Aug. 14th - Recharging
Title: Recharging
Author: 3am_moonlight
Crossover: BtVS / The Walking Dead (TV)
Rating: Gen / Teen
Word Count: 1,401.
Timeline: BtVS: Post-Chosen & TWD: S02.
Disclaimer: The Buffyverse belongs to Joss Whedon and TWD belongs to someone with expensive lawyers.
Summary: A proper meal, a proper bed, and a not-so-good conversation for breakfast.Author's Note: Written for Day 14 of the 2019 August Fic-A-Day.
A/N: Follows ' Another Day', ' Slay Count', ' Medical Run', and ' Scavenging'.
The surgery went well after Mr. Greene got all the supplies he needed. As they weren't in a hospital there wasn't the usual equipment to keep an eye on the boy's condition and subsequently, his parents were pretty much glued to his side.
Everyone else was served food once they knew Carl was in a more stable condition. Fresh bread baked earlier that day, a simple salad, and milk were all things neither Buffy nor Tara had expected to ever taste again. At least not anytime soon. Before society collapsed it would've been a very plain meal, but after several months of nothing but water, stale crackers, and whatever happened to be in a hermetically sealed tin can it was amazing.
Thanks to the successful surgery and the return of everyone who left in the same condition they left in, the atmosphere was cheerful and generally happy. The only one who didn't entirely share the positive attitude was Shane. He kept glaring at her whenever he thought no one was looking in his direction. She caught his eye several times, but all he did was pretend like he hadn't done anything and then looked somewhere else.
It was annoying. She hadn't done anything to him or to deserve the evil eye he kept giving her, her scaring him after he wanted to leave her behind didn't count. He wasn't doing the same to Tara so whatever it was, it was definitely directed toward her.
Most of the people at the table were oblivious, a couple did notice. Carol shrank a little in on herself as if trying to avoid his bad mood and the possible consequences, which got the attention of Daryl. He followed her line of sight and gave Shane a glare, apparently under the mistaken assumption that he'd been glaring at Carol.
The entire exchange made Buffy wonder what had made the older woman so afraid of men in a bad mood. Abusive homelife as a child? Abusive relationship/marriage as an adult? One or more bad situations? Daryl's willingness to protect her got him several mental points, in addition to the ones he'd already gotten for being a hunter and willing to go out looking for a child that wasn't his.
The situation hadn't resolved itself by the time the meal was over, but she was tired and somewhere in this house there was a bed or foldout camping bed with her name on it. And when everyone began moving towards wherever they were going to sleep, she just followed her witchy friend like a lost puppy.
A more awake part of her brain noticed that most of the people went back outside to the RV and the cars parked in front of the house, rather than to bedrooms inside the house. The only other guests who remained, other than the Grimes' family, were Carol and Sophia who got the second guestroom. Most likely it was due to Sophia.
It didn't matter though and a few minutes later she crawled into the large bed with Tara, who had decided they were going to share it. The bed was a little too soft for her liking but it was still great. The pillows were that perfect not too hard and not too soft that was so difficult to find, and the duvet was the light, cool kind made for the summer months.
It didn't take her long to fall into a deep, restorative sleep. Buffy's dreams were blissfully lacking in anything Slayer related, and if she dreamt about anything else she didn't remember it in the morning.
*
Breakfast the next morning wasn't as relaxed as the meal the night before had been, but Buffy felt tranquil enough that she didn't care and just enjoyed the food. It was stupidly early and the sun was still rising slowly in the morning sky.
The only ones around the table were Buffy, Tara, the Greene family, and the people who had worked for them pre-apocalypse. Every single member of the other group was still catching Z's, which gave the Slayer an idea.
"Why are you still living here unprotected, when it's only a matter of time before a big herd comes and overruns your farm?" It had been bugging her since she first laid eyes on the farm the evening before. Yes, it was comfortable and they had free access to fresh food and water, but there were no protections around the property other than a flimsy fence that wouldn't withstand much of anything. By this point they should've at the very least have tried to put up a stronger fence around the property, but there wasn't anything.
"The sick won't harm us unless we attack them first." Buffy more or less tuned out the rest of Hershel Greene's defense, because what? No one believed that - not anymore.
Interrupting him, she replied in a serious tone. "Mr. Greene, they are not sick. They're dead. Somehow their body has been reanimated and they're left with nothing but an insatiable hunger for living flesh. The best we can do for them is to permanently kill them by destroying the brain. There's no cure. Anyone who dies turns into one of them unless the brain is destroyed. If you see someone who looks dead, check for a headwound. If there isn't one, then make sure they get one. No exceptions."
Things didn't go well after that, and it got even worse when she admitted she knew what they were keeping in the barn, and that it would attract even more of the biters. How could anyone still believe that the biters were salvageable?
Carol and Sophia were woken by the arguing and not long after they were joined by the rest of the group from outside, but Buffy was relatively certain most of them didn't hear the part about the barn. She decided to change tactics.
"We're leaving soon," she indicated herself and her blonde friend. "And our earlier argument aside, there are a few things I'd like to implore you to follow."
Buffy gave all of them a long look, "Every single one of you should carry a backpack at all times containing at least one of each of the following items; a bottle of water, some food, basic medical supplies, and backup weapons." She'd seen all of them wandering around without any of it, and only a few of them carried a weapon of some kind.
"You never know if you're going to get separated from the rest of the group, and given what's out there it's going to happen and when it does you need the tools to survive. Also, stop using guns unless you absolutely have to. They're loud and attract more trouble of both the biter and living variety. Get knives, swords, or even baseball bats to use instead."
It wasn't just her strong dislike of guns that made her say the last part, because it really did get you all the wrong kinds of attention. "You will also run out of ammunition and the sooner you learn to defend yourself without them the better." She paused for a moment and then added, "If you want a projectile weapon then get a crossbow or something, the arrows are reusable and you can make new ones."
The only one who seemed to agree with her was Daryl, but then it seemed like his go-to weapon was the crossbow she had first seen him with. And darn it, she wanted one, too!
"And the two last points; if the water you intend to drink or put in your food doesn't come from a sealed bottle then you need to boil it. Always. The last thing you need is to get sick and die when it's entirely avoidable."
More people were accepting that. Good. "Last thing. Always agree on a meeting place and how long to wait there if you get separated. Herds and people with bad intentions are everywhere, and sometimes the better solution is to go your separate ways for a little while. Just make sure you know how to locate everyone else."
She gave them a little more advice and expanded on some of her earlier comments, but she and Tara eventually got up and left the farm after saying their goodbyes. And, of course, thanking the Greene family and Hershel in particular for allowing them to stay the night.
Author: 3am_moonlight
Crossover: BtVS / The Walking Dead (TV)
Rating: Gen / Teen
Word Count: 1,401.
Timeline: BtVS: Post-Chosen & TWD: S02.
Disclaimer: The Buffyverse belongs to Joss Whedon and TWD belongs to someone with expensive lawyers.
Summary: A proper meal, a proper bed, and a not-so-good conversation for breakfast.Author's Note: Written for Day 14 of the 2019 August Fic-A-Day.
A/N: Follows ' Another Day', ' Slay Count', ' Medical Run', and ' Scavenging'.
The surgery went well after Mr. Greene got all the supplies he needed. As they weren't in a hospital there wasn't the usual equipment to keep an eye on the boy's condition and subsequently, his parents were pretty much glued to his side.
Everyone else was served food once they knew Carl was in a more stable condition. Fresh bread baked earlier that day, a simple salad, and milk were all things neither Buffy nor Tara had expected to ever taste again. At least not anytime soon. Before society collapsed it would've been a very plain meal, but after several months of nothing but water, stale crackers, and whatever happened to be in a hermetically sealed tin can it was amazing.
Thanks to the successful surgery and the return of everyone who left in the same condition they left in, the atmosphere was cheerful and generally happy. The only one who didn't entirely share the positive attitude was Shane. He kept glaring at her whenever he thought no one was looking in his direction. She caught his eye several times, but all he did was pretend like he hadn't done anything and then looked somewhere else.
It was annoying. She hadn't done anything to him or to deserve the evil eye he kept giving her, her scaring him after he wanted to leave her behind didn't count. He wasn't doing the same to Tara so whatever it was, it was definitely directed toward her.
Most of the people at the table were oblivious, a couple did notice. Carol shrank a little in on herself as if trying to avoid his bad mood and the possible consequences, which got the attention of Daryl. He followed her line of sight and gave Shane a glare, apparently under the mistaken assumption that he'd been glaring at Carol.
The entire exchange made Buffy wonder what had made the older woman so afraid of men in a bad mood. Abusive homelife as a child? Abusive relationship/marriage as an adult? One or more bad situations? Daryl's willingness to protect her got him several mental points, in addition to the ones he'd already gotten for being a hunter and willing to go out looking for a child that wasn't his.
The situation hadn't resolved itself by the time the meal was over, but she was tired and somewhere in this house there was a bed or foldout camping bed with her name on it. And when everyone began moving towards wherever they were going to sleep, she just followed her witchy friend like a lost puppy.
A more awake part of her brain noticed that most of the people went back outside to the RV and the cars parked in front of the house, rather than to bedrooms inside the house. The only other guests who remained, other than the Grimes' family, were Carol and Sophia who got the second guestroom. Most likely it was due to Sophia.
It didn't matter though and a few minutes later she crawled into the large bed with Tara, who had decided they were going to share it. The bed was a little too soft for her liking but it was still great. The pillows were that perfect not too hard and not too soft that was so difficult to find, and the duvet was the light, cool kind made for the summer months.
It didn't take her long to fall into a deep, restorative sleep. Buffy's dreams were blissfully lacking in anything Slayer related, and if she dreamt about anything else she didn't remember it in the morning.
*
Breakfast the next morning wasn't as relaxed as the meal the night before had been, but Buffy felt tranquil enough that she didn't care and just enjoyed the food. It was stupidly early and the sun was still rising slowly in the morning sky.
The only ones around the table were Buffy, Tara, the Greene family, and the people who had worked for them pre-apocalypse. Every single member of the other group was still catching Z's, which gave the Slayer an idea.
"Why are you still living here unprotected, when it's only a matter of time before a big herd comes and overruns your farm?" It had been bugging her since she first laid eyes on the farm the evening before. Yes, it was comfortable and they had free access to fresh food and water, but there were no protections around the property other than a flimsy fence that wouldn't withstand much of anything. By this point they should've at the very least have tried to put up a stronger fence around the property, but there wasn't anything.
"The sick won't harm us unless we attack them first." Buffy more or less tuned out the rest of Hershel Greene's defense, because what? No one believed that - not anymore.
Interrupting him, she replied in a serious tone. "Mr. Greene, they are not sick. They're dead. Somehow their body has been reanimated and they're left with nothing but an insatiable hunger for living flesh. The best we can do for them is to permanently kill them by destroying the brain. There's no cure. Anyone who dies turns into one of them unless the brain is destroyed. If you see someone who looks dead, check for a headwound. If there isn't one, then make sure they get one. No exceptions."
Things didn't go well after that, and it got even worse when she admitted she knew what they were keeping in the barn, and that it would attract even more of the biters. How could anyone still believe that the biters were salvageable?
Carol and Sophia were woken by the arguing and not long after they were joined by the rest of the group from outside, but Buffy was relatively certain most of them didn't hear the part about the barn. She decided to change tactics.
"We're leaving soon," she indicated herself and her blonde friend. "And our earlier argument aside, there are a few things I'd like to implore you to follow."
Buffy gave all of them a long look, "Every single one of you should carry a backpack at all times containing at least one of each of the following items; a bottle of water, some food, basic medical supplies, and backup weapons." She'd seen all of them wandering around without any of it, and only a few of them carried a weapon of some kind.
"You never know if you're going to get separated from the rest of the group, and given what's out there it's going to happen and when it does you need the tools to survive. Also, stop using guns unless you absolutely have to. They're loud and attract more trouble of both the biter and living variety. Get knives, swords, or even baseball bats to use instead."
It wasn't just her strong dislike of guns that made her say the last part, because it really did get you all the wrong kinds of attention. "You will also run out of ammunition and the sooner you learn to defend yourself without them the better." She paused for a moment and then added, "If you want a projectile weapon then get a crossbow or something, the arrows are reusable and you can make new ones."
The only one who seemed to agree with her was Daryl, but then it seemed like his go-to weapon was the crossbow she had first seen him with. And darn it, she wanted one, too!
"And the two last points; if the water you intend to drink or put in your food doesn't come from a sealed bottle then you need to boil it. Always. The last thing you need is to get sick and die when it's entirely avoidable."
More people were accepting that. Good. "Last thing. Always agree on a meeting place and how long to wait there if you get separated. Herds and people with bad intentions are everywhere, and sometimes the better solution is to go your separate ways for a little while. Just make sure you know how to locate everyone else."
She gave them a little more advice and expanded on some of her earlier comments, but she and Tara eventually got up and left the farm after saying their goodbyes. And, of course, thanking the Greene family and Hershel in particular for allowing them to stay the night.