Subject: [SpikesSalvation] Phoenix Dreams Chapter 10 Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 15:09:56 -0800 (PST) From: Jerusha Hancock Reply-To: SpikesSalvation@yahoogroups.com To: SpikesSalvation@yahoogroups.com Chapter 10 Buffy saw him, standing on the sand, the light falling full on him. He had been handsome in the moonlight, but she loved seeing him in the sun. The only other time he'd looked like this had been in the cave, and the light had been from his soul. He wore dark jeans and a light blue sweater and was barefoot, and she found it odd to see him wear such clothes. And yet, she might have seen it before if she hadn't made that stupid speech that had sent him back into his old costume before the end. Would she have said those things if she'd known there was so little time left? Would she have spent that last night with him differently? Would she have said those three little words then so that he might have believed it at the end? It was hard to tell. He turned to face her, and she realized his hair was different. Longer, though still bleached, it was shaggier, the dark roots showing clearly. "Hello, Spike." "Hullo, Buffy." He smiled at her then, the skin around his eyes crinkling at the corners, and she saw that he was older, though she wasn't sure why that would be. Because this was a dream, surely he should look the same as when she'd last seen him. She came to him then, shyly. "I missed you." The air hung heavy with all that she could not bring herself to say, even in a dream. He cocked his head in the old way he'd had, and she felt the sense of aching loss welling up inside. "I missed you so much," she suddenly cried, the pain needing to go somewhere. "Oh, luv, I'm right here," he said, and then she was in his arms again, and he held her as he had in those last days. "I'll always be here for you, Buffy," he whispered against her hair. "Always. Just find me." When she woke, her cheeks were wet with tears. A/N: Part 2 is on its way, and I promise it gets Spuffier. "But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed." 2 Cor 4:7-9 ---------------------------------