to change it back. I called the council, and they think they can help. They just need to speak to Riley." He looked to Riley, who began to walk down the stairs.
"Why do they need to talk to me?" She asked, all eyes were focused on her.
"I guess they want you to give them the spell that you performed, so they know what to do in order to fix it." Riley looked to Jenny, unsure.
"I don't know if that's such a good idea - " Riley stated, Giles looked over at Jenny for an explanation.
"The family isn't allowed to give out our spells. They're hundreds of years old. I'm sure that Riley herself had somewhat of a hard time getting her hands on a copy of the spell that got us here." She explained, Giles was obviously upset.
"But this is an emergency - aren't there exceptions?" He asked, Riley sighed.
"Just don't tell them I gave it away, all right?" Giles smiled slightly, relieved.
"All right, then. Everyone meet me here tomorrow morning before 8."
**********
"Xander - " Cordelia went to catch up with him outside, he stopped to look at her.
"Hmmm?" He asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"If this spell doesn't work… or the world ends… I think we should talk. You know, before that happens." She looked at him hopefully, he smiled at her.
"We do. We need to talk. But too much has happened today - and I think the fact that we're okay with each other again is good enough for tonight." Cordelia was amazed by his words. Maybe he was right. Maybe for now their lives were complicated enough without them having to find an answer for everything.
"Okay…" She replied, smiling at him. It had been almost a month since she had broken up with him, and she had missed his smile, and the way he always had something to say although it wasn't appropriate or the right time.
"Would you like a ride home?" She asked him almost timidly, not looking at him.
"Yeah - " He replied, they walked over to her car, both looking down and not at each other.
They drove in silence all the way to Xander's house. Xander would occasionally steal a glance over at Cordelia, but when she noticed, he would quickly look away and act as though he was looking out the window. They pulled up in front of Xander's house about ten minutes later, only the living room light was still on inside. Xander turned to Cordelia.
"Thanks - " He said, putting his hand on the door handle, ready to open it.
"Xander - " He put his hand back on his lap and looked over at her.
"Yeah?"
"Good - night." He looked down, grasped her hand briefly, then got out of the car.
"Good-night, Cordy - " He said, before he closed the door. Cordelia waited for him to go inside, and then drove away.
**********
It was 6am, and already Giles was waiting in the library. Jenny had gone to get coffee, and Buffy had gone to get Angel. He sat at a table, thinking about the events of the past 24 hours. They had gone back in time, and had saved Jenny's life. Angel turned evil , but they cursed him once again. They soon would be back in the time they were supposed to be and everything would be right in the world.
It didn't feel real to him. For so long he had wondered what his life would be like had Jenny never died. Would they have ever mended the problems between them, been able to carry on a normal relationship? Or would something else have gotten in the way? He would finally be able to get the answers to all his questions. They had agreed the night before that they wouldn't spend it arguing and trying to sort out all of the lies and the betrayal. Instead, they talked about what had happened in a year. What happened with Angel, how Kendra had died and Faith had taken her place. Giles was glad to be able to talk to her, and found it hard to explain Angel going to hell and then his coming back. How betrayed he felt when Buffy didn't tell him; but with her sitting there, listening to him talk - it no longer felt like that the past year mattered anymore. They had been given a second chance, and he no longer wanted to live in the past.
"Buffy didn't get back yet?" Jenny placed the cups of coffee down on the table in front of him - he honestly hadn't heard her come in.
"Jenny - " He smiled, and he knew that he really didn't care if they ever got back to their right time. Jenny was alive and that's all that mattered. He was obviously exhausted, but even that he shrugged off and took a cup of coffee.
"Did I scare you?" She asked, sitting down next to him.
"I just didn't hear you come in." He replied sheepishly, she sat forward.
"Deep in thought, huh?"
"You might say that." Jenny looked at him concerned.
"Are you sure you're up for this today? We can put it off until tomorrow… no one says it has to be done today…"
"I'm fine." Buffy burst through the doors, Angel behind her.
"We're here."
By 7:55 they had all gotten to the library, and Giles began dialing the Watcher's Council.
Riley spoke with Henry - explained the spell they had used, explained the history behind it. Together they figured out what had been done wrong and Henry gave her a spell to fix it. She hung up the phone about 45 minutes later and looked around at all of them.
"He said that we all have to go to where we were before the spell was cast. Janna - you have to be in the cemetery. Me, Giles, and Angel in the library. Everyone else at their stations. I perform the spell in here and it should bring us back to the time after the spell was complete. Basically, be prepared to fight off the vampire's cuz they'll be coming." Giles looked at Jenny, worried.
"But we can't leave Jenny by herself - " He said, Buffy stepped forward.
"She can come with me."
**********
Oz had made the last of his drop-offs once again, he and Willow got out of the car.
"I really hope this doesn't get messed up again - " Willow said, Oz shook his head.
"It won't."
**********
Riley stood in the middle of the library, reciting the spell that Henry had given her. A light flashed through the room, and it was suddenly dark outside.
"It worked." Angel stated, they looked at each other, then decided to go and help the others.
**********
A vampire came up behind Xander and Cordelia - about five more were coming from the other direction. Both holding crossbows, they aimed and killed two instantly.
"Okay Xander - what next?!?" Cordelia asked desperately, he quickly pulled out bottles of holy water.
"These!" The vampires looked at them in horror, Cordelia threw hers and hit one, burning him. The others ran, but one came up behind Xander and grabbed him by the neck.
"Cordy!" He gasped, she turned around.
"Put him down!" She commanded, Xander struggled and the vampire threw him to the ground - Xander hit his head on a tombstone, knocking him unconscious. "Xander!" Cordelia cried, the vampire came at her, she screamed and began to run. Angel came at them, and punched the vampire in the jaw, sending him flying onto his back. He staked him, then left Cordelia by herself. She ran over to Xander, cradling his head in her lap.
"Xander?" She asked, brushing a strand of hair out of his face. "Oh God, Xander - I never shoulda listened to you last night. We should have talked and gotten everything out in the open - " He slowly began to open his eyes.
"Cordy?" He asked.
"Yes! You're alive!" He attempted to get up, but then fell back down again.
"Oh man…Cordy… I see stripes!" She looked at him, confused.
"You mean like on a zebra?"
**********
Buffy was struggling with a vampire, Jenny managed to kill one with her crossbow. A couple went running as Buffy struggled, she finally staked the one and tried to go after the others.
Oz and Willow were outnumbered, they killed a couple vampires but the majority of them got away.
This was a pattern with all of them, and Buffy and Faith were getting tired, having used up most of their strength in the beginning of the battle.
Willow and Oz did what they could, but gave up chasing the vampires and went to find Cordelia and Xander. Xander had since recovered from his incident, and the four of them went to help the others.
The hour was almost up, and more vampires had escaped than not. Giles looked into the street, as many began to run towards the sewers. He looked over at Buffy who was fighting furiously with one that began smoking.
"Buffy!" He cried, she looked over at him, giving the vampire an opportunity to get up and run into the sewer with the others.
"What?"
"It's over - " She looked up at the sky, and the sun was becoming uncovered. They hadn't completely won the battle, but had done the best they possibly could. Angel had gone underground along with the other vampires. Everyone met in front of the Morgan family crypt.
"Is that it?" Willow asked, looking at Giles.
"I guess so - " He replied, then looked over at Buffy.
"I wonder how many people they got -" She said sadly, glancing around the cemetery.
"You did good, Buffy. You stopped a lot of them."
"I just…too many got away." She stated flatly, looking at the ground. "I guess we'll find out what happened in a couple hours, huh?"
"Buffy - you can't save everyone. There will always be something you don't expect, or that you can't stop. You just have to do what you can, and accept that you did what you could." She was silent as Giles spoke, she shrugged.
"I guess. Look - I'm gonna go home - " Buffy waved, then walked away from the group.
"Will she be okay?" Willow asked Giles, he nodded, still watching Buffy walk down the street.
"I think seeing Angel turn bad again had a pretty hard impact on her. She didn't want that to happen again - " His voice trailed off and he adjusted his glasses. "She'll just need some time alone."
"And the Buffy and Angel saga continues." Faith said. "We done here?"
"There's nothing else we can do - " Giles said, Faith threw her hands in the air.
"Then I'm gone. Off to watch some trashy talk shows. See ya - " She turned and walked off, Willow looked to Oz.
"We should probably get going too - " Oz nodded, Willow took his arm.
"Nuh-uh." They turned back to look at Cordelia. "We need to talk. All of us." She finished, looking at Xander.
"She's right. We should probably talk about what's gone down with all of us…" Xander said, avoiding eye contact with Willow.
"Sounds fair." Oz replied, they took that as a sign to leave and headed off towards Oz's van.
"And I've got a plane to catch." Riley said, looking between Jenny and Giles.
"Do you need a ride?" Giles asked, she shook her head.
"Nah. I gotta run to my hotel, I'll call a cab from there."
"Thank you, Riley - " Giles said, she smiled at him.
"Sorry it got so screwed up. But I'm glad it's all back to normal." She looked at Jenny. "Keep in touch, all right?"
"Of course - " Riley went over and hugged her. "Have a safe flight."
"I will…" She let go of Jenny. "See ya…" She turned and walked away from them, Jenny and Giles were left standing alone in the middle of the cemetery.
"So - what now?" She asked, looking up at him.
"I guess we go back to my place, have that dreaded talk that we put off - " Jenny rolled her eyes at him.
"Rupert - why don't we just forget about the past? Start over. We both made mistakes, we admitted to that, can't we just move on?" She asked hopefully, he thought about that for a minute.
"All right. Let's start over - forget about what happened and move on." She smiled at him.
"Good. Now - what was that you said about going back to your place?"
"Well…I…uhhh…" Her smile broadened, she took his hand and they walked out of the cemetery, the sun completely uncovered now.
Everyone's lives had pretty much returned back to normal. At least, as normal as it could get in Sunnydale. The past year seemed pretty non-existent at this point to everyone except for Buffy, who had to face her worst nightmare once again.
Their past had been altered, but only in the favor of a new future.
THE END
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