__Dreams, Nightmares And Reality__
By Gibberish
Buffy looked at the fifteen Slayers gathered in front of her. They were in
the Library, Giles, Willow, Xander, Dawn, Robin and Andrew were also there.
As well as Tyrus. "Have any of you been having vivid dreams?" Buffy asked.
A few hands went up. "Dreams so real that you woke up terrified?"
A couple of hands went down. "Dreams that end with several of us lying dead?"
Only Faith's and Scarlet's hands remained up. "In a large pool of blood?"
Their hands remained up. "Damn."
"Faith, who died in your dream?" Giles asked.
"It's not always the same ones." Faith answered. "That's why I didn't think they were prophetic."
"Who was it last night?" Buffy asked.
"Vi, Kennedy, Rona, and ..." Faith hesitated.
"Dawn." Buffy finished for her.
"That's who I saw last night." Scarlet told them. "But it hasn't been the same every night. Is
someone going to die?"
"Not if we can help it." Buffy answered. She was thoughtful. "Who haven't you seen dead?"
"You." Faith and Scarlet said in unison.
"Just Buffy?" Giles asked. "You've seen yourselves dead as well?"
"Couple times." Faith answered. Scarlet simply nodded.
"You never mentioned that." Robin said to Faith.
"Didn't think it meant anything." Faith replied with a shrug.
"Has anyone seen what did it?" Buffy asked next.
"Whatever it is, it's big." Scarlet responded. "That's all I can see of it."
"A big, dark shadow." Buffy said. "With claws." She looked at Giles. "Time to start the research,
I guess."
"We should find a lot under big, dark shadow with claws." Giles commented.
"It's a start." Buffy said.
Buffy and Giles spoke quietly in a corner of the Library as the others began research. "Why
haven't the others had this dream?" Buffy asked quietly.
"Perhaps they have and simply don't remember it clearly." Giles replied. "Or perhaps the images
were too indistinct. Not all Slayers have the clarity in their dreams that you do.
Most certainly aren't so adept at interpreting them."
"Really?" Buffy asked surprised. "You never mentioned that before."
"You've never asked before." Giles said.
"You never had any trouble telling me when I was bad at something." Buffy commented. "You ..."
The phone rang. Xander answered the phone without looking up from his book.
"Hello." His head snapped up to look straight at Buffy. "Hi, Angel. Yeah, she's right here." He
held out the phone to her.
Buffy took the phone and turned away from the room. "Hey, Angel.
What's goin' ..." Her face went slack as she listened.
In his office at Wolfram and Hart in LA, Angel was on his phone as he glared at
noncorporial Spike. "Spike's here." He said flatly.
"What?" Buffy asked in disbelief. "That's not possible." She was aware of Giles moving up behind
her. "Spike's alive?" She listened. "Not alive, but there. He's a ghost. He's haunting you?"
"I can't believe you gave him the amulet." Angel stated.
"That seems to be what brought him back." He heard her laugh. "It's not funny."
"No, it's not funny." Buffy agreed as she laughed. "No, I'm not laughing. It must be the
connection. What do you expect me to do?"
"I don't know. Something." Angel said. "It's not the connection, you're laughing. He might listen
to you. Right now, I don't even want to help him. All he does is complain. He's a pain in the ass.
He keeps appearing and disappearing, and he's enjoying it. And on top of that, he can't leave
here because of the amulet."
Buffy had held the phone out a bit so that Giles could hear Angel fuss about Spike. Giles' lips
twitched. "Angel." Buffy broke in on his tirade. "Hold the phone out so Spike can hear me." She
looked at Giles. "What do you think you're doing, Spike?" She laughed, and
nearly lost it when Giles giggled. "I know it's fun, but you'd better behave
or he won't fix you." She paused. "That didn't sound right."
Spike stood while Angel held the phone. "Too bloody right it didn't." Spike said. "Why couldn't I
have been sent to you? Even Giles and the bloody principal were better than this."
"I don't know why you were sent there." Buffy replied. "Maybe because we already have a ghost."
"You do?" Spike asked. "I bet it's a male ghost. Make Angel get my body back, Pet."
"We're trying, you ungrateful ass." Angel said angrily. "And she is not your Pet."
"I can't referee you two from here." Buffy told him. "Work it out." She listened. "Okay." She
held the phone out to Giles. "He want's to talk to you."
Giles took the phone from Buffy. "Yes?"
Angel looked sharply at Spike. "What do you want with Giles?"
"Rupert," Spike said quietly. "If I find out that you've kicked her out again, I'll find my way
there. Otherwise, give her a kiss for me."
Giles' eyes narrowed. "I have no intention of ..."
Angel moved the phone away from Spike. "What the hell could she have possibly ever seen in you?"
Angel wanted to know. "Giles, how is Buffy? Does she actually miss him?"
Giles looked at Buffy. "She's fine. And, no, she doesn't seem to."
"It was good to hear her laugh again." Angel said. "Even if it was at my expense. Take care of
her, Giles."
"You know I will." Giles said, then hung up the phone.
Everyone looked at Him and Buffy. "What was that all about?" Xander asked for all of them.
"Spike's haunting Angel." Buffy answered, her lips twitching.
"Better him than us." Xander commented. "Any word on Cordie?"
"They didn't say anything." Buffy told him. She looked at Giles. "What did Spike say to you?"
Giles' eyes skittered away. "Doesn't matter." He looked back at her. "That's the first time I've
heard you laugh like that in ... Well, a long time."
Buffy grinned. "Can you picture them? Stuck together and unable to kill each other."
Giles was amused. "That's a good point."
"Can't you just picture Angel trying to stake Spike and going right through him?" Buffy asked.
"They must be going crazy."
"It doesn't bother you that neither one is here?" Giles asked.
"Not when them being stuck together is so much more fun." Buffy replied.
Giles smiled at her, then turned to the others. "Have you found anything?"
"Not so far, Dad." Rona replied with a grin. Giles glared at Kennedy, who had started the Mom/Dad
joke that now had a life of it's own. All in all, he thought he preferred G-man.
"Who are Angel and Spike?" Scarlet asked.
"Two of Buffy's ex's." Faith answered.
"One's dead?" Scarlet didn't see the humor.
"It's not like they were exactly alive when she dated them." Faith commented.
"Faith." Buffy and Giles said together in the same exasperated tone.
Faith looked at them oddly. "You know, Kennedy's right. You do sound like parents."
Next to Faith, Robin choked on a laugh. Willow and Xander gave each other a look.
"Don't I know it." Dawn muttered. "Whatever you do, don't let them double team you."
"Dawn!" Buffy and Giles admonished in unison.
"See." Dawn said. She never even looked away from her computer.
* * *