De-Evolution

A/N: I never intended to write a sequel to Evolution, but I got so many people asking for one that the Muse decided to oblige. I have never had a story write itself so fast in my life, so this story is dedicated to all the people who kick started the Muse into a writing frenzy. You guys rule!

This story takes place 200 years after Evolution. Much of the story will be told in various flashbacks, but the time line will skip around. Clues will be given as to what year it is and such, but please assume nothing just because you haven’t been told it yet.
XXX

Chapter 1

It’s all over but the crying
Fade to black I’m sick of trying
-Garbage

Attempt number twenty four was a knife dipped in battery acid that she’d siphoned from their transport. She slashed her way vertically down both her arms. Then she worked her way down her legs. She hit the veins dead on. The knife had melted into mush by the time she finished. The spilling blood bubbled and burned its way out of her flesh. It took a moment for her to realize that the echoing sounds bouncing off the walls were her own screams. She blacked out.

XXX

“Close yer eyes, luv.”

Buffy giggled and leaned closer to where she sensed Spike was.

“Hey, now. It’s not a surprise if you keep trying to suss it out.”

She pouted behind the hands that lay pressed over her face.

“And no pouting. I can sense when you do that you know.”

She couldn’t help but smile at that.

Spike moved to stand behind her. He wrapped his hands around her wrists and pulled them away from her face. “Happy anniversary, luv.”

Buffy gasped at the scene before her. He had recreated their wedding day…well, as best he could. Most of the guest list was long gone.

The grassy hill held two rows of plain, white folding chairs separated by a pathway of smooth stones. At the end of the path was a white wooden chupa interlaced with pink and white roses. Behind the chupa was a small pond, although there was no Willow to help the lit candles hover just above the water.

“Oh, Spike...It’s,” She turned to throw her arms around him only to find him kneeling if front of her.

“Buffy, will you do me the honors of giving me your hand in marriage a second time?” He held up a small emerald ring that made Buffy’s eyes tear up. It was Dawn’s engagement ring. She had thought Dawn had been buried with it. “Nibblet…she gave it to me just before…she wanted you to have it someday and I thought this would be a good,” Spike swallowed hard and didn’t finish his sentence. .

“Sssh, I love it…I love you. I love you and I’d marry you a million times over.” Buffy dropped to her knees in front of him and threw her arms around his neck.

“Well, we could do that, you know,” Spike murmured between kisses. “Got eternity to spend marrying you over and over again. Could do it once a year if you like.”

“No. Not every year. Just like this,” she said. “Once a century, you and me and this grassy hill.”

“Happy one hundred, pet.”

XXX

It was dark when she opened her eyes. Time didn’t matter anymore. It was light. It was dark. She was here, he wasn’t, and she couldn’t join him.

Buffy looked down at her arms. Completely healed. Not ever a raised line to show where she ripped her veins apart.

She stood up and surveyed her kitchen. Not her kitchen, their kitchen. The battery acid had eaten a hole through the island. Tears sprang to her eyes. Spike loved that island. He said it reminded him of the island in her house back in Sunnydale when he used to sit with her mom and drink hot chocolate. It was the one thing he had asked they install in every place they’d ever lived, and she had ruined it.

“’M sorry, ‘m sorry,” she sobbed as she began filling cups of water to pour on the smoldering hole. “I’ll fix it, and it will be right as-as rain, you’ll see, and when you come back you won’t even know the hole was there…” Buffy dropped the glass and covered her face with her hands. Her knees hit the floor as she collapsed. “Please give him back to me. Please,” she begged to the empty air. “I’ve been a good Slayer. I fought the good fight. I killed your demons and stopped your apocalypses. Please let me have him back. He’s my everything.”

XXX


“Hey, Buffy?”

“Yeah?”

“Have you seen my duster? I can’t find it,” Spike called out from the bedroom.

“Which one?”

“The one you got me last Christmas. I want to wear it when we go out tonight.”

Buffy walked into the room and leaned against the door frame. She watched in amusement as Spike crawled under the bed, then peered behind the dresser before looking under the bed again.

“Where did you see it last,” she asked, trying to maintain a straight face.

“Night before last. I came home, took it off, and draped it on the dresser. Now it’s not there. I can’t understand it.”

Shaking her head, Buffy walked over to the closet, opened the door and pulled out the jacket. “Oh,” she said in a mocking tone. “Look what I found in the closet…right where it belongs. I wonder how it could have gotten there.”

Spike sat back on his haunches, a sheepish grin on his face. “Er, sorry ‘bout that, luv. Meant to hang it up and all that.”

“Uh-huh,” Buffy replied. “You know that might have worked in the beginning, but after almost two hundred years, I’ve given up on hoping that you’ll ever, ever, ever learn to hang your damn duster in the closet.”

Spike looked up at her through his lashes. “I guess I’ve been a naughty man and you’ll have to punish me.” He crawled toward her, and ran his hands slowly up the backs of her legs and under her skirt.

Buffy moaned when he began to pepper her lower regions with kisses, and she felt her knees begin to weaken.

“I must always, always remember to hang up my clothes when I’m not wearing them,” Spike murmured between kisses.

“Oh,” Buffy closed her eyes. “Mmmm, not that I don’t, oh, love where this is, ooh, going…” She fisted her hands in his hair as his tongue entered her. “Oh, Spike…We’ve got to…go…made…oh, right there…plans.”

Spike growled into her thigh and ignored her, sinking his teeth into the tender skin before lathing it with his tongue.

“Yes! I mean…oh, God. Spike…promised…”

He pressed his tongue flat against her clit and she came, screaming his name and shifting into game face. He stood up quickly and sank his fangs into her neck. She came again, sinking her own fangs into him.

“Mine,” he growled.

“As you are mine,” she whispered back.

They stayed frozen in each other’s arms for a moment before Spike spoke again. “Do we really have to go see Angel?”

XXX

Angel stood outside the door to Buffy and Spike’s accommodations and ran his fingers through his hair. He wanted to go in. He wanted to help her the way she had helped him after Cordelia’s passing, and then Connor’s passing after that.

For the first day she had been in shock. She didn’t move, didn’t blink, barely seemed to breathe. He’d tried to feed her, both food and blood, but she wouldn’t open her mouth. Just sat still as stone and stared off into space.

The second day, she’d began screaming. Long, angst filled screams that shook his entire being until he thought that his soul would break under her sadness. He’d tried to hold her, but she knocked him across the room. She pulled at her hair and scratched welts into her arms as she shredded her clothes with her nails. He’d sat in the corner of the room and watched her, unsure of how to help.

Her first suicide attempt had been on day three. He should have known better then to fall asleep. To sleep meant there had been quiet, quiet meant Buffy had stopped screaming, no screaming meant badness all around.

The first attempt was a simple slitting of the wrists. He’d found her lying in the bathtub, her hair floating in the blood red water around her like a golden halo. She sat straight up, sputtering on the water as he entered the bathroom.

“Not dead,” she mumbled. “Didn’t work, not dead.”

She stepped out of the tub letting the blood drip down her body in small rivers as she walked toward the door.

“Don’t get blood on the carpet, Spike,” she mumbled. “It’s my bloody carpet too, and if I want to drip blood all over my bloody carpet I will,” she answered herself, lowering her voice and giving it a British accent. “No ‘cause I always have to clean it up.”

Angel watched in morbid fascination as Buffy held the two sided conversation with herself.

“Buffy?” he said softly.

For a moment she acted like she hadn’t heard him, but the she’d pivoted slightly to face him.

“Your fault,” she said. “Your fault! Your FAULT! YOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULTYOURFAULT!” She’d catapulted herself at him, clawing at his face and shrieking. “Went out to meet YOU! Still be here if you hadn’t wanted to go to dinner.”

Angel fended her off the best he could without hurting her. “Buffy! Think about what you’re saying. We always meet for dinner at this time of year. The first-OW-Friday of –OW- June to do the memorandum for the gang. It was your idea. We’ve been doing it for a hundred and fifty years.”

She’d thrown him out of the house, literally. The moment he was out the door, she began muttering the dis-invite spell. A beating heart meant demons needed an invitation to her home. The invisible field had been up before he could get his bearings, and he’d been forced to spend the past two weeks with his face pressed against her windows as he watched Buffy try to kill herself again and again.

“The dolly is all broken.”

Angel jerked out of his thoughts at the sound of the voice.

“Poor dolly,” Drusilla said, stepping out of the shadows to stand beside him. “But don’t worry, Mummy’s come to make it all better again.

 

Chapter 2

It’s a cold man’s nightmare to be warm where she lays
And he’s to go through fire to be sure that’s where he stays
-Cathy Davy

Xander threw the cards on the table with a sigh and looked at the clock again. “So did Spike tell anyone that he was going to be late to the game tonight?” he asked the other two demons at the table.

“Naw, he didn’t talk to me,” Mike said, scratching one claw against his spiked face.

“Wait, is this da week he was takin’ da Slayer on vacation for their anniversary?” Sid asked. “’Cause ‘member, he told us that we had to call in Bob to take his spot that week.”

Xander shook his head. “No, their anniversary’s not for another two weeks. Are there any apocalypses scheduled this week that you know of?”

Sid shook his head.

“There was one like a week ago, but I think some monks in Prague took care of it,” Mike said.

Xander leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “Monks…in Prague…took care of an apocalypse. What world are you living in? There hasn’t been any form of religion since the religious wars of 2139, so how did monks stop an apocalypse?”

Mike looked down at the table and became very interested in a mole on his hand.

“Sid, didn’t you talk to Spike last week when you called to cancel the game?” Xander asked.

“No, no one picked up da phone so I leave a message after the beep, but no one call me back.”

“Why don’t we call now?” Mike asked.

Xander shot him a look of exasperation. “And how would you like to do that Mike? There’s no phone here, remember? Hello! Demon library.”

“We could go visit him,” Sid suggested.

“And this is why Spike and I kick your asses in cards every week. I.Can’t.Leave.The.Library. Remember that part? It’s part of my contract. I live here twenty four/seven except on my two weeks allotted vacation every year.”

Sid laughed, “Oh yeah, I remember the pictures that Anya showed us from your vacation last year. They were funny.”

Xander sighed and leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed. He was muttering to himself under his breath. There was a slight poof of smoke and Anya appeared next to him.

“Xander, honey, this better be important because I was in the middle of eviscerating a man,” she said impatiently.

“Ahn, would you mind swinging by Spike and Buffy’s later tonight before you come home. Spike didn’t show up for the card game tonight, and no one’s heard from him in two weeks.”

Anya frowned, “You know, Buffy was supposed to meet me for lunch on Saturday but she didn’t show up. I was quite mad about it at the time, but luckily I was called away on some wish and I guess I forgot about it.”

Xander chewed his lower lip. “Something’s not right here. Buffy missing lunch? Spike missing cards? Spike never misses cards.”

Anya patted him on the head affectionately, “I’ll swing by after work, okay?” She kissed him on the cheek.

“Have fun doing vengeance, Miss Anya,” Sid said respectfully. Anya had granted the wish that had given Sid his speech issues. She also gave him webbed toes, but he was able to hide that part.

Anya nodded at him and disappeared from the room.

XXX

“Unca Ike! Unca Ike!”

“Oof!” Spike’s legs were knocked out from under him by the toddler that slammed into him at full ramming speed.

“Marry Krismas, Unca Ike!” Taylor yelled as he scooted up Spike’s body to wrap his arms around the vampire’s neck.

“Merry Christmas Taylor,” Spike replied. “My you’re getting awfully strong there.”

“Yep, almos as strong as you and Aunt Uffy. That’s what mommy says.”

“Oh she does, eh? Well, Mr. Strongman, why don’t you go help your Aunt Buffy with the goodies from the car while I put the prezzies under the tree.”

“’Kay!” Taylor stood up and raced out the door to where Buffy was trying to balance several grocery bags of food.

“Hi Spike,” Dawn said, wiping her hand on a dish towel as she came into the room. “Sorry about that, but he’s been so excited about you coming to visit. He’s hoping to do flying man in front of the mirror again.”

Spike grinned, “Oh, is he now?”

“Buffy, do you need help?” Dawn asked as her sister came through the door.

“No, Taylor and I got it all, don’t we Taylor? You are getting so strong,” Buffy said, smiling at the child carrying the salad bowl.

“Yes, just like you and Unca Ike. When I grow up, I’m gonna be a super hero just like you.”

Spike watched the glow that radiated from Buffy’s eye as she talked to Taylor. God he wished they could have children. He knew that Buffy wanted that too. It was hard for her watching Dawn give birth to Taylor and knowing that a child was something she could never have. There had to be something he could do about that.

XXX

Buffy dragged herself from the kitchen to the bedroom on her knees. The bedroom floor was littered with Spike’s t-shirts. She picked up the first one that she came across and held it to her nose, inhaling deeply. The scent was too faint. She dropped it and picked up a different shirt. The scent was faint on that one too. Panicked, she made her way through most of the clothes on the floor.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no,” she cried frantically.

She stood up and yanked the closet doors open. Quickly, she shuffled through her own clothes, knocking them on the floor in her haste.

“Gotta be one in here, gotta, gotta, gotta.”

Buffy stood on her toes trying to reach the top shelf of the closet. She pulled down all the neatly folded sweaters, knocked over the storage bins so that they fell just past her head, opening and spilling their contents. There in the far corner was a single black shirt. She shrieked and stretched her hand toward it, but she couldn’t reach. Buffy stood on her tiptoes and still couldn’t reach. She jumped and missed. She grabbed the shelf and tried to pull herself up. The entire shelf came loose, hitting her in the head and knocking her out.

XXX

Buffy hopped up and down on her feet.

“Buffy, luv, calm down.” Spike smiled at his beaming wife as she grinned and danced about like a five year old.

“Calm? How can we be calm,” she asked, standing on her toes and pulling him toward her by the lapels of his duster. “Spike, we’re about to meet our daughter.” She giggled. “Spike…we have a daughter!”

“I know we do, pet,” Spike pressed a kiss against her forehead. “And you’re going to make a bloody marvelous mum.”

Buffy bit her lip and grew suddenly quiet.

“Wot’s wrong?” he asked, worriedly.

“Spike,” she whispered. “What-what if she changes her mind? What if she doesn’t sign the papers?”

“Not gonna happen, luv.”

“But-but it could. Things like that happen all the time.”

Spike brushed a lock of hair out of her face, then kissed her tearing eyes. “Then I’ll eat her,” he murmured.

“Mr. and Mrs. Summers?” The doctor waited until he had their attention. “Come with me please.”

Buffy locked her fingers with Spike’s and put on her resolve face before following the doctor into his office. They sat in the chairs the doctor provided, hands still clasped. The doctor sat across from them, behind his desk. He pushed a stack of papers at them.

“I’m pleased to say that after you sign these papers, you are the proud parents of a healthy baby girl.”

Buffy let out a squeal, jumped up and threw her arms around the doctor’s neck. He let out a surprised choke at the strength of her grip.

“Sorry, doc. She’s a bit excited. You know how women get,” Spike said as he pried Buffy off the man. She transferred her arms from the doctor’s neck to Spike’s.

“We have a daughter! We have a daughter! I’m a mom!” she half screamed, half cried. “I wanna see her. Can we see her?” she pleaded, turning back to face the doctor.

He laughed. “Of course, Mrs. Summers, but, please, the papers first?”

Spike chuckled as Buffy grabbed the stack and began signing her name left and right, passing each page to him when he was done.

“Sign faster, Spike,” she whispered low enough that only he could hear. “Don’t make me stake you for being slow. I’ll never forgive you if I have to be a single mom.”

The door opened and a nurse stepped in holding a baby wrapped in a pink blanket. She handed the child to Buffy.

“Oh, oh, Spike look,” Buffy whispered leaning so that Spike could see. “She has ten little fingers…and ten little toes…” she gasped when the baby opened her eyes. They were bright blue. “Hello, little one. I’m your mommy. And this man, that’s your daddy.”

Spike wrapped his arm around Buffy’s waist as she bounced the baby in her arms. “Hello, Madison Joyce,” he whispered.
 

Chapter 3

If the silence takes you
Then I hope it takes me too
-Death Cab for Cutie

Anya surveyed the scene before her. The entire living room was in shambles and the kitchen looked like a war zone.

“Buffy! Spike!” she called, picking her way carefully through the mess. “Are you home? I would have knocked but Angel’s out there with some strange vampiress and she looked a little off her sanity if you get my meaning.”

Anya stood up the bottom of the stairs and chewed her lip. “I’m coming up. Just so you know, okay. I hope that you’re not having boisterous sex or anything. Although I’m sure I would have heard you by now, so I’m thinking you’re not home…or maybe you were robbed. Were you robbed?”

She continued talking as she made her way up the stairs and down the hallway. She paused to look into each room noting that the guest rooms still looked in proper order as did the guest bathroom. The hallway, however, had a trail of Spike’s clothes that lead straight toward the master bedroom.

“Buffy, did you and Spike have a fight? Did you throw him out of the house or something?” It made her feel better to hear her own voice in the silence. The house was never silent, if Buffy and Spike were home there was always some sort of noise, music or laughing or talking or the vidscreen. Hmm, that reminded her. She promised Xander she would see if Spike would let them borrow his copy of Super Beyond Man. The thought made her smile, Xander still loved his comic books and was always trying to get her to bring home the latest from comic to big screen copies of them.

Finally Anya made it to the doorway of the master bedroom, and a gasp escaped her lips. Of all the rooms in the house, this one had seen the most devastation. There was dried blood covering the bed sheets, and the floor was covered in piles of clothing. The closet had been ripped apart, the shelves lying on the floor. Storage tubs lay on their sides, the contents strewn across the floor.

There was a moan from underneath one of the piles and Anya flew into the room, pulling at clothes and pictures and such and throwing them over her shoulder. Blonde hair started to emerge from underneath the rubble and finally she revealed Buff’s face.

“Buffy! Buffy! Open your eyes and look at me!” Anya demanded. “Pulse, pulse, pulse, gotta check for a pulse….wait a minute, you’re immortal. Wake up, Buffy! You have to tell me what happened.”

Anya grasped Buffy underneath her arms and pulled her out from the pile before kneeling next to her and slapping her across the face.

“I said, wake up! Buffy, you need to tell me what happened. Where’s Spike? How long have you been trapped here? Who did this?”

Buffy opened her eyes slowly and looked at Anya. “Anya?” she asked.

“Where’s Spike? What happened?” Anya repeated.

Buffy’s eyes filled with tears and she threw herself at Anya, buring her face in the girl’s lap. “He’s gone! Oh, Anya he’s gone and I can’t go with him. Gone, gone, gone, gone, left me alone. He’s left me all-all alone and they won’t let me go with him,” she sobbed.

Anya froze, “What do you mean, he’s gone?”

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” Buffy sobbed. “Dust to dust, dust to dust, dust to dust, dust, dust, dust, dust, dust, dust in the jar.”

Anya wrapped her arms around the sobbing girl. “Sssh, it’s okay Buffy. It’ll be okay. I’m gonna take you home with me.”

“NO! No, no, no, no, no. This is all I have left. Can’t leave here. If I leave here, alone, then he’s really gone. See, if I stay here he might come back.” Buffy pushed away from Anya in fear.

“Buffy, honey, Spike’s not coming back.”

“Don’t you say that! Don’t s-say that! I’m a good Slayer and the Powers will give him back. They have to. Okay? They have to. See, I kept him so that he can come back.” Buffy stood on wobbling legs and walked over to the nightstand by the bed. She opened the cabinet drawer to reveal an urn and a box.

“Oh, Buffy. Those are just his ashes.”

“Look Anya, I found his present to me.” She pulled out the box and opened it, revealing a red ring.

Anya’s eyes widened. “Buffy, don’t you remember what that is? That’s the red ring of power you gave to Dawn after you first became immortal. It’s powerful, you don’t want to be messing around with that. Buffy, you need to come with me. Xander and I will take care of you.”

“NO!” Buffy stood up and shoved Anya backwards.

“Buffy! What are you doing? I’m trying to help you. I’m your friend.”

“Not my friend. Want me to leave here, leave Spike. I’m not going!”

“Buffy, Spikes d-“ her words were cut off by Buffy’s fist hitting her chin.

“OW! What the hell did you do that for? Fine. Fine, you don’t want me here then I’m leaving.” Anya yelled, rubbing her cheek. She was gone in a puff of smoke leaving Buffy in the room alone.

XXX

Buffy ducked under the punch from the demon, and managed to get a hit of her own directly in his fleshy stomach. The demon winced and took a few steps backwards.

“You doin’ okay, luv?” Spike called from where he was engaged in his own battle.

“Just fine. Me and ugly here are just finishing up,” she responded as she cut off the demon’s head. “See, finished.”

“Same here,” Spike said, stepping beside her. “Where’d the other one go though?”

They both turned to see demon number three trying to make his way over to the alter of the temple. He held a ceremonial knife above his head. The young girl tied to the table began to double her efforts in an attempt to get free.

Without speaking, both began to run after the demon.

“Spike, get the girl. I’ll get the knife,” Buffy yelled.

“I’ve already got a girl, so I’ll just rescue this one if that’s all right with you, pet.”

Buffy tried not to roll her eyes at him, but a small smile did creep onto her face. She tackled the demon from behind and they rolled on the floor, each trying to get the upper hand. The knife slid into her should and she let out a scream.

“Buffy!”

She heard Spike yelling, but couldn’t answer. The poison from the knife burned into her blood, making her eyes water.

“I guess you’ll make a fine sacrifice as well. Not a virgin, but the Slayer has to count for something,” the demon hissed at her.

“You dumbass, I can’t die,” she retorted.

“Don’t need death,” the demon answered. “Just blood.” He pushed down on her injured should squeezing the blood from the wound. “Thanks, Slayer.”

Buffy couldn’t move. The poison was making her way through her bloodstream and paralyzing her. The demon grabbed her by her hair and began dragging her toward the new free alter. She was dropped suddenly, and she could hear the sounds of a fight directly behind her.

“Come on, Buffy. Shake off the poison now. You can do it,” Spike was yelling.

She concentrated on moving her fingers. “Work with me body.” She thought to herself. “Move your finger. Move your finger.”

There was a squishing sound behind her, and then Spike was kneeling at her side.

“Come on, luv. Need you to start moving for me, kay? Grasp my hand.”

Time seemed to stand still as Buffy struggled to make her hand do her bidding. Finally she was able to wrap her hand around Spike’s.

“There you go. That’s my girl. Gonna get you home now, get you fixed up.”

She felt him slid his arm under her knees, the other around her shoulders, as he lifted her off the ground. He nuzzled her neck affectionately. “Gonna be a long night, luv. Gotta get you movin’. Don’t recon you like the idea of being paralyzed for the rest of eternity. But don’t you worry, we won. Stopped the bitty bad in his tracks, and now ‘m gonna fix you all up.”

Buffy felt the corners of her lips start to twitch in an effort to smile. Yeah, everything would always be alright as long as she had Spike by her side.

XXX

“Drusilla, when did you get here? How did you get here?” Angel backed away from her slightly.

She pouted, “Daddy isn’t happy to see his princess?”

“Just wondering why you’re here.”

Drusilla smiled and sashayed her way closer to him. “Mummy’s here to fix the baby. Her sadness called to me, the grief stripping away my flesh bit by bit until it lay all red and dripping. She calls for her knight to save her, but he’s flown away beyond where her light can reach him.”

“And how are you going to help her?” Angel asked, ignoring the hand that was exploring his chest.

“Shhh, it’s a secret,” she whispered in his ear. “The stars told me how. Lots of red, lots of pain…a little soul for a Champion.”

“What do you mean?” his voice hardened.

“Sssh, can’t tell you. Told too much already. Shhh, secrets, secrets, secrets housed inside my head for too many years, longing to be let out into the world. Open the box let it all out. Poor Pandora didn’t know.”

“What didn’t Pandora know, Dru? What are you going to do to Buffy?”

“Mummy’s don’t hurt babies, not their own at least. Never hurt baby. Bring back the knight, bring back the…night,” she replied and smiled. “Come, let us inside to help her.”

Angel shook his head. “We’re not invited.”

Drusilla opened the door to the house and stepped in. “Maybe you’re not, but she’s calling to me. I must see her.”

A/N: The two different spellings of knight and night were done intentionally.
 

Chapter 4

Author’s note: I’m getting a lot of “you killed Spike, bring him back” reviews. Hello people, like I’d leave him dead. Thanks for the trust. Please review. I’ve been having a hard time and I need some cheering up. Okay, now back to your regularly scheduled story.
XXX

“Can you stand the wait? Cause you know that I’ll be gone so long
And I’ve been living with your devil too long and I’ve been living with these arms closed”
-Three Mile Pilot

Anya slammed the door to the library shut. “Xander, get your bags, we need to go,” she demanded as she headed back to their living quarters.

“Whoa, Ahn, wait a minute. I can’t go anywhere, you know that. Did you stop by Spike and Buffy’s?”

“Yes, and we need to go. Hoffy is letting you take an emergency leave.”

“I have emergency leaves? How come I didn’t know this?”

“You didn’t, now you do.”

“Wait, what’s going on? What happened at Spike and Buffy’s?”

Anya threw the suitcase down on their bed and began shoving clothes into it. “Look, one of the higher powers, you know the Powers, came down and requested that Hoffy give you an emergency leave.” Anya zipped her suitcase shut and began working on Xander’s.

He grabbed her arms and turned her to face him. “You need to tell me what’s going on.”

Anya threw her arms around his neck. “I love you. I do, you know. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t wake up and think how glad I am that we made up after the wedding fiasco, and that I’ve gotten to spend the last two hundred years by your side.”

Xander wrapped his arms around her waist. “I love you too. I can’t imagine my life without you. If something ever happened to you…I-I’d go crazy, I don’t know what I’d do.”

“Spike…he dusted.”

Xander pulled back to look at her face. “What? Oh my god. When?”

“I-I don’t know. Buffy…she’s not well. She destroyed their house. I found her unconscious and there was blood all over. I tried to make her come home with me. I said that we’d take care of her, but she-she hit me, Xander and it hurt. I was only trying to help, why did she hit me?”

“Oh, Ahn, I’m sure that she didn’t mean it.”

“Then why’d she do it Xander? Why? She has his dust in an urn by her bed, and…she’s got back the red power ring.”

Xander paled, “I thought Dawn got rid of that right before…”

“She must have given it to Spike for safe keeping. I mean, he hates-hated magic. Buffy must have found it…She thinks it was Spike’s gift to her. You know how much he loved to give her jewelry on their big anniversary dates.”

“I know. Man, this would have been their two hundre…” he trailed off.

“What? What is it?”

Xander didn’t answer. He walked out of their living quarters and back into the library. In the middle of the library, a large book lay open on a wooden podium. Xander walked up to the book and began flipping through it.

“You’re looking through a book at a time like this?” Anya asked.

“Not just any book, Ahn. This is Sedina, the book of prophecies. Anytime, anywhere that a prophecy is said, it is automatically written in this book. When I first came here, I read through the parts that happened while Buffy was missing, and if I remember correctly-and demon librarian so I know I do-there was a passage from Drusilla…Oh here it is ‘When the years have passed by, the numbers reaching three digits, when redemption has come and gone and the mortals we know have faded, when the baby that couldn’t be has grown and defeated the evil men with briefcases, then daddy will return to me and he will bring back my Spike and his bride, and family will rule again.’ Um, sorry, it writes the prophecies as the seers say them,” Xander said.

“Oh my god, Xander, it was going to be their two hundredth anniversary…that’s three digits,” Anya said.

“And the baby that couldn’t be, that’s Connor. It’s talking about when Connor defeated the Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart,” Xander added.

“And-and every mortal we know is dead. It’s just you, me, Spike, Buffy, and Angel and we’re all demons of some sort.”

“Hey, not a demon. Demon librarian, just immortal…so long as I follow my contract,” Xander said before looking back into the book. “Daddy will return to me and he will bring back my Spike,” he muttered.

“Daddy? What does that mean?”

“Angelus. Drusilla called Angelus her daddy. He was her sire…Oh, my god she’s gonna unleash Angelus. She’s going to use Angel’s soul to-“

“Resurrect Spike,” Anya finished. “What does Drusilla look like?”

“Um, kinda gothic. Long black hair, always in a white dress kind of a thing. Why?”

“There was a weird vampiress hanging outside Spike and Buffy’s house when I got there. She was talking to Angel.”

Xander snapped the book shut. “We gotta go. Now!”

XXX
Spike wrapped his arms around Buffy’s waist tighter and buried his face in the back of her head, letting his tears soak her hair.

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” the Priest finished as the three coffins began to lower into the ground.

Buffy’s knees gave out and Spike had to haul her back against his chest to keep her from collapsing.

“NO! NO, you can’t do this. You can’t take them. Not my baby! Not my sister! NNOOOOOOOOO!” She broke loose from Spike’s grip and threw herself forward.

“Buffy! No!” Spike screamed, pulling her off the ground and into his arms.

She buried her face in his chest, her sobs shaking her entire body. “Not fair Spike. It’s not fair. Dawnie, she…and Taylor and…Oh, god Maddy! Maddy, our baby. They took our baby! Why? Why? Why?”

“I don’t know, luv. I don’t know,” Spike leaned his forehead against hers, his own tears falling off his face.

Buffy pulled away to look in his eyes. “Are we bad, Spike? Are we being punished? Is that why everyone we love dies?”

“No, no we’re not bad, pet. You are a good person, a good Slayer. Maybe it’s me, maybe it’s MY punishment for all the bad I did before.”

“You’ve paid your time for that. You’ve been on the side of good for over thirty years.” Buffy framed his face with her hands.

“Yeah, but our daughter isn’t going to see her fifteenth birthday next week so what did that get us.” He leaned his forehead back against Buffy’s. “’M sorry, Buffy. If I’d been driving ‘stead of Nibblet…”Spike let out a sob.

Buffy buried her face back in his neck as Spike stroked her hair. A movement near a tree caught his eye and he locked glances with the man that stood half hidden in the shadows.

“Hey,” Willow said as she and Tara joined them.

Spike let go of Buffy so that they could accept the hugs from the two witches.

“I-if you n-need anything, let us know,” Tara said.

“Red, need you to watch Buffy for a moment. Got something I need to take care of,” Spike whispered in Willow’s ear as he hugged her.

“S-sure, anything you need,” Willow said.

“Buffy, luv, need you to stay with Red and Glinda a moment, okay?”

“Where-where are you going? You aren’t leaving me, are you?” Buffy’s eyes grew wide.

Spike pulled her into his arms. “No, no, never gonna leave you. Just need to talk to someone real quick, kay?”

“But you’ll be back, right?”

“Always come back for you, you know that.”

Buffy nodded and let her best friend pull her away from Spike’s retreating back. Willow had seen the man too, and for once in her life, she thought that turning a blind eye was a good idea.

The man watched as Spike approached him and nervously ran his fingers through his hair.

“What.Are.You.Doing.Here?” Spike ground out.

“I’m-I just…I know it doesn’t mean much, but I’m sorry, okay? I’ve-I’ve ruined your life and the life of your whole family. I’ve done…I’ve done a terrible, terrible thing, and I’ll never stop being sorry. I know you don’t care, but I’ve…I’m getting help now. I, um, I joined AA, you know with the twelve steps and all, and well, I’m supposed to apologize to all the people that my drinking has…hurt, and, well, I’m sorry,” the man finished quickly.

Spike starred at him, his eyes shifting from blue to yellow to blue again. “You’re sorry! Lemme get this right. You kill my daughter, my nephew, and my sister-in-law and you’re SORRY? You’ve crushed my brother-in-law and you’re SORRY! You’ve devastated MY WIFE and you’re SORRY? You have no idea how sorry you’re going to be,” Spike yelled, slamming the man into the tree.

“I-I-I-I-I-I a-a-am,” the man stuttered. “T-truly.”

“And you have the nerve to show up here AT THEIR FUNERAL AND TELL ME YOU’RE SORRY!” Spike’s face shifted to reveal his fangs.

“Oh my g-g-god, what are you?” the man cried out.

“I’m your judge, jury and executioner,” Spike answered sinking his fangs into the man’s neck. He hadn’t had human blood in decades, and to be honest, he didn’t enjoy what he was drinking now. He would have gladly forgone human blood until the end of time to have his family back.

When the man was drained, Spike dumped his body in a nearby crypt. It probably wouldn’t ever be found. He walked back over to where Buffy was still being comforted by Willow and Tara.

“I take it your talk had a good ending?” Willow asked.

Spike didn’t reply. He wrapped his arms around Buffy instead. “Let’s go home, luv.”

XXX
 

Chapter 5

“There used to be a hundred ways to put my arms around you
Everyone seemed new, natural and true”
-Jets to Brazil

D’Hoffryn was pacing in the front room waiting for Anya and Xander. He could count the number of times that one of the Powers That Be had visited him on one hand, and it always meant that something bad was about to happen. The last time had been right before that stupid flood. What a great idea that had been. Oh, we’re going to flood the world to get rid of all the evilness, and we’ll pick one person to build a giant boat and everyone in the boat will live. Well, gee, wasn’t the world a better place now?

“There you are, what took so long?” he demanded as Anya flew into the room with Xander lugging their suitcases behind her.

“We were checking something in Sedina,” Xander said, slightly out of breath.

“And?” D’Hoffryn demanded.

“Drusilla, Spike’s sire, prophesized something that would happen around this time. We’re not sure but we think she means to bring back Angelus and resurrect Spike,” he continued.

“My horns! Are you sure?”

“As sure as we can be with a prophecy,” Anya replied.

“This isn’t good, not good at all. How is the Slayer taking the death of her mate?”

“Oh, she’s gone crazy,” Anya said. “I mean, we are talking completely loony, off the deep end type of crazy. She hit me.”

“Well, you must go help her. In two weeks time all the planets will be in complete alignment, an event that doesn’t happen very often. It is the perfect moment for an apocalypse. Most likely it will be the apocalypse if you can’t pull the Slayer together. You are her oldest friends, the fate of the world lies in your hands.”

“Wow,” Xander muttered. “Talk about no pressure or anything.”

“Well don’t just stand there,” D’Hoffryn yelled. “GO!GO!GO!”

“Alright, we’re gone. Give me your hand, Xander.”

“Aw, man,” Xander moaned as he stuck his hand out. “I hate teleporting.”

XXX

“Well, let’s see,” Anya demanded as she viewed herself in the dressing room mirror.

“I’m not sure if I like it,” Buffy called from behind the door.

“So, let me see and I’ll tell you,” Anya replied. “I think I’m gonna go with the blue one I tried on before this one. This color makes my skin look yellow.”

Buffy opened the door and stepped out of her dressing room. “Well,” she asked.

“Oh, Buffy, it’s gorgeous. I doubt Spike will even let you out of the hotel room. He’ll probably ravish you on the spot,” Anya gushed.

Buffy stepped in front of the mirror and surveyed the emerald green dress she was wearing. It was floor length satin with slit that went up the side of her leg topped with spaghetti straps and a square neck line. “You think?” she asked.

Anya nodded, “Oh, yeah. Leave your hair down though, just curl it into those fat, ringlet thingies, and wear some pearls. Do you have any pearls?”

“Yeah, Spike gave me a pair for our last big anniversary and I think I brought them with.”

“Do you count your anniversary as the day you were claimed or the day you were married?” Anya asked as she held her hair up in a bun and checked her reflection.

“Um, the day we were married.”

“I’m never sure how to answer people when they ask how long Xander and I have been together. I mean, we’ve been married a hundred and twenty seven because we got married almost a year after you and Spike, but we’ve been together for a hundred and thirty two.”

“Hmm,” Buffy replied. “So, where do you think they’re taking us tonight?” she asked, changing the subject.

“I’m not sure. It must be somewhere nice since they told us to buy new dresses and have our nails done,” Anya said. “What a great business idea to have a shopping mall attached to the resort. The owners must make so much money.” She sighed. “Sometimes I miss owning my own business…Yeah, I think I’ll take the blue one.”

Buffy walked back into her own dressing room to change back into her regular clothes before taking the dress to the auto teller at the register.

“Hell-o, did you find everything you needed today?” It asked her in its auto tone voice.

“Yes, thank you.”

”Would you like matching shoes, purse, or undergarments with your purchase?”

“Oh, yeah that would be great.”

“Taking your measurements, please hold still.”

Buffy tried not to flinch as the teller ran a red beam over her body. Behind the teller, the replicating machine began to whirl. A neatly tied bundled lay on it’s shelf a moment later.

“You have added one pair of shoes, one purse, one pair panty hose, one pair under panties, and one brassiere to your purchase. Do you have a club card?”

“No, I don’t,” Buffy replied, tapping her purchase card on the counter. “I don’t need one either, thank you.”

“You could save up to ten percent today for signing up,” the teller told her.

“Oh, save ten percent?” Anya appeared next to her. “You should do it. You would save at least a hundred dollars.”

“No, Spike would kill me if I got another club card. He says I have too many already.”

“Well, I’m going to get it,” Anya announced as she handed her purchases to the next auto teller at the counter.

“No,” Buffy said firmly.

“You’re loss of money, I suppose. Come on, let’s go get our nails done. I can’t wait to see their faces when they see us all dolled up. God, I love vacations. It’s like an excuse to shop until you drop with no repercussions.”
XXX

Drusilla made her way through the house, stopping now and then to study various pictures that hung on the walls. She made it to the master bedroom just as Buffy was making another suicide attempt.

“No, no, no,” Drusilla cooed as she sauntered over to take the axe from Buffy’s hands. Attempt number twenty five was going to be decapitation. “Bad baby. Silly to waste time on something that won’t work anyway.”

“Drusilla?” Buffy whispered.

“Yes, mummy is here to make it all better.” Drusilla opened her arms and Buffy found herself drawn forward. “There, there, baby,” Dru whispered as she closed her arms around Buffy’s small form and began stroking her hair. “You go ahead and cry. Mummy’s here now. Your fair knight has been taken away from you, hasn’t he?”

Buffy began sobbing again at the mention of Spike. “He-he promised to ne-never leave me, but he did. He lied, and now he’s gone away and I can’t go with him. I’m-I’m all a-alone.”

“Sshhh, I can give him back to you, I can.”

Buffy pulled back a little, hope in her eyes for the first time. “You-you can?”

“Of course I can. The stars, they whispered their secrets to me, told me how to give him back to you. Give him to you so that he can never go away again.” Drusilla wiped the tears of off Buffy’s face. “But you have to want it to work. You have to be willing to sacrifice something to have him back.”

“Anything. I’ll give up anything I have to if it will bring him back.”

Drusilla smiled. “I knew you would, but first you need to eat something. Spike won’t like it if he thinks I let his Sunshine get all thin and wasteful. Now drink.”

Buffy did as her sire asked and sank her fangs into Drusilla’s arm. It had been a long time since she’d had blood from anyone but Spike and Drusilla’s blood began to make her dizzy. She sank to the floor with Dru in tow.

“That’s enough now,” Drusilla commanded. “But just outside the door is more blood for you. Your Angel is waiting for you.”

“My…Angel?” Buffy muttered. She felt funny, almost like she was drunk. “Spike…You said you could give me Spike…Is Spike an Angel?”

“Yes, Spike is an Angel and you must call to him. Say ‘Come in my Angel’.” Drusilla said.

“If I say that then Spike will come back to me?” Buffy swayed a bit as the room started to tilt.

“Not at first, but you must believe. I’m starting to think you don’t want him as badly as you say you do. If you did, you would be calling out to him already.” Drusilla stood up as though to walk away.

“NO! Don’t go. I want my S-Spike back. Come in! Come in, my Angel. Come back to me,” she screamed.

XXX

Outside on the front porch Angel heard Buffy screaming out her invite. He rushed through the front door and up the stairs to where the voices were coming from.

“What have you done?” Angel demanded as he took in the scene. Buffy was sitting on the floor, her eyes had a glassy tone to them, and Drusilla was crouched over her.

“It will wear off in a few minutes. Just a little thrall though the blood. Needed her to invite you in, didn’t I?” Drusilla said, gliding over to him. “She’s so hungry, so needy. She needs your blood. Will you feed her, help her? Isn’t that what you do, help the helpless?”

“I’d give her every drop of blood in my body if she’d take it, but she won’t,” Angel replied.

“Oh, but she will. Try, try to feed baby for princess,” Drusilla insisted.

“Fine…fine,” Angel muttered, squatting down next to Buffy and holding out his arm.

“Drink,” Drusilla commanded and Buffy immediately latched onto his arm. “Good girl,” she murmured walking over to the nightstand to collect the urn and slide the ring on her finger. “Almost time,” she whispered to the urn. “Almost time.”

XXX
Chapter 6

“We danced in graveyards with vampires till dawn
We laughed in the faces of kings, never afraid to burn”
-Tori Amos

“Are you sure about this?” Spike asked, looking up at Buffy from his position on the table.

She reached out and clasped his hand tightly. “I’m sure,” she replied as another seizure came over Spike. His body shook so hard that the table began to vibrate, and he arched his back off the metal. Buffy tried to pry his hand off hers so that she could hold him down, but his grip was locked, his nails digging into her skin. His screams bounced off the walls of the room sending waves of agony into Buffy’s heart.

Spike finally collapsed back against the table, his eyes rolled back, a line of drool hanging out of his mouth.

“Spike?” Buffy asked, softly as she wiped his face clean with a towel. “Are you with me?”

“’tsch gonna take morsh then that…to get ride of the…big…bad,” he mumbled, his eyes still closed. “Getting worse…can’t…focus.”

“Sssh, it’ll be okay. The doctor is on his way.”

“You…sure, luv? Can’t…fathom Captain Cardboard wanting to…to help…m-me.” Spike turned his head to where her voice was coming from.

Buffy stroked the top of his head. “I talked to Riley, and he…he doesn’t like it-you and me, I mean-but he accepts it. He said ‘if it makes you happy being with the moron, then who am I to interfere.’ So, see it will all be okay.”

“Believe that when IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!”

Buffy grabbed Spike’s shoulders and held the top part of his body down. She heard his boots squeaking against the metal as his legs flailed against the table. She bit her lip. The seizures were getting longer. Where was that doctor?

“B-Buffy? Buffy!”

“I’m here. Sshhh, I’m here,” Buffy choked back the tears that were struggling to run down her face.

“T-tell me-tell me a-about o-our w-wedding plans ‘cause we’re getting m-married, right?”

“Yeah Spike, we’re getting married a month from now, remember?” The tears were making their way down her face.

“A r-real wedding, right? With you in a w-white dress and me in a tux…” his eyes were unfocused as they sought hers.

“That’s right, and Giles is gonna give me away. Oh, and Dawn is going to be my maid of honor and Clem is gonna be your best man. Xander is going to build us a wooden archway thing and then Tara and Willow are going to cover everything in roses…it’s going to be beautiful,” she whispered.

“We have to l-leave for S-sunnydale soon.”

“Yep, we’re going back to Sunnydale as soon as you recover. We’ll get married and then we’ll head off back to Europe where we’ll return to our lives of sitting in cafes drinking cocoa and stopping mini-apocalypses.”

“Ms. Summers?” The door opened and a doctor entered, reading a file as he walked in.

“Yes, that’s me,” Buffy answered.

“I’m Doctor Furter, I was sent here by Officer Finn. I understand you are having difficulties with a government regulated modification chip?” The doctor looked over at Spike.

“Yes, the chip-it keeps firing electricity into his brain.”

“Are you sure that it’s a random firing and that the subject is not thinking of harming people? You perhaps?”

“What? NO!” Buffy walked up to Doctor Furter. “Listen here,” she paused to look at the first name on his badge. “Frank. Spike would never, ever hurt me or anyone else. So don’t you suggest that again.”

“And you’re sure you wouldn’t like a replacement chip instead?” he asked, trying not to flinch as Buffy poked him in the chest.

“I.Want.That.Chip.Out.Of.My.Fiance. Do you understand me?” she asked.

“Yes ma’am. Officer Finn requested that I ask those questions before performing the surgery.”

“I’m sure he did,” Buffy answered dryly.

“We’ll begin prepping the su-er,patient for surgery,” the doctor nodded to several other medical personal that were waiting behind the door. “You can wait in the lobby, Miss. We’ll let you know when the surgery is done.”

“No, I’ll wait right here,” Buffy said crossing her arms over her chest.

“But, Miss, you can’t be in an operating-“the doctor started.

“I said, I’ll.Wait.Right.Here.”

“Best…let her do it, doc. Right stubborn bint when she…wants to be. ‘Ts why…I love her,” Spike mumbled.

“Fine, fine, you can stay, but stay out of the way while we work,” Dr. Furter conceded.


XXX


“OW! What the-“

“Xander, your elbow is in my side.”

“Where are we? Why aren’t we in the house?” Xander asked, helping Anya to a standing position. The two of them were in the middle of Spike and Buffy’s yard.

“I don’t know. Right when I went to put us in the living room, something forced us out,” Anya answered. “Look the front door is open, let’s just go in.”

The two walked up to the front door, and Anya started to walk in.

“Ow!” She cried as she bounced off an invisible barrier and back into Xander. She put her hand against the barrier, testing it. “Oh, this isn’t good.”

“What? What isn’t good?” Xander asked.

“There’s a barrier here. We can’t get in.”

“And that means, what?”

“It means that we may already be too late. We’re going to need a witch…a powerful witch. Come on, we need to go see the coven,” Anya said, grabbing Xander’s hand again.

XXX

“Do the bumpies, Daddy!” Madison giggled from her position on Spike’s lap.

Spike complied, shifting into vampire face and making grr noises at his daughter as she clapped and squealed her delight.

“Spike, you are not winding her up before bedtime, are you?” Buffy asked, poking her head into the living room.

“’Course not, luv. Just gonna tell her a bed time story,” Spike answered as he winked at Madison.

“Act it out, Daddy. Act it out!” she demanded.

“Right, you got it. One bedtime story acted out for Princess Madison,” Spike announced as he stood up and sat his daughter down on the couch. He cleared his throat dramatically. “This is the story of how I saved your mum from imminent danger and all that rot.”

Madison giggled. “Daddy, all your stories are how you saved mommy from immme-imme-danger.”

“That’s ‘cause your mum has a tendency to get herself in trouble,” Spike leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially.

“I heard that,” Buffy said, coming into the living room to sit on the couch with her daughter.

“Hey, my story here. You want to be the hero, then you tell the story,” Spike answered.

“What? And steal all your glory? Wouldn’t dream of it,” Buffy said dryly.

“Okay, this is the story of how I saved your mum and your Auntie Dawn from the evil clutches of the shoe demons…oh, and Poof and Aunt Cordy were there too,” Spike said dramatically as Buffy rolled her eyes. “See this one day mum gets a call that says she must rush to Los Angeles immediately,” he paused to imitate a phone conversation featuring a high pitched Buffy and Cordelia. “See there was a great battle happening. A store with normally high priced shoes that no one could afford was having a one day sale, but there was an evil spell on the store and all the ladies who tried on the shoes turned into monsters that were fighting and reeking havoc on the peaceful shoppers. Well, mum and Auntie Dawn jumped into the car and raced to the scene.” Spike did an imitation of a car swerving all over the road.

Buffy rolled her eyes at him again, and Spike gave her a smirk.

“Anyway, so mum and Auntie Dawn pick up Aunt Cordy and rush over to the store. At first, they were holding their own, doing battle against the evil monsters, but then some demon tried to take a pair of expensive shoes from Auntie Dawn and Aunt Cordy went crazy. She and mum started losing the fight.”

“Hey, those were Jimmy Choos at eighty percent off,” Buffy protested.

Spike ignored her. “Luckily, Poof and I knew that the ladies would be in trouble.” He made a trumpet noise and grabbed a sword from behind him as he imitated himself riding into battle. “Soon as we could, we ran into the store and fought the demons off of our girls.” He did an imitation of a battle. “It was tough, losses on both sides, but in the end we were able to save the day. Then I swept your mum off her feet,” he grabbed Buffy off the couch in a newlywed pose and spun her around. “And stole a kiss as we rode off into the night. The end.”

Buffy laughed and kissed her knight on the lips. “My hero,” she said. “Now, it’s bed time for bonzos.”

“Aw, mom. One more story, please,” Madison pleaded.

“No, bed now.”

Madison stomped up the stairs, grumbling half-heartedly leaving her parents alone in the living room.

“We did save the day, you know,” Spike answered.

“Yeah, who could forget you flashing fang at the fifty- five year old trying to snag those black Gucci pumps from me,” Buffy laughed.

“Hey, you wanted those shoes, and nobody messes with my girl,” Spike said as he pressed a kiss to her lips.

“Mmm, come on, put me down. I need to go tuck Madison in.”

“You do that…then I’m gonna come and tuck mummy in,” he arched his eyebrow and curled his tongue behind his teeth.

“Oooh, can’t wait,” Buffy murmured pulling his lips back to hers.

XXX

Angel didn’t remember passing out, but when he opened his eyes he was no longer in the bedroom. Dru had moved both him and Buffy into the living room and cleared all the furniture out of the way. There was a large white circle that took up most of the room, and in the center of the circle was a pile of ashes. Buffy sat across from him, her eyes still glazed as she stared at the ashes.

“Buffy?” His tongue felt like sand. “What’s going on?”

“We have to sacrifice something. Drusilla said so. I told her that I would sacrifice anything to have him back-anything…but you have to sacrifice something too…” Buffy’s eyes locked with his. “Will you? Please? I’ve never asked you for anything, please help me get him back.” Tears spilled down her cheeks as she made her plea.

Angel opened his mouth and closed it again. His brain felt fuzzy. He blinked a couple of times before nodding. “Sure, Buffy, anything you need,” it was his voice but not him answering. Something was very wrong here.

XXX
 

Chapter 7

“When water tastes like blood & love it feels like love
Soft things they feel rough, but its love & it feels like love”
-Auntie Christ

Anya and Xander found themselves standing in a large field.

“Are we in the wrong place again?” Xander asked.

“No, but you can’t just teleport into a coven,” Anya responded. “Come on, it’s half a mile from here.” She started to walk toward the forest.

“What? We’re walking? I knew I should have joined that stupid gym,” Xander muttered.

They walked in silence until they reached a clearing in the woods. There were several cottages built in a semi-circle and men and woman wandered about. Anya headed straight back to the middle cottage and knocked on the door.

“Yes?” A young girl with long red hair opened the door.

“We need to see Lenore. Is she around?” Anya said.

“Whom shall I say is calling?”

“Anyanka.”

“One moment please.” The girl shut the door, but returned a minute later. “Please come in.”

Anya and Xander followed the girl into the sitting room where a tea set had been laid out. A tall woman with long, raven hair gestured for them to sit on the couch across from her.

“Hello, Anyanka. To what do I owe this pleasure?” Lenore said when they had all accepted tea from the redhead.

“We have a problem and we need your help.” Quickly Anya filled in all that had happened in the last two weeks.

“Hmm, now the cards make sense,” Lenore look thoughtful for a moment before continuing. “Great things are coming and they have the option of being good or bad. The cards have shown me death and rebirth but of what I cannot say. Great power is coming through the alignment next week.”

“Two weeks,” Xander interrupted. “D’Hoffryn said two weeks.”

Lenore shook her head. “No, the alignment is not following the calendar of mortals. If it continues at this rate, the alignment could happen as soon as two days or it could not happen at all. The stars keep their own time.”

“Lenore, we fear that the red ring of power has fallen into the hands of a crazy vampiress,” Anya said. “She has placed a force field around the Slayer’s house.”

Lenore closed her eyes. “The red ring of Vendia has found its way back into the world. This is bad. That ring was forged in evilness deep in the pits of hell. It holds great power and the ability to sway the owner to evil, but rarely does as the owner requests.”

“Wow, how Lord of the Rings,” Xander muttered.

“It is the ring that the story is based on,” Lenore said with a straight face. “It somehow came into the possession of the author at one point.”

“Wait, you remember Lord of the Rings? That was like way before you were born,” Xander said in awe. “I mean, we’re talking centuries here.”

Lenore looked at him. “It is based on real power and as head of the coven it is my duty to know and study all means of magic.”

“What do we do?” Anya asked.

“I cannot help you bring down the field. That is beyond my powers. But I can help you prepare for what is coming.”

“Xander, get the suitcases,” Anya said. “I think we’re going to be here for a bit.”

XXX

“To our friends and family,” Angel said.

“To our loved ones who fought by our side,” Buffy added.

“They helped us save the world…a lot,” Spike finished.

The three toasted each other and drank from the wine glasses they each held.

Buffy put her glass down and picked up her fork, pushing her grilled salmon around her plate.

“Something wrong, luv?” Spike asked her.

Buffy set her fork down. “It’s just…I mean, they’re all really gone now. I guess, I don’t know, I mean, I know that we buried Tara a year ago but now that she’s been added to our memorial thing…it just makes it real.”

“Buffy, Tara was in her nineties,” Angel said. “Besides, you still have us and Anya and Xander.”

“I know. Although we only see you, what, once maybe twice a year. Spike sees Xander every week at cards, but I only see him and Anya once a month or so. I guess, I just haven’t gotten used to the thought that I can’t just call up Willow to talk,” she finished.

Spike place his hand over hers and linked their fingers. “I know it’s hard, to lose your loved ones, and it never gets easier.”

“Part of me wants to say that I’ll never have friends like them again, and I know that I won’t, but I also know that I will have different friends someday and I’ll have to lose them too. It’s like how I thought I’d never be happy again after,” Buffy paused to swallow hard and both Angel and Spike knew she was thinking of Madison. “But, after awhile I did start to laugh again and-and be happy.”

The waitress came over and interrupted them. “Can I interest you in dessert?”

“No,” Angel answered. “Just the check please.”

“Is it our turn for dinner this time?” Buffy asked.

“No, my turn for dinner, your turn for flowers,” Angel answered.

“What are you thinking this year, pet?” Spike asked, rubbing his thumb along the side of Buffy’s hand. “You want irises again?”

Buffy shook her head. “No, I want sunflowers. They had enough darkness in their lives. Let’s give them some sunlight.”

Spike stood up and helped Buffy into her coat. She took his hand and they followed Angel out of the restaurant. Sometimes it shocked her how no matter how much time passed, Sunnydale refused to change. They stopped at the floral shop to pick out several bouquets of sunflowers before heading off to Restfield cemetery. Spike led the way, although they had all memorized the path over the years. He stopped in front of the first gravestone. It was Joyce’s. They went down the line: Dawn, Taylor, Madison, Cordelia, Giles, Fred, Gunn, Wesley, Willow, Tara, Oz, and Connor. All in a row. It had taken a lot of maneuvering to get the whole gang in one cemetery. Especially Giles since he had died in London, and Oz they had to track down, but in the end, they were all back to the beginning. Dawn’s husband was buried next to her, and even though he didn’t really accept the world that his wife walked in, he had asked permission to be buried next to her.

Buffy and Spike stood in front of Madison’s grave the longest. Buffy leaned into Spike, their hands firmly clasped together. Sometimes Spike wondered what Buffy was thinking as she stared at the grave, her eyes never blinking, and it was times like that when Spike wondered what would become of his Slayer should he ever dust. She was a true immortal and would never die no matter what happened while he was only immortal so long as he didn’t lose his head, catch on fire, or take a piece of wood through the heart. He was still looking for another Gem of Amara, but it seemed that Angel had destroyed the only one. Willow and Tara had even helped in his quest. At one point they tried to create a new one, but it had failed. Without meaning to, he squeezed Buffy’s hand tightly as he thought about her trying to live without him.

“What are you thinking?” Buffy asked softly.

“Just thinking about the past,” Spike murmured. “Nothing more.”

XXX

Drusilla walked around the circle like a tight rope walker. “Are we ready to bring the prince back?” she asked.

“Yes!” Buffy exclaimed. “Yes, yes, yes, yes, a million yeses.”

Angel looked at the girl sitting across from him. Her eyes were haunted and…broken. Had he ever seen Buffy so broken? So lost? He didn’t think he ever had, not even when they’d first found her hiding after she’d escaped from that zoo. Where had the strong woman that he’d once admired gone? Even after all these years, he’d accepted the relationship that she had with Spike, but he didn’t imagine it ran so deep. Not so deep as to have her shatter at his passing. He’d always figured that at some point they’d get bored with each other, not that she would turn to him. No, Angel knew that he and Buffy would never work, but he’d assumed she would just take another lover, claim be damned. Besides, claims were merely superstition. They didn’t link one mate to the other, it was just a scar, a way to mark territory. Nothing more.

Drusilla was staring at Angel, and he realized that he must have spaced out. “Are you prepared to make your sacrifice?” she asked.

“Yes,” he answered in the voice that wasn’t his.

“Then we begin,” Drusilla said as she started to sway and chant in a language that Angel didn’t know.

Buffy seemed to know what was expected of her because a few minutes after Drusilla began, she entered the circle with a dagger in her hand. With a flick of her wrist, she opened a vein on her arm and allowed the blood to run onto the pile of ashes. After a few minutes, she collapsed to her knees from the blood loss, but she still held her arm out. Finally she passed out.

Angel tried to call out to her but he was enveloped in a strange blue light. It ran through his body, burning him from the inside. The pain made him double over and he opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. He felt like something was being ripped out of him as he watched the blue light pull a white essence from his body. The two lights circled around the pile of ashes faster and faster until the light overwhelmed the room, bursting out the windows.

When the light faded, Buffy opened her eyes to find two blue eyes peering at her with a mix of wonder and horror.

“Spike?” she whispered.

“Buffy, what have you done?” he asked, his voice breaking.

She threw herself into his arms, ignoring the fact that he was naked as she pressed fevered kisses over his face.

“My Spike, you came back. You came back to me. My Spike, my William,” she muttered in between kisses barely noticing that he wasn’t kissing her back.

His hands caught her arms and he pulled her away from him. “Buffy.”

“They gave you back to me, the Powers. They gave you back to me,” she continued.

“Buffy!” He shook her until he had her attention.

“What-what’s wrong? Are-aren’t you happy to be back with me?” she asked, tears rolling down her face.

“Buffy…I…I was in Heaven.”

XXX

 

Chapter 8

“I heard everybody’s voice cut out when you spoke
And I watched all the lights go dim as your eyes opened.”
-Alkaline Trio

“Xander, do you ever find that you’re forgetting things?” Buffy asked, resting her chin on her hands.

“No, I remember everything, part of the job, remember?” he answered sitting across from her at the table.

“No, not about demons and stuff, like personal stuff. The other day I spent an hour trying to remember if my mom liked sugar in her coffee. And it’s stupid, I know, but I used to make her coffee every Saturday morning so how could I forget that?” she asked.

Xander shrugged, “Don’t sweat it, Buffster. You’ll always remember the important things, but as time goes by our lives change and the past just sorta blends into the background.”

Buffy sighed, “When did you get to be all wise?”

“When I became a demon librarian, came with the job.” He poured her another cup of tea.

“Do you ever wonder what your life would be like if you had never met me or if I had never been Called?” she asked, dumping three cubes of sugar into the tea.

“Um, well, first off I’d be long dead probably from a vampire or something…ew maybe I’d be a vampire…er, no offense to your significant other,” he said quickly. “And I wouldn’t have met Ahn…I’d probably have become my father and spent my life with a wife that hated me and an alcohol problem.”

“Hmm,” Buffy said thoughtfully. “I guess I never thought about it like that.”

“Why? Something going on with you and Spike?”

Buffy shook her head, “No, things are great. I mean, don’t get me wrong, we get on each other’s nerves every so often, but I just…sometimes I just wonder.”

Xander picked up her hands off the table and looked her in the eyes. “Buffy, she died from a drunk driver. That had nothing to do with you being the Slayer.”

“How did you know what I was thinking about?” she asked.

“Buffy, I do own a calendar and you always get like this at this time of the year.”

“But maybe the Powers were mad at me that day. Maybe I was being punished,” she insisted.

“Buffy, did you ever stop to think that if you had never been called, then Dawn would have been placed in your care-“

“But then she couldn’t have died in the accident,” Buffy interrupted.

“You’re missing the point. If you weren’t the Slayer, you probably wouldn’t have met Spike. You would be with someone else, and Madison wouldn’t have been in your life. Dawn wouldn’t have been in your life…Taylor wouldn’t have existed…none of us would have been in your life.”

“I know,” she whispered. “I wouldn’t really change anything, I just…“

“Think about it sometimes,” Xander finished.

“Yeah.”

“I know what you mean.”

XXX

Spike watched the range of emotions play through Buffy’s eyes.

“I…I didn…I jus…” She looked down and tried to find a spot on the floor to rest her eyes.

“Buffy, look at me,” his grip tightened on her arms. “I.Was.In.Heaven. I was with…everyone, Maddy…and my ma and da…” Spike stood up, he couldn’t be in the room with her right now.

“Where-where are y-you going?” she asked frightfully, grabbing his ankle like it was her lifeline.

Spike sighed and crouched back down. “I’m not leavin’ ya. I’m going to get some clothes.”

“You don’t love me anymore?” It was a question that made his heart break.

“I still love you, but…I just, I need to not be with you right now.” He walked upstairs without looking back, never once noticing that anyone else had been in the room besides him and Buffy.

XXX

Xander sat on the bed and watched Anya unpack their suitcases. Apparently they were going to stay here for a few days while Lenore read her cards and consulted the stars. None of it made any sense to Xander. If Drusilla was going to be releasing Angelus, then they should be running to the rescue stakes blazing, but apparently that would upset the “balance of life” or some crap like that.

“Where do you think Spike went when he died?” Xander asked suddenly.

“I hadn’t really thought about it. I guess Hell because he’s a vampire and all,” Anya answered.

“Yeah, but he’s been helping the side of good for over two hundred years, and the Powers have already given him retribution for all the evil he did, remember?”

“Oh, then I guess he went to Heaven. Why?” Anya asked.

“Oh God, Buffy’s gonna pull him out of Heaven!” Xander looked at Anya in shock.

“Well that’s ridiculous,” Anya said. “She was so upset when we did it to her, I doubt she’d do that to someone else.”

“Ahn, she’s not thinking clearly and she’s in the presence of an insane vampire. Let’s think about this,” Xander said.

“Hmm, well that’s going to make Spike very unhappy.”

XXX

“How’s my hair look?” Willow asked worriedly.

“Your hair looks fine,” Buffy assured her.

“And what about my clothes,” she asked, smoothing down the white pantsuit she was wearing. “I should have gone with the dress, shouldn’t I? I knew it, I knew I should have gotten the dress.”

“Would you relax,” Dawn said. “It’s not like Tara’s gonna leave you at the altar or something.”

Both Buffy and Willow shot Dawn a death look.

“You know, I’m just gonna go to where, um, somewhere else,” Dawn muttered and ran out the door.

“I wish that Xander could be here,” Willow said.

Buffy adjusted the boutonniere on Willow’s jacket. “He wanted to be here too, but at least he’ll be able watch via that portal you set up.”

“It’s not the same thing.”

“I know…Wow! Look at you Wills, you look beautiful.”

Willow turned to look into the mirror. “You know sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and I think that my whole life is a dream, and that I’m going to wake up tomorrow nerdy, old Willow still in high school wishing that someone would notice her.”

Buffy put her arm around Willow’s shoulders. “I know what you mean.” She smiled at their reflections. “Come on, let’s get you married.”

“Joined,” Willow corrected her. “It’s not legal for us to be married.”

“Well, technically it’s not legal for me to be married to a vampire, but it still feels like a real marriage to me,” Buffy told her.

Willow smiled and the two girls walked out of the room.


 

Next