Forever

Epilogue

 
It’s been one year to day. God, it doesn’t seem that long. One year. My hands tremble as I place flowers on the graves.

~Flashback~

She wasn’t sure just how everything happened but he returned to her, and that was all that mattered. He had said something about ‘Shampoo’ no that wasn’t right, ‘Shantoo’? It didn’t matter, what ever it was had made him human!

She couldn’t help the goofy grin, as they walked hand in hand back to her house. He looked so good in the sunlight. It didn’t matter to her that he was as white as, well, a vampire. He’d tan. She wondered how his hair would look after it was sun bleached.

He looked down at her and smiled. It was perfect. He was able to be with her, finally after all of this time they truly had a future together.

As the house came into view he remembered that this was going to be painful for them both. When he had first entered the house, he hadn’t been paying close attention. He counted heads, and left.

But the number came up wrong, not everyone made it. He sighed and stopped Buffy, “Buffy, I thinkt mat maybe, well, not everyone was in the house when I got there.”

“What do you mean.”

“People were missing. I don’t know what happened after I, ah, died.”

“I passed out. The last few months caught up with me. Angel, who was missing?”

“I think we should go to the house and make sure.”

“Angel, please. Wh, who isn’t there?” Her voice shook, she couldn’t bare the thought of losing loved ones. Not after all the fighting to keep them alive. No, none of them could be gone, they couldn’t.

“Well, a lot of the SIT’s were gone. Faith, she, ah, I talked to her when I was dead. She’s going to be alright...” He couldn’t do it, he couldn’t rip her heart out.

“There’s more isn’t there?” She whispered as tears gathered in her eyes.

“Yeah,” He said softly.

“Wh, who?”

“I didn’t see Xander. But we don’t know what that means. Faith and the SIT’s are the only ones I’m sure died.” He couldn’t do it. He could see how much the possibility of Xander’s death had hurt terribly her. But telling her Dawn may also be dead? He didn’t even think even Angelus would have been able to do it.

‘No!’ Her mind screamed. She knew who else was gone by the look in his eyes. “Dawnie,” she whispered. Before he could say anything she was half way down the street. He was hard put to keep up with her.

He saw her tear into the house, the door bouncing off the wall. He was in the driveway when she got to the house, Dawn’s name rang through the deserted streets.

He tore in after her, he could hear her yelling Dawn’s name in the rooms upstairs. Everyone was staring at him with wide eyes.

Buffy came running down the stairs, she tried to go into the kitchen but he stopped her. If Dawn had been there she would have answered by then.

He held her tightly hoping to dissuade her from her fruitless search, “Buffy, you have to stop.”

“No, I have to find Dawnie.” She sobbed.

“Love, she’s not here. I’m so sorry.” He whispered into her hair as he held her shaking form. Her body was racked with sobs as the realization that her little sister was truly gone. He whispered words into her hair. The words meant nothing but it was all he could do. He could not take the pain away.

He knew how this kind of pain felt all to well, maybe even more so. He had once lost his son, and he had just given him up for good.

Angel rocked her on the floor, at sometime she had collapsed and he had just followed her down. He had not know Dawn well, his visits to the house had always been late. But she reminded him so much of his own sister that he couldn’t help but like her.

Buffy was quieting down, he could tell she was quickly slipping into oblivion and he let her. She needed rest.

When he was sure his movement would no longer wake her, he rose and took her to her room. He sat with her for a few minutes before she went down to answer the questions everyone had.

The group, consisting of Giles, Willow, Anya, that nerd guy, the principle, and the remaining SIT’s, fired questions at him left and right. He told them of what had happened to him, his shanshu. He found that his group had survived, Lorne would be out of action for quite awhile, and Fred had taken a sword, but they had all lived. He sent a silent thank you to the PTB’s.

By the time he was done with his call to L.A., he found Buffy sitting with Willow. Both crying, morning the lose of their loved ones. Willow had confirmed that all who had not returned did not survive. Her new lover was gone, as well as her life long friend.

She told Buffy and Angel that Xander had died protecting Anya. Buffy had begged her to tell them what had happened to Dawn, Willow had felt it to soon for the story.

But Buffy had won. Minutes after Buffy fainting, Dawn had just stood and headed for the Hell mouth. Giles had tried to hold her back, but ended up with a burnt had for his troubles. Dawn had started to glow with a soft green light, the closer she got to the mouth of Hell the brighter she became. She turned and smiled at the group and said that she loved them, by then she had been standing on the edge nearly to bright to look at. She just backed off of the ledge, when the group had gotten there she was gone. There was nothing left of the Hell mouth, Dawn had closed it.

It had seemed that Dawn was the Key to more things than Glory’s dimension. It had been Dawn’s destiny to close the mouth of Hell forever.

Buffy cried once more, but a soft smile played at the corners of her mouth. Her baby sister did not die in vain, she was proud of her. If it was the only thing she learned during her life was that you could not out run destiny.

~End Flashback~

 
I place the flowers on Dawn’s grave. There was no body to put in the casket, so we place items that represented her. Her grave was next to Mom’s.

Xander’s was not far from Mom and Dawn. We retrieved his body and laid him to rest. I laid my flower’s on his grave as well, kissing my fingers and placing them on his name that was forever etched in stone.

For the SIT’s that died in battle, we made a memorial. All of their names were listed. I placed a flower for each name.

Finally I come to my sister slayer’s grave. It took her death for all of the hurt and pain to be resolved between us. I regret never being able to forgive Faith while she was alive, but Angel assured me that Faith was in Heaven, safe for all eternity.

I stand up, with effort. It seemed to be that way of late, a struggle to do the simplest things.

I smile with tears in my eyes. I know they are all safe, and that they are waiting for when it is my time, again.

Suddenly I’m kicked and it makes me wince, yet my smile grows bigger. I pull my husband’s hand to my enlarged stomach as our child kicks again. He smiles at me. I know that he still misses Conner, but Angel has come to terms with Conner being happier where he is now.

He had to many demons haunting him to ever be able to live with out pain. This way he will have never known the pain that his first life had brought him. Conner’s demons were forever at rest.

Angel and I slowly make our way to our car. It’s a long trip back to L.A., being eight and a half months pregnant, in such a confined space really sucked. But I would not have missed this day for the world.

I couldn’t stay here, it was too hard. Willow did for a few months, but soon ended up in L.A. with us.

Giles went back to England, but plans on moving back so that he and Wesley can help me with the new slayer.

She’s a wild child, but she has the potential of greatness. We are making a new generation of slayers, they are going to be trained in a loser atmosphere. They will go to school, and they have will have the option to stay with family, their training will be similar to mine. Of course the family will have to know their secret, but that has proven to only make a slayer stronger. Katie, the new slayer, will be the beginning of the new era.

Angel has broken Wolfram & Hart up. He donated the science section to medical research. He sold off all the unneeded areas. Using the profits to rebuild the Watchers’ Council and get the new breed of watchers on their feet.

He donated the rest to a small shelter for runaways, that happened to be run by Anne or Lily. We have became close over these last few months. I help her at the shelter now that I’m pregnant, Angel refuses to let me step foot in Angel Investigations. When I said he had broken W&H up, I meant it.

I glance over at my husband, I had been right. He looked amazing with a tan, the sun had lightened his hair considerably. We were married three months after the Battle. We both knew just how short life was and couldn’t wait to make our union official.

It was a small ceremony, on the beach, at dawn. We said our vows as the sun blazed in the new day, the sun rise had been particularly beautiful. We took a short honeymoon up the coast, and spent a week in a little no name town on the beach. We spent most of that week holed up in our room, making love.

I smile as I rub my hand across my stomach, I’m happy. Yes, there’s been a lot of heart ache, people I want to share my happiness are no longer here, but still I’m happy.

Angel takes one hand off the steering wheel and picks up my hand, kissing my knuckles. Yes, I’ve found happiness in the form of my angel.