Famous Last Words
by TutorGurl
Famous Last Words
[reviews]
Disclaimer: What a surprise, I own nothing.
~~~~BtVS~~~~
Andrew looked out the window of the yellow school bus he was on. He still didn't understand why he was still alive. He felt he should be dead, or at least more injured than he was at the moment. He thought back to the people that didn't get off as well as he did. Three main members of the group had been killed and countless other slayers in waiting. Spike, Anya and Buffy had all died in battle. Anya was killed right in front of him, saving his life. Andrew felt it should have been him. He risked a look at Xander who was sitting beside a crying Dawn. At least it had given him some sense of peace knowing his girlfriend had died a hero. Andrew felt bad for poor little Dawnie. She had lost her sister again, two close friends in Spike and Anya, and to top it off she had lost the other friends she had made in the waiting slayers. Andrew pushed through his bag and pulled out the letters Buffy had given him before the battle. For some reason she knew he would survive. He smiled at the trust she had in him. He sorted through them until he found Dawn and Xander's letters and put the other ones away. He walked over to their seat. They looked up confused.
"I just wanted to give you these," he said handing them the letters. "Buffy wrote them last night and told me to give you them if she didn't make it. I don't know why she gave them to me, but..." he trailed off when he realized they were staring at the envelopes. He quickly walked back to his seat. Xander and Dawn slowly opened their letters and read them quietly to themselves. Xander finished his first;
Xander,
Hey, Xand. I guess if you're reading this, my living is a thing of the past. Don't be too sad cause if you're reading this then we must have won. The world will live to see another day, even if it doesn't know how close it came to ending. I don't know how many others died, but I hope you'll be okay. You were always there for me from the start. You, me, Will, Giles and sometimes even Cordy. I'm sorry I could never love you the way you wanted, but I did love you. Blood or not, you're my brother. I, I matte! Your hero always,
Buffy.
Xander folded the letter and put it into his pocket. He glanced over at Dawn who was still reading hers and then turned to look out he window. He quickly wiped his eyes as a small smile came across his lips. Not noticing what Xander was doing, Dawn reread her letter;
Dawn,
Sup, Dawnie? I'm sorry I left you high and dry, again. Hopefully you're not to upset, you have had a lot of practice with it and I'm so sorry for that. I'm sorry I wasn't much of a mom, but I tried. Plus, I had some damn big shoes to fill and you didn't help any! I know we've had some hard times in the past, but you really grew up this past year and I'm so proud of you. I wish I could see you grow up to become the beautiful woman I know you'll be. Just remember that I'll always be with you. I love you so much you little brat! A part of you forever,
Buffy.
Dawn could just picture Buffy's face as she wrote this and smiled. She patted Xander on the shoulder and walked over to sit beside Andrew. He looked up in surprise when she did this.
"Thank you for giving this to me. It's made me feel a lot better knowing Buffy didn't go in this wanting to die like she did with Glory," she confessed bringing a smile to Andrews face. He knew now why he had survived. He needed to deliver Buffy's final messages to her loved ones. They sat there in silence for a few minutes, until they heard Giles voice from the front of the bus. He was standing up to address them.
"We're headed towards LA and should be there in about an hour. We'll stop and the first McDonalds we see there and you all can eat. We'll need to make a quick stop to deliver the sad news to some old friends," he instructed and sat back down. For the first time Dawn had thought about Angel and Cordy. She didn't know what their reaction was going to be because last time Buffy had died Willow had delivered the news by herself.
"Who else to you have letters for?" she asked Andrew. He opened his bag and pulled them all out and looked through them.
"Giles, Spike, Cordelia, Angel, Anya, Faith," he answered and paused at the next one, surprised. He hadn't noticed this one before. "Wow, there's one for me, and one for Willow," he finished. Dawn looked around the bus. She couldn't give them to Spike and Anya, Cordelia and Angel will have to get theirs later and Willow had fallen into a fitful sleep after her little episode of hysteria when she had found out Buffy wasn't on the bus. She looked up at Faith who was holding the sleeping Willow and looking out the window. She felt another peg of sadness as she looked at Willow. Kennedy didn't make it out. She had died with the others. Poor Willow. She was just as bad with love as her sister had been.
"Here," said Andrew handing Dawn the letters addressed to Faith, Willow and Giles. "Can you go give these to them? I wanna read mine," he asked looking at the envelope. Dawn nodded and left. Andrew quickly opened it and pulled out the piece of paper;
Andrew,
Hey, Andy. So I guess you lived through it, I knew you would. You're the coolest nerd I've ever known and believe me I can name a few. I'm sorry we kept you tied to a chair for so long, but you were our hostage. Those are the rules. I hope you make it big off that whole 'Buffy, Slayer of the Vampires' thing. Oh, and I'm sorry I made you cry that night. I know you started off trying to kill me, but, hey, that's all just water under the bridge now. If you ask me, you're redeemed for the whole Jonathon thing. I hope you know that I never thought of you as 'Tucker's brother'. You're my friend. In the end you became a part of the Scooby Gang. Better then the Trio, huh? You're Obi-Won forever,
Buffy.
Andrew finished reading the letter and wiped his eyes. She truly was an amazing person. He wasn't so sure about the whole redeemed thing, but if Buffy believed he was, then he was. He looked back out the window with a smile, happy that he was finally a part of the group. Dawn was sitting beside Giles as he continued to give Robin the directions. He had offered to drive since Robin was hurt, but the man insisted he was okay. Dawn tapped him on the shoulder and he turned to her. She gave him a little smile.
"Here," she greeted giving him the letter. He looked at it in confusion. "It's from Buffy," she quickly explained and he nodded in understanding. She saw the tears in his eyes and excused herself so he could read the letter in peace. He slowly opened it;
Giles,
Hi, Ripper. I hope you raise my little sister up like you did with me. You were more of a father to me than my dad ever was. You were a father to all of us. You were my father, Xander's father, Willow's father, Cordy's father and Dawn's father. You were my friend, too. If it means anything to you, my mother always thought very highly of you, even after the whole band candy thing. Can I just say Ewwwww? You always had faith in me, even when we both knew you shouldn't. I'm still so very sorry I couldn't save Jenny for you. I know you never say anything, but I could always see it in your eyes that you missed her. Just so you know, I didn't mean what I said the other night. I could never stop learning from you. I love you; you're the best Watcher ever! Way better than Wesley. Your daughter forever,
Buffy.
Giles just stared at the letter for a few moments, before quickly taking off his glasses and wiping them on his shirt. He said a silent goodbye to his slayer, knowing that she finally got the prize she deserved. He swore to himself that he would look after Dawn and make sure she was safe. Dawn was standing beside Willow and Faith's seat, waiting for the slayer to notice her. After about a minute she realized Faith was too lost in thought to notice her, and she cleared her throat. Faith turned to look at her.
"Hey, D. What's the up?" the slayer asked with fake cheerfulness. Dawn was going to call her on it, but soon decided not to. Dawn pulled the letters out from behind her back.
"I just wanted to give you these. They're from Buffy," explained Dawn as she gave Faith her letter and she looked at it confused. "She wrote them last night and told Andrew to give them to us if she didn't make it."
"She wrote one for me?" asked Faith in surprise. She knew Buffy had forgiven her, but not this much.
"I guess so," she shrugged and looked at all the people that had already read theirs. "Just to warn you, it will probably make you cry. Everyone else has. They're pretty sad. But it also seems to make people feel better," she warned. Faith looked at the other letter in Dawn's hands. "What's that?" she asked pointing to the letter.
"Oh, yeah. This one's for Willow," answered Dawn as both girls looked at the sleeping redhead in Faith's arms. At the mention of her name Willow seemed to moan so Faith held her tighter and whispered in her ear something that Dawn couldn't hear. I seemed to calm her down.
"She does that sometimes," assured Faith when she saw the concerned look on Dawn's face. Dawn nodded.
"Can you give this to her when she wakes up?" asked Dawn giving Faith the second letter. Faith nodded and put it in her pocket. "Okay, I'm gonna go back to my seat and see how Xander's doing." And with that she was gone. Faith slowly untangled herself from Willow and opened the envelope;
Faith,
Hey, F. What have you been up to in the past few years? Make any new 'friends' there? I know you always felt that you were in my shadow, but I always saw you for what you were, a powerful, strong, smart, independent girl. Despite what you or anyone else may think, you are a good person. You may have gotten lost for a little bit, but you found your way again. You helped me in more ways then you seem to realize. You helped me figure out who I really was and I could never thank you enough for that. You really came through in the end. You sister in arms forever,
Buffy.
Faith was still surprised that Buffy thought of her as a friend. She had made so many mistakes and she had hurt a lot of people, but she had hurt Buffy the most. She had stolen her body, slept with her boyfriend, killed a guy and tried to blame her for it, betrayed her, and tried to kill her boyfriend and best friend. As she thought about that last thing she looked down at Willow's sleeping form. She pulled her back into her arms. If she was ever going to do something for B, it was going to be this. She was going to protect Willow for her. It was the least she could do.
Dawn was about to go back and sit beside Xander, but she made her way towards Andrew and sat down beside him. He took his gaze off the window and towards his friend. "I was wondering if I could have the letters Buffy wrote to Spike and Anya?" she asked him. He nodded and gave them to her. "Thanks," she said as she began to get up.
"Wait," called Andrew as he grabbed her arm. She turned to him in surprise and sat back down to listen to what he had to say. "I just wanted to let you know that your sister was an amazing person. I've never met anyone like her. She really believed in me and I just wanted you to know how thankful I am for that," he said and Dawn gave him a warm smile.
"Thanks," she relied giving his hand a squeeze. "You're my friend, Andrew. You're everyone's friend. You help us out a lot. We owe you some thanks, too." She hugged him and made her way back over to Xander. He looked at her as if he didn't realize she had left. She handed him Anya's letter.
"What's this?" he asked in confusion.
"It's Anya's letter from Buffy. I thought someone should read it," she explained. He nodded in agreement and began to open it as Dawn began to read Buffy's letter to Spike;
Spike,
Hello, William. Remember back in the good old days, when you, Dru, and Angelus were trying to kill me and everyone I love? Not to mention Cordelia. Me neither. That was such a long time ago. We've both grown up a lot since then. And they say that vamps don't age. We had some really good times in and out of bed. You really helped me when I needed it and I just want to thank you for that. I'm really sorry I can't return your feelings, but over the last year I have grown to love you as a friend. You're a good man, Spike. Even before you got your soul. I hope you stick around to help the gang raise my baby sister. She really cares about you. I think she might even be crushin'. Your archenemy always,
Buffy.
Dawn smiled as she finished reading the letter. She was glad Buffy cared for Spike and she was right, she did have a little crush on the vamp. He would be sorely missed. Meanwhile, Xander had just finished reading the nice words Buffy had to written to Anya;
Anya,
Hi, Anyanka. Boy, have things changed between all of us. You are a very strange person, but you have an amazing heart. I never really thanked you for making Xander happy. He loves you with everything he is and I'm so glad that you guys are back together. You guys belong together. Oh, and I'm sorry for the whole trying to kill you thing. You are a good businesswoman and a spectacular human being. No matter what you say you were my friend. You chose the right side to fight on. You really came through for us in the end and, I'll come back and haunt you if you show anyone this, but I kinda love you. I hope you get over the bunny thing. Thanking you always,
Buffy.
Xander smiled and put the letter in his pocket with his own. He turned to Dawn to see her holding Buffy's letter to Spike and wiping her eyes. He gently put his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. The rest of the trip was made in silence.
The remaining slayers mourning their fallen friends, Andrew thinking about his shady past, Robin driving the bus in deep thought about how proud his mother would be of him, Xander and Dawn silently comforting each other over their respective loses, Giles thinking about Jenny and about how proud he was of Buffy, and Faith holding onto a sleeping Willow as she vowed to make up for all her mistakes.
The bus pulled into the parking lot of Angel's hotel. Robin turned off the bus and opened the doors. Everyone but Faith and Willow made their way off the bus. Xander was the last in line. He turned towards the two women.
"Aren't you coming?" he questioned Faith, since Willow was still asleep. Faith nodded.
"Yeah, I just want to wake Red up and talk to her for a second. We'll be in a few," she instructed. Xander thought about telling Faith to go on in and he would help Willow, but he decided against it and he walked out of the bus and towards the hotel. When she was sure Xander was gone, Faith began to shake Willow. After a minute Willow began to stir.
"Buffy, don't leave me..." she mumbled as she came to. She looked around to figure out where she was. She felt strong arms around her, but didn't know whom they belonged too. She turned and was more than a little surprised to see that the arms belonged to Faith. "Faith? What's going on? Where are we?"
"Angel's. We came to tell them the bad news," she answered as she pushed some stray hair out of Willow's face. "You've been asleep the whole way here. I was starting to get worried," she said gently rubbing the witches face. Willow looked into Faith's eyes and saw the sadness.
"Have you been crying?" Willow questioned when she saw the puffiness around the slayer's eyes.
"A little. Dawn was giving out these letters that Buffy wrote last night," she explained as she pulled out the letter addressed to Willow. Willow took the letter in her hands and looked at it. She was about to open it when she stopped and gave it back to Faith. Faith took it with confusion. "Aren't you going to read it?"
"Not right now," she answered, as she looked Faith in the eyes. "This is the last piece of Buffy I have. If I read this now, then she's gone forever. I can't deal with that right now. I just want to wait for a bit, kay?" explained Willow as she started to cry. Faith leaned down and gently wiped the tears off Willow's face.
"Sure, I'll hold onto it for safe keeping," she assured her with a soft smile, which Willow returned. "If you change your mind just ask for it," she instructed the redhead. Willow nodded and looked at her watch.
"How long have I been asleep?" questioned the witch as she rubbed her eyes. Faith laughed at the sight.
"You don't remember what happened?" the dark slayer asked her. Willow shook her head.
"The last thing I remember was flipping out after I found out Buffy wasn't on the bus," answered Willow, trying to recall what had happened earlier. "I remember Dawn and Xander trying to calm me down, but Giles wouldn't let them come near me,"
"That's cause you would have ripped their arms off," Faith explained with a laugh as she pictured how the scene would have turned out if she hadn't stepped in.
"Then how'd you guys get me back on the bus?" mused the redhead, not believing she didn't remember any of this. "Did you guys knock me out?"
"I decided that the only person that would be able to restrain you would be a slayer and since both Buffy and Kennedy weren't there, I stepped up," explained Faith trying to hold back the tears that threatened to fall at the memory. "I was just going to hold you down so Xander or Dawn could talk to you, but as soon as I touched you, you collapsed into my arms and broke down crying."
"Really?" whispered Willow surprised she still couldn't recall any of this happening. Faith nodded. "Then what did you do?" the confused redhead asked.
"I held you," she stated. "Everybody just stood around us in a circle staring. After about five minutes of gut wrenching sobs you passed out. Xander tried to take you, but I wouldn't let you go," she finished.
"How come?" wondered Willow, trying to play the scene out in her head. She couldn't picture Faith being so possessive of her. Of anyone really.
"I don't know. I just had to hold on to you," she answered not understanding her own actions. "So I picked you up, got on the bus and held you the whole way here," Willow looked at her strangely.
"And you don't know why?" the redhead questioned the brunette. Faith smiled down at her and shrugged.
"I think I figured it out after reading B's letter," she replied.
"And..." pushed Willow, trying to get Faith to continue her story.
"I did it for her," she began and Willow looked at her in confusion. "If she was there she would have done it. Even if Kennedy was there too, you and I both know it would have been Buffy holding you."
"If Buffy was there I wouldn't have been crying," Willow pointed out and Faith nodded in agreement.
"True. Anyways, I figured that after everything I had done to her, the least I could to was look after you for her. You were always her number one priority. She would do anything to keep you safe, so I decided to take that responsibility upon myself," explained Faith as she turned away and looked out the window.
"Thanks. I don't know about all the other stuff you said, but thanks for the gesture," Willow reassured Faith. She didn't want her to think she wasn't wanted, but she also didn't want Faith to think she had to baby-sit her if she didn't want to. "Listen, I don't want you to think that you need to stick around if you don't want to. I know you've never been my biggest fan..." she began, but was interrupt by Faith's finger on her lips.
"Shhh. Don't be silly. You know me, if I didn't want to be here I won't be," Faith reassured Willow. "Actually, there's nowhere I'd rather be," she commented and before Willow could protest she pushed onward. "Really."
"Thanks," she smiled and hugged Faith. After a moment they untangled themselves and wiped their eyes. Willow looked towards the hotel. "So, you ready to see them?" "Let's go," instructed Faith as both girls got up and made their way off the bus.
"I wonder if Cordy had her baby, yet," mused Willow as they were walking towards the front doors. Faith stopped and looked at her in shock.
"What baby?" she demanded and Willow just kept walking. Faith caught up to her. "What baby?"
"Well, when I went up to talk to Cordy in her room I noticed that she was pregnant. At first I could sense that she wasn't right, but then I noticed that she was trying to hide her rounded tummy," she explained as she reached to open the doors.
"And why didn't anyone tell me?" asked Faith, upset at being out of the loop.
"I don't think they knew. I think it was just Cordy and Conner," she answered and walked inside. Faith remained where she was for another moment to process the new information.
"So the kid's the father?" she questioned to no one. After another moment Willow's head appeared from behind the door with a smile.
"That would be my guess," she laughed and held the door open for Faith. They were both silently laughing when they walked into the hotel lobby. The laughing stopped when they saw the look on Angel's face. Willow moved away from Faith and towards Angel.
"You okay?" she asked, shaking her head at the question. Of course he wasn't okay. "I know what you must be feeling, believe me I do, but..." she tried to comfort him, but stopped when he motioned for her to stop.
"It's okay, Willow. At least this time I got to say goodbye," he answered, trying to convince them that he really was okay with it.
"Are you sure?" she asked, eyeing him. He nodded.
"I'm sure. Besides, I still have this letter to read," he pointed out, showing her the letter Andrew had given him. "Actually, if you guys will excuse me, I think I'm gonna head into my office and read it," he informed them as he went into his office. As Willow's eyes followed him she caught sight of Fred behind the counter. Fred gave her a shy wave and Willow walked over to her.
Angel slowly closed the door and walked over to his desk to get comfortable. He stared at the envelope for a second before opening it;
Angel,
Hello, lover. Ha, just kidding. I'm over you now, but remember those days? Back when you were trying to kill me and everyone I love? Those were some good times. With that aside, we really did have some good times. You were my everything for a while, you know? You were my first. I'll always love you, just maybe not in the same way. Maybe I didn't know it then, but I know it now, you did the right thing when you left after grad. We just weren't meant to be. It took me a while to figure that out, but I did. I hope you and Cordy are happy together. You both deserve it. Your girl forever,
Buffy.
After finishing the letter, Angel finally cried. With her being the slayer, Faith was able to hear his soft sobs form outside his office. Moving away from the conversation she was having with Fred, Dawn and Willow, she quietly knocked on the door and opened it. Angel looked up at her with sad eyes and she nearly began to cry as well. Faith walked over to the desk and hugged the vampire. They stayed like that until Willow popped her head in.
"Hey, um, Dawn just informed me that nobody's told Cordy yet. Fred said that she was resting up in her room so I'm gonna go up and tell her," informed Willow, smile at the image of Faith holding Angel. "Sure, tell everyone we'll be out in a few," instructed Faith, as she saw that Angel was almost done crying. Willow nodded and closed the door. Angel finished wiping his eyes and stood up. "You good?"
"Yeah, thanks. I just needed to get it out. I'm better now," he assured her. She very much doubted that, but let it drop. If he needed a shoulder to cry on, well, there was plenty there. "Really."
"Okay. Shall we head back out there then?" she suggested and they walked out the door. As soon as they were back in the lobby, Dawn rushed towards them and hugged Angel with all her might.
"She loved you," she whispered to him. He nodded and held her tighter. "I really miss her."
"I know Dawnie, me too," he said as they continued their hug. Faith and Fred sensed that they should leave them alone to grieve and move over to the rest of the group.
Meanwhile, upstairs Willow softly knocked on the door and waited for Cordelia to call her in. She looked down at the letter and quickly put it in her back pocket.
"Come in," came the soft and tired voice of Cordelia. Willow took a deep breath and opened the door.
"Hey," she said in way of greeting as she closed the door behind her. Cordelia looked at her in surprise.
"Oh, my God," she said in surprise. "It's really good to see you, Will. How long has it been? Two years?" she asked, not remembering Willow's visit a couple weeks ago. Willow looked at her in confusion.
"I was just here a couple weeks ago," pointed out the witch. Cordy thought about this for a few moments and then laughed a bit.
"Oh, that wasn't really me. I was possessed by some evil bitch chick," explained Cordelia. Willow nodded even though she didn't fully understand what she was being told. "So what are you doing here? Coming to inform us of some dire news from Sunnydale? Who's dead now?" she asked jokingly, not noticing the tears in Willow's eyes. After Willow didn't respond Cordelia looked at her fully. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and her clothes were torn and dirty. "Oh, man. What happened?"
"Well," started Willow as she sat down beside Cordelia on the bed. "To make a long story short, the First Evil came into town and starting sending all these demons after us. Like this Ubervamp thing and then this bad ass evil priest guy named Caleb who gouged out Xander's eye," she paused to let Cordy process that last bit of information.
"What? Is Xander okay?" she asked in shock and was relived when Willow nodded.
"He has to wear an eye patch for the rest of his life, but..." she explained and quickly changed the subject when she found herself starting to cry. "Anyways, we had all the potential slayers we could find come to Sunnydale and live with us in Buffy's house so we could train them. We lost some of them on the way, but in the end we all went into the High School and kicked some ass. I did this spell to make all the potential slayers real slayers," she paused for breath and thought about how she was going to tell the rest of the story.
"So every girl who could have been a slayer is a slayer?" the brunette questioned.
"Yep. Anyways, back to the hard part. So many people died," Willow whispered wiping away the tears that had made there way down her face.
"Including..." Cordelia starting trying to get Willow to continue her story. Willow took a deep breath.
"Um, Amanda and Cho-Ahn, they were potentials, Kennedy, she was my girlfriend, um, Anya and Spike and...and..." she began, but couldn't continue. "And Buffy." There she said it. It was over. She looked up into Cordelia's eyes and burst out crying. Cordy pulled her into a hug. "She's gone, Cordy. Forever."
"Shhh. It'll be okay. She's in a better place now. She doesn't have to live in Sunnyhell anymore," Cordy said, trying to calm the witch down. Willow laughed a little and pulled away from Cordelia. "What?"
"None of us do," she informed her. Cordy looked at her questionably. "Sunnydale's gone."
"Gone? Whole towns don't just go away. Where is it?" Cordy addressed her confusion. Willow smiled at her friend's question.
"In hell? I don't know. All I know is that there's a big huge gaping hole where Sunnydale used to be," answered Willow. None of them really knew what happened. It just collapsed. "It kinda looks like a big asteroid landed there or something."
"Wow," she breathed trying to processes the fact that the town she had lived in most of her life was gone. "What about all the people? What about my parents?" she began to panic.
"Don't worry. Everybody left town weeks ago. Even they could sense the evil," Willow quickly reassured the brunette. "No civilians were in town when everything hit the fan." Cordelia sighed in relief.
"Wait. Can I ask you a question?" she asked and Willow nodded. "The only place that you have ever lived was just blown up, everything you own is now in little pieces, you just destroyed the thing that created evil, a bunch of people you know just died, including two of your close friends, your girlfriend, and your best friend of seven years, and the first thing you do is hop in a car and come here? Why aren't you with the others?" she asked in all her bluntness. Willow flinched at the retelling of the earlier events of the day.
"Xander was right, you really can cram complex issues into a nutshell," Willow muttered and Cordelia gave her an apologetic look. "It's okay. All the others are downstairs."
"All the others? Who's down there?" she questioned. Willow thought about it.
"Rona, Vi and about twenty other former potentials, um, Xander, Dawnie, Giles, Robin, Andrew, and, um, oh yeah, and Faith," she listed, hoping she wasn't forgetting anybody. Cordy's eyes widened.
"Okay, I have four questions. How did you guys all get here? Who's Robin? Who's Andrew? And, um, FAITH?!?" she exclaimed, punctuating the slayer's name making it the most important question.
"We took one of the buses from the school parking lot. Robin was the new principal at the high school, is the son of a slayer that Spike killed in New York in the 70's and I think he might be sleeping with Faith. Andrew was one of the members of the Trio with the guy who I murdered after he shot Tara, he ran away to Mexico apparently, killed Jonathon who was the other member of the Trio, then I ran into him at the butcher shop and we tie him to chair until he became to annoying and then he just hung around to help us," she answered all in one breathe. She stopped to remember the last question Cordy had asked. "Oh, yeah, and Faith's back."
"I have a few other questions, but about this Faith thing?" she asked impatiently. "What the hell were you guys thinking when you broke her out of prison?" she demanded not believing they were that desperate.
"Actually, Wesley broke her out," she shot back; amused at the look that was one Cordelia's face. "You guys needed her help tracking down Angelus. I just brought her to Sunnydale when I came to restore his soul," she filled in the blanks for her confused friend who was only getting more confused by the second.
"Angelus?" she gasped. Willow shook her head.
"Talk to Angel about that one. I'm just the Sunnydale specialist," she warned her. Suddenly she remembered the letter. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot why I came up here," she said as she took out the letter.
"And that would be?" Cordy asked eyeing the paper in Willow's hands.
"To give you this," she explained and handed her the letter. "It's from Buffy. She wrote them last night and hired Andrew to play postman." Cordelia hesitated for a moment then turned to Willow.
"What did yours say?" she wondered, scared that it was some angry letter or something.
"I haven't read it yet, but don't worry everyone else's is full of love. Faith even cried," she assured her. After she saw that Cordy hadn't moved, she motioned for her to open it. "I'll leave if you want," she offered as she moved to get off the bed, but stopped when she felt Cordy's hand on her arm.
"No, please stay," she begged and smiled when Willow sat back down. She opened the envelope;
Cordelia,
Hey, Cordy. What have you been up to the past three years? I'll I know is what Willow tells me. I guess I'm just as much to blame as you are, I didn't call either. Anyways, even if we haven't talked in three years I still consider you one of the gang. Weird, huh? We spent years trying to get you out and even after you leave town you're still a Scooby. I wish we could have been better friends in high school, but I guess we got as close as we could get without killing each other. Believe it or not I really miss you. You may have protested at times, but you always came through big time in the end. Even if you were the bait. Take care of Angel for me. I can't believe it as I write this, but I love you. Saving your ass forever,
Buffy.
After Cordelia was done reading the letter she rested her head back on the headboard and let out a deep breathe. She could see Willow out of the corner of her eye and handed her the letter. Willow read it over quickly. After she was done reading it she copied Cordy's position.
"Wow. If your letter was that sweet, I can't imagine what mine's gonna be like," mused Willow, breaking Cordy out of her daze.
"Yeah, I didn't know she had it in her," she laughed, sitting up straight and looking down at Willow. "So why haven't you opened yours yet?" she questioned the girl she used to torture in high school.
"Cause it's the last thing I have left of Buffy's, you know. I just figured that if I don't read this yet, then it's kind of like she's still here with me. Like she still has one more speech to give," she explained, rolling her eyes a bit remembering all the speeches Buffy had given in the last few months. "I just figured I'd wait until I was a little less distraught."
"I understand," Cordelia reassured her friend, taking her hand in hers. "What do you say we go down stairs and see everybody? I can meet all your new friends. I'm really interested in seeing what kind of principal would sleep with Faith," she chuckled as the two friends began their journey to the lobby.
When they got there it was pretty much how Willow had left it. All the former potentials were standing around in a big group talking, Faith, Fred, Robin, Giles, Andrew and Xander were sitting on the couch talking and Dawn and Angel were still in their hug. Dawn turned and saw Cordelia. She hesitated at first, but then let go of Angel and moved over to hug Cordelia.
"Hi, Cordy," greeted Dawn as she held on to her. Cordy smiled down at her and rubbed her back.
"Hey, Dawnie," laughed Cordy, trying to hold back the tears. "Long time no see. Boy, are you ever big."
"Yeah," agreed Dawn, pulling away from her friend. "Kinda a side effect of time."
"Just like you're sister," muttered Cordy. Not even a month ago, Dawn would have taken that as an insult, but now it felt like the nicest thing someone could say to her.
"Thanks," she said with a watery smile. She noticed the group hang time going on in the corner and wanted to go check it out. "I'm just gonna go..." she instructed pointed to the group on the couch. Cordy nodded and Dawn left.
"Man, is she ever beautiful," commented Cordy and Willow nodded. "When did that happen?"
"End of last summer, I guess," answered Willow. "But I mean, she's made of Summers blood, what did you expect?" Cordy laughed.
"Very true," agreed Cordy, spotting Angel standing alone at the desk. She was just about to say something when Willow interrupted her.
"Go to him," she instructed and Cordelia gave her a strange look. "He needs you now more then ever." The brunette gave her another strange look, nodded and walked over to the vampire. Willow watched as they disappeared into his office. The witch sighed and moved over to the rest of the gang. Which was looking really small. "So, what's the plan?"
"Well, Fred here said we could stay the night and for as long as we want until we figure everything out," informed Giles. Willow threw Fred a thankful smile. "I think it would be best if we make a plan to scatter out the slayers in different places."
"Why can't they just go home and slay there?" asked Robin. Giles thought about that for a while.
"Okay," he agreed. "In the morning they can all sort themselves out."
"What about watchers?" questioned Xander. Giles hadn't thought of that.
"That's a good question, Xander," commented Giles. "Well, slayers need watchers to train them for battle. I think these girls were all trained by the best, don't you?" Everyone nodded. "So, I think they'll do just fine without watchers."
They all continued to talk amongst themselves. Willow quietly removed herself from the others and went out to the bus. No one notice, but Faith and Dawn. Faith moved to follow her, but was stopped by the younger girl.
"I wanna go," decided Dawn. Faith nodded and handed her Willow's letter.
"Give this to her," instructed Faith. "She said she wanted to wait, but I think it's just what she needs."
"Thanks," replied Dawn and she walked out towards the bus.
When she got on she saw Willow crying at the back. "Will?" she called out quietly, but wasn't heard by the redhead. She moved to the back and sat beside her. Willow jumped and looked up, expecting to see Faith or Xander.
"Dawnie? What are you doing out here?" she asked between sobs.
"I saw you leave the hotel and figured you shouldn't be alone," answered Dawn with nothing but love in her voice. Willow gave her a watery smile.
"Thanks," she whispered in a small voice. The girls sat in silence both not knowing what to say to each other. "Look, I know I'm acting like a complete baby. I mean she was your sister and you've known her your whole life and you're not breaking down."
"Hey, I understand completely," reassured Dawn, trying her best to make her friend feel better. "She was your best friend. Sometimes even a sister's bond isn't that deep," explained the youngest and now only Summers. Willow smiled at her gratefully.
"How are you doing anyway?" asked the redhead realizing that she was ignoring her feelings. Dawn shrugged at the question.
"I'm okay," answered Dawn, sincerely. "I was upset at first, obviously, but after I read Buffy's letter I felt better. She went in this battle happy. It was different then the last time she died," Dawn paused at that statement. "Then the last time she died. Normal people would never have to say those words," commented Dawn causing both girls to smirk. "With Glory she went in not caring whether she died or not, but today she was hoping to live. That means something."
"I guess," agreed Willow, but only halfheartedly. Dawn shook her head and pulled out the letter.
"Okay, look," began Dawn. "I know you don't wanna read this yet, but I think it'll help. The hole that you're feeling inside isn't going to go away. You should know that by now, but this letter might help you make that hole smaller."
"You're right, Dawnie," agreed Willow. "But what if there's something in the letter that will just make the hole bigger. Can you promise me that it won't happen?"
"You know I can't do that. It's a risk you're just gonna have to take," answered Dawn as she handed her the letter. Willow took it slowly and studied it. "Did you want me to leave?"
"I wish you wouldn't," replied the witch. Dawn smiled. Willow took a deep breath and opened it:
Willow
Hey, baby. How ya doin? Pretty crappy I'm sure. You did it! You always said you'd find a way to make me fit in and you did. I'm not the only one anymore, then again I haven't been alone since I moved to Sunnydale. I don't want you to be sad, I want you to be happy. You've been sad for too long and you deserve to be happy. I made the mistake of not writing letters before the last big battle, I guess I thought I was bullet proof or something. I just couldn't stand the thought of me dying again without telling you what you mean to me. I wrote everyone else letters, too, even Andrew. I had to write yours last, though. I knew I would start to cry and then I wouldn't be able to get through the rest of them. Okay here's the main point of the letter: I love you. Plain and simple. You've been my entire world for as long as I can remember. I've never had a friend like you. Did you know that you were my first real friend? When I saw you at that water fountain, the first thing I thought was, "Oh, my God! She's so adorable!" and I've thought it everyday since. You've stood by my side through everything; you were always there to help. I'm sorry for all those times I was an absentee best friend and I'm so sorry I couldn't save Tara for you. I know you don't blame me, but I blame me. I should have stopped them before anyone was hurt. Out of the whole time I was the slayer, not being able to save Jenny and Tara are my biggest regrets. I know you're sorry for the whole Dark Willow thing, but you were forgiven for that before it was even finished. All last summer all I could think about was you. How much I missed you, how much I wanted to see your beautiful face and hear your sweet voice. I wanted to come visit you everyday or at least call you, but Giles wouldn't hear of it. Anyway, thanks for taking care of Dawnie for me and I know you'll be her big sister now. Also, thanks for bringing me back. I maybe didn't realize it at the time, but I had some unfinished business to do. I don't know if it's possible, but could you maybe try and find a way to bring me back again? I going for a record, you know? Until then, tell Kennedy that she better treat you right or I'll come back and haunt her ass! I may not say it as often as I think it, but I hope you know I love you. If I could have one wish it would be that. I love you. I always have and I always will. You mean everything to me. You're my best friend, my world, and my other half. You're my soul mate. Loving you forever,
Buffy.
By this time Willow was crying for all she was worth. Dawn looked on at her not sure what she should do. Thinking of what Buffy would do in this situation, she slowly wrapped her arms around her surrogate sister. Willow leaned into the embrace, took a deep breath and read the rest of the letter:
P.S. I think I'm in love with you. Weirdness.
Willow got so angry that she crumbled up the letter and threw it to the ground. Willow roughly tried to wipe her tears away as she pushed away from Dawn and stood up. Dawn tried to grab her arm but she shrugged it off and stalked out of the bus. Dawn sat in shock for a minute before she picked up the letter and ran off the bus after Willow.
"Will, wait!" she called after the redhead who didn't respond. Just as Dawn ran past the front door opened and Faith stepped out.
"What's going on?" she asked confused at the scene before her. Dawn turned towards the slayer and tossed her the crumbled up letter. Faith caught, but didn't look at it. "B's letter?"
"Will read it and started to cry," began the teenager trying to explain something she didn't fully understand herself. "Then she read the last part at the bottom and totally flipped out!" Faith started to unfold the letter.
"Don't!" screamed Willow who had stopped unknown to both her friends. "Don't you dare read that!"
"Red, what happened?" questioned Faith moving down the stairs to stand beside Dawn. Willow shook her head and clenched her fists in rage, trying to hold back the tears. "What did B say in the letter that's got you so upset?"
"Read the end," she whispered not looking at the two brunettes.
"But you just said..."
"Read it!" she screamed. Faith quickly unfolded the letter and read the bottom line. Her eyes shoot up and met Willow's. Dawn still didn't know what was going on. She looked questioningly at the older girl. Without looking at her Faith passed her the note.
"Did you here that?" asked Andrew from his position on the couch. The others nodded and moved to get up. Angel and Cordelia came out of his office.
"What was that?" questioned Cordy having heard Willow's scream from in the office.
"I don't know. It came from outside," explained Giles who was now standing. Everyone looked at everyone else to see if they knew the answer.
"That was Willow," stated Xander as he ran for the door, quickly followed by the others.
"Oh, man," was all Dawn could say after reading the end of the letter. She couldn't believe her sister had been so stupid and selfish. "Will, I'm so sorry," she said just as everyone came out of the hotel.
"Great. Yeah. Everyone, come see my pain!" she screamed as she started to cry. Xander, Cordy and Giles all moved forward but were stopped by one look from Faith.
"Don't," whispered Faith trying to help Willow get through her pain.
"How dare you!" Willow screamed looking up at the sky. "I've been in love with you for the past seven years and you chose now to tell me you're in love with me?!" Everyone looked on in shock. Faith and Dawn were the only ones who understood the whole situation. "You're probably having a big ol' laugh, huh?! Thought it would be funny to break little Willow's heart again!" she screamed at both Buffy and at God. "Why are you doing this to me?! What did I do now?! I'm sorry for all the horrible things I did! I really am! But why did you have to leave?! It wasn't your time?! I wasn't ready yet!" screamed out as she collapsed to the ground. "I wasn't ready to say goodbye," she sobbed. Xander, Faith, Dawn, Angel, Cordy and Giles all instinctively moved to hold her.
"Stop," came a voice from the walkway. "That's my job." The figure slowly walked down the stairs and over to the hysteric redhead. She knelt down and gently wrapped her arms around the sobbing girl. Willow clung to the person without realizing who it was. Everyone looked on in shock, unable to move. Everyone but Dawn who took another step closer.
"Buffy?" she whispered. Buffy looked up at her little sister and gave her a small smile. A tear fell down Dawn's face and Buffy opened her arm, motioning for Dawn to join the hug. Dawn ran over, sank to her knees and hugged her sister for all she was worth. Buffy laughed at her reaction and kissed both Willow and Dawn on the head. Everyone just stood by watching the scene unfold.
"It's me, Dawnie. It's me" she reassured her, starting to cry herself. "It's gonna be okay," she mumbled as she hung onto the two most important people in her life. "I promise."
~~~~BtVS~~~~
Done. I have a few other chapters done, but they aren't as long or as good. I haven't decided if I'm gonna post the rest of it or not since it could end here. Anyway, please tell me if you liked it.