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Chapter 40

Angel was about to cut of a vampire’s head when it happened. The vamp disappeared, along with all the rest. He had a few seconds where he was completely confused before the pain started. He collapsed to his knees from the intensity of it.

“What is going on?” Cordy muttered nearby. She looked around in bewilderment.

He couldn’t answer. He gasped, his lungs filling with air. He was vaguely aware of a concerned Cody by his side.

“Angel?” Cordelia asked with apprehension.

Things cleared then. It was as if he could see for the first time in over three-hundred years. Everything was shining in the sun’s glorious rays. He froze, too amazed to move. His skin soaked in the wondrous warmth that he hadn’t experienced since Pylea.

Cordlia yelped. “Angel, we gotta get you covered!” In a panic she searched around for some kind of protection.

He turned his head toward the woman next to him. No, not a woman . . . an angel. That was the only creature that could possibly be this beautiful. The light danced around her form, bringing out her silky locks and glistening eyes.

Angel halted her actions, taking her arms. He looked deeply into her eyes. “And I thought you were beautiful in the dark,” he whispered.

“What is happening? You aren’t on fire.”

He smiled at her, cupping her cheek. “I’m alive,” he told her, before bringing her lips down to meet his.

|} - - -> <- - - {|

Since becoming the slayer Buffy could not think of a time when she had felt truly content. She was never allowed to set her mind at ease. In the back of her thoughts she always had some worry floating around. Looking around now, at the glittering landscape, and feeling Spike’s hand in hers; she let herself take the luxury of being satisfied. The world was full of tranquil peace. She shut her eyes for a moment, absorbing it into her pores.

She descended the tower with Spike and Dawn, the former key following behind in a daze. They made it to the ground to find their friends. Everybody had bright smiles on their faces.

Xander was on the ground with Anya in his embrace. They only had eyes for each other. Xander was murmuring sweet nothings about how special she was to him.

“I’m so glad I didn’t die,” Anya told Xander. “Now we can have lots of sex together and grow old.”

“Everything is all right. Does anybody else feel this way?” Willow inquired.

“I know I do,” Angel spoke up. He gestured up to the sky above them. “I’m out in the sun and am not on fire. Anybody else notice how alive I am?” He let out a laugh, twirling Cordy around in a circle.

“Wow,” Buffy commented. “I’ve never seen him this way. He’s always been broody and withdrawn.”

“Poofter is what he is,” Spike muttered.

Buffy faced Spike. “We saved the world. Again. What number was this apocalypse? We in the millionths yet? Think we’ll ever reach the trillions?”

“Not likely,” a voice said.

The blonds turned to see Christina. The messenger smiled at them. “Considering the world no longer needs saving. You cleansed it. It’s not perfect. There’s still famine and war, but there aren’t any demons anymore. The ones that were found worthy have become human. The rest . . . well let’s just say nothing good happened to them.”

“I- I don’t understand,” Buffy stammered. She placed her hand on Spike’s chest to find it still.

“He took part in making the cleansing, so it didn’t effect him.” Christina looked directly at Spike. “You are the last vampire on earth.”

“Good thing too,” Spike commented. “I was a right nancy boy as a mortal. Think I fancy myself being undead.”

“I’m glad,” Christina said. “Immortality is a rare gift. I hope you use it well.”

Christina turned her attention to Buffy. “You’re still the slayer. You will always be the slayer. But you will once again grow old. You now have the chance to live your own life. To have babies and . . .”

“No chance of that,” Buffy interrupted. There was no way she would be with anyone besides Spike.

“Oh, I guess you don’t know.”

“Know what?”

“Spike can reproduce. When he acquired the right to see the sun he also gained the ability to have children.”

The slayer’s mind swam. She studied Spike, trying to picture him with a toddler crawling all over him. The image was sweet, and she knew that he would be a good father.

A stunned expression was on Spike’s face. She touched his arm. “Spike, you okay? You do want children, don’t you?”

He blinked. He brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “Yeah, luv. It’s just . . . I always accepted that I could never be a parent. I’m having trouble grasping the prospect. Seems too good to be true.”

“I know what you mean.”

Christina directed her gaze to fall on Dawn. The teen looked back with uncertainty. Dawn took a step back, her aura turning to anger.

“I’m not going and you can’t make me,” Dawn expressed.

Christina’s face softened. “I think you misunderstood the powers, Dawn. The key returned to the upper plain when the cleansing took place. You can stay here if you wish. You are a normal girl now.”

It took a minute for the news to sink in. Then Dawn slowly smiled. “I can stay?”

“Yes,” replied Christina. “You won’t be able to use any of your key abilities anymore. But you are still you.”

“I don’t mind not having the powers. If what you say about the world is true I won’t need them.”

Christina glanced around at everyone. “Not many get a second chance. I hope you make the most of your time and live to the fullest.” With that, she disappeared.

|} - - -> <- - - {|

A Month Later

“He’s decided to go by Brian,” Dawn told Spike.

“Nice name as any,” the only vampire in the world said.

Dawn sighed. “I just hope he gets well.”

They were talking about the former dark key, now going by Brian. The boy had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital. He was better than he was a few weeks ago, but was far from cured. Dawn visited him frequently and offered her friendship.

“Not sure if he’ll ever be completely well, bit. But your support is sure to made a difference,” Spike told her.

“I hope so. He doesn’t remember much of what happened. And what he does, the doctors are trying to get him to believe was a fantasy.” She let out a great sigh. “Oh well, maybe that is for the best. He shouldn’t have to remember all that awful stuff anyway.”

There was a jingle from the front door. A woman with frizzy red hair entered the magic shop. The store had finally opened two weeks ago. The merchandize had changed a bit. The mummy hands had been converted to good-luck crystals and aromatherapy. The dark arts were a thing of the past. Now people were into the white new age practices.

Dawn watched as an eager Anya approached the customer. Buffy had handed all rights to the shop over to the ex-demon.

Spike extended a folded piece of paper over to Dawn.

“What is this?” Dawn asked.

“A number you might want to call,” he answered.

Dawn unfolded the paper and read it. She instantly rushed to the phone. She punched in the number. A voice came over the line. With tears in her eyes, Dawn said, “Katie, is that you?”

|} - - -> <- - - {|

Spike crawled into bed that night. He scooted up as close to her as possible. He breathed in deeply, taking in her vanilla shampoo. He thanked the powers for letting him keep his vampire senses. He didn’t know what he would do if the scent of Buffy were to become dull.

Buffy rolled over to make eye-contact. She gave him a grin. “Hey.”

“Hey there, pet.”

She placed a kiss on his mouth. “Tired,” she muttered.
“Go to sleep. Dream of something sweet.”

“Mmm, then I hope I dream of you.”

He stroked her hair as she drifted off. Christina was right when she said those last few words. He was lucky. Not many people were given a second chance. He didn’t have eternity with Buffy, but he had right now. And at that moment it was enough.

_______________________________________

: ) That is the last part, except for the epilogue.



 
 





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