This is an odd little Buffy Season Six story that I've
been wondering if I should finish. Any fans out there
let me know what you think so far....


TITLE: A Thousand Years (1/?)
AUTHOR: Foxhunt2blue
DISCLAIMER: All things Buffy belong to the Mr. Joss,
but I can dream can't I??
SUMMARY: Has anyone wondered what it's like to be torn
from Heaven's embrace, yet to still be able see and
hear beyond the veil.
WARNING: Spoilers for Seasons 6 & 5
FEEDBACK: Please! 
foxhunter2blue@yahoo.com or Kitsunegari2001@aol.com 
DEDICATION: To the Buffy-X gals. MaybeAmanda who
created a hilarious conversation (post #36) & Lizz who
suggested (post #51) what started this idea. I hope
all you guys enjoy this :D

A thousand years, a thousand more
A thousand times a million doors to eternity
I may have lived a thousand lives, a thousand times
An endless turning stairway climbs
To a tower of souls

                    Sting "A Thousand Years"

PART I


I am truly horrified, yet unable to wrap my now,
apparently inhuman brain, around what has happened to
me. What has happened to a life I once cherished
beyond all else.
A sister who wasn't a sister after all.
A decision I made to leave this world to save
aforementioned sister due to my own desperation to
find something more that I had hoped would be enough.
I wanted to die.
Couldn't they understand that? Didn't Dawnie explain
that to them or had she been so overcome with grief
that she could be that fucking selfish. I want to
scream now, but all I can do is sit on my bed, knees
drawn to my chin, crucifix clutched in one sweaty
palm.
No, not Dawn's fault.
Willow.
She was the one who had concocted the spell that sent
me tumbling from Heaven like Lucifer after the war. 
Falling.
Faster, harder, the wind rushing past me. Flaying my
skin from my body. Tearing away muscle to reveal stark
white bone that shatters to dust as I hit the earth.
Sitting up my heart pounding against the boney cage of
my ribs, air rasping through parched lips. Just
another nightmare. They are there as a constant
reminder of what I have lost. 
Has anyone wondered what it's like to be torn from
Heaven's embrace, yet to still be able see and hear
beyond the veil.
"Buffy, honey it was just a dream."
I glance up to see my mom standing in the doorway,
shaking her head. She moves across the room with an
ease that belies the fact she has been dead for a year
and a half. 
"Mom?" I croak as she smooths the quilt over my
trembling body.
"Of course silly who else would be in your room this
late?"
"But, your dead."
She cocks her head in that familiar way that used to
annoy me, as if she is trying to get inside my head.
Hands planted firmly on her hips she sighs loudly.
"Well, sweetheart of course I am." Her tone seems
patronizing, yet at the sametime sad.
I yelp holding out the crucifix trying to ward her
off. Jesus what is happening to me? 
First I'm dead, then I'm alive, but I'm not and now
I'm talking to my dead mother in my bedroom!
Flipping off the bed I dive behind it in an attempt to
hide. When there is no response I peer over the
mattress.
No mom.
Dead or otherwise.
But there is something else.
Spike.
He's crouched in the window, black coat swirling
around him as he takes another drag off his ever
present cigarette.
"Bloody hell Buffy, who yanked your chain?"
"Did you see her?!" I demand jerking up to a standing
postion. I stand so quickly my equilibrium is off,
sending me tumbling to the floor again. 
Before I can hit Spike is catching me, his arms strong
and steady around me. His touch sends me off on a
tangent. Squirming and cursing beneath my breath I try
to extricate myself from his grasp.
"Dammit all to bloody hell!" I hear him screech as my
nails dig into his undead flesh. Suddenly I'm flying
across the room, my body bouncing across the mattress
of my bed.
Then the room is quite.
Too quite.
The sound of my own heartbeat loud in my ears as Spike
grinds out his smoldering butt in the throw rug. He
clutches the side of his face, scarlet staining his
fingers as he checks the damage.
"What the hell are you doing in my room?!" I speak up.
"Blimey woman! Can't a man visit his lover when he
wants?!"
My throat closes for a moment then the anger takes
over. I know he can see it when he raises one dark
brow in annoyance. Even in the dim streetlight I can
see the ugly bleeding welts I've torn into his smooth
milky skin.
"Point one! You are not a man! Point two! WE ARE NOT 
LOVERS!!!"
I find myself panting for a breath through my clenched
teeth.
"Yeah, well keep telling yourself that Slayer
girl...if it helps you deal with what happen...,"
I cut him off mid-sentence.
"Nothing happened between us! It was just sex," I
cringe for a moment, "...and not that fantastic in the
sceme of things.
"So you never answered my question. What yanked your
chain?"
Oh, dammit he is so fucking aggravating.
"My mom," I whisper.
"Your mum?" He swipes at the drying blood on his face.
"Yes, my bloody mum!" I mimic his accent. Crossing my
arms I lean against the wall waiting for some snappy
comeback.
Nothing.
"Are you all right?" 
If I didn't know better I would think that was concern
in his voice.
"She was here...in my room."
"Hey, girl your mum is dead."
"So was I," my attempt at humor falls on deaf ears.
"Maybe I still am...," my words trail off as I met
Spike's eyes beneath a furrowed brow.
"Nah...not dead, not undead either. Your heart beats."
"Go away...please," I know my words are weak,
pathetic.
I can't trust anyone. I know I want to, but it's all
their fault I'm here. Torn from a place where I had
found peace at last.
There's a soft swish of air and I look up to see Spike
is gone.
"Buffy it's late go back to bed dear."
I jerk at the sound of my mother's voice.
"I realize that your twenty now and that you've saved
the world a thousand times over, but I'm your mother
and you need your rest. Besides you have a class
tomorrow...," 
Her words seem to fade off as I allow her icy fingers
to wrap around my arm. Guiding me gently to my bed,
tucking the covers around my shaking body.
What's happening to me?
Am I going insane?
Did I bring her back with me from wherever I was?
"Mom? Mommy?"
"Yes, Buffy."
"Are you real?"
I shudder at her soft laughter.
Close your eyes Buffy just go to sleep. Tomorrow she
will be gone just a figment of your shattered mind.
I close my eyes to what I know can not be real,
waiting for the sun to rise...

End 1/?
To be continued???