The Wolf, the Ram and the Hart: The Ram
by redmoon
The Ram

Buffy’s eyes were wide as Joyce smiled lovingly at her. “Hello, Buffy,” she said gently. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Buffy’s mouth hung open, her mind reeling. This was too much. She threw her arms around her mother and hugged her tight. She said nothing, gripping Joyce as hard as she could. Joyce patted her daughter’s back reassuringly. “I missed you,” Buffy whispered at last, clenching her eyes shut.

“I know, honey,” Joyce squeezed her daughter. “I’m sorry I had to go.” She stroked her hand through Buffy’s hair. “But I’m alright.”

“I’m so sorry,” Buffy whispered, her tears soaking into her mother’s shoulder. “I didn’t tell you I loved you every day,” she cried. “I should have,” she sucked in a breath, “I do love you,” she sobbed.

“I know, sweety,” Joyce caressed her. “It’s okay. I know what happened.”

Buffy sniveled and slowly pulled away. Her mother’s face was as pale as the day she had died. There was a number burned into her flesh under her left eye. “What happened when?” Buffy asked, holding her mother’s hands tight.

“When you died,” Joyce said comfortingly, “for your sister.” Buffy remembered, though it now seemed like a lifetime ago, when she had thrown herself from a platform into a portal to close it, to save the world, and to save Dawn.

“I was there,” Joyce continued. She drew her daughter into another hug. “I was with you.” Buffy returned the hug, peace washing over her. It had never been a conscious thought, but now that she knew her mother was in that place; the place Buffy had visited for a few months, a ghostly weight was removed from her, one that had become a part of who she was since her mother’s death.

“Thank you,” Buffy whispered. “I’m going to get you out of here,” she promised.

Joyce pulled away. “I know you want to, sweetheart,” the said lovingly, “but you have to go find Dawn now.”

Buffy frowned. “But you’re coming too. I’m getting everyone out, there’s got to be a way! They brought me back after all. They must be able to do it to you too,” there was a pleading in her voice.

“I know you miss me, Buffy,” she said gently, “but I’m happy where I am,” she looked around at the cave, “where I was. You take care of your sister now. That’s your job.”

“Mom,” Buffy tightened her grip on her mother’s hands as Joyce took a step back.

“I love you, Buffy,” she said in a very motherly way. “And I’ll always be with you. Both of you.” She took another step backwards and the darkness of the cave enveloped her. Buffy’s hands slipped from hers and she was left alone in the cave again, at the bottom of the shaft, a single hot tear on her cheek.

“I love you too," she answered. She stared for a moment longer into the darkness, then with a new found resolve she wiped the tear from her cheek and snatched the rope.

The climb up was easier than she had thought. She felt lighter than she had in ages. Her feet jumped deftly from foothold to foothold, her hands pulling her quickly up the rope. Before she knew it, she was hauling her legs over the edge. She considered coiling up the rope, but decided to leave it for when Willow caught up with her.

The crack of light on the far side of the shaft now shone on an empty pedestal. Buffy’s mind returned to Angel. The wound that was still fresh there didn’t seem to sting as much. He had a soul. He was in that better place now, since by no definition could the tunnel in which he had died been misconstrued as her ‘home.’

She rounded the corner in the rocky tunnel and had to shield her eyes from the bright white light coming from the tunnel entrance, low to the ground and no bigger than a manhole cover. It was the very same that Spike had dove through to escape the harmful rays.

Buffy ducked low and reentered the world of harsh light and sound. She had not intended to run through this again. The light hadn’t hurt her last time, but now she realized that she could not long withstand the sound. She sped up her pace as the screeching drilled into her eardrums.

Without realizing it, she approached the mirror-wall at a dead run and passed right through it, stopping suddenly as her world became completely black and quiet.

This story archived at: The Slayer\'s Fanfic Archive
The Slayer\\\\\\\\'s FanFic Archive - http://www.slayerfanfic.com/viewstory.php?sid=9613