Lost In Time

Epilogue

“What the bloody hell was I thinking?! I mean… it’s not like I’m some spring hatchling fresh from the nest…” His voice trailed off, and the three males lounging around the watcher’s study couldn’t help but smirk as the man lifted a full tumbler of Armagnac to his lips, nearly spilling half the contents because his hands were shaking profusely.

Giles looked at Spike, Marcus, and Derrick – the only males brave enough to ride out Joyce’s labor in his home. Oh, who was he kidding? They were here to make his life miserable since they’d been dragged here, probably kicking and screaming – and wouldn’t that have been a sight to see – by their respective women to help his wife with the birth of their baby girl. His eyes narrowed at their smug expression. “It’s for medicinal purposes,” he told them before taking a healthy swig.

“Uh huh,” Spike snorted and rolled his eyes. “What are you doing down here anyway… aren’t you supposed to be up yonder, holdin’ the missus’ hand and whatnot?”

“They kicked me out,” Giles muttered under his breath, and had Spike not been possessed of vampiric hearing, he would have missed it – so, too, would the others.

“Can’t say it’s such a bad thing,” Marcus commented. Having heard Joyce’s moans that announced her imminent delivery, he could well understand the watcher wanting to absent himself from the room. Probably didn’t help matters that said room was full of women, either.

“I’m not a sissy, I’ll have you know! I’ve faced down worse situations than this…”

“Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Rupes. Just sayin’ is all…” the dark-haired vampire hurried to reassure the man.

“Well,” the watcher puffed his chest out. “I helped create that baby. It’s not like I don’t know the goings on. Bloody hell, it was only a little water…natural in the grand scheme of things. You’d think the Queen mum was coming to pay a visit with the way I was ushered from the room so my wife could be primped. Like she’s not going to get dirty all over again once…”

The three vampires shared a look; the watcher was on a roll.

“…been witness to countless demon slayings… Seen worse things than a sodden dressing gown.”

A knock at the door interrupted his tirade.

“She’s asking for you—”

“Rupert, get your British ass up here right now or so help me…”

“I stand corrected,” Angelina remarked drolly. “She’s bellowing for you.”

Giles face flamed and he ran a shaky hand through his unkempt hair. “She’s… uh… not herself…”

“Oh, I don’t know about that, watcher,” Spike remarked. “Seems Joyce was always a bit heavy-handed. Besides which, the Slayer had to get her disposition from somewhere.”

Seeing Giles continue to stand there unmoving, the vampire took pity on him and crossed the room, snagging the half-empty glass out of his hand. “Go on, Rupert… Wanna see if my sister-in-law will turn out to be as cute as the Slayer.”

“Yes… yes, of course,” he stuttered and rushed from the room.

Miranda Grace announced her presence an hour later.

~*~*~*~*~

Joyce watched Buffy stare somewhat wistfully at her sleeping sister. Her hand softly stroked Miranda’s cheek, and Joyce felt a pang that these two would never get to spend any real time together.

“Buffy…”

The Slayer glanced up at her mother. Seeing her tearful expression, Buffy smiled and moved away from the bassinet to sit on the edge of her mother’s bed.

“She’s beautiful, mom. Looks just like you.”

“Buffy… I… I’m sorry you won’t…that you can’t—”

“Don’t, mom. It’s ok. Truly.” Buffy took her mother’s hand, squeezing it reassuringly. “My clan is more than enough… trust me. Especially the boys… they really can be such babies sometimes.”

Joyce didn’t seem convinced.

“But, you can’t have any children… babies… of your own.”

“Mom, as a Slayer I wouldn’t have been able to anyway. Normal just isn’t in the cards. Heck, I’d probably already be dead by now.”

“Don’t say that!”

“It’s true, mom. Slayers aren’t meant to live forever, and we’re damn sure not cut out for having babies… even if we wanted to. It’s better this way.”

“But, what will I tell Miranda? When she gets older?”

“That she’s a miracle created by two people that love each other.”

“Buffy…that’s not what I meant.”

“Her sister is dead, her ashes scattered on the wind. She has to be. But…” Buffy went on when her mother moved to object. “There’ll be a family friend… a close family friend…friends, actually… who’ll try to make it to all of Miranda’s… milestones.”

“Buffy…” Joyce whispered, sensing what her daughter wasn’t telling her. That this was goodbye – for now. “I…”

“Shhh…” Buffy wiped the tears from her mother’s face, her own eyes moist. And, she didn’t object to the hug her mother gave her.

“I love you,” Joyce told her, her voice choking on her emotions.

“I love you, too, Mommy,” Buffy murmured against her mother’s shoulder.

Joyce reluctantly let go of her daughter, allowing her to sit up.

“I’ve gotta go… we never planned on staying here in England this long. But Spike… he—”

“Catered to his mother-in-law?” Joyce finished. “I know. You’ll thank him for me?”

Buffy nodded and stood to leave.

“If you really need me… you’ve only to send word through the Countess of Hastings. You’ve the stationary and the stamp I left you?”

“Yes.”

Spike had felt it best to keep Jocelyn’s undead status a secret for now, so he’d had the vampiress relocate to England with her sire, and seen about some of London’s nightspots to maintain the illusion. She was usually escorted about by one of their own, but never Renee – Renee looked like an identical twin to Jocelyn and their appearance together would spark question they could ill afford.

It had taken a few months after leaving Sunnydale behind for the clan to be secreted within the Countess’ home. A few key staff changes had taken place as well, those leaving, pensioned off with glowing references.

Now that Jocelyn’s secret was secure, it was time for the rest of them to disappear. Another crisis was sure to be brewing, and they really had spent far too long in England. Much as she’d enjoyed seeing her mother, and Giles, these past two years.

And now she had a baby sister.

Buffy cast one final wave in her mother’s direction then was gone, slipping soundlessly from the room – leaving Joyce behind, grieving for the daughter moving on with her life, yet oddly comforted by the daughter sleeping peacefully in her bassinet.

~*~

“Giles!” Buffy gasped, having encountered the watcher at the top of the stairs.

“This is goodbye?” he asked unnecessarily.

“Yes… we’ve got that whole destiny thing we’ve been neglecting,” Buffy tried to joke to cover her riotous emotions at leaving them behind.

“Spike said as much. He’s…” Giles cleared his throat. “You all…” He pulled off his glasses and cleared his throat again, trying to put into words what he was trying to say – without coming off condescending.

“It’s… it’s an honor to have met your family, Buffy. They’re…”

“Pretty special? Yeah, I know,” she grinned. “They do take some getting used to.”

Giles nodded and fumbled with his glasses, watching silently as his Slayer turned to leave.

“Buffy!” he called out before she could take a step.

She surprised him with a hug. Surprising himself with how easily his arms slid around her, hugging her back.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better Slayer,” he whispered against the top of Buffy’s head. “Or, a better daughter. Take care of yourself…all of you.”

“We will.” Buffy pulled away and stepped back. “Be seeing you, Giles. Look out for my mother…and Miranda.”

“With my life.”

The Slayer smiled and waved, then hurried down the stairs and out of sight of the teary-eyed watcher.

~*~*~*~*~

“Where to?” Buffy asked, snuggling up to Spike on the back seat of the limousine. She laid her head against his shoulder and eyed some of the others tucked in the seats around her.

With the successful elimination of the Bushlwarknik demon’s human slave trade in England, having witnessed first hand the atrocities she’d thought herself numb to by now, Buffy wanted nothing more than to disappear for awhile. Rest and regroup.

Unfortunately, most of the times that wasn’t the case. Patterns were always making themselves known, and it took awhile for the clan to assimilate their way into those patterns, so that they could restore the balance.

So, it came as a shock to hear Spike’s next words.

“How’s your Japanese, luv? Fancy a trip to Kagoshima?”

Buffy lifted her head, searching out Spike’s gaze. “Really?” She dared not hope.

“Yes. My childer need to rest, and so do we. We’ve not stopped since coming back. We need to—”

“Bond,” Buffy finished for him, running a hand along his cheek.

Spike nodded, pleased she understood, and he pulled her into his lap and hugged her close to his chest as Bob drove them to the private airstrip.

~*~

“Where’s Alric?” Buffy asked, settling in her seat on their private jet.

“He’s gone ahead to set everything up.”

What Spike didn’t say was that he’d taken someone with him – secretly, of course. Or, so Alric thought. There wasn’t anything that his childer could do that he wouldn’t eventually know about. But, he’d wait and let Alric come to him. Let the vamp get on even footing with the girl he’d secreted away from the slaver’s cages.

Besides which, he had something else occupying his mind.

A letter, delivered to him by way of Rupert’s England residence. A letter he’d yet to open.

A letter from Angelus.