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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you for all of you who have read this and stuck with it!
Thank you for your kind words of encouragement.
Epilogue:


Summary: This last installment of All Manner of Monsters takes place approximately three years after the last chapter. Life for Spike and Buffy, and their children (!) are considerably different now.


“Grandpa,” Dawn Giles called out excitedly as she skipped along the narrow farm path. “It’s nearly time for the baby colt to be born,” she insisted impatiently, tugging her Grandfather Giles’ strong hand.

“Patience little one,” Rupert Giles tsked affectionately to his only granddaughter. “We’ll get to the barn in time for the pony to born. We need to stop in at the house and pick up your father. Don’t you want your Da and baby William to see the miracle?”

“Sure I do,” the animated nine-year-old Dawn whined. “But my little brother’s probably pooped his pants again and needs a change. He’ll only hold us up, Gramps. Oh, I hope daddy and Will are ready to go to the barn. I just know we’ll miss the pony’s birth and…..”

“There now,” Rupert soothed the impatient child, “we’ll just stop, right quick at the house and gather up dad and the little sprog. Your mum is probably more then ready to take a break. Grandma Jenny has cake and tea for them, so they can have a real ladies’ social while we tend to Missy and her foal, eh?”

“Okay,” Dawn muttered reluctantly. “I guess we can ‘gather’ up daddy and Will.”

Dawn scrambled into her grandparent’s farm house, only to find her father, mother and little William in the kitchen. Grandma Jennifer was no where to be found.

“Where’s Gran Jenny?” Dawn bellowed loudly, scanning the kitchen for the older woman.

“She’s upstairs, Bit,” Spike informed his daughter patiently. “Mum’s here, on the phone with Grandma Joyce and…..”

For some reason, Dawn cringed a bit when her father had mentioned her Grandmother Summers. The young girl could hear her mother speaking in her low, soft tone with her own mother.

“I know Mom,” Buffy mumbled into the cordless phone receiver. “Yes, I know,” she repeated patiently, “but like I said, the ball is in your court and it’s you and dad that need to come to terms with it.” Buffy smiled lovingly at Dawn’s father, then at her.

Daddy held little William, Dawn’s baby brother on his lap even while he watched her very carefully. Dawn noticed that her father flinched, just a bit, from time to time, while her mother spoke on the phone.

“Like I told you Mom,” Buffy began again with a frustrated sigh. “You need to make the first move and offer the olive branch. I’m not going to even try and pretend that the last ten years have meant nothing to me, Mom. I will not pretend that I haven’t felt betrayed by you and dad. However, I do want you to really know your grandchildren and I am willing to allow some relationship between you, dad and ‘our’ children.”

Dawn watched, anxiously, as her mother tried to soothe her grandmother, at least somewhat. She had heard this before, Dawn had, at least a dozen times that she could remember. For some reason, it never bothered the girl for too very long; this mini-battle that went on between her mother, father and the rest of the Summers’family.

Buffy finally hung up the phone and flopped down by her husband at the kitchen table. “I give up,” she sighed in exasperation.

“Now, don’t do that sweetheart,” Spike murmured, stroking her arm with his free hand. “They ‘are’ your folks after all and……”

“They kind of gave up that right, didn’t they? A long time ago?” Buffy asked seriously, glancing at her blue-eyed daughter with concern.

“Family ‘is’ family, darling,” Spike continued somberly. “Someday, it’ll matter to our Bit and young Handsome here,” he grinned down at his half-sleeping son. “It’ll matter that they know both their sets of grandparents,” he finished with a sigh.

“I know, but……” Buffy began quietly, only to be interrupted by a very animated Dawnie.

“The colt’s going to be born Daddy! We won’t be there if we don’t go now,” Dawn whined impatiently.

“That’s right Bit,” Spike cooed at his only daughter. “We’d best be off, sweet,” he called over his shoulder at his wife, who hung about the kitchen table.

“Okay, but please don’t hang out too long there,” Buffy pleaded at her wild Giles/Summers brood. “Jenny’s made a lovely supper and I don’t want it ruined,” she warned lovingly.

“Won’t be,” Spike, Dawn and Giles chimed in. Baby William said nothing of course; he was only six months old.

“I’ve got that article, due in two days anyway,” Spike reminded his wife. “You’ve got that review of the new art show, at the MET, by next week,” he then reminded Buffy.

After the clan had departed, Jennifer Giles sat down next to her daughter-in-law at the kitchen table. She took Buffy’s hand in hers and squeezed it gently.

“Does he know yet?” Jennifer asked Buffy with a wry grin.

“Nope,” Buffy giggled in contentment. “I’m telling him, maybe tomorrow,” the blond added, patting her tummy tenderly.

“Boy or girl?” Jennifer asked slyly, gazing at her daughter-in-law’s flat tummy.

“I don’t know, yet, and I don’t care,” Buffy said with a satisfied smile. “We Summers/Giles pop out the best of the best; girls or boys,” she finished with a hearty laugh.

“That you do,” Jennifer chortled in reply.

“If it’s a girl? What will you name her do you think?” Jenny asked in a wistful tone.

“I’m thinking Jennifer,” Buffy murmured through sleepy eyes. “Or do you think that…..”

Jennifer broke in, excitedly, “I’d love it! I mean if it’s what you and my son really want. I’d just adore it!”

“Jennifer for a girl then,” Buffy giggled, “and I would have liked Alexander, for a boy,” she added with slight scowl. “For Will’s ex-partner from the FBI,” she continued. “But, Xander and Cordelia are expecting their first child, any day now and it’s definitely going to be a boy. Cordy would have my head on a platter if I mimicked her and named my son Alexander, so, I thought maybe Alec. The aka that Xander used for the case……” Buffy let her sentence trail off.

“Do you ever hear from ‘any’ of them?” Jennifer asked seriously.

“As a matter of fact,” Buffy replied with a smile, “I just got an E-Mail, from Andrew, just the other day. He loves the job at the Smithson eon. It’s right up his alley, he says. From what he writes, he’s found someone special and thinks he’s going to settle down with him.”

“Good,” Jennifer intoned, taking Buffy’s hand in hers. “How about that nice Mr. Angel O’Connor? How’s he doing?”

“We don’t hear too much from him,” Buffy sighed. “Of course, I never really met him anyway, but I guess Will knew him pretty well. After the mess in LA, with Riley? Angel moved over to Europe and set up his base of operations there. Since William has quit the Bureau and Dad (Rupert) has retired? Well, we don’t keep in touch with too many of the ‘guys’ and all.”

Buffy shrugged, almost non-chalantly and sipped her non-caffeine iced tea.

“I want to thank you again, Jenny,” Buffy stammered, “for encouraging Will in his career as a journalist. If it hadn’t been for you…..”

“Nonsense!” Jennifer Giles cried. “My son has always been cut out for a newspaper career, not some old stinky FBI job! That was for Rupert, well, for a while anyway,” the older woman grinned. “I always knew that I could eventually woo him away from the Bureau,” she finished with a wicked laugh.

“I love him,” Buffy stated out of the blue. “Will. I love him more then life itself,” she added quietly.

“I know,” Jenny replied evenly. “So does he,” the older woman added, “I mean the way he loves you; your children and how I know he’ll love this little one,” she finished with a tender pat of Buffy’s tummy.

“I miss my mom,” Buffy sighed wistfully. “She is my mom after all and……”

“And she will come around,” Jennifer finished the sentence for her lovely daughter-in-law. “Both your dad and mom will come around, Buffy, I promise.”

“I hope so,” Buffy murmured softly. “Until then,” she continued, “I have you, Dad Giles, my wonderful husband and two, no make that three great kids to see me through!”

“You do have that,” Jenny chuckled happily. “You’re a strong, amazing woman Buffy. I’m so glad my son loves you and you love him.”

“I’ve come to realize something, Jenny,” Buffy whispered. She focused her gaze and thoughts with the people she loved down at the barn.

“There are all manner of monsters in the world, Jenny,” Buffy murmured thoughtfully as she rubbed her tummy affectionately.

“However,” she added quickly, “there are all manner of true heroes and heroines to thwart them. It is the good, after all, that overcomes the evil.”




Finis


A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read this story and will read it. I tried my best and I hope you all enjoyed it; spufette.





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