Coming Home

By Melanie Walker

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daniel ‘Oz’ Osbourne stared up at the house in silence.

 

It wasn’t fair really that the house should still be here when the Slayer was not.

 

Word had reached him deep in the hills of Nebraska of the Slayer’s death weeks after her death. No official notice of course, the Hellmouth would overflow with demons if word leaked that the Slayer was gone. Instead the remaining Scoobies had taken up the slack. Carrying on in her stead.

 

He’d known for a week before he’d actually received the telegram from Willow. One of the wolves of the pack he was training within was married to a Shaman of a neighboring Indian tribe. She’d shared the information with him. Helped him grieve for the friend that he’d lost.

 

And moved on with his life just like everyone else had.

 

Then the summons had come two days ago.

 

They’d been searching for months for whatever was slaughtering the wildlife of their tranquil home. It had taken two young wolves almost being gutted for the decision to be made that help was needed. So he had been sent to Sunnydale to retrieve the Slayer

 

When Oz had tried to remind the Shaman that Buffy Summer was dead she had just smiled mysteriously and told him to go.

 

To bring back the Slayer.

 

To not give into temptation while he was in Sunnydale.

 

To listen with his heart and not his ears when he spoke with her.

 

“She needs you Oz… almost as much as you need her.”

 

Oz had just sighed. Having no clue what the hell she was talking about. The only live slayer at the moment was Faith. And he couldn’t really think of any reason why Faith would need him or he would need her.

 

He didn’t really want to deal with Faith and the memories of Sunnydale that she was sure to bring.

 

Especially if Sari was already acting a little crazy. He thought dealing with one crazy person was more than enough to ask one wolf to deal with.

 

He’d idly thought about just returning and telling Sari that he’d been unable to locate Faith. But he’d made the promise to come retrieve the Slayer and he always tried to keep his promises. Besides if he returned without Faith Sari would know if he hadn’t even tried.

 

He hated how she was able to do that.

 

Drawing a deep breath he climbed out of his new van. Shoving his hands in his pockets as he awkwardly walked towards the front door. He knew Willow was living at the Summers house with Dawn and Tara. If anybody would know how to find Faith it would be her.

 

Lifting his hand he went to knock and was instead shocked when the door opened revealing the face of the dead.

 

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Buffy Summers was having a bad day.

 

Actually no she was having a bad couple of months.

 

She’d kissed Spike.

 

Voluntarily.

 

Twice.

 

She winced remembering. The kisses had felt right at the time. She could remember the desperation and he’d made her lose herself.

 

The problem with losing herself… was that eventually she came back to herself and the whole self-loathing thing began over again.

 

Sometimes she wished that Spike was someone different. If he was anybody but Spike she could handle the kisses, the desire that she felt.

 

But he was Spike. A vampire, with a military designed chip that kept him from doing what he really wanted.

 

Which was killing everybody that she knew and loved.

 

At this moment she wished now that Giles hadn’t decided that she needed to learn how to stand on her own at this very moment. She could really have used his advice on how to handle all of this. On how to handle Spike’s increasingly amorous advances or her seeming inability to stay away from the lips of Spike. Willow’s growing magic problem, Dawn’s behavior in general and a myriad of other problems that had all taken a vote and decided that now was the time to jump at the Slayer.

 

Not the least of which was the fact that even with the check that Giles had given her weeks before the money was almost gone and she was going to have to figure out what she was going to do.

 

When she heard that van pull up outside. Unmarked at that she had sighed.

 

Probably the repossessions were getting ready to begin. So with a smile plastered to her face and a stern admonishment directed at Dawn to stay in the kitchen she had opened the door and froze.

 

“Oz,” she said dumbly staring at the young man staring back at her.

 

“Buffy…” Oz stated. “Aren’t you supposed to be…”

 

“Dead?” she shrugged, motioning him into the house. “Willow did a spell.”

 

“A spell,” he moved past her into the house still staring at her in what she assumed was his amazed expression. In all actuality his expression hadn’t changed that much except his eyes had widened just a tad more. “To make you undead?”

 

“She thought I was in hell.”

 

“Oh…”

 

“I wasn’t,” she hurriedly assured him.

 

“Okay.”

 

Buffy squirmed under his gaze. His eyes boring into her like he was trying to read her mind or something.

 

“So… uh… Will’s not here,” she said brightly leading him into the living room.

 

“Actually I came to see you,” Oz flopped down on the couch still staring at her. “I think.”

 

“You think? What…”

 

“Well I was sent to get help… the pack I’m living with… there’s been some problems of the demonic variety. We haven’t been able to do anything about it but a couple days ago our Shaman told me to get the Slayer and bring her back, that she… you would be able to do something.”

 

“I think that’s the single longest sentence I’ve ever heard you say,” Buffy said in amazement.

 

“I’ve been learning how to express myself more,” Oz shrugged nonchalantly

 

“So you have demons,” Buffy leaned back in the chair across from him. “Know what kind?”

 

“Not really… they were just killing off the local wildlife, but a couple of days ago it attacked two of our youngest wolves.”

 

“So what exactly am I supposed to do?”

 

“I’m not sure… I was just sent to get you.”

 

“Oh… Well I guess I could help, Spike can handle things here by himself for a couple of days.”

 

“Spike’s still around?” Oz frowned. “And helping?”

 

“Yeah… he thinks he’s in love with me,” she sighed.

 

“Well… that’s…”

 

“Go ahead… you can say it.”

 

“He does remember that he’s a vampire right? And one that’s tried to kill you a couple times.”

 

“Yep… swears he’s changed.”

 

“Hmm… well…”

 

“How soon do you need to leave?” Buffy smiled gently at the semi-confused look creasing his face. Explaining to people about Spike’s changed feelings sometimes made her smile.

 

Because it was just so strange. And unexpected.

 

“Pretty soon… you can bring Dawn if you need to…”

 

“Really?” Dawn bounced into the room a smile on her face, a sheer indication that she had been listening at the door waiting for an appropriate cue to enter.

 

“She’s got school…”

 

“Two days before break,” Dawn rolled her eyes.

 

“Then dad is coming to take her for Christmas…” Buffy continued glaring at her younger sister who only grinned in response.

 

“Yeah right,” Dawn snorted. “Dad says he’s coming, but we both know he’s not… so I’m already packed and everything. Besides this’ll be like school… I mean how many other kids can say that they’ve visited a werewolf pack and hunted demons.”

 

“You hunt demons now?” Oz asked in surprise. He could remember vividly the Slayer protecting her sister with her life. Which meant that Dawn had not been subjected to the horrors of the Hellmouth. Not like the Scoobies had to any extent.

 

“Not,” Dawn snorted again. “She thinks I’m delicate or something.”

 

“Delicate… yeah right,” Buffy muttered under her breath, “Delicate pain in my ass maybe.”

 

“So when you do want to leave?” Oz asked ignoring the undercurrents emanating between the two Summers’. He figured that he’d have enough time once they left to determine what was going on between them.

 

 

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