Stranger In My House
by Shyfox
Where The Wild Things Are
[reviews]
Chapter Five: Where the wild things are.
Everywhere I go you're in my shadow.
When I turn around there's no one there.
Now, it's a real bad sign, I'm walking on a real thin line.
A fool in love with a fool that doesn't care.
-- Wynona Judd
By the time Xander, Willow, and Oz had made it through the crowd and outside of the club, Buffy had already disappeared into the darkness of the city streets. "Oh...great. This is just...great." Willow said, searching the empty street fretfully. "Take her to the Bronze, they said. What a wonderful idea. Why didn't I suggest that?" She mumbled to herself, knowing she was being spiteful but not quite able to stop herself. Xander and Oz shot her guilty looks while continuing to search the dark alleyways for any sign of her. Oz had his head back, sniffing the air, using his wolf senses to try to get a fix on her direction. "What am I going to tell Mrs. Summers, the other Mrs. Summers I mean? I told her I'd watch over Buffy, and now she's gone."
"Don't worry Will. We'll find her." Xander said, trying to reassure his best friend, just before Oz turned to them.
"She's this way." He said, then took off across the street, following her scent.
*****
"Here you are." Giles said softly, handing Joyce one of the glasses of wine he held in his hands.
"Thank you, Rupert." Joyce said, shifting as he took a seat on the couch beside her, falling easily into the comfort of the arm he put around her shoulders and the strong shoulder on which she rested her head. She had missed this, she reflected quietly.
After the trauma of having her daughter in a coma, and then having to keep Buffy and Willow seperated, finding time to be together recently had dwindled down to zero. The events of the last few weeks had created a lot of stress for all of them and their relationship had taken a battering as a result. Not that either of them had found blame with the other for the turn their lives had taken, that would be like blaming Buffy for falling off of the building in the first place. But they were glad for the reprieve that allowed them some much needed time together, and a chance to regroup and reconnect with each other.
After a few moments of peaceful reflection, a disturbing thought crept into Joyce's psyche, preventing her from relaxing. "You don't think this was a bad idea, do you?" She asked, taking a slow sip of her Chablis.
"The Chablis?" Giles asked, looking down into the most beautiful hazel eyes he'd ever seen, he got caught in the gold specks flashing merrily back at him, though he could see the shadows that outlined the eyes, giving proof of the harrowing hours they'd both spent. "No, the '76 was a pretty good year, though I think the '72 was better." He commented finally, swirling the contents of his wine glass before taking a long sip.
Joyce shot him a look, wondering if he was playing with her. "No...you know what I mean...Buffy." She held up a hand forestalling the protest she could sense forming on his lips. "I trust Willow. I do. It's just that there are so many...creatures out there that are just waiting for my daughter to show some sign of weakness so that they can use it against her. That doesn't leave me feeling very secure."
"I understand how you feel, truly I do..." Giles sighed.
"But." She could sense a but coming from him by the way he was staring pensively into his wine glass.
"But...I think the boys may have had the right idea. A lot of Buffy's memories are wrapped up in that place, not all of them good, I agree...but..."
"Wait a minute." Joyce inturrupted him again, putting her wine glass down on the coffee table before looking at him again, an intense seriousness taking over her features. "Are you telling me that Buffy could experience some negative memories...Slayer memories...by going to that place?"
"Part of Buffy IS the Slayer. Whether or not those memories are negative, if we're to get her back at all, chances are it will be that Slayer half that will do most, if not all, of the work. We need the Slayer to get her back."
*****
Buffy ran until her chest felt like it was on fire and she couldn't run anymore. She was still weak from her injuries and she was amazed that she'd been able to run so far. Stopping to look around herself she realized that she was surrounded by marble headstones and statues of fallen war heroes. It took a few seconds to click, but then suddenly it hit her where she had ended up. She was in a graveyard...alone...at night. Great.
"Very uncool, Buffy. First you freak out in a club, probably scaring your friends silly. Wind up running like a wild loon for who knows how long, and now you're in a graveyard after dark where any number of creepo's can reach out and grab you. And you don't even have a clue as to which way home is." She grumbled to herself, starting to shiver as she looked around the dark landscape. "Why don't you just tattoo 'Victim here.' on your ass?"
"Not a bad idea...although it would look incredibly tacky." A beautiful blonde emerged from the shadows lit faintly by the shaded moon hanging in the dark night sky and trailed by three rugged looking men. As she walked, or rather glided, closer, Buffy could tell that even though the woman was undoubtedly beautiful, there was a certain vacuousness to her face that lent it an eerie air. Something about the group sent the hackles rising on the back of her neck, sending warning signals flashing through her brain and she stared at them warily, preparing...preparing for what she didn't quite know, but she could feel her fists clenching by her sides and her adrenaline was shooting through the roof.
*Buffy want out*
"Well, didn't we get lucky boys? All alone with no help in sight. See, I told you being under me would be to your advantage." The blonde told her minions, a superficially bright smile lighting her face. Which disappeared when one of them made a smart assed remark. "Not in your wildest dreams Rodrigo." She told the one who had made it, a snarl marring the beauty of her face, before she turned her attention back to the petrified blonde, standing inert with fear. "We'll become famous as the ones who killed the almighty Slayer."
*Buffy want out!*
'Slayer? What the heck is a Slayer? Better yet...who is the Slayer?' Buffy had time to ask herself before the goons moved in on her position, their faces changing dramatically in the moonlight until they resembled how Willow had looked at the Bronze. 'Never mind that! Run!' Her instincts screamed at her, urging her feet to move. She was moving across the gently sloping lawn before she had another chance to look back, moving as if the hounds of hell were on her heels, which in fact they were, and closing in fast if the sounds she heard coming from behind her were any indication.
*Buffy Want Out!!!*
They were letting out wild hoots as they drew closer, the sound of madness in the air as she could practically feel them coming up behind her, reaching out to knock her off balance and off her feet. She tumbled to the ground, rolling on impact and looking up into the faces of her attackers.
She tried to fight them off, but they were on her all at once, their strength unbelievable as they held her struggling body still. She strained futilely against the arms that held her, feeling her eyes bulging as she stared up into their flashing white incisors, gleaming wickedly in the moonlight. "Now don't forget, I get her neck." Harmony said, approaching over the manicured lawn. She knelt before her victim, the smile on her face belying the evil intent in her heart.
'BUFFY WANT OUT!!!!" The voice in her head started shouting, protesting the circumstances, demanding to be let out as imaginery fists beat against her iron strong will, which was weakening with her ever growing terror.
It was the shifting face of the blonde that did it...the sight of her licking her long incisors as if she was anticipating an extremely tasty meal. She felt something give way inside her head, as if something that she had shut away was breaking it's way free, intent only on getting to the outside. Her consciousness faded against the stronger presence demanding it's way into total control, and she could only hope that it knew what it was doing.
Harmony watched her prey, delighting in the anticipation as she bent her head slowly forward, almost tasting the thick blood of the Slayer as she angled her head watching the Slayer's eyes with glee. It was then that she noticed that the look in those eyes had changed from terrified submission to a totally wild and feral aggression. Harmony's goons were taken by surprise by the sudden surge in strength as the more primitive side of Buffy broke free, shoving her attackers off of her in one violent move that sent them all sprawling.
"Buffy no like." She growled low in her throat as she advanced on the hapless vampires, intent only on destroying those that had tried to hurt her. They took one look at the advancing Slayer, looked at each other for a brief second, wondering if they were all thinking the same thing, then started backing up as fast as their feet would take them.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going? Get back here! We have a Slayer to kill! Guys?...Guys! You're supposed to listen to me! I'm your mistress! You guys are worthless without me!" Harmony started screaming at her minions, even as they kept going, their only intent to get away from the savage looking Slayer, not even caring what it made them look like. "Come back!" Harmony screamed, just before she turned to look at the steadily advancing Slayer.
Buffy growled at her again, sounding more primal than Harmony had even thought of being. "Uh...no harm meant, Buffy." Harmony said, as she backed up rapidly from the Slayer. "We can still be friends, right?" She asked, a note of hope in her voice, which the Slayer quickly dispelled by another savage growl. "Uh...guys....Wait for me!" She called, hating the crack of fear in her voice, turning her back on the Slayer, hoping she wasn't about to get staked as she ran off after her minions.
The cave-Slayer watched them until they were out of sight, disgusted that they had just ran away. She'd wanted to bonk them on the heads...or break their arms off and beat them with the detached limbs. Not getting her satisfaction, she sighed heavily, feeling slightly disgruntled at the missed opportunity. She looked around the empty graveyard, looking for something to catch her interest, but when nothing readily appeared, she gave up the search. "Buffy tired." She grumbled, sitting down on a nearby gravestone, closing her eyes, wishing she knew where her Lifemate was so she could bury her head in the soft scented hair and go to sleep.
*****
'She just had to end up in a Graveyard.' Willow thought, not without a certain amount of irony, rolling her eyes slightly, as she followed Oz, who was taking the lead as he tracked the scent. "Are you sure she's in here?" Willow asked, as they searched the empty graveyard.
Oz sent her a look which pretty much said, 'the nose always knows.' "I'm picking up her scent...it's really strong now...along with..." Oz stopped for a second, not quite sure he wanted to say the next few words. "About three or four Vampires."
"Oh god...Buffy..." Willow said, moving faster, hoping her worst fears wouldn't be confirmed when they found her. Suddenly she spotted her, resting on a gravestone, and as she got closer she could tell that the Slayer's eyes were closed. "B...Buffy?" She called out to her, her voice cracking on the name.
"Buffy?" She called her again, reaching out tentatively to touch the nearby shoulder. The blue eyes opened, and looked up at her, bewilderment swimming in their pale depths.
"Will? How did you...?" She looked around at her surroundings, as if she were seeing them for the first time. "How did I get here?"
Willow stared at her for a second, confusion marring her features. "You...you don't remember?"
"I remember being in the cemetary." Buffy said slowly, flashes of gnashing teeth and being chased coming to her like a distant dream. "But how I came to be sitting on this headstone? I haven't got a clue."
"Wow...talk about phase out." Xander whispered to himself, staring at Buffy as if she had three heads. Willow shot him a look, thinking the comment a little insensitive, then turned her attention back to Buffy.
"Well...you're tired...and you're still recovering." Willow said, as if that could explain Buffy's feeling of displacement. "We...we should probably get you back home."
Buffy looked up at her, suddenly remembering what she had done at the Bronze and felt an embarrassing flush flooding her cheeks. She examined her friends, seeing the people she had been growing reaquainted with before the strangeness of the evening, feeling grossly ashamed and humiliated. "I...I'm sorry about running off the way I did. I..I don't know what happened to me. I just..." She shook her head, not able to explain what had happened.
"It's okay, Buffy. We understand." Xander said, trying to console her. Oz nodded silently. Willow shifted nervously on her feet, not really wanting to be out here in this cemetary too long, in case the vampires that Oz had sensed earlier came back. "We really should get you home though." Willow repeated, helping her friend to stand. Buffy really felt her fatigue seeping through her, as if she had run for miles.
"I can't believe how tired I am." Buffy said, her friends noticing how pale she was.
"It's okay Buffy. We'll get you home." Xander said, coming up on her other side and taking her arm gently in his. With Willow and Xander to support her, and Oz taking up the rear, just in case they needed him, they headed back across the cemetary.
*****
They were all weary with exhaustion by the time they got Buffy back to her house. Joyce and Giles hadn't shown it, but they had been starting to worry at the late hour...Joyce had even started pacing in front of the windows, looking out every few seconds to see if they were coming yet. While Giles had cleaned up their dinner, which they hadn't really touched. When the group had trudged through the door, a very weary Buffy between them, all Joyce had been able to do was sigh a breath in relief, and ask how their evening had gone.
It had been a mutual decision not to tell the whole story of what had happened, everyone agreeing that it wouldn't do to worry Buffy's mom, Buffy being the one to insist the most loudly that she didn't want to worry her unnecessarily. So, they just said they had danced until they were exhausted, and were now most interested in getting to bed.
"Well, I could drop you all off at home, if you're ready." Giles said, coming out of the kitchen while rolling down his sleeves. Xander and Oz nodded acceptance, too tired to speak.
Buffy looked quickly at Willow, not really wanting to be alone tonight for some strange reason. Just before her friend could speak, Buffy jumped ahead of her. "Ummm...Mom, is it okay if Willow spends the night tonight?" She asked, looking at her mother hopefully, while the rest of the group just stared back at her in varying stages of shock.
Joyce for her part didn't know who was in the most shock, Willow or herself. "Uhhh...well..." Joyce sent a quick look to the redhead, who darted the same look back at her. "If you want to Willow, it would be okay with me." Joyce said, trying not to sound too strange.
Willow gulped, not knowing quite what to do. If she said no, her friend would want to know why, and she didn't know if exhaustion would be a good enough excuse considering the plan was to sleep. She could say she didn't bring anything to wear, but Buffy would probably just pull out an extra set of pj's, so that excuse was out too. No toothbrush? No, that would just make her sound petty. And the truth was, while her mind was fighting the morality issues, her body was screaming at her to say 'YES'. Quite frankly, she missed being with her, wrapping her arms around her, snuggling her close, she missed the whole 'sleeping together' thing. And even though she knew she couldn't do half of the things she missed, she wanted this opportunity fate had just handed her on a silver platter. "It's okay with me, Mrs. Summers." And the irony of calling her Mother-in-law that hit her once more. "I'm so tired I could probably fall asleep standing up."
Amid a few raised eyebrows, and a few hidden looks the guys left the ladies to get settled. Joyce, not wanting to add any further strangeness to the proceedings, kissed Buffy good night quickly and went up to her room.
"Well, I guess it's just us." Buffy commented as the girls made their way up to Buffy's room, Willow very studiously ignoring the room at the top of the stairs. Buffy started to laugh, causing Willow to glance at her questioningly. "I'm sorry...it's just, the way everybody was looking at us, you'd think we never had a sleepover before."
Willow raised an eyebrow, trying to hold a hysterical giggle in place. 'Oh, Buffy. If only you knew...' She thought wistfully. "No...we have...it's just...been a while."
"Since the accident." Buffy nodded as she entered her room, Willow following behind her. "Seems like everything's differen't now...everything's changed. I don't know how I know it, I just do. I feel things aren't right. I can't put my finger on it...it's just...am I so different? She asked, looking back at her friend, seeing hidden sadness reflected back at her.
"No...Buffy...it isn't that you've changed...it's just that you can't remember..." She drifted off, seeing hurt coming over her best friend's face. "You will though." Willow promised, a determination to make things right coming over her. "You will...in time. And I'll help you...any way I can." She laid a comforting hand on Buffy's shoulder, ignoring the warm spark of heat she always received from their connection.
Buffy felt it too, the heat searing through her skin, right through her bones, and settling with a warmth in her stomach. "Thanks, Will. I do...call you Will...don't I? It just feels familiar somehow." The blue eyes stared deeply into green, feeling a connection she didn't even know existed calling to her.
"All the time." The redhead chirruped, getting nervous with the intensity that their connection was sparking between them. "Boy, I'm tired." Willow said, faking a humongous yawn. "I feel like I could fall over right here." She commented, and she did, she realized, the events of the evening really had taken their toll.
"I'm sorry." Buffy said, snapping out of her daze, feeling like slapping herself silly. What was she doing standing here daydreaming when her best friend was obviously exhausted and wanted to go to bed? "I'll just get you some...extra...pj's.." She finished in a mumble, as she went over to her bureau and dug around until she found something she thought might fit her taller friend. Willow could remember when her own nightgown would be tucked in her very own drawer, but she tried her best not to think about it. "Here you go...I'll...just go into the bathroom...and change. Just...give me a knock when you're done." Buffy said, nervously, not knowing exactly why she was nervous about seeing her best friend naked. She gave her a small smile, then slipped out of the room.
Willow sat on the bed, trying hard to control the tremor that was shaking her whole body. 'This is going to be harder than I thought.' She thought ruefully, before changing into the nightgown her friend had given her.
*****
'It wasn't too bad...considering...' Willow thought as she looked at herself in the full length mirror. The nightgown tucked around the curve of her belly, but it wasn't so pronounced that you could tell...unless you happened to look really closely. 'Okay...I guess I'm ready.' She thought nervously, casting a glance at the closed bedroom door. 'Guess I'll go get her.' She thought, finally, tip toeing down the hall to the closed bathroom door. Knocking on it quietly, she heard the faucet turn off, and then the door opened to a reveal a stunning vision that Willow had thought she'd done her best to block out of her memory. The satin nightie clung to all of the right spots on the Slayer's body, enhancing the vision of the svelte curves. Willow found herself gulping at the sight, trying desperately to remember that this was not her wife standing before her...well, it was...but the blonde didn't know that. "I'm ready for bed." She managed to say, blushing when the double entendre of the words hit her. "I..I mean..."
Buffy laughed, not unkindly, as Willow started to stutter uncontrollably. "Relax Will. I know what you meant. I'm not going to jump your bones. I promise. Girl's scout honor." She said, holding up two fingers in a salute. She couldn't remember if she'd ever been a Girl Scout, but it seemed to do the trick, getting her friend to relax around her once more.
She had figured it out, while she was getting ready, that Willow must have had a crush on her at some point, which really didn't bother her too much, she had reflected silently. Since she seemed to be harboring her own crush on her best friend. Willow did seem to be freaked by it though, so she'd do her best not to mention it. She didn't want to scare her best friend away, after all.
"Come on. I'm tired." Buffy said, turning off the bathroom light, leaving just the light that shined out from the bedroom to find their way back by. The two of them crawled amiably into the bed, having plenty of room to crawl into their own favorite sleeping positions and settled down for sleep.
Willow thought she'd never be able to fall asleep laying beside Buffy, no matter how comfortable she was, but the exhaustion captured her without too much trouble and sent her peacefully into dreamland. Buffy followed the trail into unconsciousness not long after her.
*****
Blue eyes opened in the dark room, searching the shadows for a clue as to where she was. The soft bed beneath her gave a clue that she was indoors and the scent coming from beside her let her know that her Lifemate was here. She looked over at the red hair sprawled out over the pillow beside hers, and reached out to touch it, mesmerized by it's color. "Soft." She whispered, running the strands through her fingers. She came closer, bringing the strands to her nose so she could smell it. "Good...clean...nice."
Willow's head was turned away from hers, and she couldn't see her face, so...not wanting to wake her up, she leapt across her Lifemate, landing on the other side of the bed, with a soft thump, and kneeled to get a closer look. The face was scrunched up in her sleep, as if her lifemate were having bad dreams. She brought a gentle finger up to trace the furrow of her brow, shocked once again by the velvet feel of her skin. "Soft."
She had been so furious at the stupid one for forgetting. She had missed her Lifemate with a strong yearning, wanting nothing more than to tear open the bars of her cage and come out, no matter what the stupid one thought. But until tonight, she hadn't had the opportunity to do so. Now...she could look and feel to her heart's content.
She knew if she put her head down on her Lifemate's chest she would be able to hear her heart beating, it was a sound she had listened to many times before and it had always brought her comfort, so she lay her head down and listened, hearing the gentle under her ear. Another faster heartbeat just below the louder one reminded her what the stupid one had forgotten. She let her hand roam down over the curved belly, feeling her young one kick against her hand with a strong sense of pride. "Mine." She growled, even as the baby responded to the feel of the Slayer's hand.
The baby kicked especially hard, causing Willow to moan in her sleep. The primitive Slayer shot her eyes up to look at the twitching face, watching restlessly to see if her Lifemate would wake up, then as she settled down into a more heavy sleep, looked back down at her unborn child. "Shhh...Easy." She patted the belly with tender strokes. "Wake up Wil-low."
She rested her head back on the belly, patting the smooth skin with her hand as she talked nonsensically to the growing fetus. She could feel it respond every once in a while, moving against her hand, and it encouraged her to keep talking until Willow started stirring once more.
Willow woke to a strange sensation, a head was laying heavily on her abdomen, while a hand traced patterns over it gently. She thought that she was still dreaming at first, especially when blue eyes looked up at her, a look of such intense love shining from the gleaming depths. But when the blonde head picked up and the lithe body stretched, climbing to hover over her she knew she wasn't dreaming. "Buffy?" She asked, her voice catching in her throat as lips lowered to meet hers.
"Wil-low." She said, huskily, just before their lips joined and Willow moaned desperately into the warmth.
Her arms wrapped unhesitatingly around the warm body, feeling unmitigated joy rush through her as their lips met again and again, Buffy seemingly not able to get enough of the contact and kept coming back for more. "Buff-" She gasped, pulling air into her lungs, even as the Slayer made it difficult to breathe by ravishing kisses down her neck and throat.
"Wil-low..." The Slayer moaned, sucking and nibbling small bites into the skin of her neck. "Miss...Wil-low."
If Willow had been paying more attention she would have noticed the strange speech pattern and the way Buffy was ravishing her right away, but all she knew in that moment was that she had missed her for too long. "Oh...Buffy. I've missed you too."
It wasn't until the Slayer tried to rip off her nightgown that she noticed something was wrong. She halted the hands at the seam of her nightie, cringing at the tearing sound. "Buffy...what are you doing?" She asked, thinking it would be much simpler if they lifted the garment over her head.
Blue eyes lifted to stare uncomprehendingly into her own. "Wil-low...naked..." She demanded, demonstrating what she wanted by lifting to tear her own nightgown off of her skin, leaving her bare to the night and Willow's lust filled eyes. "Now." She insisted, as she moved to tear the offending garment off of her Lifemate's body once more.
"Buffy?" Willow said, registering the wild, feral look in her wife's eyes. This wasn't Buffy, this was the Cave-Slayer, and she could have slapped herself for being so stupid.
"Wil-low?" The Slayer questioned, seeing the hurtful sadness return to the bright green eyes. "No want...Buffy?"
Tears slipped out of her eyes as she sniffled uncontrollably. "I do want Buffy. I want my Buffy." The Cave Slayer looked so confused and lost that it made her cry even harder.
The Slayer didn't like seeing her Lifemate cry and wished she had the words to tell her what she felt. "No cry." She said, wiping the tears on the redhead's cheeks tenderly. "Buffy here." She said softly, continuing the tender motions until the redhead looked at her again. Noticing that she had the avid attention of the bright green eyes, she tapped her forehead warily, much to Willow's confusion. "Dumb Buffy here too." She said, sounding so rueful that Willow almost laughed.
"I don't...understand..." Willow trailed off, she could see the prehistoric version of her best friend, wife and lover was trying to explain.
"Buffy." The Cave-Slayer said, hitting herself so hard in the chest that she almost fell off the bed. "Dumb Buffy...forgot...Lifemate...here too." She said, hitting herself in the chest again.
"She can't remember me." Willow acknowledged sadly. "I'm afraid I'm going to lose her."
The Cave-Slayer shook her head. "No lose. Buffy here." Buffy said, putting a hand over Willow's heart. "Wil-low here." She said, putting a hand over her own heart. "No lose, Buffy."
It made a certain amount of sense, Willow realized, noticing that this Buffy was wiser than she had given her credit for. But then again... "But..." Willow started to protest, only to have a shushing finger be placed against her lips, just before the Cave-Slayer's lips touched them once more. The kiss was softer this time, more gentle as if this Buffy could sense that she needed that more right now. She lost herself to the feel of it, not knowing when she'd be able to kiss Buffy like this again. Finally, the Cave-Slayer pulled away, a huge yawn pulling her mouth open.
"Buffy tired." She commented, sleepily, just before she put her head down on Willow's shoulder and fell heavily into a deep sleep.
Willow watched her, ruefully for a moment, wondering how she was going to explain this to Buffy when she woke up in the morning. She tried moving her a couple of times, but she was so heavy, and she just wouldn't wake up, that she thought it might be better to just leave her there. She listened as soft snores/snorts issued from the Cave-Slayer's mouth, vowing to remember the message that she had given her. It gave her new courage and a hope that maybe someday soon she would have all of her Buffy back.
*****