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Chapter 13

"Oh, good!" Anya said, when they entered the shop. "You brought Xander back, all safe and alive-looking. And, oh! With a small person. That's good, right?"

Willow, Tara, and Giles crowded around Xander to peer at the child. Even after all of the excitement, or perhaps because of it, she'd managed to fall asleep on Xander's shoulder. The trio walked around him, again and again, studying Eden from every angle.

Asher watched them admire the little girl, all the while hoping against hope that Eden remained asleep. It would be rather heartbreaking were she to wake up now, in this group. The three-year-old didn't have the tact that Asher himself did, and it would become obvious rather quickly that there were members of the group that Eden had never met in her time. Tara, watching Eden with wonder. And Anya, flipping a magazine at the table as though the entire thing was hardly worth her attention. Women who were missing from his time.

Women who were missed, in his time.

"Wow," Willow said.

"Amazing," Giles whispered.

"She looks so much like both of you," Tara said.

"Wait til she opens her eyes."

"Wait til you see her fangs," Spike said, smiling. The fascinated expressions of the faces of the group turned wary.

"Not scary fangs," Buffy said hastily. "Cute fangs."

"Fangs?" Xander said. "No one told me about the fangs before I let her jump into my arms."

"Is there such a thing as cute fangs?" Willow mused.

"Yes!" Buffy and Spike responded together. Xander rolled his eyes. "Stop speaking in unison, I beg you."

"So…what now?" Willow asked. "I mean, we won, right? What happens next?"

"Well," Asher said. "It's almost sunrise. They'll be pulling me back to my time around…" he looked at the silver pocket watch hanging from his vest. Buffy couldn't help but notice that, despite the fact that he'd spent the better part of the last hour battling Bringers, not a single piece of his outfit was mussed. No wrinkles, no tears. She looked down at her borrowed tee, streaked with dirt and Bringer blood. Not fair. "Three-thirty, your time? Rupert, can you spin a story for the current Council to keep them away until after we're gone?" Giles nodded. "Wonderful," Asher said. "Then, might I suggest that we all go…home? Try to get some rest after this exciting night?"

"Uh…what do we do with Eden?" Buffy asked.

"I'd rather hoped that Eden and I might rest at your home for a while? Before we go? Seems senseless to get a hotel."

"Cause that would go over well! Mom is going to so flip if I come home with a baby who looks suspiciously like me and a certain annoying vamp!"

Asher didn't meet her eyes when he responded, afraid that he would give away too much. "Actually…I think, with some explaining, she might be pleased to meet her." He crossed his fingers that she wouldn't question him; he wasn't sure if the truth spell was still in effect, so he didn't know if he'd be able to lie if she asked about her mother in his time. But Buffy didn't need to know—his understanding was that there was nothing that could be done at this point, even if he told her. And nothing was supposed to be done about it—Buffy's mum's death had shaped the person that Buffy had become. Still, it would break her heart to know what was ahead in the coming months.

But the Buffy he knew, in his time, was always saying that she wished her mum could see her, being happy, having what was, overall, a relatively normal life. Loved. With a family. Asher felt sure it would bring Joyce comfort to know that Buffy would have those things. That she needn't worry about her daughter's future.

"Pleased? You think?" Buffy definitely did not think her mother would be pleased about this, or understand it at all, but she couldn't deny that she wanted to spend as much time with Eden as possible, before she went back…home.

He nodded. "But, if you're uncomfortable with the idea, I could take Eden. I'm sure there's a decent bed and breakfast around here, right?"

"No," Buffy said quickly. "Not uncomfortable. Don't take her. Please. I do want Mom to see her. Maybe it will make her feel…better. You'll help me explain?"

"Of course."

The group dispersed quickly and quietly, so as not to wake the sleeping girl.

"Oh, Buff," Xander said. "Did Riley ever catch up with you?"

"Huh?" Her eyes widened as she realized she'd forgotten about Riley again. She was clearly the worst girlfriend in history, but with her daughter sleeping peacefully just a few feet away from her…Riley just didn't seem important.

"He stopped by. A few hours ago. Wanted to talk to you about things. We told him you'd gone home, but he had some crazy idea that you were with Spike. Then he left. I thought he was headed to your house. Did he find you?"
She could feel the color draining from her face as she gulped. "He was…he was…looking for me?"

"Yeah. Guess he missed you, huh?"

She stared at Xander blankly. Riley had thought she was with Spike. Had he looked for her…she couldn't even finish the thought.

"Guess so, mate," Spike said, stepping in when Buffy remained silent.

Willow and Tara were almost out the door when Willow turned . "Um, Asher?" She motioned for him to come closer.

"I do the spell, don't I? The one that makes it possible for them to have a…a baby?"

Asher hesitated, then nodded.

"How? I mean, it's impossible to vampires to make babies. I can't even guess at a spell that would work for them…how will I find the right spell?"

Asher laughed. "It's a spell you already know, actually. You've used it before, although with some really wacky results. The modified version you'll use in the future will be much more…precise."

She looked at him, perplexed. He leaned down so that he was whispering in her ear. "I believe you're familiar with a little spell called Thy Will be Done?"

When her eyes widened, he smiled, a twinkle in his dark eyes. He nodded at her, and the witches left the shop.

Xander shifted a sleeping Eden into Spike's arms, shaking his head in complete dismay. He looked at Eden's sweet face and knew, with the kind of certainty that he'd denied himself for years, that Buffy wouldn't be his. Not now, not ever. He loved Anya, of course, loved her more than he'd known he could love another person. But Buffy was his "what if." His maybe. His unrequited dream. Seeing the child with his own eyes was like watching a dream disappear. But he knew it was right—this little girl was meant to be…which mean that (much as it made his stomach turn and his temper flare) Buffy and Spike were meant to be.

"You and Buffy," he muttered, stroking Eden's cheek as she settled her head on Spike's shoulder. "What is it with that girl and vampires?"

"It's a Slayer thing," Spike said. He could feel the little girl's heat warming him, could hear the calm pitter-patter of her heartbeat. Human in a lot of ways, then. He was glad.

Xander and Anya were next to leave, Xander slapping Asher a high-five on his way out. "See you in the future, man," he said. "Ahn, did I tell you? He says I'm a good fighter in the future."

"Oh, honey. He was probably just saying that to boost your self-esteem."

"Nuh-uh!"

Asher laughed as the pair walked out into the night.

And then it was just Buffy and her little future-family, and the two Watchers. "So…home now?" she asked. She couldn't keep her eyes off of Spike and Eden. The last thing she would have ever expected was for him to be tender with a child. But there he was, stroking her shiny hair as she sighed peacefully against his chest.

It was the most beautiful thing Buffy had ever seen.

Giles' eyes were also glued to the sleeping face on Spike's shoulder. "If it's okay with you, Buffy, and erm…Spike…and Asher, of course…"

"Giles?" Buffy interrupted. "You can come home with us, too."

Asher nodded. "I guess it's true that somehow, once she exists, she really can't un-exist. I don't see the harm in the three of you spending a bit more time with her."

Giles nodded. They walked out of the Magic Box together, Giles pausing to lock the door. Spike and Buffy looked at each other awkwardly. Eden's face was smushed against Spike's shoulder, a tiny spot of drool pooling on his tee shirt.

"Right, then," he mumbled. He leaned as though to pass the little girl over to Buffy, but watched the child with an expression of obvious yearning. It was painfully clear to Buffy that he didn't want to let her go.

Asher suddenly steered Giles ahead several feet, leaving the two of them alone. The three, rather.

"Spike," Buffy said in a soft voice. "Come home with us. Please."

He tilted his head to the side and looked at her, surprised. For once, he was utterly speechless.

"Come on," she said, smiling and quirking a brow at him. "You don't want Mom to think you're going to knock me up and then pull a disappearing act, do you? You think her hitting you with the axe was bad…"

He snorted and fell into step beside her, the two Watchers walking ahead.

"You know I'd never do that, right?" Spike asked, his voice gruff. "Never leave you."

The statement hung in the air between them, the closest he could get, right now, to confessing his feelings without getting punched in the nose.

"I know."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Quentin Travers speaking."

"Good morning, Quentin. It's Rupert. I'm calling to let you know that Buffy needs to move our little…ah…meeting to a bit later in the day, say 5:00pm? She has a…family situation to attend to beforehand."

"What? What about Sahjhan? We were to discuss a plan this morning."

"Ah, yes. She actually found him last night, on patrol. No child in sight, though, vampire or otherwise. He was carrying an elaborate sword, jewel-encrusted, looked to be demon-made, with a very sleek metal that we've never seen before. Something stolen from the future, perhaps? Buffy was able to disarm him, but, ah…she's taken quite a liking to the weapon, actually, so she'll be keeping it for herself."

"And what of Sahjhan? Is he dead?"

"Got away. Pity, isn't it? Ah, well, neither here nor there. However, I believe there is still the matter of our resident mystery woman to discuss, so Buffy and I expect that you will still be present for our meeting this afternoon. Buffy said, and I quote, 'be there or be square.'"

There was a click, and Quentin Travers was left with only the buzzing sound of the dial tone against his ear.





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