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Author's Chapter Notes:
many thanks to Cordykitten and Jane for reviewing.
penultimate chapter.
please review it only takes a second. i'll beg:)
Buffy hung like a limpet to her mother’s arm, Dawn taking the other side as they headed into one of the sitting rooms. Brother Roberto was sitting quietly by the fire reading a book. He stood as the crowd entered the room and bowed towards Joyce and Jenny. Jenny gave a quick shake of her head and Joyce signalled for him to sit back down.

‘Hey this isn’t fair, don’t I get a hug?’ Spike asked Joyce. Buffy laughed and let go long enough for Spike to hold the woman who’d become a second mother to him. Joyce smelt well. It was the only way to put it. The lingering aroma of illness was gone and she smelt well.

Willow was looking at Tara, as though frightened to say anything, Anya had already grabbed Xander, rattling off information about the fact that although she was allowed to live in heaven she had to do without orgasms as a punishment for being a vengeance demon, but it was alright because she’d gotten a job working in one of the offices overseeing new arrivals.

‘Hello sweetie,’ Willow whispered.

‘H-hello Willow.’ Tara stuttered back.

‘I’ve missed you, baby.’

‘I was never away from you, I just had to leave for a while, but you did OK - eventually.’ She added with a smile. Willow remembered how bad things had been when Tara had first died; what she’d done.

‘It’s OK sweetie, I’m not mad at you,’ Tara spoke gently as if not to scare a child. ‘What’s happened has happened. We live with it. That’s all. I will always love you, but its OK to move on. I thought it would be Oz, but I’m glad about Rachael and Xander. If they make you happy, truly happy, that’s all that matters.’

Willow felt a huge weight lift off of her chest. Her heart felt free for the first time in years. She didn’t realise just how much guilt she’d been holding onto until Tara had started speaking. Willow reached forward and fell into Tara’s arms, crying as she did so. Everything was well in her world again. Tara smiled as she stroked the red head’s hair.

‘If it gets any more cloying in here, I think I’ll heave.’ Spike muttered. Joyce threw him a dirty look.

‘Why don’t you take a small sip of Dawn’s blood and dead as you are you can walk through those loose portals and start shutting them down. Make sure Faith and Robin have left before you close theirs,’ she added.

‘Yes mum.’ The blond vampire grinned at her. One arm around each of his girls she looked very happy. Spike gently took his daughter’s arm in his hands and lathering at her wrist went into game face and pulled her life’s blood into his mouth.

‘We missed you,’ Dawn said quietly after he’d gone.

‘I know baby, but things will be different here now. You are beginning to beat the evil back on this world, balance is being restored, and if you need me, you know where to find me don’t you. A little drop of blood and you can step through and come to me.’

‘How come Buffy and I can go through the portals, I meant to ask… Buffy closed Glory’s one but when she went to Cleveland and it didn’t shut down…’


‘That’s because she is alive, well, technically. It’s death going through them, a dead body with your blood in it that closes the door. Lifeblood opens it, death shuts it, so as Spike isn’t alive he shuts it. When Buffy jumped from the tower, she jumped to her death, hence the shutting of the portal.’

‘Oh well, I suppose that makes sense then…’

‘Well the three of you will always be a team, a very special team, so no getting jealous next year.’

‘Why would I get jealous?’

‘You’ll see.’

They carried on just sitting there, watching their friends. Buffy snuggled in one side, nearly asleep; Dawn happy that her family was together again, if only for a short time.

Xander looked at Anya, the woman he’d hurt so badly and whose death had hurt him, in fact nearly broken him. She just grinned back.

‘Are you getting good orgasms from Willow and Rachael? I like Rachael, she looks fit for anything!’

‘Anya!!’

‘What?’

‘Nothing,’ Xander said with a smile. This wasn’t the time or place and anyway that was Anya.

‘I’m glad you’re happy Xander, it’s important that you are happy. I am, I have a job I enjoy, and there are people who are friends. And I don’t get judged. They like me for me.’

‘I’m really sorry about that, I have learnt not to judge people, and I should never have been so hard on you; all I can say is I was a silly shallow youth and I’ve grown up. Spike and I are friends now.’

‘That’s good then. Can I have a hug please?’

Xander answered her by simply wrapping his arms around the ex demon and holding her close.

Brother Roberto looked at Joyce.

‘Great Lady, this is truly an honour.’

‘Come here you old fraud,’ Joyce laughed. ‘Well done on this one. We’ll have those hell mouths closed yet.’

‘I do hope so. I could do with the rest, me and my brother both. I’m getting far too old for all of this.’

‘Yes right, and if I were to offer you a nice safe desk job, you’d put a turn of speed on that could put a vampire to shame. Now get all the files over here and give them to Giles to play with. We’ve got a vampire to reward and a few other jobs to do.’

‘Come on ladies, time to leave!’ Jenny called.

The Angels all gave their loved ones one last hug and headed back towards the last doorway still open.

Angel appeared at the door just as Joyce vanished into the glowing light. Buffy could have sworn from the grin on her face that her mother had timed that perfectly.

‘Travers is still here, we have to deal with him,’ Angel said.

Nina had followed him in. She pointedly ignored the vampire.

‘Looks like wolf girl had had enough of sir-broods-a-lot,’ Spike whispered in Buffy’s ear. Buffy giggled but slapped her blond vampire gently. Angel didn’t look very happy. Vampiric hearing being what it was he had heard every word, but was pleased that she and Spike were obviously having problems. He threw Spike a filthy look but didn’t say anything. Buffy must have been pmt to spoil his best shirt like that, that was what it was, pmt, she’ll be fine soon. Angel settled himself with the thoughts that Buffy would always be his: he’d been promised.

Brother Roberto started laughing to himself. ‘What’s so funny?’ asked Dawn.

‘Oh this is priceless, but you’ll see,’ answered the monk.

Xander, Willow and Rachael were talking quietly in one corner, they seemed to be more relaxed. Old wounds healed, loose ends tied up and free to continue with their lives. Xander put his arms around both his girls and led them towards the door. He threw Angel a filthy look: he didn’t want Captain Forehead overhearing their conversations.

Anathema and the other coven members came face to face with Willow and her two life partners. The love was blinding to the older witch.

‘We’re going home to rest; all this saving the world has been a little tiring, but we’ll be back tomorrow to help sort out the last few bits and pieces.’

‘I would prefer, great lady, if you would stay,’ Brother Roberto said. ‘I know you are all exhausted, but the last couple of spells will only take about ten minutes. Then you can rest as long as you like, but I think you will enjoy the next few minutes: you will regret leaving early.’

‘You sound as though you know that as a sure thing…’

‘Maybe I do.’ The monk smiled. ‘Now if someone would be so kind as to fetch Giles, Marcus and Rosamund to Travers, I can get on with my duty.’

The head of the Marcasian and Auralius clans still had his daughter on his hip when he and his Lady joined the others crowded into the room where Travers sat imprisoned. They were all looking at the wizened old man in the circle of power. He looked lost and alone. But Buffy felt no pity for him. This man had single-handedly tried to destroy the Slayer line, weakening it to the point where Hell mouths could open, and Wolfram and Hart could have more than one office in their dimension.

‘Come to gloat have you?’ Travers growled.

‘No, we’ve come to see justice done.’

‘There’s none of you can judge me. I can only be judged by a truly pure heart, and you all have committed your crimes. The witch who killed, the vampires, the slayer whore who ran, the man who turned his back on his finacee… and Ripper, how many people have you killed with your bare hands, Giles?’

Brother Roberto looked at him and smiled. ‘You are right,’ he said simply. ‘They have all seen and done things they shouldn’t, they have all headed away from the light at some point: but they, unlike you, found their way back. So none of them get to judge, but I do. I am permitted to judge you, but I shall not. You shall judge yourself. I give you all your memories and their consequences. I give you the thoughts of what you could have been. Immortal, truly one of the greatest of all watchers, revered and loved. You will know what could have been and weep. You will live the rest of your natural life, no early death for you, insane with the thoughts and memories of how good it could have been and the good you could have done.’

Brother Roberto turned to Marcus and Morty. ‘Please find him a nice mental hospital somewhere, he’s going to need it.’ Marcus nodded and Morty reached for his mobile phone. ‘I know just the place,’ he said.

The rest all watched in horror as the first of the memories and thoughts hit Travers, watched as he screamed and wept, but there was no relief for the man. He begged Bother Roberto for mercy, begged the slayer to end his life, he even begged Spike to kill him but they all just watched as Travers fell to his knees and wept, wept for the man he could have been, wept for what should have been. Brother Roberto looked on in sorrow. He hated this bit of his job.

He waved a hand at Travers and the magic containing him vanished. As the circle failed Willow leapt forward but Brother Roberto stayed her. ‘No need, child. He is stripped not only of the magic but of the knowledge it exists. When he finally dies he will stand at the seat of judgement and still be found wanting. It will take many lifetimes for him to pay his dues.’

The enormity of the punishment began to hit home. Kill him and he goes to hell where there are a lot of beings that owe him favours. It wouldn’t be hell for Travers, but this was. Seeing himself as he could have been day in day out was a true punishment.

‘Well now that’s all over we have some long talks and choices to make. I suggest tea for the English and coffee for the rest of us,’ the monk said with a smile.





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