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wonderful banner by edgehead


Author's Chapter Notes:
thanks to those who took the time to review. there are more chapters to come.
The death of Andrew and the appearance of Egyhon had upset everyone. Dawn and Buffy had just wanted to hold onto one another all night, their drying tears still stained the pillow that supported both their heads. Spike and Martin had tried to comfort them, but they knew what the girls really needed was each other. Neither man objected to losing their bed partner for the night, anything to stop the tears, anything to give the women what comfort they could.

Buffy and Dawn had finally gone to sleep in the early hours of the morning after crying for hours. They had lost a friend in Andrew and, although Giles had betrayed them, they had lost the only father either of them ever really knew. Spike had kept watch over both her and Dawn all night. He rested in the original torture device ‘the comfy chair’, rather than separate the two girls or be separated from them; he couldn’t, wouldn’t let them out of his sight.

The only disturbance had been when Martin had dropped him off some coffee and a mug of blood at about 5 am, trying not to wake either Dawn or Buffy, who lay sleeping wrapped in each other’s arms. They were tossing and turning in their sleep again, crying out in fear and calling for Andrew. They only settled when Spike sang a lullaby; with a master vampire sitting watch they slept safely, if not peacefully.

‘Useful trick there,’ Martin said. He had to smile at the sight and sound of a master vampire singing to comfort a couple of mortals, however mortal Dawn and Buffy could ever be.


Cordelia watched invisibly from inside the room. Even the vampire could not sense her presence for which she was grateful. It would be a while before she was forgiven for the day’s events, she knew that. She hated the fact that Andrew had died; she had done what she could to warn them, told them to be careful, but free will was a bitch, even more of a bitch than she was. Of course she could have stopped it, and if she had been human she would have, but her hands were tied, and she loathed and detested that fact. She could hear the angry distressed thoughts from Xander and from Riley, both showing their youth. Fate, free will, it was what made humans human. It was what having a soul was all about, choosing to do good, oh not in the way that some humans said but in the true meaning of the words. If she had waved her hand and prevented Andrew from acting, she would have taken his will away from him; if she had ordered Spike or Buffy to step in, that would have altered their paths. If she had stopped Giles, and she REALLY wanted to stop Giles, she would have been taking the final sin from his soul and allowing him a chance of redemption, but Giles killed with no mercy, killed one he had wounded the most. She would have been dictating their paths to them. All she could do was try and make good come from an evil act and at least Andrew was finally out of pain. If he hadn’t died Andrew would have eventually been tempted to sell his soul to stop the agony in his heart and his body, and become worse than Giles ever was. Yep, free will was a bitch, but the Power’s hands were tied. They hadn’t picked Buffy as a slayer, they hadn’t chosen to allow Willow to empower all the potentials. But when she had been chosen and Willow had released the power, they used their Grace to manipulate the consequences to their best effect.


Morning saw little joy in the Hotel. Clem and Baya along with the other demons that had been sheltering at The Hyperion had left with promises to keep in touch. Dawn had hugged Chara close and Clem had been tearful as he put his arms around Dawn. It was safer now on the streets, safer because all the demons that owed their allegiance to the likes of Giles were running for their very lives. Clem was taking his family south, into Mexico where a village had been set up to give peaceful demons like them somewhere to live away from trouble. Three of the younger slayers were going with them to make sure they arrived safely and to stay and guard the village from the sort of people and demons that would love to spoil their Utopia. Buffy laughed at the thought, really laughed, slayers protecting demons!! A lot of the girls were planning to get houses in New Eden, it would be somewhere they wouldn’t stand out as unusual. Somewhere they would be normal, and that, for a slayer, was a priceless gift.

The packing up of the army equipment had taken only a couple of hours, leaving the reception rooms looking desolate and bare. The soldiers were highly trained at what they did, the odd bandage or coffee cup left abandoned the only evidence of the room’s previous use. The main body of the troop would be moving out that day, posted back to base for R&R before their next job, a castle in Romania that was head quarters for a group of vampires.


Martin had spent all his free time with Dawn. She was still quiet following the horrific events the day before, withdrawn into herself, her world spinning out of control. Her friends all leaving hadn’t helped her. Spike looked over at her and remembered she was still a young woman, despite being around for thousands of years. Martin had requested and received permission to stay with Dawn, on leave for a month. It helped having a CO who owed the Slayer so much, and helping the Slayer’s little sister recover from her upset was considered a good use of his time.

Riley and Sam were headed home. They had bought a small house in Iowa, near his parent’s place, ready to give William a good upbringing. Riley was staying with Special Forces, as was Sam, but they had a lot of leave to catch up with, and the world was now full of slayers to help them out. Early that morning Spike had taken another small sip of blood from young William and claimed him as family. Riley smiled as one of the fiercest Master vampires that had ever lived, head of the most powerful vampiric family, put protection on a baby. The look in Spike’s eyes as he held William was haunting. A child that carried William the Bloody’s name was something very special.


Spike watched from a seat in the sun, playing with William, helping by keeping the baby out of the way while everyone else was so busy, as the lorries were packed up and sent on their way. Riley and Sam said their goodbyes quietly to their men; baby William was safe in his Godfather’s arms playing peek-a-boo with his bumpies.

Spike wanted to do something wonderful for the child. In his day a godparent lavished gifts on their godchild, and he wished he were still in a position to do the same. He had some savings in a demon bank, but nowhere near enough to do half the things he wanted to do. Buffy’s future was secure, all the watcher funds were under the care of Septamus, and they were busy setting up funds for all of the slayers. College and a future for them, no Double Meat Palace jobs for the younger generation. Buffy was grateful for that. She and Faith both knew how hard it was to balance real life and slaying and they were determined no one else would suffer as they had. The new generation would have choices or the new council would face both Faith and Buffy and they guaranteed the first slayer and her lieutenant would be dangerous enemies to make.

Andrew’s body had been left in one of the side rooms and the soldiers planned to take him with them when they left. He wasn’t left in the dark though: Willow and Morgana had lit candles in the room and put wards up around it. Tomorrow he would be escorted with full honours to a special cemetery that had been set aside for Riley’s men. Covered in wards and protection spells it was a place to let the dead rest in peace.

Three days later, and Andrew’s funeral was a quiet affair. Riley had organised an honour guard for the poor boy and he was buried with slayers and friends in attendance. Spike was grateful for the Gem of Amara that let him stand in the sun by the side of his beloved Buffy as she watched the coffin being lowered into the ground.

Morgana and Septamus stood off to one side. They had helped Willow deal with the details of the funeral, Kennedy’s father sending a private jet for any who wanted to go. They too were leaving the gang, going away to New Hampshire for a long vacation, courtesy of Kennedy’s very wealthy family. They needed it: Willow was exhausted from all her efforts. Morgana had promised to keep in contact with her and help her with her training, but not until she was properly rested. Their cases were waiting in the back of the limo.

Faith and Robin had left the day before, Faith revelling in her new responsibilities as the main trainer and den mother to the younger slayers.

Spike, Dawn and Buffy got into their own car after one final look back at the grave. Martin was already waiting for them in the driving seat. They headed back to the Hyperion to pick up their bags: they were heading back to England with Septamus and Morgana aboard one of the council’s private planes. They had a council to rebuild.





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