ACT IV
INT. FONTAINE HOUSE - BEDROOM
Xander sits on the bed, channel surfing as he
"meditates". Lucy knocks gently on the door frame.
XANDER
Hey.
LUCY
Any luck?
XANDER
So far? No. Every time I think of
something the butterfly effect keeps
popping up. So far I've got hell on
earth.
Switches channel
XANDER
Meteorite hits earth.
Switches channel
XANDER
Thousands of people eaten by goats.
Switches channel
XANDER
Attacked by flying monkeys.
Switches channel.
XANDER
Hell on earth again.
LUCY
Flying Monkeys?
XANDER
That's what would happen if I gave
Andrew permanent pimples.
Lucy chuckles as Xander sighs.
LUCY
Did you think to wish for-
XANDER
Liv?
Lucy nods with a worried luck on her face.
XANDER
I tried. If I try anything to keep her
safe it... well the butterfly effect
again.
LUCY
Really? Why?
XANDER
She's not just a slayer, but one of the
chosen slayers. There's pack load of
fate and destiny riding on her back.
LUCY
Do any of your visions tell you...
XANDER
No. I don't know what will happen with
her. Too many possibilities.
Lucy frowns.
XANDER
Maybe I should just ask for a glass of
water and be done with it.
LUCY
You'll do the right thing.
XANDER
How do you know?
LUCY
Just who you are.
Xander flips the channels a couple more times,
going past a music channel.
LUCY
Back up a few.
Xander backs up to the music channel. It's playing
a song.
MUSIC
Oh! Why you look so sad?
Tears are in your eyes
Come on and come to me now
Lucy pulls Xander off the bed.
XANDER
What's this?
LUCY
My favorite slow song. Dance with me
birthday boy.
MUSIC
Don't be ashamed to cry
Let me see you through
'Cause I've seen the dark side too
XANDER
Cheery lyrics.
Lucy puts her head on Xander's chest and her arms
around his waist.
LUCY
Shhh.
The two dance slowly together while cuddling.
MUSIC
When the night falls on you
You don't know what to do
Nothing you confess
Could make me love you less
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
Willow comes to the door of room and is about to
say something when she sees Xander dancing.
Xander's back is to her. She smiles and watches
the two dance
MUSIC
So if you're mad, get mad
Don't hold it all inside
Come on and talk to me now
A wistful look crosses Willow's face.
MUSIC
Hey, what you got to hide?
I get angry too
Well, I'm a lot like you
Willow quietly walks away. Xander turns and looks
at the doorway.
MUSIC
When you're standing at the crossroads
And don't know which path to choose
Let me come along
'Cuz even if you're wrong...
LUCY
What is it?
XANDER
I've got an idea.
LUCY
Do you want me to leave?
Xander smiles
XANDER
Let's finish the dance first.
Lucy smiles and they lean in to kiss each other.
MUSIC
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
Take me in, into your darkest hour
And I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you.
FADE MUSIC FADE TO:
INT. FONTAINE LIVING ROOM
Xander walks down the steps from upstairs and into
the living room. Everyone one looks at Xander with
anticipation.
LUCY
So did you do it?
Xander nods. Maya walks in from the foyer carrying
a box.
MAYA
Hey Xander? This package just arrived
for you.
Xander gets excited.
XANDER
Open it!
Everyone looks intently as Maya tears off the
paper wrapping to reveal-
JORDY
The special edition DVD of "The Ghost
and Mr. Chicken"?
XANDER
Yes! It came!
WILLOW
Xander! I can't believe you!
XANDER
What?
WILLOW
You wasted a wish on something that,
first of all, you can't watch and
second... hello! Ever hear of Amazon?
XANDER
Don't be a goof. I didn't wish for this.
I bought it for myself.
LUCY
Still a waste though.
XANDER
Shush.
WILLOW
Well... then, what did you wish for?
XANDER
I thought about it and decided that if
there was anyone who deserved something
good, it had to be for my best bud.
Willow, and pretty much everyone else is floored.
WILLOW
You... you wished for me? But... what
did you say?
Xander smiles.
XANDER
"I wish for Willow to have the one thing
she needs to be completely happy."
Buffy scrunches her face in thought.
BUFFY
One thing that would make her-?
Dawn's eyes almost pop out of her head. She
squeals and begins to jump up and down.
BUFFY
What's with you?
DAWN
I know! I know! I know what it is!
Giles goes pale in realization.
GILES
Oh dear lord.
Willow whimpers and her forehead gets that crinkly
thing she gets when she's worried. She swallows
hard.
WILLOW
Okay... getting a little scared here.
XANDER
It's okay Will. I checked this out. It's
nothing but good.
WILLOW
But what is it?
XANDER
Not really an "it" Will.
WILLOW
What?
From the foyer we can hear the sounds of footsteps
slowly coming down the stairs. We focus on a pair
of feet in sandals and the bottom of a skirt as it
walks into the living room. We slowly pan up until
with see the crooked smile of-
TARA
Hi.
Maya, Jordy and Liv are totally confused.
LIV
Hi.
JORDY
Hey.
MAYA
Um... Anyone care to explain Mystery
Girl?
No one does.
Willow is frozen to the spot and can't turn
around. Tears stream down Buffy and Dawn's smiling
faces. Even Giles removes his glasses and wipes
away a tear.
Lucy comes up from behind Xander and puts her arms
around his waist and her chin on his shoulder
LUCY
(whispering)
Is that who I think it is?
Xander smiles and nods.
XANDER
Turn around Will.
If Willow was a car she'd be overheating right
now. She starts fanning herself with her hands.
WILLOW
But... I... but... wha-huh..
XANDER
Can you put that in the form of English?
WILLOW
I....
Xander gently takes Willow by the shoulders and
slowly turns her around. Willow's eyes are
scrunched tight.
XANDER
Open your eyes, Will.
Willow opens her eyes. Her mouth drops open and
she starts to cry. Tara steps forward and walks up
to Willow. Tara's lips are pursed together in a
tight smile. She brushes her fingertips through
Willow's hair.
TARA
Oh. L-look at you. It's-It's okay.
Willow slowly reaches out and caresses Tara's
face.
WILLOW
Baby?
TARA
Miss me?
Willow starts to sob. She embraces Tara tightly.
Tara holds on to Willow just as hard. Willow is
sobbing so hard she's gasping for breath.
Suddenly Willow and Tara are practically tackled
by Buffy and Dawn, who are sobbing right along
with Willow.
Xander is all smiles. Lucy wipes her eyes on
Xander's shoulder and gives him a peck on the
cheek.
LUCY
Pretty nice gift there, Sparky.
GILES
(choked up)
Indeed.
Liv, Jordy and Maya? Still confused.
LIV
Okay. Am I missing something?
MAYA
Right there with ya, Mugsy.
JORDY
Ditto.
Tara looks up at Xander with her crooked grin.
TARA
Thank you.
Xander smiles back and nods.
XANDER
Welcome home.
CUT TO:
EXT. FONTAINE HOUSE - BACKYARD
Laughter and music is heard from the house
Liv exits the house carrying two bags of garbage
and carries them to the alley where she tosses
them in the trash can.
SPIKE
(OS)
He brought her back, eh?
Liv turns to see Spike leaning against the wall,
smoking a cigarette.
LIV
How do you know about-?
SPIKE
Vampire hearing. Plus I lurk. Hasn't
your watcher taught you anything?
LIV
(indignant)
He's taught me plenty. What's your
problem?
Spike looks at the house with disgust as the sound
of laughter echoes out into the alley.
SPIKE
They all forgot. You'd think they
learned the first two or three times.
LIV
Well aren't we the fortune cookie of
doom and gloom?
Spike gives liv a sharp look. He tosses the
cigarette on the ground and grinds it out with his
heel.
SPIKE
Listen up, half-pint. "Saint" Harris
might think he's done something
wonderful for the ages in there. In the
end? He's doomed us all.
LIV
For bringing her back?
SPIKE
For upsetting the natural order of
things. He should've known better. And
he's going to pay for it.
Spike sighs and walks off into the night.
SPIKE
We all are.
Liv watches Spike go and then turns toward her
house. As more laughter echoes into the alley, Liv
frowns.
FADE TO BLACK
END ACT IV
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Okay... Explaining time
This is from a challenge I made on SFA a while
back based on this tidbit I found in the trivia
section of IMDB:
"While speaking at the Wizard World Chicago
Convention in August, 2004, Joss Whedon revealed
that he had planned to bring the character of Tara
back from the dead at the end of Season 7. The
episode would have centered around Buffy being
granted one "life-altering" wish. Buffy would have struggled
the whole episode trying to decide what she wanted
to do with the wish (including, possibly,
restoring Angel's humanity). The episode would
have ended with Buffy telling Willow that she'd
just gotten a great new pair of shoes, and when
Willow asked her if she used up her wish on new
shoes, Buffy would have said, "No, silly!" and
stepped aside to reveal Tara. This plan was abandoned
when Amber Benson, who played Tara, was
unavailable for filming."
So I've had this idea gnawing away at me for... oh
a couple of months now. I originally was going to
write this story as an episode for my Oz series,
but I never seemed to be able to get the story
rolling there.
This little story has caused me more than my usual
cases of neurotic angst. Mainly because I'm
bringing back a title character who was dead. And
not just dead as in "Ooo the character died under
mystical circumstances and will be back next
season". Nope this was shot through the heart
dead, something you really don't recover from.
So... yeah. The story is freaking me out a little
bit.
But hey... could be worse. I could have brought
back Kennedy.
Disclaimer:
Forgot to add that the song is "I'll stand by you" by the Pretenders. I have no permission whatsoever to use the lyrics.
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