Chapter 11
“So does this mean we won?” Andrew asked slowly as the group convened in the main hall downstairs, save for Bex and Bella, who had finally been coaxed to sleep by their parents.
“The spell works, so I’d say yeah,” one of the Slayers said with a smile, as she attempted a round house kick on another Slayer, executed it perfectly, while the other Slayer blocked her kick perfectly.
“Hey, watch it!”
“I knew you’d get it. I was testing both of us.”
“Uh-huh,” came a skeptical murmur. Buffy looked around at the group. Aside from herself, Faith, and apparently Bella, there were seven girls left. Their numbers had dwindled, and out of the entire Slayer army, this was all that was left. There were more out there, surely, but the foundation of their organization had crumbled, and it would take years to rebuild, if it was even possible.
“I guess we have won. Won’t stop the vampires from trying tonight, though.”
“But they’ll get their asses kicked and ground into dust…literally, and they’ll know the Slayers are back,” Faith said with a nod toward the door.
“We’ll have to let one live,” Spike pointed out. “Have to let him go to let the others know what’s happened.”
“Wil, you did good,” Xander offered from his place in the crowd. Willow still looked uncertain.
“I don’t know. I just hope it holds. What if somebody else…”
“Ethan is dead,” Giles pointed out. “And as soon as this is over, I’ll be on my way to insure that something like this never happens again.” They all knew there were no guarantees, but Giles felt it was his duty, and they couldn’t stop him from his mission now that his mind was set.
“It’s almost dark,” Buffy said quietly. “They’ll be here soon. We’re ready?”
“There’s not many…”
“There weren’t many before, but now we’re a helluva lot more powerful,” Faith said with a raised eyebrow. Buffy looked at the group once more, realizing that her arms were crossed. God, it felt like she was talking to the Potentials right before the big battle, all over again. She loosened up and dropped her arms to her sides. “We should go get to our posts.” Everyone disbanded and headed for their spots. Buffy turned to her sister.
“I know. Go watch the kids. I got it.”
“Thanks, Dawnie.”
“No problem, but you know in a year or two I’m gonna make you teach me some sweet moves.” Buffy rolled her eyes.
“After you graduate, maybe. You know I haven’t forgotten about your first failed slaying.”
“Hey, but you said your first one went badly too. So I’m not forgetting that either, big sister.” She flashed her sister a teasing smile and headed up to check on the kids. Buffy felt a hand catch her shoulder as she turned, and she looked up into Spike’s big, blue eyes. Immediately, a worried frown appeared on her face.
“It was just a dream, luv,” he assured her. “I’m not getting bit. I’m not gonna be a vampire again. I’m gonna grow old, live my life, complain about every ache, every pain, every gray hair, and I’m gonna love every minute of it, because I get to spend those minutes with you.” He saw the tears well in her eyes.
“Yeah? You promise.”
“Promise, luv.”
“Good, because if you break that promise…you’re in big trouble.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, pet. Give me a kiss then, and off with you.” She could see concern in his eyes too, but she knew that sometimes, a dream was just a dream. Sometimes she worried too much. Sometimes…sometimes she needed to not expect the worst. So, she stood on her tiptoes, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her warm lips against his, lingering there until she felt his lips part, and she gave him a proper kiss, one that left them both a little flushed in the face.
Pulling back, she smiled and gently wiped a little drool from his lower lip and giggled. “I’ll see you when it’s over then, right?”
“Right, luv.”
“Good.” She kissed him again, and they sighed against each other, breathing each other in, neither one wanting to admit that despite their powerful little group, terrible things still could happen.
“Buff,” Xander called from his post. “We’ve got company.”
***
“You ok?” Buffy asked, eyeing Willow warily. Willow grimaced and gave a nod. During the fight, she’d gotten nicked with the point of a sword, leaving a nasty little gash on her arm. Willow muttered something, and there was a little poof, a spark, and the wound was healed. “Gotta love those self-healing spells?”
“Yeah, definitely,” Willow agreed as Buffy helped her up. She looked over at Spike, who was shaking out his leather coat. A rain of vamp dust showered down to the floor. Well, he was fine. No bite marks. No vamping out. Sometimes a dream really is just a dream.
“What now?” asked Libby, a rather ambitious Slayer, who had kept quiet these past few days out of sheer concentration on maintaining what strength she had to survive long enough to become a Slayer again.
“Now, we stay until sun up, and then we get the hell out,” Faith suggested.
“I like Faith’s plan,” Buffy nodded. “Let’s do that.”
“Yeah,” Libby said slowly, “but…what now? I mean, what the hell do we do?” Buffy looked around at the group. She looked at Andrew, who seemed to have taken an interest in the conversation.
“We’ll rebuild.” He was totally ripping off the bravado of any leader figure in any major disaster movie. Still, he was right. “We’ll rebuild, and we’ll be stronger. Right?” He looked at Xander and then at Spike. “Right?”
“Right,” Xander piped up. “Even though the army and most of the headquarters are destroyed, along with most of the money…”
“Not true,” Buffy said. “Money equals bank. Bank equals none of us being out on our butts. We still have the money.” She looked at Spike and shrugged. “But it wouldn’t hurt to start looking into some part time work when we get home.”
“Home,” Spike said with a nod.
“Let’s all try to get some sleep,” Giles said quietly, motioning toward the stairs. “I’ll stay up in case any of our friends decide to come back for a little visit.”
“You get some rest, Giles. Spike and I’ll stay up.”
“You’re sure?”
“Sure. You know how we get, Giles. A little fight and we’re wide awake. Go on. You need your energy for all that research you’re gonna be doing for us, anyway.”
“Yes, right,” Giles said, cleaning his glasses. “I’ll do my best.” He looked at Spike. “Do try to avoid being bitten.”
“Will do, Rupert.” The older man disappeared up the stairs, and Buffy swatted Spike’s arm. “What’d I do?”
“Don’t make fun of him. He’s trying to help.”
“Sorry, pet. He’s just wound up so tight. He needs a girl.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that to his face.”
“’Course not.” He smiled, and a clearing throat sounded through the darkness. Angel stepped out of the shadows.
“I’m gonna take off.”
“Why?” Buffy asked, furrowing her brows. “It’s late, and…”
“Exactly. If I leave and sunrise, you’ll be sweeping me up in a dust pan.”
“Right,” Buffy said awkwardly. “That little thing.”
“Yeah, that little thing.” Spike realized that this was about to be a big goodbye moment, and it suddenly struck him that he wasn’t worried. Not one little bit. He gently rubbed his wife’s shoulder.
“I’m gonna check on the kids, pet.”
“Alright. I’ll be up in a minute.” Spike nodded and gave her shoulder a squeeze before heading up the stairs. Buffy turned back to Angel, eyes full of apprehension. “I don’t suppose we’ll be getting a Christmas card, huh?” Angel shifted uncomfortably.
“I think it’d be better if…if I didn’t…”
“I understand,” she said quickly so he wouldn’t have to finish the sentence.
“But if you ever need anything…you know you can ask.”
“Yeah,” Buffy said quietly. “I know. Thanks for coming, Angel.”
“I didn’t really do much. Just babysat.”
“Which meant a lot. Just because I’m with Spike doesn’t mean I automatically never want to see you again. You’re in my heart. You always will be.” She smiled. “As corny as it sounds, Spike and the kids…they’re my heart now, and that’s something…it’s something that I’ve never felt before.”
“I get that,” Angel said quietly.
“Angel?”
“Hmm?”
“You should be happy. I’m never gonna make you happy. Obviously…look at you now. You have one foot out the door.”
“Sorry. I just need to get back. I have a company and…everything.”
“Right,” Buffy said with a nod. “Promise me something, first.”
“What?”
“You’ll talk to Connor.”
“Buffy,” he started with an exasperated sigh.
“Don’t ‘Buffy’ me. Not gonna listen, Angel. He’s your son. Maybe he doesn’t know it. Maybe nobody else does either. And you do. You’re gonna be around for a long long time. And he’s not. But you won’t forget about him. At least make contact. Do something. You need closure.” Angel was silent for a moment.
“I’ll try. Not promising though.”
“Alright,” Buffy said with a shake of her head. “It really was good to see you again. I just hope it isn’t five years. But I understand if…”
“I can’t make you any promises there either, Buffy.”
“I’m not looking for any,” she admitted. He nodded, understanding, and then he was gone. Buffy watched him walk away for only a moment before she turned and headed upstairs to join her family before settling in for a long, watchful night.
***
“I’m sorry.”
“What?” Faith spun around as she dug around in the fridge for something to snack on. Normally, she had awesome, mind-blowing sex after a battle, but considering she had no potential bed buddies around here, she was settling for food. She hadn’t expected him to follow her into the kitchen, that was for sure.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated, stepping toward her. “I’m sorry you’re hurting, because I moved on.” He looked into her eyes, seeing her trying to hold up the invisible walls that protected her. “I haven’t moved on from losing our daughter, Faith, but I fell in love, and I’m happy. I can’t apologize for that, but I’m sorry it’s hurting you.”
“I’m fine. I told you that.”
“You tell yourself that, but I know you. You didn’t want me to get close enough to know you, but I did. I know enough about you to know when you’re hurt, and you are. I never meant to hurt you. I…I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, and I moved on.”
“Yeah, well, that’s good. It’s great. I’m not a relationship kind of girl.”
“You didn’t used to be. It scares you that you might be now.”
“Whoa, enough with the psycho-babble,” Faith said, holding up her hands. “I’m leaving tomorrow, Robin, and we don’t ever have to talk about it again.”
“Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t.”
“Yeah, well, you might be for all the touchy-feely crap, but that’s not my style.” She smiled a little. “It was fun…sometimes. But it’s over. We’ve all got issues. Some a little more than others. Right?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s that, then.”
“That’s that?”
“Yeah. I’m not one for big words. Big talks. Nah, that’s not me. What happened…well, it just happened. It’s over now. I’m dealing. It’s cool.” He knew that despite how casual she was, she was a wreck inside. Yeah, that’s what she was. Faith Lehane was a train wreck of badly mangled pieces. But she managed to make herself look like something completely different. She wasn’t going to change, and nobody could make her. She wasn’t cold. She was just broken. She was dealing. She just didn’t deal out loud. And he could never get used to that. Maybe what she was saying was true. That was that. It was done.
“It’s cool,” he said quietly, repeating her. She nodded, lingered for a minute, and then smiled, chuckling awkwardly.
“Better go make sure the Slayer squad hasn’t taken over my room. I know there’s about a hundred to choose from, but hey, what’s mine’s mine.”
“Yeah.”
“Night.”
“Good night, Faith.” She was already gone.
***
“Call me when you land, alright? As soon as we land, I’ll be checking my voice mail,” Buffy said sternly to Xander as he gave her a big hug. Most of the goodbyes had already been said. Giles and Faith had already gone with one of the other slayers to start working on their end of the army. Andrew was flying with Xander instead of going alone to Italy. Right now, it was best to keep the branches of the army at a minimum. Willow was heading back to the US with Spike, Buffy, Dawn, and the kids.
“I’ll call. I promise,” Xander assured his friend. “Have a safe flight. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Oh…uh, don’t attempt joining the mile high club or anything. That’s not as easy as it looks.” Buffy made a face and laughed.
“How would you know?”
“Remember that weekend that Anya and I went to meet some of her old demon friends in Vegas? Yeah…Anya thought it would be a good idea.” Buffy laughed.
“Well, thanks for the advice.” She leaned in and whispered in his ear, “but I already know all about it myself.” It was Xander’s turn to make a face and he looked at Spike who just shrugged and cocked an eyebrow with a satisfied smirk spreading across his face.
“OK, now I’m leaving,” he said with mock disgust. Well, partly mock. He bent down and gave the twins a hug.
“Your Uncle Xander’s bringing you something really awesome next time I see you.”
“A puppy?” Bex asked.
“No puppies!” Buffy mouthed.
“We’ll see,” Xander said with a shrug. Bella squeezed Xander a little too hard, and he winced. Buffy noticed and pried her kids off of her poor friend.
“Come on. Uncle Xander has a long flight ahead of him.”
“Don’t forget Uncle Andrew,” Andrew said, holding his arms out to the kids, who quickly ran to him. Buffy smiled. As annoying as Andrew could be, he was great with kids. She made a mental note to add him to the growing list of possible babysitters.
Once everybody was done hugging and saying goodbye, various taxis showed up to carry people off in new directions. When the dust settled, Buffy and Spike stood outside their taxi, while Willow, Dawn, Bex, and Bella settled into the car behind.
“I didn’t even ask you how it felt to be home.”
“Home? What, London? Oh, it hasn’t been home for a long time.” He smiled. “My home’s wherever you are, pet. First Sunnydale, then Ohio…wherever you go, luv.” He realized how cheesy it sounded, but she didn’t seem to care. She pulled at his coat, bringing him closer. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. “Promise me something, pet.”
“Oh boy. More promises? What?”
“Stop worrying. We came out of this fine. Bella’s got a lot to learn, and she’s gonna learn it from you. So you have to stop worrying so you can train her to be a proper Slayer.”
“Yeah, like I’m so proper,” Buffy teased.
“Well, that’s a different question all together. One I wouldn’t mind answering as soon as we’re home. Maybe sooner. Thing it might be high time to renew our membership to that club on the plane. Whaddya say.”
“I say you’re gross,” she laughed. “And I love you.”
“I love you too, pet.” He pulled his arm around her. “Let’s go home.”
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