REPLAY



Author: Heather Martin (SinisterChic)

Rating: PG13

Spoilers: Season 6, Season 7, Angel season 5

Summary: S/B, Learning of Spike’s resurrection Dawn and she venture to LA in search of him. But they are too late. . . Or are they? Is there a way to fix things before they began to get dark?

Archive: Just let me know where







Chapter 22- When it all Falls Down



Hearing came back first. Words floated into her ears and she concentrated on them. They came from Dawn, she realized. They also seemed to be directed at her.



“. . . days. Please, Buffy, wake up. You’re the only one I have left. Everyone has left me. Don’t leave me too.” She let out a sob. “Don’t leave me again.”



Buffy struggled to move but found she couldn’t It was as if she were a rock, heavy and stiff.



“I don’t know what to do,” dawn continued. “No one knows what will help you. They say nothing is physically wrong. So then . . . Why won’t you wake up?”



I’m trying, Dawnie, just give me time.



Suddenly Dawn cried out, “Giles! Giles, come quick!”



The door creaked open. There were footsteps.



“Has something happened?”



That was Giles all right.



“Her hand twitched!” Dawn burst out.



It did? Wow, Buffy thought, I wasn’t even aware of that.



“Are you positive?”



“Yes. Does that mean she’ll be okay soon?”



Was that the sound of Giles polishing his glasses? She inwardly smiled. Figured.



“I’m not sure. This whole thing is a puzzle. We have to simply wait it out.”



Waiting took hours. Boring hours because Giles left and Dawn had stopped talking. The only sound was the door as her sister left and returned. Buffy was determined to open her eyes. The blackness was getting old.



Finally it happened. Buffy’s eyes fluttered. It took great effort, but she was able to keep them open. There was a moan. It took her a moment to figure out it came from herself.



“Dawnie?” Her voice was hoarse from nonuse.



The girl had fallen asleep near the bed. She slumped over, her head rested on the nightstand.



Well, she could see, now what? Do I just lie here?



“Dawn.” This time the name came out louder and clearer.



Dawn’s head shot up. She almost fell out of the chair when she got a look at Buffy. She gasped.



“Buffy, you’re awake!”



Dawn jumped up to wrap her arms around the slayer. Buffy held her back, her hand stroking her hair.



“I was so scared,” Dawn said with emotion.



“How-How long have I been asleep?” Buffy asked.



Dawn pulled back. “Over a week. I called Giles. He’s here.”



“Giles?”



“I’ll go get him!”



Dawn raced out.



Buffy sat up a little and winced. She got a good look at the room. The bed was huge. It was made of dark wood and covered in a red blanket. The lamp on the nightstand lit up her surroundings in an eerie dim glow. Across the room hung a picture. It showed a girl in armor. Joan of Arc, she guessed. Fancy place. But where was it?



The door swung open. Dawn walked in, along with Giles.



“Buffy, dear, I’m so glad to see you awake,” Giles said.



“Where am I?” Buffy quickly asked. Argh, her head hurt.



Giles cleared his throat. “The Hyperion.”



That was an unexpected answer.



“Huh? Okay, how did I end up here?”



The other occupants shared a concerned look. The exchange unnerved her.



“What is the last thing you remember?” Giles asked her.



She narrowed her eyes. “Xander’s wedding. What did I miss? Dawn says it’s only been a week.”



“Dear lord.”



Oh no, things were never good when he muttered that phrase.



“Spit it out. What is going on?”



“Does she have amnesia?” Dawn questioned Giles.



A laugh spilled out of Buffy. Their expressions turned even more worried.



Giles removed his glasses. Surprisingly he simply held them as he spoke. “Possibly the stress was too much for her.”



“You guys are being cryptic,” Buffy said. “Send someone in who will tell it to me straight up. Go get Spike.”



Dawn froze and Giles turned his head away.



“This is direr than we imagined,” Giles whispered.



“Stop not talking to me. Hello, I’m in the room!”



Giles looked over, gravely. “Spike isn’t here.”



She blinked. “Okay, so he’s in Sunnydale. Why am I not there too?”



“Sunnydale is gone,” he told her flatly.



The whole world crashed down upon her. Buffy shoved off the covers and swung her legs over the side of the mattress. She got up. Her legs supported her weight with no trouble, thanks to slayer recovery. A lacy nightgown hung over her. She really wasn’t fond of girly sleepwear. Who picked this out for her?



“Buffy, maybe you should take it easy.”



She ignored him. “Where is Spike?” she demanded.



Dawn began to cry.



“No,” Buffy whispered. She shook her head. This wasn’t happening. Her eyes stung.



She directed her gaze on Dawn. “You sent us back. I changed things. We were together. Don’t tell me that was all a lie.”



“You’ve been in a coma for days, Buffy. Who knows what the mind can conjure up,” Giles reasoned.



“No. No. I don’t believe that. It was real. I could feel him, touch him.”



“Buffy, you have to let him go.”



“No!”



He moved toward her. She stepped back. He wanted it to be a lie. He wanted Spike to be dust. Oh God!



Another person entered the room. Through her swimming vision she made out Angel. Seeking for comfort, she ran into his arms. His strong arms went around her, holding her up.



“Angel, tell them I’m right! I went back in time! I changed things for the better! Willow overcame her addiction, Xander married Anya, and Spike . . .” She berried her face in his chest. She quickly pushed back as if burned.



“You’re warm!” It came out as an accusation.



Angel’s lips tugged upward. “I’m human, Buffy. I didn’t realize it at first. I shanshued after the battle. We can finally be together.”



She was dizzy, so dizzy. She crumpled to the ground.



“Buffy?” Angel asked.



This was all wrong. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. She couldn’t have imagined it all. It had been too real, too potent. She remembered Spike’s mouth as he brushed it against hers, his body pressed to hers, his words as he whispered lovingly in her ear. And they were telling her that this gray world was the real one.



“This isn’t real. This isn’t real.” It turned into a mantra.



“I thought this was what you wanted,” Angel said.



She put her hands over her ears. Angel was human? No, he hadn’t been warm when she had carried him away form the alley. Buffy took in the scene of her friends and sister. Dawn was wearing the same outfit as that day. Why would she be wearing the same clothes a week later?



“This isn’t real!” She picked herself up and dried her tears. There was nothing to cry about because Spike was alive. The room flickered, moving in and out of darkness.



“Who is doing this! Show yourself!” she yelled.



Things went black.



___________________________________________



Okay, maybe I am a tad bit evil. *L*