Reprieve

Title: Reprieve
Disclaimer: With the exception of Lamia who, while not my creation, plays around in my head sometimes, all is owned by the god Joss. I just borrowed them for my meat puppet theater.
Rating: R (strong language but really what other kind is there)
Spoilers: Somewhere after Lies My Parents Told Me but before Dirty Girls.

Reprieve


Spike paced the still cemetery at a frenetic pace feeling the oppressive confinement of his situation closing in on him despite the lack of chains that bound him to the wretched piece of earth he called home. Home, hah, more like his sanctuary and his hell rolled up into one super-sized mind fuck he couldn’t or wouldn’t muscle his way out of. Can’t, won’t what was the bleeding difference? Either way he was suffering, denying himself his true desires, repenting for a life he couldn’t really find it in himself to regret having spent.

That wasn’t true, he did regret it or at least parts of it. The parts that included leaving the tortured and dismembered bodies of his victims scattered from one end of the world to the other like a trail of breadcrumbs leading back to his eventual condemnation at the hands of his only redemption, his reluctant salvation. His neglectful love that never let him forget how uncomplicated her life might suddenly become should he walk into the deliciously dangerous rays of the sun that haunted his every night. The way that she haunted him, taunting him by giving just a little only to scorch his vulnerable flesh when he dared to touch.

And he did dare to touch. The weight of his soul didn’t change the being that he was, couldn’t take away his passion or his demon no matter how loudly it screamed in his ears, because Spike and William both owned the urge to possess her, to top her slick body until she wept for the release that she knew only he could give her, the monster from her childish nightmares. The monster that dared to breach her reality and take corporeal form in order to challenge every conviction and certainty in her ephemeral life.

If only-

“Excuse me…”

Spike spun quickly to confront the owner of the sibilant voice and found himself face to face with a of of the most hypnotic eyes he had ever seen, colorless yet swirling with every hue imaginable.

“Who th’ fuck ‘re you?” he asked harshly, his anti-social skills surging up to cover his discomfort at having been caught so completely off guard by the intruder’s sudden appearance.

“Who do you need me to be?”

Body taut with suspicion and distrust, he held his ground but did not respond to the question seeing it as a tease and knowing that the less he spoke the more he would be spoken to.

With a petulant sigh the owner of the preternatural eyes spoke again. “So you do not want to play with me?”

Beyond the wariness lay the stirrings of his desire as he watched her move closer, round hips swinging gently and black hair gleaming in the moonlight. What was this creature that had emerged from the ether to coalesce into the shocking reality of every man’s most carnal fantasy.

“At the risk of sounding trite-I am a friend,” she spoke from her full red lips as she came to stand so close to him letting him feel her warm breath in the hollow of his neck.

“So ya say,” Spike responded cautiously feeling uneasy at her proximity and the sight of the razor sharp canine’s that protruded so delicately from her moist lips but unwilling to give her the satisfaction of taking a step back.

“Yes I do and that is not all I have to say.”

The husky notes of her voice washed over him making him think of dark red wine and the thick rush of hot blood, reminding him of why his life was sogerogerous at the moment.

“Thanks ever so but I’ll take a pass. Bye now.”

With unexpected speed she reached out and caught his hand, warming his cool skin with her alluring heat.

“I am no expert in Spike but I have learned enough to know that despite your words, you have got a curious nature and I am betting you want to know more about me. Even if it is only to find out where I come from, what I want and if I am any threat to…her.”

It wasn’t necessary for him to ask for elaboration, he knew of whom she spoke. Didn’t it always come back to her? Pride dictated that he walk away and not give into the obvious ploy but Spike couldn’t seem to recall the last time pride held any sway over him, not since his wretched heart had started calling all the shots.

“I’ll bite,” he said licking his lips, his eyes traveling briefly to her exposed neck then back to her stunning face.

“Hmm, I was planning on it but regretfully…business first-blood play later.”

The woman took a step back from Spike and looked him up and down, an action that may have made a lesser…man uncomfortable but Spike was well aware of his charms even if a certain slayer made him forget sometimes.

“Gods, it has been so long since they have let me out,” she said happily, spreading her arms out to the side and raising her smiling face towards the dark sky.

“Do you think ya could get on with it already? I’m in a bit of a hurry, got places to be, ya know.”

The visitor let her arms drop to her side in exasperation before moving her unnerving gaze back to his impatient one.

“I am Lamia. I have been sent to release you…if that is what you desire.”

“Lamia?” Spike said skeptically. He like any other vampire in creation knew of her but had never really put much stock in the mythology of his race or the beginnings of Vampyr. Yet he had no doubt that he stood facing his sovereign.

“Yes, Lamia the goddess that your kind would worship if you were not so stubbornly self-serving and absolutely wicked.”

Spike could only stare stupidly at her for a moment wondering why she sounded more pleased than annoyed that her would be subjects ignored her existence.

“But-“

“Oh, Spike, I would love nothing more than to beguile you with tales of my own talents in the arena of mayhem and mutilation but sadly we are pushing a deadline.”

“Right, then. Start by explainin’ what ya mean by releasin’ me. Are ya offering to take away m’ soul ‘cause I earned it fair and I’m not lookin’ to unburden m’self.”

Lamia scoffed at his defensive tone, “Earned it? So entering into a giant pissing contest, with your soul as the prize, somehow means that you have earned the right to possess what you once gave away so easily? Poor, Spike, did they hurt you? Did you get a few scrapes and bruises-oh, or did you maybe break a bone? Please. The simple fact is that the demon underestimated your strength and abilities. He truly had no idea that you would be able to survive such a trial. Actually no one thought you could. No one but me.”

Spike shifted impatiently, “Don’t matter, I still got the bleedin’ thing.”

“Mm-hmm, you certainly did and now what?”

The vampire was getting angry. Who the hell was this bird anyway? She claimed to be some obscure mythic goddess sent with a message but she had yet to divulge it or who exactly had sent her.

“With all due respect-get to the fuckin’ point,” he said succinctly.

Lamia arched a black brow and flipped her hair behind one bare shoulder, “You should treat me with a little more respect, boy. I could have your viscera spread from one end of this boneyard to the other before you could blink. But I am in a generous mood since it is not often The Powers ask me for help nor is it usual for me to want to leave my…paradise. So, what will it be, Spike, do you stay or do you go?”

“It’s all in the details, lovely, so spill ‘em.”

The rainbow of colors began to swirl faster and a sudden dizziness overwhelmed him, forcing him to his knees while his eyes remained locked with hers.

“Mmm, you are terribly insolent, it is no wonder Angelus worked so hard to beat you down,” she said with a growl her wild eyes an alluring vortex sucking him inside and blotting out the familiar scenery as she spoke to him, invoking the demon that moved so restlessly in its tight confinement, reminding it of its history long buried in the moldiest recesses of it’s consciousness.

“Ssspike,” she hissed, “I am your mother. I am where you came from. The demon you feel clawing inside you was born from my womb and set upon the universe to propagate. I created you and I can destroy you, I can destroy all of your kind but I choose to let you abide.” Lamia ran a scalding hand down the side of his face gently only to end with her claws digging into his throat, a threat spilling from her exotic mouth. “Do not make me show you what I am capable of, Childe.”

There was nothing for him in that moment but the will to please her, to bow in supplication before her. Blindly he reached out to her, uncaring of the fingers that dug into his tender flesh, feeling teat eat of her so close and yet it was not enough and would not be enough until he could melt inside her, become one with her.

“I weep for you, Childe. I shed my blood tears to see you brought so low by the cattle of this world but shining with pride to see you still fighting, grasping and reaching. Why should they deny you when you fight so valiantly at their side for a cause that is not yours? You are better then they are and they know it and the power you hold threatens them, makes them small and mean. Come with me, leave this coil behind and let them scramble to fight for this useless piece of existence on their own.”

Yes. That was what he wanted to do. Never to see this sterile world again, never to be held captive by the whim of another. In her eyes he saw himself, saw the powerful being he was and knew for the first time in an eternity that he belonged somewhere and felt a rush of exhilaration. Heaven was waiting. Not the heaven of human myth but the one reserved for him alone with this woman. A heaven that was the absence of all the tumultuous emotions that ate away at his infant soul making him weak and ugly.

“My sweet William, will you spend eternity with your queen?”

Before he could give her the answer that burned in his throat her lips descended upon his in a feather light caress that left him wanting-

“Get away from him!”

Still locked in the transcendent glare of Lamia’s iridescent eyes, the harsh command barely penetrated the sensual haze he existed in but his goddess heard and she was less then pleased.

With a gentle kiss on the brow of the entranced vampire, Lamia released her hold on Spike’s throat and turned to face the intruder.

“So you have finally come to check on your pet. What? Did he forget to hover jealously in the background while you…danced with another?”

As if from a distance Spike could hear the words that were being spoken but for the unlife of him he could seem to care. His love could be in danger but for the moment he was content to stay on the sidelines and not try to kill himself over that woman yet again.

“I said get away from him,” the slayer said, hazel eyes blazing with the righteous fury that always lay just under the surface of her seemingly confident control.

Lamia bared her sharp white teeth in a gruesome parody of a smile, “What is it with you people and the lack of reverence I receive? Is it possible that you have won too many battles with those of lesser…talents that you cannot recognize when you are powerless? Mind me, Vampireslayer, your power youryour sanctimonious posturing do not impress.”

“I don’t have time for this crap…uh…whoever you are. Who are you anyway? And what do you want with Spike?”

“I think the question is; what does William want with me?”

Despite wanting to avoid the confrontation, Spike knew that he could not. Reluctantly he pulled himself to his feet and moved to stand next to the being that tempted him so strongly.

“Go, Buffy,” he said quietly but with a force that surprised the slayer.

“But, Spike-“

“I don’t need savin’ and this is none of yer concern.”

“Spike, how can you say that? Aren’t you bored with the whole fucking with Spike’s brain thingy? That woman is trying to use you to get to me,” she said, assuming the being standing before her was another force sent by The First to whip and confuse.

Spike shook his head wearily suddenly overwhelmed by the situation. How could he explain to her that he wasn’t under anyone’s control, not anymore. Not ever again.

“I’m sure this comes as a huge shock, but I have no interest in you or your petty battles. My only interest is in William.”

Spike knew that Buffy didn’t believe anything she heard, she still thought he was weak and vulnerable, and maybe he was but not now, not with Lamia. For the first time in forever his vision was crystal.

“Leave, Slayer,” he repeated.

“Not without you,” she sing-songed, crossing her thin arms across her chest. “And if you don’t step away from her so that I can kill her, I’ll move you myself.”

Spike reached out and pulled Lamia’s warm hand into his own feeling the heat from her penetrating his cold skin and travel through his body.

“You will not hurt her.”

Spike’s calm statement caused Buffy to blink. He wondered what she must be thinking and then he forced himself not to care. Or at least he tried.

“I’ll do what I have to,” Buffy replied before reaching into her jacket and pulling out a jeweled dagger he hadn’t known she possessed.

Spike and Lamia remained unmoving as Buffy rushed at them, neither so much as flinching when Buffy was brought up short by the invisible barrier that stood between her and her target. The momentum that had carried her towards them was turned back on her when she hit the barrier causing her to fly backwards to land hard on the wet ground. Spike felt a flash of concern even knowing that her slayer constitution could take a lot more abuse and he resisted his urgent instinct to race to her side.

“Spike! She’s trying to keep me from helping you,” Buffy cried out as she regained her footing.

“Me? No, dear, that wasn’t me. I have no fear of you because you cannot hurt me no matter how sharp your little knife might be or how much strength you have been given, so there is no need for me to protect myself from you. But you may want to ask William why he chose to protect me from what he believed to be a threat from you.”

Spike watched Buffy’s brow furrow in confusion and he wished her away from here. This was for him, not her or her merry band of high-school rejects and for once he wasn’t looking to see if she was looking.

“I’m sorry, slayer, I’m not tryin’ to hurt ya but I won’t let harm come to either of ya,” he said simply his voice shaking slightly from the effort it was taking to keep the barrier in place.

“Spike, I don’t understand. How are you doing this? And why?” she asked softly, pinning him with her hazel eyes.

“I ‘ave to. Please trust me for once,” he pleaded.

“Spike, this-this thing is controlling you, don’t you see that? You have to fight her.”

Spike ground his teeth in frustration, finally releasing the hope that the woman he loved would ever truly see him the way he ached to be seen by her. “No, I don’t and I won’t. Why did ya come ‘ere?”

“I was…worried,” the blonde admitted reluctantly never taking her eyes from him. “I got a call from Willow saying that you had taken off hours ago without telling anyone where you were going.”

“Worried?” Spike scoffed. “Right. Worried that the enemy had somehow found a way to worm itself back into m’ feeble mind and had once more sent me off to turn the innocents. Or maybe you were worried that I had abandoned your crusade leaving you with one less fighter on your hands.”

Buffy shook her head vehemently, “That’s not it, Spike. Well at least not entirely. I-I-“

Spike watched her struggle for the words knowing that whatever she wanted to say would stay buried inside her with all of the other needs and desires she never felt that she could express. It would kill her one day. That is if the monsters didn’t get her first.

“Slayer, don’t-“

“You know, as interesting as this ping pong match may be, I do not have a lot of time. Elizabeth may stay or go as she wishes, I don’t care but, William, I need your answer. The Powers are growing restless with the delay.”

Her voice was thick, imbued with the succulent darkness from which she came. For a moment he let it wash over him reinforcing the sensation of her existence in the marrow of him.

“What was the question?” Buffy demanded.

Lamia offered the younger woman a condescending smile, “The Powers are alternately proud and vexed by you, girl, and I am beginning to realize that you probably have that affect on most people.”

“The Powers?” Buffy barked disbelievingly. “You came from them? Tell me what the hell they have to do with this anyway. It seems to me that they’ve let me die two times too many for me to actually think that they give a shit what happens to any of us.”

“Again-there is no time for pettiness. Your bitterness and ingratitude is not why I am here. I have been sent to offer William an…alternative to his current situation. The Powers have offered him a way out of the coming war, a reward for his past efforts so to speak. William has endured enough on behalf of your cause and it is time that he was released from this place. He has only to accept this most generous offer.”

Spike saw skepticism on the face of his slayer and wanted to laugh himself. It did seem quite ridiculous that he was chosen to be rewarded while the slayer had put in more years and made more sacrifices than anyone else ever had. And yet, despite that, he believed his goddess. Spike was expendable, the Chosen One was not.

“They don’t trust him do they?” Buffy said as understanding finally washed over her.

Lamia gave a gallic shrug of her round shoulders, “What does that matter? Do you disagree that William has been a valiant warrior in your cause? Can you deny the contributions he has made? And for what? He is a creature of darkness and turmoil, he does not belong on the end of your short leash no matter how gilded. To keep him confined to your reality is to bind him to an eternity of self-loathing and torment and even you, Elizabeth, have to admit that it is a poor substitute for one’s freedom. Imagine if the situations were reversed and you were forced to live on scraps from another’s table, could you endure?”

“You may not have noticed but we’re in the middle of another end of the world type thingy so now is not the time to sideline my strongest player. I-uh, that is, we need him here. So you go back to The Powers and tell them to go to hell and don’t let the door or the shimmery portal whatever hit you in your perfect ass on the way out.”

Spike held up his hand, “Slayer, stop. Maybe they’re right. The First has already been inside my brain-made me do things-“

“That’s over now.”

“-and there’s no tellin’ if it will be the last trick the squirrelly bastard has up his sleeve. The way I’m seein’ it-I’m a liability more than anythin’.”

It took superhuman effort, which Spike just happened to have, to keep his shoulder’s back and his head high. Over the past three years he had seen one defeat after another at her hands and the hands of countless others that he was amazed he could stand at all. But it was Lamia’s offer of deliverance that made the small measure of hope that he carried, flicker out.

“Spike, please,” Buffy implored softly, anxiety dawning in her eyes as she watched the resolution flow over his face.

Turning to Lamia, Spike cupped her warm face in his hands and lowered his lips to hers once more feeling the rush of heat flow through him. Reluctantly he disengaged from her, forcing himself to take a small step away from her beguiling smile and mesmerizing gaze.

“I can’t,” he said, the strength in his voice surprising him.

It was almost painful for him to watch the understanding dawn on the face of his deity as his scant words spilled into the night that stood between them.

“You are refusing?” she asked in disbelief.

“I have to-“

“You do not have to do anything. I can feel your desire to come with me, your eagerness to shed this blighted world yet you refuse me.” Lamia cocked her head to the side, her face taking on a sardonic light. “Elizabeth, I have sorely underestimated the hold you have over my Childe. Before us stands a creature that never gave in-always had a vision-even if it was to decimate a village when slaughtering a family would have sufficed. And somehow you’ve managed to tame him.”

The relief on the slayer’s face was replaced with disgust, “Tame? Ha! As if. Apparently you don’t know who you’re talking about because Spike is the biggest pain in the ass-“

“Slayer, please, you’ll make me blush,” Spike stated wearily, his sarcasm failing him despite the effort he tried to put into his words.

Lamia folded her supple arms underneath her full breasts and offered Spike a smile full of tenderness and…love?

“She will never love you, even if she wanted to.”

Buffy’s smooth complexion blanched at the careless words of the dark beauty but remained silent unable or unwilling to contradict her.

“Got nothin’ to do with ‘er,” Spike stated harshly hoping that his worthless heart didn’t display the ache it was feeling on his face.

“Does it not? You were close to her once, as close as one such as yourself could be but she still had no care. You were merely a convenient weapon she could use to abuse herself with. My darling boy was supplicated on the alter of the almighty slayer and was summarily ground into the filth. Nothing is going to change. You could die a thousand deaths to save her and her precious followers and she would never see you as anything more than the glorious beast you once were.”

Spike felt a rush of fury and anguish at her words hating her for the truth that spilled so casually from her.

“None of that matters! I could live a thousand lives without ‘er love because once I was able to touch ‘er and know that when I thrust into ‘er tight body it was my name she screamed, it was my eyes that she saw worshipping ‘er. Yes, she hated me and sought to punish me with every ounce of strength that she possessed but she saw me, if only for a moment and that is all that I will ever need.”

He didn’t look at the slayer, he couldn’t because he was afraid of her. Afraid of the disgust and the distance he always saw in her eyes whenever she was reminded of that time in her life. In that brief time she had sunk to her lowest depth and he had attained the heights of bliss.

“I will stay ‘ere, I will stay by ‘er side and commit m’ worthless carcass to ‘er cause because that is what I need to do, that is what I was born to do. Everything that I am now belongs to ‘er and ‘er alone so I regretfully decline yer most generous offer.”

Lamia turned to the slayer and offered her a small smile, “You have committed your existence to ending that of my line and yet he has chosen you. How that must please you.”

Buffy stared at the vampiress with hard eyes, “Leave and don’t come back here or I will most definitely rip out all that shiny hair.”

Lamia shook her head in disgust and returned her attention to Spike. “The only flaw in my paradise is that I have no equal, no male that could match me and I had not even realized it until The Powers beckoned me to them and requested I come retrieve you. You, my sweet boy, have denied yourself an eternity of the most exquisite pain so why is it that I feel as if I have lost something.”

Spike felt the scald of unshed tears behind his eyes as he watched her take a step backward and then another until she was suddenly no more.

Exhausted he leaned against the nearest granite monument and slid down the smooth surface until he was sitting on the damp earth that housed so many of the long dead.

“Spike?”

Wearily he ground the heels of his hands into dry eyes unable to answer his summons.

“Spike,” she said again, her voice closer to him, “are you alright?” as has he? No. Had he ever been? Absolutely never.

“Right as, pet.”

Buffy placed her small hand on his shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze as if to offer the only comfort she could and he hated her for that. But then again he hated her for a lot of things, most of all he hated her for making him love her.

“Then let’s get out of here. I’m sure that Willow could do some kind of cleansy spell jobber to wash the ick of Maleficent out of your head,” she said with a forced cheerfulness that grated his nerves.

“There’s nothin’ to clean, slayer. Bint was never in m’ head. Not how ya mean.”

Spike could feel her eyes boring into the top of his head as she stood over him and he didn’t have to use much imagination to picture the look of disbelief that bordered on denial in her eyes.

“But I saw you, Spike. Your eyes were glazed over and you could barely look away from her. She manipulated you into thinking you had thrown up a barrier to keep me away…”

“I threw the barrier, Buffy. It was all me.”

Buffy shook her golden waves in confusion, “But how, Spike? When did you suddenly become magic guy?”

Spike lifted his blue eyes to look at her drinking in the sight of her as if he hadn’t looked upon her in years instead of mere minutes. If he had any strength left he would deny himself the pleasure but time had shown that this woman held all the power.

“M’not. Wait that’s not true, not exactly. S’not just me but all vamps that carry the power,” he said in a low voice.

Buffy eyes grew wide with incredulity, “To which I reply-Huh?”

“Slayer,” Spike began, rubbing his eyes wearily, “it’s a long story but the short of it is that the bird that just left here is the mother of all vampires and through ‘er all we have all been endowed with mystical abilities.”

“I’ve never heard about this.”

“Maybe yer should have a little chat with Rupes than,” Spike said testily.

Buffy shifted from one foot to the other more than a little uncomfortable with the mention of her watcher. “Giles is not exactly on my ‘People I want to Talk To’ list.”

The platinum vampire ran his long fingers over his mouth to hide the smug smile that threatened at the mention of the slayer’s lingering anger at what she saw as a betrayal from someone she trusted most. The fact that the betrayal involved a little Spike torture leading to his eventual dusting fueled his fantasy of one day owning her taut body once more.

“There is another option,” he offered softly. “Y a could always take m’ word for it but that would require a little trust on yer part.”

It was obvious from the stricken look that flashed across her face that he had zinged a sore spot.

“I do trust you, Spike. I trust you with my life and the lives of those I love. That’s why I came after you when you were being held prisoner by The First and then when Robin was trying to…”

“Kill me?” he finished for her.

“Yes.”

It was obvious that he was going to get nothing more from her but lucky for him he had learned in the past four years not to expect much. The slayer wasn’t one for hearts and flowers. Come to think of it, neither was he. Now a pair of manacles and a riding crop…that was true love or something close to it.

Buffy surprised Spike by droppto hto her haunches in front of him. “Why did you stay? I can only imagine what makes up a vampire’s utopia. Bet it’s all ooey gooey bloody goodness and no wood to speak of.”

Spike shrugged a leather clad shoulder, “Don’t s’pose I’ll ever know.”

Buffy held her position in order to keep eye contact stubbornly waiting for an answer to her question.

“I couldn’t do it. I bloody well should have but I couldn’t and I blame you for that. You and all the white-hats squatting in that suddenly to small house o’yours. Suddenly feelin’ all full of the responsibility and obligation. Quite the fuck-all, innit? “I- “I-is that the only reason? I guess what I’m asking is did you mean all of those things you said to-uh, her,” Buffy asked suddenly unable to meet his eyes.

“What you lookin’ for, luv. Yet another declaration of undying love?”

Buffy flinched at the scorn in his voice and stood once more. “Fuck you, Spike.”

“If only you would,” Spike said dreamily then laughed at the disgusted look on her face.

“Are you done? Because we really should get back to the house.”

“Go on, slayer. I can get m’self back to Revello jus’ fine.”

Buffy opened her mouth to offer an argument then must have thought better of it.

“Be careful, Spike.”

Spike tipped his head back and offered her a nasty little smile, “Never, slayer.”

Turning on her heel, Buffy was about to leave him when she hesitated and looked over her shoulder at him.

“Whatever your reasons are for staying, I’m glad. I need you and I don’t think I would have the strength to do this without you.”

Cursing himself for being the nancy boy she made him he could only nod, unable to get words passed the Buffy sized lump in his throat.

Spike didn’t watch her as she walked away, couldn’t even hear her stealthy footsteps but he could feel the emptiness grow as the distance between them increased. Glancing up at the darkness of the sky he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply of the night air knowing that he only had another hour before the sun began to stain his world once more.

Opening his eyes he looked around wondering how much longer they had until the cork popped and they were spewed into the final battle, facing final defeat or exalted victory and he admitted to himself that he wasn’t ready to see it all end despite his century plus years on this earth. There was still much to do and a whole lot of life, such as it was, to live that it didn’t seem possible that he was about to face his end or witness the end of those around him.

Whatever the outcome he resolved to walk into the sun the morning after Buffy died should that eventuality be in the next few days or years from now because without her there was no him. Whether she wanted to acknowledge it or not, she was the reason he existed, the reason he still rose each time the sun went down, sucking on the lifeless pig’s blood that kept his monster at bay.

“Well, kids, this is it. Battle stations ready ‘cause we’re about to find out just how strong our reluctant heroine is and when that happens I hope that on a scale of one to ten, Buffy’s havin’ a good day,” he said to the empty cemetery as he pulled a cigarette from the crumpled pack inside his leather duster.

The time was no longer his own, he was tethered to a motley bunch of bleedin’ females, one frazzled former watcher currently on the outs with his former charge, one reformed quasi evil genius nerd who didn’t appear to be all that much of a genius and a overworked and underpaid carpenter who at the moment was mucking up his sheets and entering into his third wet dream about the afore mentioned bleedin’ females.

Disgusting really but this was the creature he had become and the man he was hoping to be. Giving up vampire heaven had been one of the hardest things he had ever had to do but being the slayer’s man was even more difficult and if this was the end he planned to do it large.

Putting one foot in front of the other, he left the cemetery, feeling different from when he entered but no less unsettled. Tonight he had been offered a choice, something he’d had little experience with the past several years and he knew that he had made the wrong choice for himself but hopefully it would be the right one for the rest of the world. For the potentials. For Buffy.

~The End~