“Why are you so sad Buffy? Cheer up,” Anyanka said, crossing the room and patting the Slayer on the shoulder.
Spike shook his head at her.
“Anyanka, we’re really not in the mood…you must’ve seen, we…we lost Althea.”
Tears began to roll down Buffy’s cheeks, which Colette tried to brush away.
“Where is she Mummy? I miss her.”
Anyanka smiled and took Colette’s hands gently in her own.
"She’s with me now, sweetie. She’s okay!”
Spike and Buffy looked confused, and Anyanka sighed.
“Oh, do I have to explain everything to you? Well, you know how I intervened on your behalf to get you two kids back together?”
Spike nodded.
“And…?”
“Well, like you said, I was watching your whole battle with Angelus, and I have to say you fight really well for someone your age Buffy, but when I saw what was about to happen to Althea, I had to intervene; Buffy, I know you must’ve seen it.”
Buffy cocked her head to the side and comprehension flashed across her face.
"That blue flash?”
Anyanka smiled.
“Yep. That was me. I don’t always have to do the 'smoky entrance' thing, you know. I'm not a one-trick pony. That one's just my favorite. I had to make a quick decision before Angelus could kill her, and I hope you aren’t mad at me for it….”
“Why would we be mad if you saved her life?”
“Well,” Anyanka drolled, until she was interrupted by another cloud of smoke.
Althea stood before them, however, there was a decidedly different air about her. Buffy was confused momentarily until she noticed the small silver necklace dangling from Althea’s throat.
“Oh God, Anyanka…not that….”
Althea moved toward her mother, slowly, her eyes begging for acceptance.
“Mummy, I…I would have chosen this if I was given the chance to, anyway. I can help people this way, I really can.”
Anyanka nodded.
“With the vacancy that Hallie…that Halfrek left, we do need a good Vengeance bringer for hurting children…that Hansen guy that was on television worked out for a while, but, you know men...always thinking with their," Anyanka trailed off as she looked at Colette, "Well, yeah...you know. Let me tell you, beware a scorned orc woman; they tend to be more jealous than all get out."
"I'll keep that in mind," Spike said, rolling his eyes.
"Poor Chris learned that the hard way. And after all the good he did...oh well. But, Althea can help, Buffy. I know she can.”
Althea smiled at her mother and father, and stepped backward to join Anyanka.
“I promise, I’ll only do good. I’ll help those who need me, just like you two do.”
Tara Lyn, who had been clustered in the back of the living room with Buffy and Spike’s other children, came forward, tears blistering her face.
“Mama, I think it’s her purpose. She’s always had a soft spot for Colette, and she died trying to protect her. I think…I think this is what she was born for.”
Buffy sighed and nodded, squeezing Tara Lyn’s hand for a moment before looking back to Anyanka and Althea. She smiled sadly at Anyanka.
“Take care of my daughter Anyanka.”
Anyanka grinned and nodded.
“Of course I will, Buffy! She really has already been a big help, she has some great ideas on what to do to this one awful fellow that we saw on a chat room pestering little kids, she thought we could….”
Althea cleared her throat and smiled at Anyanka.
“I don’t really want to discuss work right now, is that okay?” Anyanka nodded, blushing, and Althea continued, “Mama, Papa, I’m so sorry for putting you through this. But I will make you proud of me, I swear.”
“I know, poppet,” Spike said, “But we don’t understand why you even did all of this nonsense with Angelus in the first place…why?”
Sighing and hanging her head in shame, Althea held back the tears that threatened to escape her eyes.
“It all just blew up when Phillip died…I realized that I couldn’t be with anyone without having to lose them to their own mortality, and I hated you for cursing me with this life…for cursing all of us. You two got to choose to be immortals, we didn’t have that choice…and I wanted to do something to show you that I was unhappy, but I didn’t know what Angelus was planning on doing.”
“Poppet, I didn’t even know that you had such strong feelings for that lad….”
"I didn’t, not really, but when he died, I realized that I couldn’t have anyone. I mean, if a car accident doesn’t kill them like it did Phillip, then old age will,” she turned to her brothers and sisters, “How do you all deal with it?”
Joyce and William blushed furiously and shifted their gaze from Althea to Buffy and Spike. Joyce sighed and spoke in a quiet voice.
“Well, we aren’t the only children of a mated pair…even if we are the only children of a Slayer and a vampire.”
William cracked his knuckles absentmindedly.
“While Joyce and I were out fighting a Kungai demon in Iceland, we were helped by another pair of twins, a man and a woman.”
“And we were talking for a long while, and everything just…happened. It felt right…William lives with Tela back home, and I live with Oliver.”
“I’m so sorry for you to find out this way…we were planning on telling you,” William offered, “...eventually.”
One by one, the children came forward, admitting their love interests, who ranged in variation from ensouled vampires, to various immortal demons, and, to Spike’s confusion, one Deathwok clan demon named Lorne.
“Lorne...demon Lorne,” Spike asked Roxanne, “Poppet, why? He’s…a…he’s, he’s green!”
“Papa, I love him, and we have a lot in common,” Roxanne offered.
“Like what, pray tell?”
Roxanne shrugged and pouted.
“Well, I love to sing. He loves to run karaoke bars. It seems like a perfect fit to me.”
Buffy patted her on the shoulder.
“As long as you’re happy, Roxie, we’re happy.”
"Aren’t we, Spike?”
Spike frowned at Buffy, but relented quickly and nodded at Roxanne.
“Alright, poppet. Whatever makes you happy.”
" ‘m not going to be happy if we have green grandkids, pet. It’ll be all your fault too. You’ll have to explain it to everyone.”
Buffy laughed and gently kissed Spike’s forehead.
"I do love you, you dope.”
"Yeah, yeah...I'll bet. I'm getting to be a bloody pushover.”
"A sexy pushover."
"Pushover nonetheless."
Anyanka smiled at Buffy and Spike in a strangely eerie way. Spike furrowed his brows at her and cocked his head to the side.
“What is it, Anyanka?”
She smiled and grinned widely.
“Oh nothing. Just can sense something coming. Can’t you sense it in your parents Althea?”
Althea stood in concentration for a moment, staring at her parents before breaking out into a huge smile.
"Wow. Yeah…you know for people who are as old as you are, you sure have an avid nightlife. Mummy, there are ways to get around winding up in your condition, you know. They make pills for that sort of thing.”
Anyanka and Althea chuckled before waving to the group and leaving, in a cloud of smoke. Buffy bit her lip and turned to Spike.
"You don’t think she meant….”
“I’m pretty sure she did pet.”
“Right. Well, it’s off to the drugstore again, isn’t it?”
“I s’ppose so, love. We should buy stock in whoever makes those little tests.”