DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the buffy characters, Joss Whedon does and this is just for fun.
NOTES: This is fairly short. Rated G. Hope you like it.
TIMELINE: Fourth season. No spoilers, though.

Xander held her hand as the ambulence sped through the deserted Sunnydale streets. The constant beep let him know she was still with him and the blood on his hand reminded him why they were there. He brushed some hair off her face.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered.

When they reached the hospital, Xander waited in the lobby. Minutes later, the doctor came into the lobby. Xander looked at his face and for the first time in 5 years, Xander began to cry.

Willow clung to Oz's arm, hardly able to breathe through her tears. Oz held her, looking solemn and sad. Joyce Summers closed the bathroom door and Giles stared unblinking out the window in silence. Xander stared at his hands, the blood still there.

"How?" asked Oz.

"I was going to the Bronze. Stopped to get some coffee. If only..." his voice trailed off.

"How did she die, Xander?" asked Giles.

"She took on too many vamps at once. They threw her against a crypt wall and she cut her head. I found them feeding on her and was able to scare them away."

The room went silent again.

Angel approached the fresh grave.

"Buffy Ann Summers
1981-2000
Friend, Daughter, Protecter" read the tombstone.

"I'm so sorry Buffy, I never should have left," he said, kneeling at her grave.

"It's not your fault, Angel," came a voice.

"Willow," said Angel, turning. Willow placed some flowers at Buffy's grave.

"It is my fault," he said, "I should have been with her. If only I hadn't left."

"Everyone's saying 'if only,' Angel. If only I didn't have a wicca meeting, if only Xander had left the house 2 minutes earlier, if only she hadn't gone alone, if only we hadn't fought.." Willow's voice choked up, "we had a fight over something that seems so stupid now. The last thing I said to her before she left was, 'you're a self-centered spoiled brat.' I'm so sorry, Buffy, I'm so sorry." She was too choked up to talk anymore.

Angel held her as she cried, tears sliding down his own cheek, the first time he had cried in over 200 years.

"I loved her too, Willow, but I'm sure she wouldn't want us to be here crying over her. She would want us to move on with our lives. You know she would."

"I guess so," replied Willow, sniffling.

"Come on, lets get out of here, ok?"

The two left the graveyard in silence. If only they had turned before they left, they would have seen the ghost of Buffy Ann Summers smiling.

If only...

Back to Main Page
Back to Fanfic Page
Back to AngelE's Stories