Disclaimer: I don't
own Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
It belongs to Joss and his cronies (even if he doesn’t seem to know
what the hell to do with it these days…) I’m making no profit from this.
Summary:Buffy finds herself haunted by dreams of a Slayer from long ago.
What
are the powers trying to tell her in her sleep – and will it make her
see things with a different perspective? (Set in Season Six,
post-“Smashed,” but pre-“Dead Things.”)
Chapter Seven
Buffy blinked rapidly, unable to believe she was
really
seeing what she seemed to be seeing. It…it couldn’t be possible.
“Isobel?”
“In the flesh,” Isobel replied with a shrug. “I’m guessing from the
whole ‘seen a ghost’ expression you have going on, the Powers have been
playing dream genie with you, too.”
“Yeah, they… Wait, too?”
Isobel chuckled at Buffy’s confused expression. “I’ve been having
dreams about you all week. My best guess is the PTB felt like
facilitating a meeting.”
“I…I’m not really understanding any of this,” Buffy said, looking
warily at Isobel. “You were dead, and… And why was I even dreaming
about you? Why would the Powers want me to dream about you? It
doesn’t make any sense.”
Isobel looked Buffy over for a moment before she glanced back at Spike.
“You have my sincere sympathies.”
Spike chuckled. “Thanks, pet. Glad someone understands my pain.”
“Your…” Buffy stomped her foot. “Would someone please just explain to
me what’s going on here?”
“We need to have a little chat, sweetie,” Isobel said, taking a step
closer to Buffy. “From what I’ve seen over the past few nights, well…
Is there somewhere we can go and talk in private?”
Buffy knew she should be more wary of going off with a woman claiming
to be a Slayer who had died roughly six and a half centuries earlier,
but somehow she knew
it was Isobel – and, thanks to the dreams – Isobel felt like someone
she’d known for years. “We could go back to my house,” Buffy suggested.
Isobel nodded. “That’ll be fine.” She reached out and touched Edmund’s
arm, “Honey, why don’t you stay here with Spike? Have some vampire
bonding time. You can lament how annoying we Slayers are.” She gave him
a wink.
Edmund smirked down at her. “If we start on that, we’ll be tied up for
the next few years, baby.”
“Oh, very funny,” Isobel replied, though the stern look she tried to
give him quickly melted away and she kissed him instead.
Buffy watched their interaction with a sense of awe. Had they really
been together all these years? Could two people – a vampire and a
Slayer no less! – actually forge a relationship strong enough to stand
such an extreme test of time?
And if Isobel and Edmund could make it work…
“I’ll come find you when we’re done,” Isobel promised Edmund, giving
his hand a gentle squeeze. He leaned down to kiss her again.
“All right. Love you, Slayer.”
“You, too, vampire,” she replied with a wink. Then, Isobel turned back
to Buffy. “Let’s get a move on. We have a lot to discuss.”
Buffy nodded, knowing Isobel was right there. And if the woman had this
whole crazy dream thing figured out, well, she wanted to know the
answer.
As the two Slayers started to walk off, Isobel looked over her
shoulder, giving the vampires a wink. “You boys behave yourselves,” she
teased with a laugh. Then, she turned back around, following Buffy out
of the graveyard.
For several moments, Spike and Edmund were both silent, standing with
their hands shoved in their pockets as they rocked back on their heels.
“So…” Spike said, finally breaking the silence. “In love with a Slayer,
too?”
“Yeah. Woman got a hold of me in 1353, and I haven’t been the same vamp
since.”
Spike chuckled. “I know the feeling, mate.” He cleared his throat. “So,
um, Isobel… Does she ever, uh, punch you in the nose?”
Edmund sighed. “All the damn time.”
*** *** ***
Buffy was silent the entire walk back to her house, unsure of what to
say to Isobel now that she was here. Her first thought was that Edmund
must’ve turned Isobel and the dream simply hadn’t shown it, but she was
getting none of the usual vamp tingles, and Isobel’s breathing seemed
more regular than habitual.
That and she was wearing several silver crosses on chains of varying
lengths around her neck. Usually a sign you weren’t dealing with the
undead…
“Well, this is it,” Buffy said as they walked up the porch at 1630
Revello Drive. “My house.”
“I figured that from the whole thing where you were fishing your keys
out of your pocket.”
Buffy blushed slightly. “Sorry. I’m just all nervous girl. I mean, I
woke up this afternoon dreaming about you being all dead back in the
1300’s, and then here you are, standing in front of my house. Alive.”
She frowned. “You are alive, aren’t you?”
“Oh no, I’m a zombie.” Isobel was only able to hold her straight face
for a moment, as Buffy’s shocked expression made her burst into
giggles. “Yes, I’m alive. That’s actually one of the things we need to
talk about. But inside would probably be better. There’s…there’s a good
bit we need to discuss, and I’m going to go out on a limb and guess
you’re going to think it’s pretty personal and best kept private.”
Buffy nodded. “Yeah, okay. Come on.” She unlocked the door and stepped
inside, hoping she could get Isobel quietly up to her room without
being seen.
She wasn’t so lucky, and she wanted to scream when Willow popped out of
the living room and looked Isobel over with a discerning eye. “Who’s
this?” the redhead asked.
“She’s rude,” Isobel said, turning to Buffy, and Buffy bit the inside
of her lip to keep from laughing.
Willow blushed. “I…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” She paused and let out
a deep breath. “I’m Willow.”
“Isobel,” the dark-haired Slayer replied, her expression nonplussed.
Suddenly, Dawn came bounding into the foyer. “Omigod, Isobel?
Really?” Dawn said, running over to get a good look at her. “The Isobel
that Buffy…”
“Has been working with at the Doublemeat Palace,” Buffy said quickly,
cutting her sister off. “That Dawn and I were talking about earlier,
because she’s now my new…work buddy.”
Dawn frowned and started to ask what the hell Buffy was talking about
before she glanced at Willow and got the picture. “Right. Isobel from
the Doublemeat Palace. It’s good to meet you, Isobel…from the
Doublemeat Palace.”
Isobel couldn’t help her small chuckle. “And it’s nice to meet you,
too, Dawn. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Dawn started to ask what she meant, since she doubted she would’ve had
much of a chance to hear things from Buffy, but then remembered now
wasn’t a good time. She couldn’t exactly say she blamed Buffy for not
wanting to announce to Willow at the moment that they had a Medieval
Slayer in their house, and she wasn’t about to blow her cover. As a
matter of fact…
“You know, I actually came out here because I’m having the biggest
milkshake craving. Willow, are you having one, too?”
“Willow, would you mind taking her?” Buffy asked, deciding her sister
deserved something nice when this was all over for being such a little
genius. “I would, but I really have to talk to Isobel about the new
grills we just got in. It’s important Doublemeat Palace safety stuff.”
“Um, okay, I guess,” Willow replied. “Just, uh, let me get my purse.”
“Thank you,” Buffy mouthed to her sister as Willow left to get her bag.
“You owe me a chat later,” Dawn whispered in response.
When Willow came back into the foyer, Dawn all but dragged her out of
the house, and Buffy tried not to chuckle too loudly at her sister’s
antics. However, as soon as the door shut, she sobered again, realizing
now she’d have to have a serious talk with Isobel.
As much as Buffy did want answers to what was going on, she knew that
once this conversation was over, things weren’t ever going to be the
same for her again.
“The couch is in here,” she said lamely, pointing towards the living
room. “Should I get drinks or something? Maybe sandwiches?”
“Buffy, unless Dawn and Willow are going to get milkshakes in Canada,
we don’t have all night, so stalling isn’t going to get you anywhere.”
Isobel had a knowing smirk on her face, and Buffy started wondering
just how good of a look she’d gotten at Buffy in her dreams. When she
thought about how vivid and graphic the dreams she’d had about Isobel
had been… Buffy blushed a deep red.
“Quick question, Isobel. In your dreams, did you see me, um…”
“Having wild and crazy sex with Spike?” Isobel replied with a teasing
grin.
Buffy blushed darker. “Wow, those Powers sure are intrusive…”
“They can be,” Isobel said. “Come on, let’s sit. Discuss things.”
Buffy knew she couldn’t put this off. It was time for her to get her
answers – whether she wanted them or not. She sat down on the couch,
taking a deep breath and letting it out as Isobel joined her.
“Edmund resurrected me.”
The statement came so quickly, without any preamble, that Buffy wasn’t
sure she’d heard it right. “Huh?”
“Edmund resurrected me,” Isobel repeated. “He sought out some demon in
Africa after I died, one who was supposedly able to perform miracles to
anyone who proved himself worthy. I’m still not sure exactly what
Edmund had to endure in order to do that since he’s never been big on
talking about it, but I know he did.” She paused and met Buffy in the
eyes. “I was in Heaven. Like you were.”
Buffy gasped, her heart beating a bit faster at Isobel’s revelation.
Was she truly not the only Slayer ever to be ripped from Heaven? And if
she wasn’t, then what did that mean for her now? “Aren’t you angry at
Edmund for that?” she asked softly.
“No,” Isobel answered simply, yet the word full of truth. “I never have
been. I was in Heaven, that’s true, but how could anything truly be
paradise without the person who makes me whole? I’d rather spend a day
here on Earth in Edmund’s arms than an eternity in Heaven.”
“How can you really feel that way?” Buffy asked. “I mean, I know how
much you love Edmund, and I get the whole romantic notion thing, but it
was Heaven, Isobel. I remember what it was like.”
“Do you?” Isobel asked, her eyebrow raised.
“Well, yeah. It is nice. Peaceful. I felt…done.”
“No, you didn’t.”
Buffy frowned, not knowing why Isobel would argue this with her when
she’d been there, too. “Yes, I did.”
“No, you didn’t. Buffy, if you’d truly been done,
you wouldn’t be back here.” Isobel took a deep breath as she tried to
decide how best to describe something she hadn’t really given much
thought to in centuries – and to someone who could be as dense as Buffy
chose to be at times. “When you travel through the planes, things can
get jumbled, memories can get hazy. Sometimes things come back to you.
Sometimes they don’t. And sometimes, well, you remember things the way
you want to remember them.”
“What is that supposed to mean? Heaven’s really a suck-fest, and I’m
just misremembering the whole paradise thing?”
Isobel chuckled. “No. Not at all. Heaven was lovely. And I know there’s
a definite sense of loss when you leave, but… Well, it’s not the right
place for everyone.”
Buffy looked down. “Because not everyone is good enough.”
“Wow. You really do have self-esteem issues, don’t you? We got into
Heaven in the first place, Buffy – that alone says we’re ‘good enough.’
It’s not like you can slip past the Pearly Gates, then someone takes
inventory and boots you out. Once you’re in, you’re in. But, well… God,
how do I explain this to someone as hardheaded as you?”
“Hey!” Buffy exclaimed, looking up sharply.
Isobel held up her hands. “I call ‘em like I see ‘em.” She paused for a
moment before folding her hands in her lap, her tone growing gentle
again. “There are some people in this world who aren’t meant to be
alone. There’s someone else out there that they’re simply meant
to be with. And for those people, the passion, the love is so
strong the Heavens themselves part for them.”
Isobel paused again and met Buffy firmly in the eyes, needing her to
really listen for once. “For me, that other person is Edmund.
For you, it’s Spike.”
“But Spike didn’t resurrect me. My friends did.”
Isobel fought the urge to scream. What exactly did it take to get
through to this woman? A neon flashing sign? A five-act play?
“I know he didn’t, but he’s why the Powers allowed it to happen – or
rather your love for him was.”
“But I don’t love Spike.”
“You can cut the bullshit with me, Buffy,” Isobel said sternly. “I’ve
been inside that blonde head of yours, and I know exactly what
you feel for Spike. You need to quit fighting it – and you need to stop
fighting your memories from Heaven.”
“What memories from Heaven?”
“You really can’t remember, Buffy? You can’t remember how you used to
watch him weep?”
“Watch him…”
Buffy’s words trailed off into a gasp as she opened her mind, let the
memories come rushing back. She remembered now, remembered watching
helplessly as Spike had sobbed over her broken, lifeless body.
Remembered watching him cry for her every night after that…
He had been broken and aching, and she’d yearned to hold him, to tell
him it was all right, that he had never failed her.
From Heaven, she had wept with him…
Buffy now remembered the moment when she’d truly felt complete, whole.
Let me go back… Let me go back to him…
Without another word, Buffy jumped up from the couch and ran from the
house.
A smile on her face, Isobel did nothing to stop her.