Chapter 2

 

 

 

Oz had determined that he was in hell.

 

Once he’d asked his innocent little question the Summer’s women had shifted into fast forward.

 

And somehow he had gotten stuck with Dawn while Buffy went to talk to Spike about taking over patrolling… and the shopping.

 

“This is going to be so cool,” Dawn bubbled next to him.

 

“Hmm,” Oz murmured noncommittally.

 

“Buffy won’t say it but she really needs a break… bad,” Dawn said in a hushed tone. Like she was sharing a confidence.

 

“Well you know… coming back from the dead and all…”

 

“She was in heaven,” Dawn said quietly as she opened the front door, shoving her keys into her front jean pocket.

 

“Heaven?” Oz asked closing the door behind them staring at the youngest Summers with a semi-shocked expression. He hadn’t thought about that.

 

Hadn’t thought any further past Buffy’s comment about her not having been in Hell. Hadn’t even thought about where she must have been if she hadn’t been in Hell.

 

“Yeah… Willow was so sure that she was in hell, it was kind of a shock when we found out that she hadn’t been. She doesn’t talk about it, I think it depresses her, then Willow tried to do this spell to make her forget… but it didn’t work right and we all lost our memories.”

 

“Wait a minute Will tried to do a spell to make Buffy forget heaven?” For a moment Oz was shocked, what had happened to his ex-girlfriend that she would play rough shod over peoples minds that way.

 

This wasn’t the Willow that he remembered.

 

“Yeah, it was pretty crazy and Buffy says she’s not mad about it… but how could she not be, I mean Heaven…”

 

“Yeah,” Oz shook his head. This all seemed sort of surreal. Was this the reason that Sari had told him to listen with his heart and not his mind? Was this why she had said that the Slayer needed him as much as he needed her. It definitely seemed that Buffy needed somebody, especially somebody who hadn’t been responsible for pulling her out of Heaven in the first place.

 

“Hey Dawnie who are you talking…” Willow’s voice rang out as she walked into the kitchen, stopping suddenly as she saw Oz standing at the counter with a blank expression on his face. “Oz,” she finished softly.

 

“Willow.”

 

 

**************************************************************************************

 

 

Dawn’s eyes flickered back and forth between her two still-shocked companions.

 

For a moment, in the excitement of getting ready for the road trip with Oz, happy with the thought that even though Oz and his pack were going to be there she was going to be able to spend time with her sister. Without the others.

 

She’d forgotten all about Willow.

 

She wagered that Buffy had as well.

 

She fidgeted nervously back and forth, waiting for one of them to say something, watching their faces. Willow’s was a sign of something akin to satisfaction, a smile creasing her face. Oz’s on the other hand was guarded and blank as he gazed at the woman that once held his heart in the palm of her hand.

 

“Oz,” she said again, her smile firmly in place as she walked up to him, only frowning when he stepped away from her, moving back so he was standing next to Dawn. “I didn’t know you were coming… you should have called…”

 

“I didn’t come for you,” Oz said quietly, Dawn winced at the tinge of bitterness, of anger that she heard in his voice.

 

“Wha-at?” Willow frowned, shock fleeting before it vanished into a look of inquisitiveness. “Then who…?”

 

“I came to see Buffy,” he said shortly. Only pausing for a moment before shoving his hands into his jeans pockets and staring at her defiantly. Almost as if he was daring her to oppose him.

 

“Buffy? Why would you come to see Buffy?” A little laugh escaped her lips.

 

“Oz has demon problems,” Dawn said glancing over at a silent Oz. His mood had taken such a dark turn and she thought it might have something to do with what she had told him before Willow’s arrival.

 

About Willow and the others doing the spell that pulled her out of Heaven.

 

“Demon problems… Why didn’t you say so… We can go to the Magic Box…” Willow smiled.

 

“Actually we just need Buffy’s help to track it. No research needed.”

 

“Oh,” Willow frowned. “Well she… you know just got back, she’s probably not really in the mood for a road trip. She’s trying to get back in the swing of things…”

 

“Actually I’ve already talked to her; we’re leaving as soon as she gets back from Spikes.”

 

“Oh… Well… So how’ve you been?”

 

 

**************************************************************************************

 

 

Buffy was scowling as she came through the front door. Dealing with Spike should definitely earn her a second spot in Heaven.

 

She’d managed to dodge all his sexual innuendoes, managed to make it safely out of his crypt without giving into her recent addiction to the lips of Spike and managed to acquire his agreement that he would patrol for her while she was off helping Oz.

 

But still… now she was frustrated, the agreements had come to readily and she didn’t like that.

 

In the past that meant that he was up to something.

 

“Oz? Dawn? Are we ready?” she called as she shoved her keys into her coat pocket. “Dawn? Oz?”

 

“We’re in the kitchen Buffy,” she heard Dawn’s voice, sounding strangely strained.

 

“What are you guys doing? I thought you were going to stop at the grocery store and pick up…” Buffy drawled off as she entered the kitchen, stopping just in the doorway she saw what looked like battle lines being drawn.

 

Willow standing on one side of the counter. Oz and Dawn on the other.

 

“Will… I was going to call you before we left,” Buffy stated as she moved to stand on the other side of Oz.

 

“Really… you weren’t going to invite me to come along?”

 

“What? No, it’s just a quick trip, go, take care of a demon, come back. Couple of day’s tops,” Buffy shrugged.

 

“Then why are you taking Dawn? She has classes and then isn’t your dad taking her for break?” Willow asked crossing her arms over her chest, suspicion etched into every pore on her face.

 

“Dad cancelled,” Buffy frowned as Dawn grinned wildly. “Yes you were right,” she sighed.

 

“School?”

 

Buffy and Dawn both scowled at her. Since when did they have to answer to Willow? She wasn’t Dawn’s guardian, did nothing more than live with them.

 

Hell she didn’t even pay rent.

 

“Oz?” Buffy asked stiffly, eyes narrowed as she glanced over at the silent male.

 

“Two days worth of class work in her bag in the van,” Oz said quietly. He made a show of looking down at his watch then turned to the two Summer’s women. “We should go if we want to beat rush hour traffic…”

 

“Okay… Dawn will you grab my bag?” Buffy asked her sister. “It’s right inside my bedroom door.”

 

“Sure,” Dawn mumbled. Eyes flickering between the three silent figures as she left the room.

 

“What about patrolling?”

 

“Spike’s going to take care of it… I really don’t see what the big deal is,” Buffy muttered in frustration. “Oz came to me for help, I agreed, I’ve made sure that everything will be taken care of in my absence… You’re not my mother Willow; I don’t need to explain myself to you.”

 

“I know,” Willow said softly. “It’s just you and Oz… you guys aren’t even friends…”

 

“Sure we are,” Buffy smiled. “Just because you guys broke up doesn’t mean that the rest of us can’t be friends with him.”

 

“I didn’t say that…”

 

“This trip is about Dawn and I getting a chance to spend some time together, without worrying about all the stuff we’ve had to worry about lately. The fact that I’m giving Oz a helping hand is just an added bonus.”

 

“I know that… I know you and Dawn need some bonding time, but… we normally do this stuff as a team. You know the Slayers and the Scoobies.”

 

“I’m sure if I need any backup Oz will be more than enough,” Buffy said confidently. “Unless you think that he can’t handle himself as well you guys can…”

 

“No, no…” Willow looked between the two of them before sighing. “You’ll call if you need any help?”

 

“Of course.”

 

 

**************************************************************************************

 

 

Oz glanced over at his co-pilot. Four hours and she hadn’t said more than two words.

 

He thought part of it was because of the scene with Willow before they had left.

 

He knew that he had been unfair to his ex-girlfriend. But part of him, the part that considered Buffy one of his friends regardless of her status as Willow’s best friend hated the fact that Buffy had been torn out of Heaven. Blamed the Scoobies, Willow and Xander for not doing enough research to determine where the Slayer had been.

 

He would have felt differently he knew if she had been in a Hell dimension. With everything she had been through one thing Buffy didn’t need was more torment.

 

Her entire life had been more than filled with its fair share of trials and tribulations.

 

Looking at the van clock he tried to determine where exactly they were. They would have to stop for the night. The altercation with Willow had put them slightly behind schedule, and while he didn’t need a lot of sleep he did need some. Plus if he remembered correctly Buffy didn’t have her license.

 

Something about bad luck with cars.

 

“Any preference in motels?” he asked quietly, Dawn was sleeping lounged out in the back and he didn’t want to wake her until they stopped.

 

“What?” Buffy looked over at him with something akin to surprise.

 

“Motel? Preference? For sleeping?”

 

“Something clean I guess, and cheap,” she sighed.

 

“Clean and cheap, okay,” Oz nodded as he began scanning the off ramps for a suitable one. “Okay.”

 

 

**************************************************************************************

 

 

An hour later Oz looked up as he felt Buffy approach him. She and Dawn had been getting ready for bed and he had given them some privacy to do so.

 

He’d offered to get two rooms but Buffy had told him that was stupid.

 

Get one room, with two beds, she told him. For a moment his breathing had hitched and his pulse had quickened as all sorts of erotic images that had no place in his mind flew to the forefront. It had taken him about thirty seconds and several deep breaths before he’d managed to pull his mind out of the gutter and he’d realized that she was going to share a bed with her sister.

 

He’d had thoughts like it before. Buffy was an attractive woman afterall and he was half-human.

 

Those images had only been made worse and come at an alarming frequency after Xander had that spell cast a few years prior and he’d seen her naked.

 

He’d lied of course. Told both her and Willow that he hadn’t seen much of anything. When in actuality, his fantasies now had full blown color photos to work from.

 

Those fantasies had died out as he and Will had gotten more and more serious. He wasn’t the cheating kind, and Buffy was dealing with Angelus, and then Angel coming back from Hell.

 

By the time Will and Xander had managed to rip out and stomp all over his and Cordy’s still beating hearts he’d considered Buffy a very good friend.

 

Who he didn’t spend a lot of time with.

 

Torn from his musing by the Slayer settling next to him he could smell her vanilla body lotion heavy in the air.

 

“Dawn asleep?” he asked quietly.

 

“Yeah,” she laughed. “She woke up long enough to brush her teeth and change into her PJ’s.”

 

“Why aren’t you asleep?” Oz studied her profile. Her eyes were drawn and pinched. She looked tired.

 

“Not really tired.”

 

Oz let it go for the time being. Instead concentrating on the sound of the traffic passing by. It was three nights from the full moon and his senses were heightened by that fact.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“Me? I’m fine,” she laughed hollowly. “Just fine.”

 

“You don’t look fine.”

 

She sighed softly, brushing a strand of hair away from her face, her eyes distant as she stared out into the night. “It’s just…”

 

“Just what?”

 

“It’s just sometimes I don’t understand why they brought me back… I mean I know they thought I was trapped in Hell or whatever… but still… They just brought me back and left…”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Well they brought me back, no party or nothing. They just get upset because I’m not thanking them for dragging me back. So I do, then they say well just sit right down here Buffy while we tell you that you’re broke and soon you and Dawn are going to be living on the street. Then when they finally do find out the truth… that I was in Heaven instead of Hell what do they do? They cast a spell, except the spell goes wacky and we all lose our memories and almost die. And Giles leaves anyway…” Buffy glanced guiltily over at the young man sitting silently next to her. “Sorry.”

 

“Don’t be,” Oz stared out at nothing, remaining quiet for a moment. When he actually spoke it startled her she was so unprepared for it. “Someday,” he started quietly. “Someday it’s going to be okay.”

 

“Really? Because right now life is pretty much sucking.”

 

“It’s rough, getting back in the swing of things after being out of them for so long. Time, patience, friends you can count on…”

 

Buffy sat still for a moment before turning to him.

 

“You’re a good man Oz,” she said softly. “Willow was a fool not to snap you back up when she had the chance.”

 

Pressing a soft kiss to his cheek she stood and went back inside leaving Oz alone once more.

 

Closing his eyes he reached a hand up to his cheek and gently touched the spot where her lips had been. A smile curving his lips.

 

Sometimes he wished that he was a different person.

 

Someone who could take advantage of a girl obviously in a weakened state.

 

If he was Devon he would grab her and kiss her until she didn’t remember who Angel or Riley were, until he couldn’t picture Willow’s face in his mind.

 

And he wouldn’t let her go.

 

But he wasn’t Devon, he was honorable and if something was going to happen between them.

 

Well Buffy would have to be the one to make the first move.

 

 

**************************************************************************************

 

 

Buffy watched the scenery fly by with tired eyes.

 

She’d had a nightmare last night. That in itself wasn’t noteworthy. What was noteworthy was when she had finally woken, sweat drenching her body, breathing heavy and labored she had noticed Oz, kneeling beside the bed stroking her shoulder gently.

 

They hadn’t spoken of it. He’d made sure she was awake, then went to the bathroom to get her a wet washcloth.

 

Coming back into the room to find her sitting on the edge of her bed, face buried in her hands. And she knew that he knew she was crying. Steady streams of tears leaking down her cheeks, her shoulders shaking.

 

He had smiled wanly down at her before taking her hand, moving her to his bed so they wouldn’t wake Dawn and sat next to her as she pressed the wet cloth to her forehead.

 

They hadn’t said a word, he’d just rubbed her back in small soothing circles as she’d sobbed. The terror of waking in her coffin fading in the comfort of his touch.

 

He’d had her lay down on his bed, sitting next to her he’d kept watch and she was sure that was one of the reasons that her nightmare hadn’t returned.

 

When she’d woken she’d been alone in the room. Dawn and Oz had left to go get breakfast giving her the privacy needed to pull herself back together. The whole time she was showering and dressing she had to wonder if she would ever feel whole again.

 

If she would ever feel like she belonged.

 

When they had returned, takeout breakfast from some fast-food place in hand she’d waited for him to say something. Instead he had decided that they should eat in the van and get back on the road.

 

She glanced over at him, sunglasses perched on his nose, fingers tapping out the beat to the song playing on the steering wheel.

 

Dawn in the back, reclining on her stomach as she flipped through a magazine, feet swinging to the beat of the music resounding through her headphones.

 

“What’s wrong?” he queried curiously.

 

He knew of course. He’d been awakened the moment her nightmare had started, even across the room he could feel her strained movements, hear the gasps for air. When he’d seen her hands clench and dig at her sides he’d known what was happening.

 

Something out of his control had forced him to move to her. To touch her, to offer comfort where he was sure she’d never got any before.

 

“I…” Buffy looked away, staring out the window. “I wanted to thank you,” she said softly.

 

He shrugged glancing over at her. Her posture was rigid, stiff. Had she even had a chance to relax when they’d brought her back? Or had they just shoved the duties of the Slayer back on her?

 

“Nothing to thank me for,” he stated quietly. “You would have done the same for me.”

 

Buffy turned to him, his eyes hidden behind the glasses she couldn’t see them but she knew that he was sincere. But she had to wonder… would she have offered her assistance, her comfort as freely as he’d offered his?

 

“Still…”

 

“It’s been rough for you,” he commented.

 

Buffy closed her eyes, glancing over her shoulder she saw still firmly ensconced in her magazine, headphones still on her head.

 

“It’s been rough for a while,” she confirmed. “I told you some of it last night…”

 

“I know… I’m sorry that Will did that you.”

 

“Not your fault… although next time I die I’m thinking about leaving behind a living will. You know like those ones that say do not resuscitate except mine’ll say do not bring me back from the dead,” she quipped, attempting to lighten the mood.

 

“Probably a good idea,” Oz smiled at her.

 

“So tell me about this place we’re going? Is it pretty? Peaceful?”

 

“It’s beautiful, it’s peaceful… you’ll love it,” Oz grinned. If there was one thing he loved talking about it, it was his new home. Turning the music down he started telling her about it.

 

And didn’t question why it was suddenly so important that she love it as much as he did.

 

 

**************************************************************************************

 

 

 

TBC