Chapter Text
Part 1
INT – A LAWYER'S OFFICE - DAY
Giles is dressed in a business suit, sitting behind the desk, obviously a lawyer. Buffy stands in front of his desk. Lawyer-Giles straightens his tie, looks down at the papers on his desk, then looks up at Buffy.
You do understand, Ms. Summers, that as a lawyer I find this agreement to be questionable at best?
BUFFY
But I want this house so much.
LAWYER-GILES
(raises an eyebrow)
A few years ago you were arguing in court that you had never agreed to the third lease and therefore should not be legally bound by it.
BUFFY
I know, I know. But...I want to live here again.
LAWYER-GILES
And you promise to vacate the premises promptly when the term is up?
BUFFY
Yes.
LAWYER-GILES
(sighs)
Very well, Ms. Summers. Sign on the dotted line.
DISSOLVES TO:
INT – THE LIVING ROOM OF BUFFY'S CHILDHOOD HOME IN LOS ANGELES
It is a year or two after the flashback scene we saw in "The Weight of the World." It is a few days before Christmas. Child-Buffy, about 6 or 7 years old, is the only person in the room. There is a large, decorated Christmas tree with presents piled beneath it. One of the gifts is unusually large. It is wrapped in Christmas paper that has Santa Claus on his sleigh with his reindeer flying around the world.
Child-Buffy approaches it as though she thinks it is magical. She reaches out and touches it tentatively, with longing.
DISSOLVES TO:
The same room on Christmas morning. Younger-Joyce, Younger-Hank, Child-Buffy, and Toddler-Dawn are unwrapping the presents. At last all the gifts except the large one are unwrapped. Child-Buffy closes her eyes with excitement, waiting for the box to be handed to her. But instead, Younger-Joyce comes over to her, puts her arm around her, and says:
(gently)
I'm sorry, Buffy. That one isn't for you, it's for Dawn. You understand, don't you sweetheart?
DISSOLVES TO:
The same room later that day. Toddler-Dawn is rolling a giant stuffed globe around the floor and laughing merrily, as Child-Buffy watches in silence.
Child-Buffy stands up, and as she does so, she morphs into her young adult self while the room shrinks around her. She hits her head on the ceiling.
Buffy turns to Joyce, who is now smaller than she is, and says:
I know, Mom. It's not for me. I'm the grown-up.
Buffy reaches down, picks up the torn Santa Claus paper off the floor, crumples it up, and throws it in the trash.
DISSOLVES TO:
INT – A HOSPITAL
Buffy lies on a bed, apparently donating blood. Blood flows from her arm through a tube into one bag after another after another. Whistler, dressed as a doctor, keeps on changing the bags, collecting more and more blood. Buffy's blood spatters on
Whistler's hospital scrubs. Giles sits by Buffy's bed, holding her hand.
Haven't I given enough already?
GILES
I'm sorry, Buffy
(he weeps)
From the neck down, Buffy's body becomes a skeleton on the bed. She looks down at her body, then up at Whistler.
But I've been stripped to the bone.
WHISTLER
Sorry, kid. You have to give the marrow up, too.
DISSOLVES TO:
INT – THE MANSION IN SUNNYDALE
Angel, Drusilla, and Spike watch as Buffy hurries about, rummaging through drawers, looking for something.
I know it's here somewhere.
ANGEL
Are you sure you left it here?
BUFFY
I – I think so. But maybe – maybe it was in the gym. Or maybe it was in the pool...
DRUSILLA
(chants in a sing-song voice)
Fire and water, fire and water, burned and drowned, burned and drowned.
SPIKE
Don't forget stabbed through the heart.
DRUSILLA
What are you looking for dearie?
SPIKE
You know perfectly well what she's looking for.
DRUSILLA
Ring around the rosy, pocket full of posy, ashes, ashes, we all fall down.
Drusilla dances in a circle, then collapses to the floor, laughing. She looks up at Buffy.
Maybe it's after you. Maybe it's chasing you. Maybe it will sneak up on you.
Drusilla gets up onto all fours and begins to crawl around, imitating a kitten's playful stalking.
You left it behind, abandoned it, walked away –
SPIKE
(interrupting)
She had no choice.
DRUSILLA
No choice, no choice, no choice at all. She left it behind and then when she thought it was gone forever -
Drusilla pounces on an invisible ball, and laughs again.
DISSOLVES TO:
EXT – THE ALLEY BEHIND THE BRONZE - NIGHT
Spike kneels before Buffy as he did in the "you're beneath me" scene in "Fool for Love."
What are you afraid of, Slayer?
BUFFY
What if the time comes when I should want it again—and I don't?
SPIKE
(There's something ancient in his gaze)
Fire or fire, love. Fire or fire.
DISSOLVES TO:
EXT - THE DESERT - NIGHT
Buffy, Faith, and the First Slayer sit around the fire.
Are we more than just a sacrifice?
BUFFY
It's what a Slayer is.
THE FIRST SLAYER
It is.
FAITH
Sucks.
BUFFY
(shrugs)
FAITH
You fight for the world, B., but you never fight for yourself.
BUFFY
(shrugs again)
DISSOLVES TO:
INT – BUFFY'S BEDROOM IN SUNNYDALE - DAY
Buffy and Dawn sit on the bed. Dawn holds a digital clock in her hands. It reads 7:30.
Buffy, I know you bought it for me. It's the best present anyone ever gave me. But...
(She pauses)
You know I can't keep it, right?
BUFFY
But I want you to have it.
DAWN
It's only a loan. It's not really mine. I have to give it back. I'm sorry, Buffy.
DISSOLVES TO:
INT – THE LIVING ROOM OF BUFFY'S HOUSE IN SUNNYDALE
Buffy, Dawn, and Glory sit around the coffee table, playing a card game. The cards are Tarot cards.
You're cheating, you know. You both are.
Spike walks into the room, sits down on the couch.
I'm in.
GLORY
Are you going to cheat too?
Spike morphs into William, who then morphs from a young man into an old man.
(looks at Glory thoughtfully, then says very quietly)
No. I'm not.
DISSOLVES TO:
INT – THE STAIRWELL OF BUFFY'S HOUSE IN SUNNYDALE
Buffy walks down the stairs. William is waiting for her at the bottom. William has the present wrapped in Santa Claus paper. He holds it out to Buffy.
It's for you.
Buffy reaches the bottom of the stairs. William hands the present to her. She unwraps it carefully, not tearing or crumpling the paper. She lifts the giant globe out of the box.
But it's only for a little while, isn't it?
WILLIAM
(closes his eyes as though in pain, and nods)
Yes. It's only for a little while.
DISSOLVES TO:
INT – THE LIVING ROOM OF BUFFY'S CHILDHOOD HOME IN LOS ANGELES
We see both Buffy and William as children - both about 6 or 7 years old. They are curled up on either side of Younger Joyce on the couch, as she reads aloud from Charlotte's Web.
The crickets sang in the grasses. They sang the song of summer's ending, a sad, monotonous song. "Summer is over and gone," they sang. "Over and gone, over and gone. Summer is dying, dying."
The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everyone that summertime cannot last forever. Even on the most beautiful days in the whole year—the days when summer is changing into fall—the crickets spread the rumor of sadness and change.
Child-William starts to cry. Child-Buffy laughs and hands him a tissue.
(to Child-William)
Don't worry, silly. Only one summer has to die.
WILLIAM morphs from a child into a man. Tears stream down his face.
No, Buffy. Don't you see? They all do.
FADE TO BLACK
*