I Will Survive
by Red
I Will Survive
[reviews]
I Will Survive
book 1
Red
Joss' folk.
B/W/F, An/Dawnie
nc17
Summary: What if Anya & Dawnie were the only survivors? Or at least, thought they were...
CHARACTER DEATH...way angsty...but a happy at the end.
Note: I have made Dawn 17 years old for Chosen...sue me.
Past in in italics.
+++++
Dawn stared out the bus window, completely numb inside. They were gone. Xander, Willow, Giles, Buffy...everyone but she and Anya, gone. No more being called nibblet...no more hissy fits over Hot Pockets, no more dear lords...no more waiting in line for the bathroom.
The hellmouth had closed in, taking everyone she loved with it. Everyone, but the ex vengeance demon who had drug her out as the walls caved in, the ceiling crashing down.
One minute, a bringer was staring down at her with those alphabet eyes, sword raised and the next, he split in two, breaking apart to reveal the woman who had more or less, become a surrogate big sister to her over the past two years. Covered in blood, bruised, battered, Anya had pulled the youngest Summers to her feet and drug her quickly through what used to be the new Sunnydale High, shoving her onto the bus Robin had set up for the gang's getaway and, after waiting for any other signs of life, drove like a bat out of the hellmouth to safety.
And she was still driving...Los Angeles seemed to be the only choice. Angel was aware of what they were doing...of the big showdown at the Sunnydale coral. He would help them...he would understand why Dawn was wishing that she too, had been sucked into hell.
+++++
Buffy looked around as she skillfully avoided a falling pillar. Dawn...Xander...Giles...Willow...not that she wanted any of her people dead, but her mind processed those four names over and over...she had to find them.
Her heart split in two as her hazel eyes fell upon the only father she had ever truly known, lying in a pool of blood, his sword clutched tight in his hand. A few feet away, what was left of the new high school principal lay in a bloody heap.
The slayer shook herself mentally, shutting all emotions down as she made her feet move, leaping over rubble and corpses of evil, her eyes constantly searching for any signs of life. She came to a screeching halt as the man she loved as a brother stared up at her with his one eye, lifeless.
"Xander."
The single word choked her as no demon ever had and it was only the faint whimpering that pulled her attention away from her beloved friend. She knew that whimper...knew it all too well. It had haunted her nightmares so many times. The ones where she was always too late...the ones where she found more red than just hair. The ones where she dropped to her knees, cradling the broken body of the only person she ever truly loved with all she had.
The ones where she cursed herself for never telling Willow how she felt.
Turning, she saw her dearest friend, the woman she loved more than life itself, her Willow, staggering down the hall.
She was bloody, holding her right arm, her face one massive bruise but Buffy saw the emerald eyes, the resolve face she loved so well as the redhead forced herself to keep moving, despite the deep pain she was in. It took Buffy less than a heartbeat to get to her, carefully scooping her up into her slayer arms and carrying her as more of the building came down.
Willow's eyes closed the moment she was in Buffy's arms. Knowing she was safe, the witch gave into the pain, the exhaustion the spell had given her and passed out. Buffy kept looking, her heart sparking with a small ray of hope. Willow was alive. She had watched Spike go up in flames. She had seen Giles, nearly stumbled over Xander, but at least Willow was alive. Could she be so lucky, so blessed to find her sister still breathing?
As she ran through the crumbling building, all hopes of that faded. She had to get out...no, no, she had to get Willow out, before they were sucked into the hellmouth. Had she not been carrying the beautiful redhead who had held her heart for so long...had Willow been among the lifeless she had witnessed...broken like Xander, blood drenched like Giles, Buffy would have stayed...lain down with her family and left this world once again.
But Willow was alive.
She had to take care of her Willow.
Hitting the outdoors, the slayer kept running. She had no idea where she was going, how she was getting there, she just knew that she had to take care of Willow. That one thought consumed her mind, her heart, her very breath and she ran faster...stopping only when she heard someone calling her name.
Well...part of her name.
"B!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Buffy stopped, turned around and saw her fellow slayer...the one who wasn't wet behind the ears, running at full speed.
"Shoulda known you two would still be here," Faith cracked, a grin on her bloody face.
"Talk later, run now," Buffy replied, taking off again.
The dark haired slayer nodded and followed as behind them, the town known as Sunnydale, became lower than sea level.
+++++TWO MONTHS LATER+++++
"Happy birthday, dear Dawnie, happy birthday to you!"
Dawn couldn't help but smile as she blew out the candles on the cake...her cake...her candles, all eighteen of them. She was finally legal. Something she had been waiting so impatiently for for so long.
It broke her heart that Buffy wasn't here to see it. Part of the fun of turning eighteen was being able to get in her older sister's face and rub it in how much of an adult she now was. Sure, she could do that to Anya, but it wasn't the same. Anya wasn't Buffy. Anya wasn't Willow or Xander or Giles. Anya wasn't even Anya anymore. At least, Dawn didn't think so, because the old Anya, Dawn never wanted to kiss.
"Happy birthday, Dawnie, you are now a very pretty adult."
The ex demon hugged her tight, her eyes closing as she took in the sweet scent of Dawn. A light fragerance of wildflowers and strawberries, mixed with the younger girl's natural scent...a smell that made the former patron of scorned women think not so innocent thoughts about her friend...her surrogate little sister.
Bad Anya!
She mentally chastised herself as she decided to remove her arms from around Dawn, smiling. pleasantly surprised when Dawn merely hugged her harder.
"Thank you, Anya."
"You are most welcome, Dawn." She finally did let go and Dawn reluctantly followed. Sitting back on the sofa, Anya smiled at her, then her smile faded. " I'm sorry that Buffy isn't here to see what a wonderful young woman you've become. I know she would be proud."
Dawn smiled at that. She'd never admit it, but Buffy being proud of her made her feel good.
"Xander would be proud of you, Buffy, too...for taking care of me and everything."
"We're family...that's what we do." Anya was quiet for a moment. "Do you wish we'd stayed with Angel?"
Dawn shook her head.
"No...he was nice, everyone was so nice...Fred, Gunn, Lorne was awesome...Wesley was nice...just....too many reminders."
Anya nodded her understanding.
"Everytime I looked at Angel, I would hear deadboy in Xander's voice, in my head. It made me all teary."
Dawn giggled, then stopped.
"Is it wrong, to laugh so soon?"
Anya pulled her into her arms and held her tight, stroking Dawn's silky hair.
"No, no, sweetie, not at all. They would want us to be happy...all of them would. Xander would want us to watch some, silly movie with car chases and Giles would want us to read every day and Willow would insist that we not fight or argue and Buffy...Buffy would want us to not cry. Not anymore."
Dawn rested her head against Anya, her blue eyes closed, a peace inside. This was the only place she felt safe anymore. This was the only place she wanted to be. And inside, she laughed at the irony...the irony that her safe place, was in the arms of a woman who had, at one time, been a vicious killer.
She inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the woman she realized she loved...vanilla, with a trace of raspberry and the ex demon's own natural scent which, the younger girl discovered, was the best scent of all.
"I got you presents."
Dawn's eyes opened and she sat up.
"Really?"
"Well of course, it is your birthday and that requires presents." She reached over the sofa arm and came back with a bag. "There is one from me, one from Xander, Giles, Spike, Willow and Buffy." She gave the bag to Dawn, who felt her eyes tear up. "You may open them now, then we eat cake."
Dawn smiled, despite the tears now rolling down her cheeks and leaned in close to hug the ex demon. Instead of a hug, however, she found her lips pressed up against ones so soft, she wasn't even sure they were there.
+++++
"Buffy, make her stop."
Buffy didn't move her eyes from the television set.
""Will, if I come in there, you know what will happen."
Faith smirked at the redhead on the bed.
"Now, you gonna be nice and do your therapy? Or does mom have to come in and give her naughty little girl a spanking?"
Willow pouted and Faith smiled.
"I don't wanna. I'm too tired."
"Red, the doc said ya gotta do it twice a day or it's never gonna heal right."
"Can't we do three times tomorrow?"
"One...two..."
"I'm not a child!"
"Three, four..."
"You can't treat me like this!"
"Five...B!"
Willow pulled the covers over her head with her good arm.
"Faith," Buffy said, now standing in the doorway. "Why don't you get dinner started and I'll do the therapy for tonight."
Faith stood up and nodded.
"You got it, B."
Buffy waited til' her fellow slayer was in the hallway and added, "Oh and Faith?"
"Yeah, B?"
"Make sure the pillow is in Will's chair please."
Faith grinned and headed for the kitchen. Buffy smiled a second, then put her stern face on and uncovered her witch.
"Buffy, I'm tired." Willow whined, lips pouted.
It was all Buffy could do to not pull her witch into her arms and hold her. But the doctor had told them when she had treated Willow two months ago...therapy was essential if she wanted full useage of her right arm again. And they all wanted that.
"Come on, Will...if I have to do it, you know it's going to be worse."
"Ok, ok, I'll do the therapy."
"Yes you will, after your spanking...come on, over my lap, you know the rules."
Still pouty, Willow crawled over the slayer's lap and sighed deeply. Why had she ever agreed to this? Oh, right, she had been outvoted, two slayers to one witch. One thing she had learned from her relationship with the slayers, is never, ever, expect to win a vote.
Buffy smiled as she eased her witch's pajama pants down, her fingers gently caressing the beautiful ass she now called hers. Telling Willow how she felt had been easy. Of course, that was because they had just survived the destruction of the hellmouth...their family was gone, lost in the battle...they had faced the mouth of hell and won, but their loss had been heartbreaking. After all that...well, spilling your heart wasn't that hard to do. Especially when the one you love is spilling hers at the same time.
Buffy's smile grew as she remembered that night.
{They had finally stopped running. Faith had used one of her non slaying skills and boosted a nice car for them just in time, the ground below them sinking as the raven haired slayer drove like a nascar pro. Buffy held Willow in her arms, talking softly to her, soothing her, telling her how much she loved her over and over.
Faith had known from the first I love you that her fellow slayer wasn't talking the best friend way.
"About damn time, shit, B, this what it takes to open your freakin' eyes? Hellmouth breath?" }
Buffy chuckled inside at the memory, then brough herself back to the task at hand.
"Why are you being spanked, Will?"
"Because, you're a meany slayer." *SPANK* Willow's breath caught and she winced. "Because, I wouldn't do therapy."
"And what happens when you won't do therapy?"
"You spank me."
"That's right...last time, it was one minute...what is it this time, sweetie?"
Willow's bottom lip trembled. "Two minutes."
"That's right." Buffy reached over and set the alarm clock for two minutes. "Ready Will?"
"No."
Buffy bit back a chuckle and began.
to be continued.....