Buffy

 

 

The first thing that the hand felt was the cold. People would say I should be used to it, but where I was it was warm. Not cold as most people would think. Maybe it was the fires of hell, or the warmth of heaven, I can't remember. All I know is, that this place looks familiar for some reason. A grave yard. Why am I here?

The body climbed up, and brushed the dirt of off the funeral clothes. The figure glanced down, suddenly realizing who she was, but now why she was here.

"Shit! Am I dead?" She was about to walk away and look for answers, when she heard a hissing behind her.

"Slayer" The thing whispered.

 

The vampire was quickly dispatched, and the Slayer turned to look at her grave.

"Shit! I died!"

Immediately, Buffy felt dizzy, and sat down, and gently rocked herself. 

After a few minutes, she got up. And decided to head for Giles' house. If anyone would have answers, he would.

It took Buffy an hour to finally find her way to Giles' apartment. She heard noises inside, and decided to wait outside, hidden by a bush, until the noises died down. She thought she recognized a voice, but she couldn't place it. She sat, and waited.

 

“Who’s there?” Giles called out.

 

Oz got up to walk next to Giles as he looked outside. He sniffed, trying to get an idea of what it could be...friend or foe. Wait a minute...

"Giles? Whoever it is, smells kinda familiar." He stared as he saw one  of the bushes moving and moved closer to Giles.

"But who would be lurking in my bushes?"  Completely puzzled, Giles 

moved toward the foliage in question, and peered over them.

Oz followed close behind him, trying to see too.

"Buffy!!!" Giles squeaked, stumbling backwards in his shock.

Oz grabbed Giles to stop him from falling. "That's who the smell is?!" Letting go of Giles, Oz moved closer to the girl. /Well it does smell like her all right...but she's supposed to be dead!/

He plastered himself against the brick wall, stuttering, "T-tell me 

I'm h-ha-llucinating!"

/Great! Now Giles is having a wiggins./ Oz went over to him to try and calm him down. /If I didn't have this sense of smell guess I'd have that expression on my face too...full blown panic./

"You're not, Giles, she's real." Moving slowly, he held his arms out 

so Giles would see what he was doing. 

Buffy was dead!!  He'd seen the body, before and during the funeral.  

But if she was dead, who was the girl in the bushes.

Putting his arms around Giles's waist, Oz held tight on as he began to shake. /Guess I'm having a wiggins after all. Who or what is that?/

Giles felt Oz's arms around him and the panic-sticken tremors finally started to subside.  They didn't fade away entirely, but at least he could function.  Reflexively, his own arms went around the younger man.  He peered at the figure still lurking in his bushes.

With Giles arms around him , Oz felt just a little better. Enough to stop his own shaking that was. He looked over to the figure Giles was looking at before peering up at Giles face. There was a kind of desperate hope in his eyes.  

If it was true.. if it really were Buffy..

"Buffy?" he asked, plaintively.  "Please, say something."

Buffy's lips trembled, desperately trying to form a word.

/I don't know how much more Giles can handle at the moment./ Oz stared at the figure as well. /If this is some kind of fake, though.../ Oz 

felt a growl start to rise. /Not again. No more wolf tonight, please./

Looking at the figure turn, Oz was at first annoyed.  /Why won't she say anything?!/

Then his stronger sense of smell detected salt /She's crying.../

"Giles...I think it may be hard for her to say something." Taking a deep breath, Oz let go of Giles and began to walk slowly towards the girl. 

"You smell like Buffy, do you sound like her too?"

Giles followed Oz, half afraid that he was dreaming, and half afraid that he was.  

"Why don't you help her inside, Oz?  Maybe.. maybe something to drink will help.."

Buffy, still not facing her friends, felt a hand touch her shoulder.  The touch made her flinch, but she turned to walk towards the apartment.

He wanted to reach out and touch the girl..  To reassure himself that it was Buffy, alive.  But WHY was she alive, if it really were her?

Giles moved toward the door, stealing hesitant glances at the all too 

familiar face.

The Slayer walked past Giles, emotionless, and entered Giles' living room.

Giles watched Buffy walk into the living room, utterly confused.  He gave Oz a desperate look.

"I don't know how much more I can take," he said.  He could FEEL his 

world turning itself upside down.  

Oz walked over to him and stared up at the taller man.

"Giles, *you* don't have to take it. You're not alone here. Remember?  I said I would help. And I will. Whatever you decide." Puttinh his hand out, he grabbed a hold of Giles and squeezed it before letting go. He would be there for Giles, but he had to do this first.  The ex-Watcher slowly followed Buffy in, then, and stood just a few feet from the door staring at her.  Then, he shook his head and fetched a glass of water and pressed it into her hands.

"Gods.. I just-I mean..  Oh, please let this be real.  Please have really come back to us, Buffy."

Oz stood in the doorway and watched them. He was close enough to support Giles if he needed it, but far enough away if they needed privacy for this, whatever it was. Reunion, confrontation, reconciliation? 

/This better not be some Hellmouth evil. Giles has been hurt enough...we all have, by this./

Buffy looked at Giles when he said this, and her eyes welled up again.

"Oh, Giles" Buffy drew the ex-Watcher in for a hug. She didn't want to let go.

Giles choked on a sob.  "B-buffy.." he breathed as his arms went around her.  He held her close, afraid that if he let go, he'd be left with the mists of a dream.

"Welcome home," he said softly, still holding the young woman he'd come to see as a daughter.

Buffy smiled back. Then she realized that Oz was still there.

"Hey, Oz."

He'd watched them from the doorway, so they'd at least have a little 

privacy, but he kept near in case this was a trick. 

/But it isn't a trick. It seems to be really Buffy./

"Hey." 

/So far so good. And Giles looks a lot happier now already./

He came in closer and stood in front of them both.

/Do I hug too? I want to./ He looked at them and led out his arms.

Giles smiled and held out one arm to pull Oz into a group hug.  He was ignoring the rational, thinking part of his brain that kept telling him that this shouldn't be happening, that Buffy was dead and buried.  And yet, he was holding her.  He'd seen the tears in her eyes.  And he desperately WANTED to believe.

Being held by them both, Oz felt safe. He put his arms as far around the two of them as he could and shut his eyes.

/What a day. I go to Buffy's grave, I have *that* talk with Willow, fall into this whatever it is with Giles, attack Spike...and now Buffy is back too. Alive. How? Why now? Why not earlier?/

Yawning, he opened his eyes to look at them. Giles looked so happy now, Buffy made him complete, it seemed. Good thing he wasn't jealous.

/Well there was that Xander thing but this is different, I know the love Giles has for Buffy is paternal, not something induced by years 

of longing, then suddenly having, like Willow did with Xander. Why am I thinking about that? This is big. Real big/

"Do we call the others? Or wait till tomorrow?" They would want to know, but it was late. On the other hand, after the whole Faith deception of 'Angel is bad again' thing a couple years back keeping things from them was of the bad. They should be told right away.

Giles slowly let go of Oz and Buffy.  He nodded.  "I probably should, even though I don't have any idea how THIS happened.."

He moved away slowly and headed for the phone, and went through the list.  

Willow was ecstatically suspicious..  One didn't live long on the 

Hellmouth by NOT looking the gift horse in the mouth.  Spike was with Ripper..  Gods only knew where those two had ended up.  So..  The twins.

He dialed the number slowly, hoping they had made it home safely.