Eternally Yours by Spikeslovelysweetheart

It had been almost a year since she had seen him last. It had been the longest 12 months of her life. She turned 23 years old this year and Giles had told her that she was gaining on the longest living slayer. She had one more year left and then she would match the oldest living slayer. She was now the same age as Nikki Wood was when she died.

She was amazed every time she thought about when she was called. It had been nine years since she had been called to be the slayer, and nine years of fighting demons, and now she was pretty much able to retire. She had more reasons now in her life than ever to get her to set aside her calling, and to help Giles rebuild the Watcher’s Council. Buffy was Giles’ right hand woman now, as Giles was now head of the Watcher’s Council.

Xander and Andrew were being trained as watchers in London too. Giles believed Xander and Andrew both had it in them to make excellent watchers. Xander especially because of all the things that Xander had done in the 6 and a half years that Buffy had been in Sunnydale. Xander was one of the easier ones to train. Andrew would be easy too only if he grew up a little more.

Willow was living in London with them too, but she went back and forth between London and the coven in Bath. She was also with the help of the coven training some of the potentials that also had signatures to be Wicca. Willow wanted to make sure that none of these girls were overwhelmed by their powers and have a psychotic melt down. The Scoobies all understood this from experience. Giles and Buffy agreed with Willow and the coven that this methodology would be the best course of action to take with these girls.

Buffy was proud of what these girls were becoming. A lot of the potentials had come a long way from what they had been. Faith and Robin were living in Cleveland protecting the hellmouth there. Robin was Faith and Kennedy's watcher as well as a principal at one of the high schools in Cleveland. Kennedy ended up there because Kennedy got so jealous of the time Willow spent training other potentials that Willow broke up with her, so she moved to be with Robin and Faith.

Dawn was enrolled in a school in London, and she was almost finished, she was being trained as a potential, a watcher and even had a signature to be a Wicca. Buffy thought that maybe all this had to do with her being the key, but then realized that it probably came with being special to the Guardian Slayer. She had just turned 18 years old and was with a vampire who fought the good fight. His name was Liam Kincade, and he reminded Buffy that there was a whole lot more to life, and that she needed to live for the now. He was kind to Dawn and he loved her, and he was instantly taken in by the Scoobies.

They had met Liam in Greece, Buffy and Giles had traveled there to bring a potential back to London with them. Buffy and Giles had gone out one night to take a walk and they stumbled across a vampire staking his own kind, the next night he killed a snake demon, and when he looked up from his kill, he saw Buffy and Giles staring at him. He walked up to Buffy and kissed her hand and said " It is a honor to be serving the Powers that Be with someone as great as you."

They brought him back to London with them also. Liam was always amazed that he got to serve in the presence of the Guardian Slayer, and that led him and Buffy to have a very close bond, but not like what she knew she’d had with Spike.

Buffy remembered the night before the big fight that closed the hell mouth and the passion that her and Spike shared. It was different than anything that they had gone through before and they were so gentle and affectionate with each other. Buffy had believed that Spike was going to make it through and he had told he believed that he was too. Buffy later thought that he knew he wasn’t going to make it through the fight that night, but only told her as they were lying there only to ease her mind. After the fight in the hell mouth, Buffy shed so many tears for her lost love; she was upset that he had denied their love, even after they had claimed each other the night before.

None of the other Scoobies knew that Spike and Buffy had mated but Liam did, Buffy told him not to tell the others. Liam had once admired the necklace Buffy always wore and when he got a good look at the symbol, Liam was amazed that her mate was a member of the clan of Aurelius, the master’s line, the most revered clan of vampires in the vampire world.

When they spent three weeks in LA with Angel she was surprised that he hadn’t picked up the fact that she and Spike had mated. He did try to tell her that she didn’t need to spend her tears over Spike and that he wasn’t worth it. Angel was surprised that Buffy was wearing a necklace that Spike had given her. It was the one he’d had made out of thick pure silver before Angel had been cursed. Spike never parted with that necklace, it was the symbol of the order of Aurelius, the clan that they belonged to. Angel finally gave up trying to get her to forget Spike, he knew that something had happened between them and Buffy refused to tell Angel what it was.

Buffy and Giles had moved to London shortly after their stay in LA. She was given a big surprise a few months after. It was one of the best surprises of her life, too bad her mother was not around to be here with her.

Buffy was brought out of her thoughts by her brother in law Liam. “Buffy, my sweet sister, the plane is about ready to take off. Let us go now Rupert is waiting for us.” Liam said in his beautiful Irish Brogue that reminded her of Angel every now and then. Liam lifted a pair of carriers and looked down at the precious cargo inside, and smiled at Buffy. Buffy looked down at the precious cargo in the carriers and said “We are about to go and see grandpa!” Buffy walked out toward the private jet that the Watcher's Council had in its possession.

Buffy was about to make her way back to California, and back to LA and her former lover Angel. She had butterflies the size of bats flying in her stomach. She was nervous about seeing him again. She no longer loved him the way she used to, but he had a different place in her heart now. Spike had taken his place in her heart and he was gone for good now, but she would carry on with out him for the sake of one of them had 'to go on living'. She smiled as she remembered his singing that phrase to her two years ago. Buffy decided while she looked down at her precious cargo she could do this, she had to do it, if not for her then for them.