Chapter 12: Mending Fences

Author's Notes: Let's clean up old wounds.


The dream was vivid. In it, she was running down a darkened alley and shards of glass were piercing her bare feet. Her teeth chattered and the rain that fell, blinding her and stinging her skin, was frigid. Long, sinewy arms reached for her from the darkness. She batted them away, but more than once, they caught hold of her hair, her arm, ripping pieces of scalp or skin off her battered body.
Every inch of her screamed in protest, her muscles, her limbs, even her chest had grown heavy from the strain of trying to get away from him. And in the distance, she could hear his boots crunching over the glass, drawing ever closer.

“Leave me alone!” Buffy screamed at the darkness as she tried to loosen the hand that had clutched her upper arm, pinching into her flesh and drawing blood.

“Stop running, child! Stand and be strong. You’re ready!” came the familiar voice of Maria. She could see the old woman, her hunched back silhouetted against a full moon in the distance.

“Help me! He’s coming!” Buffy looked behind her. He was only a few feet away. “Why won’t you help me? Please!”

The Immortal reached for her, the rings on his hands glistening. “There you are.”

“Don’t,” Buffy cried, turning her face away as he trailed his thumb over her cheek. “I know what you are. What you do.”

“And yet you still think you can beat me?” His voice was barely a whisper as he leaned down and brushed his lips over her temple. “You tremble. Your fear is deafening. It pains me to see you like this.”

“You do not fear him, child,” Maria called.

The Immortal glanced into the distance, where Maria held her cane like it was a weapon. “Look at you, Buffy, inviting guests to our party.” He made a motion with his hand and Maria’s agonized wail ripped through the night.

“Leave her alone!” Buffy screamed, dragging her nails across his face.

He looked stunned as he reached up to feel his cheek, where deep gashes were angrily dripping blood. “Well, well, well. What have we here?”

“Me,” Angel spoke quietly.

“And me,” Spike added, standing next to Angel.

Buffy couldn’t make out their faces, but she would recognize them anywhere. Relief washed through her as they stepped forward. The Immortal turned to look at her. “What did you do?”

“I guess you’re about to find out.”

He stared at her for several long seconds and then with a gush of wintery wind, he vanished.

“Child,” Maria called, her form already fading. “You will face him this day. You will go alone, but you’ll never really be alone again.”

The scene shifted suddenly and Buffy was standing, naked and drenched in blood, in front of Acathla. The stone mouth was opening, ever wider, and she could see Spike and Angel disappearing inside ...

“Nooooooo!” Buffy screamed, fighting the tangled web that had her pinned.

“Buffy!” Spike shouted, as her cries ripped him from sleep. He grabbed one of her flailing arms and held it down.

Angel pinned the other. “Wake up! Buffy, it’s a dream!”

She heard their voices and opened her eyes, her heart beating a wild symphony in her ears. They were on either side of her, watching her with matching expressions of concern. “I’m okay,” she said.

“What happened?” Angel asked, pushing her hair off her cheek. He was shocked to feel how damp with sweat she was.

“He found me.”

“What?” Spike exchanged worried glances with Angel.

Buffy sat up, pulling free of their grip and rubbed her palms over her face. “It’s okay. It worked. Both of you were there.”

“Where?” Angel asked.

With a bewildered expression, Buffy studied his face. “Don’t you remember?”

“Buffy, I wasn’t asleep just now. I was watching you.”

“Oh,” she said in a small voice.

“Just tell us what happened,” Spike demanded, giving Angel a nasty look. It was just like him, he thought, sweet words and poison tongue. Watching her sleep!

Buffy related the events in the dream and massaged her forehead, which had begun to throb. “You know, nothing like having your head broken into to make your head ache.”
Spike got to his feet and walked toward his bedroom, completely unashamed of his nudity. When he returned, he had a bottle of painkiller and one of his button down shirts. He handed her both. Buffy gratefully slipped her arms in the sleeves and stood, buttoning it down the front. She took the pills and walked into the kitchen.

When Angel heard the water running, he turned his attention to Spike. “What do you think it means?”

“She says we were there. And that she hurt him. I think that’s good news.”

“Why don’t we remember.”

“I don’t get paid to have the answers. That’s Fred’s job.”

“Well, what’s your job exactly?”

“You’ll be the first to know.”

*~*~*~*~

Buffy was leaning her head against the cool refrigerator, still shaken by the dream, when she heard Spike’s phone ring. She put her glass in the sink and walked back into the living room, trying not to enjoy the view as Angel, still wearing nothing, folded the blankets they had slept on. He caught her watching him and winked at her. She quickly looked the other way.

It was hard to believe, and part of her still didn’t, but it had actually happened. She had slept with them both, at once.

Her mouth went completely dry. She wanted to do it again. And again. And possibly keep doing it until it killed her.

“It’s for you,” Spike said, walking through the doorway.
Much to her disappointment, he was dressed. She tried to keep her feelings on the matter off her face as she took the phone. “Hello?”

“Buffy?”

“Dawn?”

“Could you please tell Angel to let me and Diego in? There are freaky glow worms guarding Wolfram and Hart. One told me that I’m the Key. Hello? I haven’t been the key for, like, ever!”

Buffy felt her legs turn to jelly. “You’re here?”

“Duh!” Dawn replied. “We’re in the parking garage. And Buffy, you’ve watched Alias! You know that bad things always happen in parking garages. Let us in.”

“Stay there.” Buffy hung up the phone and put it on the bar.

“What’s wrong?” Spike asked.

Buffy told them what was happening. Angel stopped her when she headed for the door. “You aren’t dressed. And you aren’t leaving this room until we’re sure that the building is safe.” He picked up the phone, punched several numbers, and said, “Marcel, there is a young girl and boy in the parking garage. Ask the girl what her mother’s name was. If she says Joyce let them in. Escort them to Spike’s place.”

“Thanks.” Buffy gave him a half hearted smile and went into the bedroom. She dug through her suitcase, pulled out several articles of clothing, and retreated to the bathroom.

*~*~

Angel had dressed and was making tea when Buffy entered the kitchen. He gave her an appraising look. The leather pants she wore were dark red, and her black velvet halter top had red leather straps that matched her pants. It also bared a dangerous amount of her stomach and every inch of her back.

She had pulled her hair into a ponytail and when she turned to fill her glass with water, he saw that there were several marks on her back and neck. He smiled, recalling every one of them. “You may want to rethink that outfit.”

“Sorry if my clothes offend your sensitivities.”

“Hey!” Angel pulled her around to face him. “All I’m saying is you’ve got a few marks. Dawn may ask-”

“She’s used to it. I’m a Slayer.”

“Fine.”

Buffy took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. That dream has me on edge. I just feel like something’s going to happen.”

Angel handed her a cup and kissed her forehead. “We’re ready for it when it does.”

She toyed with the tea bag, lifting it and dunking it several times. “Where’s Spike?”

“He went to get us all some food.”

Buffy’s stomach grumbled at the mention, reminding her how long it had been since she had eaten. She took a sip of tea and swallowed hard. Glancing up, she met Angel’s gaze and held it. “About last night -”

Angel shook his head and put his hand on her shoulder. “We’ll talk when it’s all over with.”

“I just want to say thanks. You didn’t have to do what you did. Neither one of you did. And I know how hard it must have been.”

“It was very hard.” Angel cocked his eyebrow playfully. “Several times if memory serves.”

“Oh my god,” Buffy laughed. “You actually did just go there.”

The doorbell rang and Buffy put her cup down. Angel sighed. “I was about to kiss you.”

Buffy stepped closer toward him and tilted her head back. “I was about to let you.”

He kissed her tenderly, his lips soft and inviting. She wrapped her arms around him and he pulled her closer, his mouth savoring hers. The door opened and Spike entered, followed closely by Dawn and Diego. Buffy and Angel sprang apart, both noticing Spike’s dark scowl and the look of utter shock and dismay on Dawn’s face.

“Buffy Anne Summers!” Dawn cried. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing!” Buffy snapped, moving around the bar and stalking into the living room fully. “What the hell are *you* doing? I thought I told you to stay in Italy. It’s bad enough that you went to England with Giles without telling me -”

“I did tell you!”

“After the fact!” Buffy shouted. “Does it ever penetrate your thick skull that maybe I have reasons for telling you to do what I tell you to do?”

“Does it ever penetrate your thick skull that maybe I have reasons for not doing what you tell me to do when you tell me to do stupid shit?”

“Dawn, you’re probably not safe here.”

Dawn grinned from ear to ear. “That’s why I brought the reinforcements.” Beaming proudly, she flung open the door. “Ta-da!”

Giles, Willow, and Xander stood in the hallway. Each of them carried a large suitcase, and each of their gazes found Buffy and rested there. At once, Buffy remembered every harsh word she had spoken to them, every single time she had pushed them away. But there they stood, framed in the doorway like some forgiving painting, each of them staring at her with varied expressions of doubt and worry. They had come to help her.

And she wasn’t worthy.

Giles stepped in first, setting his suitcase by the door. “Hello, Buffy.”

Buffy could only stare at him. The hair on his head was mostly gray now and the lines on his face were more pronounced than ever. He looked so old, so tired. She had probably caused that. After a long, pregnant pause, Buffy replied, “Hey.” It sounded stupid. She wanted to say more, but Xander and Willow stepped in behind Giles, shutting the door and she felt trapped. Her clothes suddenly felt like they revealed more than just her skin.

“I know you’re probably wondering why we’re here,” Willow started.

Xander interrupted. “Big evil’s a brewin’, Buff. Nothing like a little Scooby action to nip that in the bud. And look, Spike has snacks.”

Buffy regarded him. It was impressive, she thought, how much the eye patch changed him, made him seem harder, rougher, wiping away the traces of the boy he had been. Even his voice was deeper. But the smile that tugged at his lips reminded her of cutting Chemistry to hang with him behind the gym. It felt like home.

“Say something,” Dawn said. “Angel called and told Giles everything that happened.”

Scandalized, Buffy spun to stare at Angel. He got the meaning and said, “Not everything.”

“Yeah,” Dawn replied. “He left out how you two were apparently back together and kissing.”

Giles glared at Angel. “Do you really think that now is an appropriate time for such a dalliance? Given her current mental state -”

“Whoa, back up!” Buffy put her hands on her hips. “My mental state is fine!” Turning to Angel, she said, “What exactly did you tell them?”

“The truth, Buffy. They had a right to know.”

“Who knows what that is anymore?” Buffy cried, throwing her hands in the air. She turned back to Giles. “Why are you here? Here of all places? This isn’t your fight.”

“Haven’t you learned yet that where you fight is where I belong?” Giles replied gently.

“You’re not my Watcher any more,” Buffy snapped.

“You decided that, Buffy.”

“No. You decided that when you kicked me out of my house and chose Faith.”

Giles’ voice raised a few octaves. “You were wrong in what you were trying to get those girls to do. And you know it!”

“Oh, I was so wrong that I won! Funny to me that my idea didn’t seem so lame when Faith couldn’t come up with something better!”

Willow stepped between them. “Guys, come on. Sunnydale is over. We have to get past this.”

“Oh please!” Buffy shouted. “Don’t *you* dare tell me to get over something, Miss I’m Leaving My Friends Behind For Kennedy!”

“Yeah, well Kennedy’s dead!” Willow yelled. “Are you happy?”

“Ecstatic!”

Willow swung on Buffy, but Buffy easily deflected her, catching her wrist. “I’ll let you have that one, Will, but the next one will get your ass kicked.”

“Stop it!” Xander grabbed Willow, pulling her behind him. He glared at Buffy for several seconds, then said, “We came here to help you and that’s what we’re going to do! Maybe you don’t want it. And maybe when it’s done we’ll go back to being distant aquaintances who don’t write, but for right now, we’re here! Deal with it!”

“I thought you said the evil was out of her,” Dawn said, examining Buffy closely. “Angel, you said she was normal.”

“I am normal.” Buffy brushed her hair back into her ponytail. “As normal as anyone who has been stabbed in the back repeatedly by her supposed friends.”

“Who stabbed you in the back?” Willow shouted.

“Your fucking girlfriend! Literally!” Buffy pointed at a scar that ran down several inches of her back. “And you left with her!”

“You were going to kill her!” Willow yelled.

“Oh, and she wasn’t trying to kill me? Funny how it’s okay for her to attack me and I’m wrong for fighting back.”

“Stop!” Giles suddenly bellowed, practically shaking the walls. “I’m sick of this! We’re not rehashing another thing! It’s done! We have a task-”

“No, I have a task!” Buffy countered. “This is *my* fight!”

“It’s never just your fight!” Xander roared. “If it was *your* fight, I’d have an eye. Anya would be alive. The Mayor would have killed you if it was *your* fight! Adam would have taken you down if it was all just *you*! Don’t you stand there like you have some claim to glory, Buffy, when we were your stepping stones on the whole damn journey!”

Buffy gasped. “You blame me for everything that happened! Guess what, ass? I didn’t force you to stay!”

“That’s just it!” Willow cried. “We wanted to be there! And we want to be here! Don’t you get it? We’re all better when we’re together!”

“Until I do something you don’t like and the survey says to kick me out!”

“Get over it!” Xander said. “You want an apology? You aren’t getting one! You weren’t thinking about anyone else. Those girls were just pieces of meat to you that you were putting up on a chopping block! They were shaken after what happened with Caleb that first time. *I* was shaken and I’ve been out there in the field a million times. You made the wrong choice.”

“Maybe we all made the wrong choices,” Giles spoke quietly, rubbing his forehead. “However, it’s too late to change the decisions that were made. Buffy, these two extraordinary people standing here have been beside you every step of the way. You have special skills, strength, a calling. They just had a desire to keep their best friend alive. You were all *children* when you started and I stood in awe of the bond you had after the Harvest. You’ve all stumbled. You’ve all made foolish mistakes-”

“Like my demon robot boyfriend,” Willow chuckled. “Oh! Bet nobody can top the whole trying to destroy the world thing?”

“Maybe Preying Mantis Lady,” Xander said. “Or trying to do that love spell. Or how about getting Cordy impaled because she caught me kissing Willow?”

“Yes, all very gallant efforts to force me to commit suicide,” Giles added. “The point I’m trying to make, Buffy, is that we’re not perfect. Neither are you.”

“I never said I was.” Buffy crossed her arms over her chest. Her heart was pounding. All she wanted to do was put the past behind her. To smile and forget that the last few months had happened at all. She wanted to go *home* again and they were her home.

“Then hop on down off the pedestal and have a group hug,” Dawn suggested. “Because this drama thing? So overrated. Besides, we let you back on the island after the tribal council had spoken and you saved us all. We know that, too. You’re the one who saved us all when Sunnydale was being demolished by Turok-hans.”

“Ahem,” Spike cleared his throat across the room. “I think that of the two of us, I had a bigger hand in the saving.”

“You so did not!” Buffy replied. “I’m the one who was practically gutted.”

“Hello? I *died*.” Spike shot back.

“Hello? Try pulling the ‘I Died’ card on someone who hasn’t done it twice!”

“I’ve done it twice, too!” Spike held up two fingers.

“Yeah, but I didn’t come back a demon.”

“You came back a nympho!”

“Ewwww!” Dawn screeched. “My ears.”

“Why couldn’t I have been deafened instead of blinded?” Xander asked no on in particular.

Buffy found herself chuckling, despite the traces of anger that still coursed through her. She rubbed her palm over her face and shook her head. “This is so stupid!”

“Agreed,” Giles said. He reached his hand out, extending it toward Buffy. “Now if you don’t mind, this Watcher has really missed his Slayer and would like to greet her properly.”

Buffy took his hand and he pulled her forward, enveloping her in a strong hug. She breathed deep, relishing the familiar scent of his cologne. “I’m sorry, Giles,” she whispered.

“Oh don’t worry.” He planted a kiss on the top of her head. “When I lecture you later about this serum you were using, the clothing you are wearing, and the fact that you allowed The Immortal into your life to begin with, I plan on making you feel worse than you do right now.”

“I don’t mind the clothes.” Xander pulled her away from Giles and hugged her as if she were his lifeline. He held on tight, rocking her slightly. “God, I missed you, Buffy.”

“I missed you, too.” Buffy pulled back a little. “But I can’t breathe.”

“Gotcha.” He let her go and smiled at her, then stepped back.

Buffy glanced at Willow, then the floor. “I didn’t mean what I said about Kennedy.”

Willow nodded. “You’re lucky that I know that about you or you’d be a toad right now.”

“I’m sorry that she -- you know.”

“She went down fighting. Just like she wanted.” Willow took Buffy’s hand. “I’m sorry about everything. All of it.”

Buffy embraced her, holding her close. “Will?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you right back.”

Diego, who had remained silent through the entire confrontation, slowly stepped toward Buffy. He regarded the people around him, specifically Dawn, who was looking at him curiously. “I need to speak with you, Buffy. Alone.”

Buffy’s eyes widened. “Oh, Diego! Hi!” she said in a high pitched voice. “Is this about Dawn’s birthday again?”

“No more pretending, Buffy. Tonight you will face him and tonight-”

The hackles on the back of Spike’s neck danced upward and he cocked his head to one side. “Who did you say you were?”
“Diego Santorio.” His accent was thick.

Spike slowly pushed himself to his feet and squared his shoulders, taking several steps toward the attractive, dark haired boy who had not strayed from Dawn’s side once. “And exactly who is Diego Santorio and how did he happen upon the fact that Buffy would be facing The Immortal today?”

Angel shot to his feet as well, both vampires were on Diego before he could move. “Buffy!” he shouted.

Dawn screamed when Spike’s face changed. There was total chaos in the room until Buffy leaped into the middle of the fracas and put herself between Diego and the two vampires. “Stop it!” she yelled. “He’s fine! He’s okay!” She turned and looked at Diego, straightening his shirt. “You are, right?”

“I think I need new pants,” Diego replied, brushing his floppy hair back.

Buffy laughed out loud and mussed his hair. “Didn’t I tell you to keep a low profile?”

Diego caught her hand and kissed her knuckles. “I have something to tell you. And I do not wish to lay this at your feet at this time, but I fear it cannot wait a moment longer.”

Dawn, who had watched the exchange with a slack jaw, finally found her voice. “Okay, what the hell are you talking about?”

“Dawn,” Buffy turned and looked at her little sister. “Uhm, Diego has been helping me. He’s been helping me keep you safe.”

“Huh?” Dawn glanced from one to the other. “Are you with him? Like, *with* him?”

“God! No! He’s like eighteen!”

“I’m twenty seven, Buffy.” Diego took Dawn’s hand and held it even though she tried to pull away. “My family, the Romany, have been guarding Buffy and they spared me to guard you. My job was to report back to Buffy to keep her informed about -”

“You’ve been spying on me!?” Dawn screamed. “Buffy, you came here ready to kill Angel for doing that to you!”

“That was different.” Buffy reached for her.

Dawn knocked her out of the way. “It always is with you!”

Buffy stepped out of the way as Dawn rushed past her, out the front door. “Well, don’t just stand there, Diego. Go. Spy. I give you my blessing. And you’re going to explain to me why you’re twenty seven with my kid sister all of a sudden if I’m not dead later!”

“I’ll go to her in a moment. I have news.”

“What news?”

“I would rather sever my own arm than tell you this. I know that your heart will never be the same.”

“Did you deflower my sister? I love you, Diego, but I’ll maim you very, very painfully. You *old* pervert.”

“I haven’t touched her. And I’m serious. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” Diego paced across the room, and then said slowly, “Maria is dead. They found her body this morning. She was savaged. He - he left one of his minions there to give you a message. He said to tell you that he won’t suck you dry, he’ll leave just enough for you to feel her loss.”

Buffy stared at him. Diego swallowed hard, wondering if the messenger would be slaughter. He continued rapidly. “I know what she meant to you. I know that she was like a mother to you, Buffy, and I know she loved you more than anything. Know that she died with that in her heart.”

“Why are you saying this to me?” Buffy finally asked. “Why are you lying? Did he get to you? He did, didn’t he?”

“Did she visit you this morning, Buffy? My family saw her dream tools. I think that’s where he caught her. On the path to you.”

The world tilted for Buffy. Her legs were liquid ice, but somehow she maintained her balance. How could Maria be dead? The old woman was rumored to be over five hundred years old. She had been the very lady who had driven the soul into Angel. She was immortal, wasn’t she? Buffy searched Diego’s face, hoping that she would see the lie there, but all she saw was someone as broken as she was.

Finally, in a low voice, she said, “How did he do it?”

Diego glanced at the others. “Buffy, I don’t think-”

“How did he do it?” she whispered.

“He ripped out her heart.”

“Hmmm.” Buffy felt a rage boiling through her veins the likes of which she had never known. “So that’s how he dies. I had been debating with myself how to do it. But really, it’s all so clear now. You’d think someone had mapped it out for me. Oh, wait. He did.”

“You have to prepare.” Diego reached for her, but she held up a hand.

“I’m done preparing. I’m done waiting. He knows I’m here. The outside of this building isn’t protected so I want all of you to stay here.” She turned her face upward, looking toward the ceiling. “I’ll be on the roof. He knows that I want him there. I can feel it.”

“Buffy.” Angel reached for her, but she pushed him away. “You can’t go alone.”

Then she turned to face everyone, and her eyes were glowing with a deep crimson light and there were black slits where her pupils should be. “Don’t worry. I’ve got this rage to keep me company.”

Diego made the sign of his tribe over his chest and dropped to one knee. “All grace unto you.”

“What are you doing? Get up!” She reached for him and then stopped. Buffy stared down at her hands, where long, black talons had erupted from her nailbeds. “What the hell?”

Diego slowly climbed to his feet. “Maria. She imbued you with her own powers in death. I always thought it would be me.”

“I just paid for a manicure!”

“It’ll go away when the emotion subsides. When your soul quietens.”

“For good?”

“No, Buffy.”

“Oh, hell.” Buffy cried, grabbing her weapons bag and throwing it over her shoulder. “What more can possibly happen and why the hell is my voice so deep and scary?”

Everyone was staring at her like she had grown an extra head. She was spared their comments because Fred burst through the door. “He’s here! He’s on the roof. His minions are at every entrance and ... Buffy, my god.”
“Don’t ask.” Buffy held up a hand, felt grossed out, and shoved it behind her back. “Where’s the roof access?”

*~*~*~*~