Chapter Forty-Five
A/N: Songs are “Hum Hallelujah” by Fall Out Boy and “Landing Feet First” by Bayside. And this is the last chapter… until the sequel…
*
Nearly four weeks later… Friday….
The Bronze was packed for the first Dingoes show in over a month, and Buffy was thankful she’d arrived early with the band. There wasn’t a seat open in the entire club, but she was happier close to the stage with her friends. The past two weeks had been difficult for everyone, and it was finally time to celebrate.
Brad Stephens was in prison. Buffy couldn’t remember everything he had been convicted of, but she knew he wouldn’t be up for parole any time soon. He’d been given sixteen years for the two rape charges alone.
Dawn was faring better in school. While she was almost positive Kurt and his friends still had plenty to talk about where she was concerned, the new threat of violence from Jocelyn kept them quiet.
Spike had finished moving into the house, and Mike was busy moving into Spike’s old bedroom. Emily was overjoyed to have her daddy at home permanently. Dawn didn’t even seem too upset that the sleepovers with her boyfriend were over, though the fact Oz was now a frequent visitor to the Summers home probably helped.
Buffy smiled as she watched her sister on stage, smiling at Oz as he handed her a bottle of water. She looked happy, and Buffy wasn’t sure she’d ever truly seen her that way; not entirely. She was also back to her normal, unique self. Tonight she’d gone all out, letting Emily help her prepare her outfit, which included a purple handkerchief skirt, pink tights, and combat boots. Jocelyn had promised the little girl a “Dawn movie” for the next morning after breakfast, since she was staying over after the show.
Jocelyn had surprised Buffy the most in the past months. With Brad out of her life, the girl seemed to be coming out of her shell. Buffy was thankful Ms. Ames was such a great foster mom. She’d hosted a couple of Dawn/Jocelyn sleepovers, and had even allowed the girls to raid her attic for clothes she’d worn in her younger days. Buffy and Spike had recently had dinner with her, and the elderly woman hadn’t blinked an eye at Spike’s bleached hair and leather coat.
Tonight Jocelyn was behind her camcorder, as usual, but she no longer seemed like she was using it to hide. In one of Ms. Ames’ peasant blouses, and a borrowed pair of boots from Dawn, she looked adorable. Buffy had caught more than one boy pause to look her way, and wondered how long it would be before the girl had a date.
“Everybody ready?” Spike spoke into the microphone, and Buffy turned towards the stage, sharing a quick smile with Willow as the people around them shouted in anticipation.
“It’s been awhile, but I’m sure you’re all aware we had business to attend to,” Spike continued.
“I hope that freak rots!” a male voice cried out from the crowd.
Spike chuckled. “You and me both, mate. But everything that’s thrown at us just gives us more music. First one tonight’s for a few of those who weren’t so supportive.”
Simon and Oz started the song off to cheers, with Devon joining in on rhythm. Spike waited for several moments before he began to sing, with Oz backing him up.
“It’s all a game of this or that, now versus then,
Better off against worse for wear…
And you’re someone,
Who knows someone,
Who knows someone I once knew,
And I just want to be a part of this.
The road outside my house, is paved with good intentions,
Hired a construction crew, ‘cause it’s hell on the engine.
And you are the dreamer, and we are the dream.
I could write it better than you ever
felt it.
“So hum hallelujah,
Just off the key of reason,
I thought I loved you, and it was just how you looked in the light.
A teenage vow in a parking lot, ‘til tonight do us part.
I’ll sing the blues and
you swallow them, too.
“My words are my faith, to hell with our good name,
Remix up your guts, your insides x-rayed.
And one day we’ll get nostalgic for disaster.
We’re a bull, your ears are just a china shop.
I love you in the same way there’s a chapel in a hospital,
One foot in your bedroom, and one foot out the door.
Sometimes we take chances, sometimes we take pills.
I could write it better than you ever felt it.”
Buffy danced in place, laughing with Dru and Xander as they band played the chorus again. Dawn and Oz had put together a great song, with only a little help from everyone else.
But the bridge had been Spike’s idea.
The music quieted suddenly, with Simon’s drums keeping a manic beat before Dawn, Oz, and Spike began to sing, sounding a lot like a church choir.
“Hallelujah….
Hallelujah…
Hallelujah…”
Spike broke off, singing on his own as Oz accompanied him on the guitar, leading the band back into another chorus, and Buffy shouted along with everyone else in the crowd, clapping her hands above her head.
The Dingoes gave their audience a moment to voice their opinion once the song was over, then went into the next song of their set, feeding off the energy from the crowd.
“That kicked ass!” Willow shouted over the music, obviously proud of Oz and Dawn.
Buffy smiled in agreement, but hearing the familiar chords of one of the band’s most popular songs, the memory of her first time back in the Bronze struck her with force, nearly taking her breath away. She could hardly believe she’d been standing in almost the same place less than a year ago, feeling miserable and completely alone.
At the time, she’d felt like an outsider, an enemy. She’d never imagined she could ever be close to her sister again, or her friends. And Spike… he’d seemed like a dream, too impossible to ever believe had actually happened.
Catching her eye from the stage, Spike winked at her as he shouted out his brutal lyrics, letting her know they didn’t mean what they once had. Buffy only shook her head at him, grinning.
The night flew by with dancing and drinks, and Buffy was feeling slightly tipsy when she noticed the music had stopped. The band had barely taken a second to catch the breath through their set, so she curiously looked towards the stage to see Spike waiting for everyone to quiet down.
“If you’ll give us a moment, I’m going to have to ask our loveliest member to exit the stage.” Dawn looked at Spike in confusion, but he only waved her towards the steps. “Go on, bite-size.” Shrugging, the teen left her keyboards, making her way to the floor. “And Red, if you’d please take Joss’s camera.”
Jocelyn jumped, startled that her name had been mentioned, and she let Willow take the camcorder from her as if she were paralyzed. Spike only gestured for her to join Buffy and Dawn, and the girl obediently did so. Spike smiled at their puzzlement. “They’ve got that deer in the headlights thing going for them, don’t they?” he laughed, the crowd joining him.
“Thing is,” he continued, “these three girls… they’re family. To me, and to my guitarist over here.” Oz only nodded, smiling in an almost shy way, which caused Dawn to blush to the roots of her hair. “They’ve been through a hell most of you wouldn’t watch a movie about. I’d go on, but I think Jocelyn might hyperventilate if everyone keeps staring at her. But unless I singled her out, she’d never believe she was a part of this, too.” Jocelyn managed a smile that looked more like a cringe. “Anyway, Oz and I managed to keep this one under wraps until now. This is ‘Landing Feet First.’”
Oz began with a soft melody, only strumming quietly as Spike joined him.
“If our world falls down tomorrow,
You be sure I’ll be there with a net.
To catch the pieces falling,
And I was always there.
And I was always there.
I was always there,
But you just… never knew where.
Ay oh, ay oh, I hope you weren’t waiting long.
I hope this night makes up for time lost.
Ay oh, ay oh, feels like I met you years ago,
And we’re picking up right where we left off.”
The rest of the band came in then, creating a beautiful sound for a few moments, but only Simon followed Spike and Oz into the next verse. Buffy smiled as Oz joined Spike in singing, his eyes firmly fixed on her sister.
“I’ve considered what it’d be like,
If the ocean poured in
From both of the coasts.
And we set sail to find out
Just where our boat would go.
But I don’t think that I’d want to know.
‘Cause it would just make time
So I could see your smile,
With our brand new life in tow.”
The rest of the Dingoes joined in again for another chorus, and Buffy couldn’t seem to stop the flow of her tears. Dawn was laughing and crying at once, with Jocelyn hiding her face against her friend’s shoulder, though her grin was easily visible.
“And if I’m on the road
For another thousand years or so,
I hope you know a part of me is at home.
And I traded brick for straw,
In the house I built around my heart,
So when you came it wouldn’t be so tough,
No ‘huff and puff’ could dismantle us,
No ‘huff and puff’ could dismantle us.”
Oz started in on his solo, the entire Bronze cheering him along before he helped Spike finish the song.
“Ay oh, ay oh, I hope you weren’t waiting long.
I hope this night makes up for time lost.
Ay oh, ay oh, feels like I met you years ago,
And we’re picking up right where we left off,
Right where we left off…”
The stage went quiet, and Spike paid no attention to the roars of approval echoing through the club; his eyes were fixed on Buffy alone. Wiping her tears away, she could do nothing but smile, but it seemed like enough for him. He smiled back, looking a little bashful as he bid the Bronze goodnight.
*
It was nearly three in the morning before Buffy was in her pajamas, and she could still hear Dawn and Jocelyn giggling down the hall, most likely on the phone with Oz. Spike had crossed the street to collect Emily and put her in her own bed, since she was adamant about having breakfast with the older girls in the morning.
Hearing Spike’s footsteps on the stairs, she met him in the hall and followed him into Emily’s room, where they tucked their sleeping daughter into bed. Spike made no move to leave the room, and Buffy studied him quietly for awhile before speaking. “What’s on your mind?” she whispered.
A bemused smile touched his lips. “Hard to say,” he replied. “Just thinking about how it’s over, and how it’s all starting, too.”
Buffy smiled, reaching across the bed to take his hand. He squeezed his fingers gently around hers.
“Did you… is this what you wanted?” she couldn’t help but ask. “I mean, when I came back?”
“Wanted it before that,” Spike answered immediately, his eyes meeting hers. “Wanted it before I even knew what it meant, before I could understand it, really. When you came back…” he shook his head. “I didn’t believe in things like this. I was too bitter for it. What about you?”
“I guess I was too afraid to even consider it. I thought the best we’d manage was being civil to each other, and trading Emmy off.” She let out a sad laugh. “That was my fairytale, at the time.”
They walked quietly out of the room, and Spike shut the door behind them once they were in their bedroom. It hadn’t changed much since he’d moved in, besides a framed poster of The Clash above the bed. It didn’t really match anything else, but Buffy didn’t mind.
“What about now?” Spike asked her as they climbed under the blankets, and he turned off the light. “Is this your fairytale, love?”
“No,” she replied, but before Spike could be hurt by her answer, she explained. “Fairytales are for people who need something, that are missing something. I can’t think of a single thing I’m missing right now.”
Spike smiled in the darkness. He couldn’t
have said it any better.
