FIC: The Past Returns

[Patrick Kelly <bandits@xxxxxxxxx>]

Title: The Past Returns
Author: Pat Kelly
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Sequel to "Questioning Dreams", "Jumping the Gun", and "Following the Bullet". I
really have to think of a series title. Suggestions welcome.
Spoilers: All four seasons. That got your attention, didn't it? :-)
Disclaimer: Joss and Mutant Enemy only. I do not own.

THE PAST RETURNS

Giles moved downstairs, yawning. He had just woken up, and he still had hisrobe and
slippers on. Summer was coming to a close. Not that he noticed. End of May,end of August;
it all ran together for him. He was still unemployed and still not liking it very much.
There wasn't much available in Sunnydale. Not for a man of his educational background, and
very plainly, nothing very interesting. But now Xander was ahead of him, almost finished
his summer session.

And doing well, too. They all were. Krischten hadn't shown up since Santa Cruz, and there
hadn't been any major crises. All the research they had done on the master vampire only
led to detailed accounts of his carnage, which didn't help them all that much. They had
yet to figure out why he wasn't dead. So, Buffy had simply been slaying andacting like a
normal sophomore college student. One that hung out with her friends, and an unemployed
Englishman.

He promised himself that he would get out of his slump before his surrogatechildren went
back to school. And on a positive note, he realized that he had gained thatrole back. A
parental figure who was loved by people he thought he had distanced himselffrom. With
that knowledge, it gave him strength to keep pushing forward. For somethingbetter. If
only he could find that 'something better'.

Running his hand through his hair, he went to head outside to get the morning paper. He
opened the door to a sight that made him smirk. Buffy and Willow stood at his front door,
kissing. The slayer was trying to balance a tray that held three coffees onone arm, while
having her other hand in Willow's longer hair. She had let it grow over thesummer.
Anyway, the girls hadn't made a "formal" announcement about their relationship; they had
just gone with the attitude, "learn to accept it." So Giles did. That's notto say that he
didn't do a couple double takes and stutters at first.

Now, he just brought his hand to his mouth and faked a cough. Buffy stoppedabruptly,
losing control of the coffees. Willow moved quickly, and flung herself forward, balancing
the tray on her knee. Just barely. Buffy smiled sheepishly at Giles, and figured she had
better help Willow out before the redhead got third degree burns and had tosue Starbucks.


"We were going to knock&but&we&uh&" Willow stuttered, then smiled quickly. "Great morning
isn't it, Giles?" She pushed past him and went into the house.

Buffy came in next, and sat the hot beverages down on the coffee table.

"We come baring Starbucks." She looked at his disheveled appearance. "Aww! Did somebody
just wake up?"

"Yes, actually. And as much as I appreciate the wake up call, what are you doing here so
early?" Giles said, rubbing his face and picking up a cup.

"Early?" The blonde asked, plopping down on the sofa and taking her cup.

"It's 11:30." Willow explained. Giles face showed surprise. He really needed a job.
"Think I'm finally starting to understand how Xander felt."

"With him being in school and us&" Buffy trailed off, and looked at Gilesapologetically.
"Sorry Giles. I didn't mean -"

The phone rang, interrupting the awkward situation that had developed. He excused himself,
and went to answer it. Buffy smacked herself in the head. That went all wrong. She felt
Willow put her hand on top of hers, and they waited in silence until Giles was off the
phone. She started to say something, but then he began to speak, taking a breath before
doing so.

"That&that was the school board. They wanted to know if I would be interested in a
position."

"That's great!" Willow said excitedly.

"What position?" Buffy asked.

"Um&librarian." He said slowly.

"Where? The college?" Willow asked. "Cause that would be cool."

Buffy was silently shaking her head.

"No&ah&the high school. Apparently&it's been rebuilt."

***

After Giles had gotten dressed, the three of them sprinted to the school. It was
impossible. There was no way&but then they saw it. There it was. Sunnydale High School. In
all it's "pre-blown up" glory. Once they had finished gaping, Buffy ran up to it, and
touched the steps cautiously, as if she expected it to burn her. When it didn't, and she
felt how real it was, she turned to Giles and Willow.

She pointed at it. "Okay, it was still a pile of rubble last night." She looked to them
for confirmation of that fact. "Right?"

"Yep." Willow assured her, still nodding in disbelief. "Just like a blowed up place should
be."

"So that means I'm not crazy. That's good. I feel better." She turned to Giles.
"Again, and correct if I'm wrong, but nobody ever said anything about rebuilding. There
were never any bulldozers or construction guys here. Ever. I mean, I know I've been
distracted over the summer, but I don't think I've been THAT distracted."

"As far as I know, there was nothing done. Not by humans, anyhow." Giles said.

"Let's not get all hasty. There could be a rational, non-demony explanation." Willow said,
realizing how unlikely that was. "Or not."

"Maybe it isn't that big of a deal, but this place just gives me the wiggins. It was gone.
Bye, bye. Adios. Later." Buffy stopped herself. "We should talk to mom."

Giles and Willow wondered why she wanted to do that, but didn't vocalize the question.
They followed wordlessly, because they knew that no matter how little senseBuffy's
actions seemed to make, there were usually good reasons behind them. Usually.

***

Xander sat in his English 101 class, actually understanding what was being said. It was
all composition, so it wasn't that hard. Personal essays and the like. The professor was
very impressed at how deep his papers were. And so was he. Xander had the highest grade
among the ten other people who were in the class with him. Right now, the possibility of
getting enough credits to start sophomore year was looking very good.

He was even able to snag himself a job at the campus store, and all his paychecks went
directly towards his tuition and room and board for the Fall Semester. Yes,for once in
his life, things finally seemed to be looking up. And he wasn't coasting orgetting a free
ride, either. It was all him. He had earned and worked for his grades and his new outlook
on life had emerged as a result.

The professor was announcing the end of class. As he began packing up his things,
Xander looked up at the open doorway. Standing there was a young girl with black hair, who
couldn't have been more than fourteen. She was looking right at him. He flung his bag over
his shoulder, and lost sight of her as a couple of his fellow students got in his line of
vision. He headed towards the door, and when they moved out of the way, shewas gone.

He felt someone tap him on the shoulder, and turned around to face the person. It was the
professor.

"Before you go, I just want to say that your work has been excellent over these past
couple months. You must have a lot of personal experiences to draw from."

"You could say that." Xander said with a smile. It was the truth.

"Well, I think you'll make a fine addition to this campus, and I plan to strongly
recommend that you be placed in the sophomore level curriculum with the up and coming
graduating class of 2004. I know you won't let me down."

"No sir. Thank you." He shook the man's hand.

"Good luck, Mr. Harris." Xander started to walk out, and then quickly turned back around.
"Was there something else?"

"Did you see a girl standing by the door a minute ago?"

"No&should I have?"

"Uh&never mind. Thanks again, Professor."

***

Joyce was in her kitchen eating a salad for lunch when her daughter, Willow, and Giles
came in the back door.

"Hello." She said with a touch of surprise.

"Hi, mom."

"Hey, Mrs. Summers." Willow gave a little wave.

"Hello, Joyce."

"I thought you had plans today?" The older Summers asked.

"We did, but we got sidetracked." Buffy said. "So&the high school's rebuilt, huh?"

Joyce took a bite of her salad before answering. "Can you believe they finally finished?
And in time for the new school year too. I didn't think people were going to put up with
all the noise, but it's over now, thank god."

Buffy looked at Giles and Willow, and then back to her mother. "Finally finished?"

"Now, honey, I know your memories of high school aren't that positive, theyaren't for me,
either. But there are kids still need an education, and the next closest school is hours
away. And learning wise, it wasn't that bad, was it?" Joyce looked to her daughter's
companions. "Would you like some lunch?"

Willow raised her hand quickly. "Yes please."

"Rupert?"

"No thank you." He smiled. Then he noticed the day's paper on the counter. "May I?"

"Help yourself."

Giles picked up the paper, and stared at the headline in disbelief. He showed it to the
two girls. The front-page headline read: 'SCHOOL RESCONSTRUCTION COMPLETED.' Willow and
Buffy gasped, as the three of them skimmed the article.

"Mom, doesn't it seem, oh I don't know, unrealistic that it would only takethree months
to rebuild an entire school?" Buffy asked, flat out.

Joyce was in the middle of making sandwiches. "I don't know how they did it, but they did.
It was a shock, because usually union workers&well, these ones worked around the clock.
Just motivated, I guess."

"Should we tell her she's under some sort of spell?" Willow asked in a whisper.

"No, why do they that to her?" Buffy answered.

"Buffy's right. The whole town is probably under the same delusion, and it doesn't appear
to be harmful in any way." Giles added.

"Question." Buffy said. "Why aren't we under this spell's mojo?"

Before either of them could begin to formulate any answers to Buffy's question, Joyce
announced that Willow's lunch was made.

***

Later at night, Buffy and Willow, along with Xander, were at the Bronze. The blonde was
very discreetly running her fingers through Willow's long red strands of hair. Buffy was
the one who asked her to let her hair grow. Willow didn't say it aloud, butshe knew Buffy
just wanted her hair longer simply so she could feel it. Not that the wiccawas
complaining. Far from it.

They relayed the tale of the rebuilt school to Xander, and were relieved tofind that he
was just as confused as they were.

"There's a demon construction crew in town&and you're surprised by that?"He asked.

"Not really surprised&" Buffy trailed off, trying to find the words to finish her thought.


"More like&befuddled." Willow supplied.

"Ah. Like Elmer. He was always befuddled by Bugs." Xander said, and was metby stares.
"Fudd? Befuddled? Get it?"

"Not one of your best, Xand." Buffy tried to break it to him gently.

"They've been better." Willow agreed.

"It's this whole 'learning' thing. It's messing up my system." He said in mock sadness.
"So who's up for some groovin'?" He asked after a minute, perking up.

"Ooh! I'm in. Buffy?"

"If you're in, Will, then so am I."

Xander pointed his finger at his mouth and made a gagging noise as the three of them moved
out to the floor.

***

Time meant nothing to Krischten Taelano. He'd been a vampire for a millennia and a human
for thirty years before that. After awhile, seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, it had
all ceased to matter. Which was why he wasn't rushing to confront the slayer. He was
content to watch her and her companions, as he had done ever since their return to the
Hellmouth. He stalked the Bronze now; eyes focused on the three dancing figures.

The way the slayer kept glancing around every once and awhile let Krischtenknow that she
felt his presence. Which was how he wanted it. He wanted her strength to grow, her
abilities honed. Only then would she be a worthy adversary. Among other things. She had
her arms around the witch, and they moved together, laughing and talking with the male. It
was always fun for him to watch people in love. When the time for the kill came, it was so
much more rewarding.

Being in the background for a few centuries had benefited him. He was able to blend in
with the changing eras, and maintain a problem-free existence. Truth of thematter was, he
had simply gotten bored of it all. Once you were at the top, there was nothing more to do.
And all his opponents, all the slayers he had killed, were always the same.Didn't matter
what country or what age, they were always cut off. From their families andtheir own
personalities. That's why they died so quickly.

But the current slayer had outlasted all of them. Sure he could have easilykilled her
like the rest, but he saw something in her the others didn't have, and he had told her so.
Fire and potential. She was motivated out of love and friendship, and caredif she died.
Krischten liked that, knew it was there, and just had to bring it out of her. And he knew
that for her longer than average service, special rewards were coming her way.

Then she would be a challenge. Of course, that didn't mean that they wouldn't have some
fun along the way, but the ultimate fight would be long and hard. He wantedthat fight.

Not so he could then bring Hell to Earth, and become supreme ruler or some grand scheme
like that. He had been on his way to that before, and hadn't found it very enjoyable. No,
his objective was relief. At one thousand years old, he was sick of the world. He had
lived longer than any vampire, had seen many things, and had his share of good kills, but
now he just wanted out.

But he wasn't going to commit "vampiric-suicide" and walk into the sun. Hisinstincts, his
demon still ruled him, and he wanted to go out in battle against a worthy opponent. And
the slayer was the only one he thought had the stuff, to put it simply. Butshe wasn't
quite at the level he envisioned yet, and that's why he was waiting. He also planned to
give her a reward of his own when the time came.

Watching, he saw her say something to her two friends, and then they began to walk out of
the club. He had seen enough for now as well, but he'd pick up dinner before retiring for
the night.

***

Buffy had led her friends to the front of the high school, and they stood there, just
looking at it.

"Okay, explain this to me again." Xander requested. "You want to go inside,why?"

"Probably to see if there's a demon or evil spirit lurking around inside since it wasn't
built in a normal way. If there is, then she has to do her duty and slay." Willow
explained. "But it's probably just an excuse, a valid one, but still an excuse, to go back
to high school."

Buffy walked to the front doors. "I do not want to go back to high school!"She protested.


"Yet she's breaking in, ladies and gentlemen." Xander said, following. "Perplexing, isn't
it folks?"

"It's what Willow said. It's my duty and I have to. So cover me while I pick the lock."

"Why don't you just break the handle?" Willow asked.

Buffy got an already bent paperclip and her ID card out of her bag, and began to work.
"Don't you think that a broken door handle would look a tad suspicious, Will?"

"Good point."

After a few seconds, she got the door open, and they entered the dark lobby/lounge area.
Buffy shut the door behind them, and they started to walk around. Willow saw the stairs
which she had been sucked down into, and shuddered. Then she headed directly for the
replaced soda machine, happier than she had ever suspected she would be. She knew it
wasn't the exact same one&but still. Fond memories.

Old trusty soda machine. I push you for root beer, you give me coke.

Xander found himself walking up the couple stairs to the replaced couch that reminded him
of where they all used to sit. The paintings were gone, though. He watched Buffy go over
to the empty trophy case, which once held a trapped Kathryn Madison in a cheerleading
trophy. He suddenly found himself wondering what happened to her when they blew the place
up. But most of all, he remembered insulting Cordelia.

So, Cor, you printing up business cards with your pager number and hours ofoperation, or
just going with a halter top tonight?

After seeing enough of the trophy case, Buffy moved on down the hall. She knew
instinctively that her friends were behind her. So much had happened in these halls.
Mostly death, but it was also where she first met Xander, dropping her books to the
ground, and him rushing to her rescue.

Can I have you?

She saw that they had replaced the fountain. The one where she had first seen Willow.

My mom picked it out.

And where Spike had nearly killed her, newly arrived in town. Who could forget that?

I've messed up your doilies and stuff.

As they reached the midpoint of hall, they saw doors leading out, which would take them to
the courtyard. Where they all were first together.

Not much goes on in a one Starbucks town like Sunnydale. You're pretty big news.

Where she had had her first heart to heart with Giles after turning Owen down.

And, I must say, as a Slayer, you're, you're doing... pretty well.

And where graduation had taking place.

He's gonna do the entire speech. Evil.

The best day of their lives. They wished they could say it had been their worst, but it
wasn't. Not by a long shot.

They bypassed the cafeteria where the psycho lunch lady had tried to kill them all, stayed
away from the gym where they witnessed a girl being set ablaze, avoided thefaculty room
where Xander had shown off the full force of his hyena possession to
Buffy, and also avoided the spot where Angelus had once gripped Willow by the throat and
threatened to kill her. No, on autopilot, they were headed right for the library. When
they saw the large wooden doors, they walked just a little bit faster to reach it, not
even realizing that it was light inside.

***

They had all automatically taken their seats at the table, Buffy putting her bag down,
Xander putting his feet up, and Willow telling him to put them down.

You're the Slayer&and we're like&the Slayerettes.

They all jumped as Giles emerged from the office.

"Just a little too much déjà vu for me." Buffy said.

Willow was trying to get her breathing back to normal.

"I need to sit down." She said.

"You are sitting down." Buffy assured her.

"Oh. Good for me."

They looked at each other, and their first instinct was to freak. That was after all, more
déjà vu. But instead they just laughed.

Xander looked over at the steps leading to the second level of the library,and could
still envision Buffy standing there with just a robe. Just a robe.

Don't you wanna open your present?

Then he remembered less pleasant things. Having his arm broken and being knocked out, and
the first time that the three-headed hell beast emerged from the Hellmouth.Shaking it
off, he turned to Giles. "How'd you get in here?"

"My key for the outside entrance to the library still worked. I had forgotten how much I
missed it. It's familiarity -"

"Only no books."

Giles silently acknowledged that. The place was bare. It wasn't his anymore.

"Guess we all had that trip down memory lane thing going." Buffy finally admitted.

Willow rose from her chair and went over to the computer, giggling to herself as she
remembered catching Xander checking out volumes on paganism.

You like to look at the semi-nude engravings?

It also reminded her of Moloch, a demon who she had had an online tryst with. Not knowing
about his demon-ness of course. She looked to the bookshelves that had beenpushed down on
her, causing her temporary coma. But despite the bad stuff, in school, and in the library,
it had been&

"This was home." She voiced out loud. "We did everything here."

She looked at the book cage, which Buffy was now standing by. She remembered locking Oz up
during the full moon in there. Then she saw the blonde look at her with a grin on her
face.

"Well, we didn't do&everything." Buffy said in a suggestive tone, lookingup at the
stacks. Willow looked at them too. Buffy couldn't mean&Xander and Giles were in the room.
"Not THAT. You've got some mind, Rosenberg. I was referring to this."

Buffy walked up to her, and gave her a small kiss. Willow got it, and they ran up the
stairs, disappearing behind the shelves. The kisses were somewhat longer then. And more
involved.

***

"So&" Xander choked, speaking to Giles, "are you going to take -"

He stopped himself as his gaze traveled to the doors' circular windows. There was that
same girl from earlier again. Not wasting a second, he jumped out of the chair, and ran
out of the library. He looked around frantically, but he couldn't find her.Feeling a
little unnerved; he walked back into the library after a few moments.

"Are you all right, Xander?" Giles asked.

"My sanity may become and issue, but&it's nothing." Xander sat back down.He started
looking around again, frowning. "I could have done better."

"How's that?"

"Here. I could have worked harder so I wouldn't be playing catch up right now."

"That's true. If you had it all to do over again, would you do it differently?"

"If I knew what the real world was like, yeah." He chuckled. "Maybe my yearof wandering
helped me more than I thought."

"It seems to have given you the drive to want more out of life." Giles agreed.

"Guess I just needed the world to show me what my life would be like if I didn't get off
my keister and wake up. How bout you? What are you gonna do? Be librarian again?"

***

Up on the next level, the slayer and witch's make out fest was going full force.

"As much as I love kissing you," Buffy said as they took a breather, "the location isn't
seeming to add any extra thrills like I thought it would."

"I know what you mean." Willow agreed. "Not like kissing you isn't always athrill&"

"Right. There's always thrills with 'Willow kissage', but I'm not getting any extra ones
by being in the library."

"You know what might?" Willow said, suddenly excited. "Kissing in the psychroom on
campus."

"Hey, yeah! We'd probably make Freud roll over in his grave."

"Even though he's dead, he probably wouldn't need Viagra."

Buffy had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. "Willow!"

"Oh! It could be so fun in that room where -"

"Slow down there, Will." The redhead grinned and blushed at the same time. "Hmm. College
isn't so bad, is it?"

"No. It really isn't so different anymore. This feels a little weird. In a good 'oh I
remember that and I'm glad I survived it and I'm done' kinda way."

Buffy nodded. "I think I needed to come here to realize that. When it was blown up, it was
easy to forget. I filed it under my 'Evil and Good riddance' category, and was done with
it. But when it was suddenly here again, I started remembering everything.Everything we
did and all. The good times, the bad&it was all pulling me back."

"And now?"

"Now I've faced the beast, I know that I've moved on, and can say I'm happywith the
change. I've still got you, Giles, and Xander. The best the thing that everhappened to me
here."

Willow hugged her. "One more kiss before we go? Not for any extra stuff&Ijust need more
'Buffy smoochies.'"

"Why certainly."

***

Willow and Buffy emerged with dopey smiles from the stacks, but straightened themselves up
and walked down the steps quietly so as not to interrupt Giles.

"I've been thinking about that. It would be real easy for me to settle backin this
routine. I could even come up with a plausible reason to do so by telling myself I'd be
taking the job to keep watch for various evil goings on.

"But my year of unemployment will have meant nothing, except to show me howunmotivated I
was, and that I didn't go seek out something better. That I'm happy as a librarian. But
then I'd regret not taking that chance and searching.

"I think I kept telling myself there wasn't anything better because I couldn't let go of
this place. But it's time I moved on. So no, I won't be taking the job."

"Good for you, Giles." Buffy said, walking up to him and placing her hand on his shoulder.
"I missed this place too, but we're not high school students anymore. As much as we'd like
to think it's the same, it's not."

"We're college students. Up and coming products of higher education." Xander felt real
good saying that.

"Yeah, memories are nice&and not." Willow stumbled. "There's lots to lookforward to. Is
my point. And there's been stuff happening, good stuff, that never happenedhere." She
smiled at Buffy. "I wouldn't go back."

"On that note, what do you say we make like bananas and split?" Xander asked, and knowing
by the looks of the three others in the room, that he had fallen short of 'funny' once
again.

"I'm with joke boy." Buffy said.

"See ya, Sunnydale High." Xander gave a salute.

"We promise not to blow you up again on our way out." Willow said.

"It's been real." Buffy added.

Instead of going out the way they came, they followed Giles the way he had come in. The
slightly more legal way. He looked around one last time, shut off the lights, and then
they were gone.

***

Now standing in the darkened library, the black-haired girl smiled. Tara hadn't told her
that Xander was so cute. She had asked Tara to do a lot. She knew that. She'd have to come
through big for these "Powers", whoever they were. But she wasn't sure yet if she could.
All she knew was that if she was going to be in this town for awhile, helping or whatever,
she'd need something to keep her busy so she didn't arouse the wrong people's suspicions.

School seemed like a good idea. After all, wasn't that what a girl her age was supposed to
do?


--
"I wanna set the record straight. I thought the cop was a prostitute." (Homer J. Simpson)

"You think you know? What's to come? What you are? You haven't even begun."
(Tara to Buffy, BTVS)


"Since when is there a cowboy in 'Death of a Salesman' anyway?" (Willow, BTVS)



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