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I have boldly lifted bits of dialog from "After Life" and following episodes. These show up in red. Footnotes are at the end of each chapter.
148th Day Chapter 7 The Boy, the Girlfriend, and the Ex-Demon The next morning, Buffy again woke up badly again and landed solid punches to Spike’s ribs and his just-healed eye before she came to herself. “Oh no, Spike. I’m…” Spike interrupted her with a wince. “I tell you what, Luv. We’ll just save all these apologies up and you can do something really nice for me when it’s all over.” “That… might be easier.” After breakfast and a little time spent like the day before, Dawn turned to Buffy. “It’s Sunday.” “Thank you Dawn, I do remember that yesterday was Saturday,” her sister answered. “Well, you need to talk to the guys today. Tara and Willow will need clothes and stuff, and Xander has to want his place back.” Buffy put her head in her hands. “Oh God. I can’t face them all at once.” “No one said you have to,” Spike said. “Make them trot in one at a time.” “I can’t break it to them… what they did… where they were.” “I’ll do it,” Spike’s tone was firm. “There’s this wonderful thing called a telephone. I remember it being invented. I’ll call them up and break it to them. Plus, they have to have been talking it over, cause Dawn pretty much told them the other night. They can deal with it as they will, and come over one at a time if they can face you.” Dawn nodded. “That’s a good idea, Buffy.” Buffy sat with her face in her hands long enough for the other two to trade glances and start to worry. Then she sat up, steeling herself. “Yes, please, Spike. That sounds best.” Dawn held Buffy’s hand as they listened to Spike’s side of the conversation. “Xander, it’s Spike. She’s fine. Dawn’s fine. I’m fine, thanks for not asking. Listen to me. This is important. I’m speaking for Buffy, okay? First, Buffy was not in some hell dimension. She was, by all accounts, in heaven.” Spike paused. “No, I would never joke about something like that. So, because of where she was, and how she suddenly found herself not there. And because of how you merry band treated her on the street, she’s not too happy right now.” There was another pause when Spike shared a pained expression with the girls. “Buffy will recover, but it will take everyone’s love and patience. She can’t face the lot of you at once. If you want, come over one at a time, right?” Spike got exasperated and handed the phone to Dawn. “Tell him I’m not making this up, please.” Spike paced across the room and back, running his hands over his hair. “Hey, Xander. Yeah, it’s all true. I know. One at a time. Take it easy. I’ll see you later.” Dawn hung up and looked at each of them. “It’s done. Xander will tell them what… what you said and he’ll get back to us.” She smiled at her sister. “He says he loves you and missed you.” “And so it will go,” Buffy intoned. ~~~ Several hours were spent with the three of them keeping busy and attempting to not dread a knock at the door. When it did come, they startled, although it was expected. “And so it goes,” Buffy said. She stood near the chair facing the couch, Spike took up a protective position behind her, and Dawn answered the door. Xander came in first. “Hey Dawnie. I’ve missed you,” and gave her a hug. She hugged him back and retreated to the dining room. Sheepishly, he walked to Buffy. “Hey, Lady. You’re mighty pretty today.” “Hi Xand,” Buffy took in his hunched shoulders and open expression. He’s the brother I never had, I’m the sister he lacked How can I be so afraid to talk to him now? She sat in the chair, and Xander on the couch. He started to speak several times and stuttered to a stop each time. He looked at her and then shot a glance at Spike as if wondering why he was there before finally diving into speech. “I don’t know what to say, Buffy. I’m sure you know it all, and I don’t want to… to say the wrong things.” “Just say what you need to,” Buffy gave him a little smile. Xander sat hunched forward, his hands clasped. “Okay. It’s like this. All summer I mourned you. I cried and rebelled. I healed. And still I missed you, I always would. Willow got the idea to bring you back and wouldn’t let it go. When she first started talking about it, I thought it was a way for her to move on, too. I played along. When it came down to the day, I didn’t want to do it. It felt wrong. But, being the weak man I am, I gave in. The thought of having you around again was too sweet a thought. The thought of you being in a hell dimension was beyond bearing. I didn’t know what could happen.” He slid to the floor at her feet and turned his face up to her. “I am so sorry for the part I played. And oh my God, am I sorry we left you down there.” Buffy had tears on her face as she reached out to draw Xander into her lap. She stroked his hair as she spoke to him. “It’s hard for me, Xander. I’ll need your help, your strength.” “You’ve got it, Buffy.” He pulled himself together, wiped the tears from his face and stood up. “Who… who do you want to see next?” “If anyone?” Spike put in. Xander glared a second at Spike and amended his words. “If anyone.” “Tara, I guess.” Dawn pointed Xander out to the back porch, then opened the front door to call for Willow’s girlfriend. Tara, too, hugged Dawn. Buffy took in the
softness of Tara; her manner, her speech, the rounded femaleness of her body,
her brown hair and soft eyes and remembered the inner strength that only
familiarity could reveal. She followed where Willow lead, I bet. I almost
feel sorry for her. “B…B.. Buffy,” she stuttered. “I’m glad you’re as… good as you are. I am so sorry we took you from… from heaven. It was Willow who worked the spell. She didn’t tell me what could happen. What could be. I confronted her last night. She… she’s still in denial. She says it was something she never considered.” “Or was it something she could not admit?” asked Spike quietly. Tara turned to him, her speech halting. “I’m not sure, Spike. You’ve not seen that side of Willow over the summer. She was so determined, so convinced. She’s been using so much magic lately. I’m worried about her.” Tara stared at her hands as she twisted them in her lap. “I’m sorry, Buffy. If I had known…” Buffy moved over to the couch and put her arm around the meek girl. “It’s fine, Tara. It will all work out.” “I should’ve done some research.” “It’s okay.” Tara left and Buffy sat quietly as Spike stood by, waiting to be commanded. Dawn came in and stood awkwardly, “Now who?” “No one for a minute, Dawn.” “Do you want anything? A glass of water?” “Sure. Thank you.” Buffy held out her hand to Spike and in an instant, he was beside her on the couch and she was in his arms. “It hurts them so much, Spike. Why did I have to tell them?” “Is that a secret you could keep, Luv? Are you that good an actress you could keep up covering your own unhappiness? It would eat you up.” “You’re right, Spike,” she said into
his shoulder. When Dawn returned with the water, Buffy untangled herself and
gratefully took it. She downed half it, composed herself, and moved back to the
chair before nodding to Dawn. “Anya next.” Anya should know than to mess
with things like resurrection. She’s been around longer than Spike even, and
he knew it was wrong. I think maybe she was trying to make Xander happy and went
along with it. Anya came babbling in. With her usual ability to miss the finer points of diplomacy, she blurted out much of what Buffy expected her to. “It felt wrong to me from the start, but who knew she could really pull it off? I wanted to tell Giles, but she didn’t want him or Dawn or Spike to know. Willow admitted she didn’t know where you really were. But here you are! Welcome back, Buffy, I’m glad you’re not a zombie.” Buffy collected herself after the smiling, whirlwind ex-demon left. “That just leaves the witch, pet,” Spike said gently. “My best friend.” “Buffy, do you want me to play bad cop? I can say all the things you don’t want to.” Buffy saw his determination. “Would that be fair to her?” “The question here is what is fair to you.” “Please. I think… I think I can face her if you do.” “If I go to far, stop me.” “I will.”
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