The End

By: Princess Ashley

Just a spur of the moment thing. I just got tired of only seeing a bunch of post-chosen fics that have Buffy all depressed. I mean, sure there are always going to be vampires around, but that's why you got all the other slayers. This is Spike and Buffy. Of course, they are the only couple I will even waste my time with….okay, Willow/Tara, and Xander/Anya. I'm sorry, Anya is just funny. You gotta love Anya.

I waited for you today

But you didn't show

No, no….

Buffy watched through the violence around her, and listened to his yells. He was in pain, and it broke her from the inside out. But even through his agony, he watched everything play out, like he had been waiting for this moment to come, and he was going to milk it for all it was worth. He watched the death, the potentials were winning he could tell, and he watched still. Through everything, he promised himself one thing, he would see the End. He would stay and watch until there was nothing left. Until there was nothing left to stand for in this broken town. The town of no people. Only spirits of the dead lingering on. The lost souls in the Hellmouth. The Hellmouth would be no more after this day.

I needed you today

So where did you go?

You told me to call

Said you'd be there

She loved him. He was everything that she hated, but still she loved him with a fire that surpassed anything she felt for Angel or Riley. No, that feeling came back ten fold when she thought of Spike. Any other man would have turned away, left her alone, even though she was the last person to know what she wanted. He stayed. He knew what she wanted and what she needed, and he had been that. Everything, even if it had taken this long for her to realize that. It had always been there, in different forms. First a firm dislike, grown to hate, to loathe, then to what could be described as an unfriendly gesture, then companionship, friends, lovers, and now it all came down to this. He was more than a lover. He had been at the receiving end of every emotion Buffy had, and he had stayed. Of course he stayed. It was his dream; he was wanted to see the End. He had made it this far; he was going to stay until the end of this nightmare. It was the thing he wanted the most. He lived for this moment. When the End came, he would be there, and he would end with it.

And though I haven't seen you

Are you still there?

A silent tear glittered down his cheek as he thought of everything he did to make it to this moment. This place, this would be his peace. He would go to heaven this day, be at peace from everything he had ever done. This was his forgiveness for every strike he led on the side of Hell. This was his salvation. He had waited for this since Drucilla changed him, when he changed his mother and then killed her. When he had invented every way he could think of to make the death of the mortal more draining. He wanted the most out of everything. And that was what he got. He wasn't called William the Bloody for nothing. He would milk the corpse and paint the walls of his house with it. This was what it all came down to. He had made his mark, and made his peace. He felt his soul burning him from the inside out. The amulet was made for a champion, and this was as heroic as you could get. Sacrificing your life for the sake of the bloody amulet. Course, there was that thing about saving everyone from their depending doom, but of course, it was all about the amulet. The amulet stirred the soul within him, stinging and paining him to no end, and he craved it.

I cried out with no reply

And I can't feel you by my side

So I'll hold tight to what I know

You're here and I'm never alone

Buffy fought her way towards him. His power showing and killing the vampires by the masses. She wanted to reach out and touch him, but she was afraid at the thought of him not being there. She could tell he was fading. He would complete his work here and then go, with his peace finally achieved. He would leave, and he would finally be able to rest. She wanted nothing more than for him to have this. He deserved it. He had gone through way to much for him not to have achieved this dream. Maybe he had not always thought of it ending like this, but the important thing was, the End was here, and he was more than ready, more than willing to die. He had been dead for a while, but he had never achieved the rest in peace, the big sleep and rest that awaited him. She herself had tasted heaven, and she felt sure that he would love it after all his pain and torment. This was Spike; her beloved Spike. He deserved to rest after all the shit she had put him through.

And though I cannot see you

And I can't explain why

Such a deep deep reassurance

You've placed in my life

"Spike!"

"I can feel it Buffy. My soul. It's really there. Kinda stings." Always trying to make a joke even when I know I'm about to die.

"We have to get out of here." In denial. This is Spike, and I will die the day I realized that he won't be there to kick me out of my stupor.

"Go Buffy. I'm not going to make it out of here." Go and let me rest in peace. This is my peace, go and live. This is where it ends for me. This is my happy ending.

"Spike." His name held something for me. It was my comfort. At the end of the day, there is always Spike. Without Spike, there is no life in me.

I'm trying to look at her without wanted desperately to follow her out of here. But this is what I want. I'm not going to let Blondie get in my way again.

"I love you." My closure. My offering.

"No you don't, but thanks for saying it." Well, it's true.

"Go Buffy! Get out of here. It's beginning to collapse!" She has to live. She will live. Please live.

She ran as far as she could. She ran up the stairs. Away from my site. This is the last time I will see her. I savor the last look she gives me, and I know that she does love me. And that is my closing.

I laugh as I die.

We cannot separate

'Cause you're part of me.

And though you're invisible

I'll trust the unseen

I ran towards the main floor. The rest of the vamps dead, and the potentials have cleared out. I see Anya fall. I heard Xander call to her, before he is whisked onto the bus. But I don't go any further. I stay in the building. This is my ending. I will fall with Anya and Spike. This is my End.

I can hear Faith and Dawn calling my name, frantic for me to show up before it is too late, and they have to leave. But I stand still as the building falls around me, and I wait for the sounds of Dawn being pulled onto the bus, crying for me. I feel no guilt; she is with people who will take care of her. She is with people that she loves. People that will love her back. Willow and Xander will be fine. They will take care of Dawn, and think of me. Giles will be okay; he will always be the father I never had. I will watch them all from where I go. I will be with people I know. I will be with my mother, my father, and the rest of them. With Tara, and beauty and love for everyone. I will be with Anya, and her everlasting humor, even in death. And most important, I will be with Him. Spike, the one I love.

I watch as the bus drives away, with the collapse of the city following it, and I finally pick up the sword that killed Anya, lying on the ground, her blood across the blade. And before the last part of the building falls upon me, I pull the sword through my heart.

And this is my closure as I sink to the ground, and the ceiling finally falls. I am crushed, but I feel nothing. Everything is soft, and the familiar feeling of death envelops me, and I feel his arms pulling me to him. His comforting dark eyes. I am with him. That is all I remember of my death. Like they say, third time's the charm.

And I am finally happy.

I cried out with no reply

And I can't feel you by my side

So I'll hold tight to what I know

You're here and I'm never alone

They stood in front of the rubble that used be known as Sunnydale, California. Now, all that was left was one big crater. The people that stood before it were solemn. It was the worst kind of mourning. The mourning of the dead that would never come back. No, they knew better then to try and keep the sand in their hands, without it being blown away. They had tried this once before, and this is what followed. This was the End. End for those they loved the most.

Dawn was in Giles' arms. Giles' was having a hard time believing that through all of this time, his Slayer was finally gone. After all this time. He had probably been her closest friend, and now she was gone. The daughter he never had. He watched her sister on his chest, and he sighed, holding the fragile girl to him. This would take some time.

Willow and Xander clung to each other. A life long friendship, now gone. But they held no regrets for her. She was happy wherever she was. With him. As much as Xander hated to admit it, Buffy was happy with Spike, and for that, Xander would always love Spike like a brother, no matter how much of a git he was. And Anya, his beloved Anya. He smiled at the pep talk she must be giving Buffy and Spike right about now.

Faith held herself. Buffy was a sister to her. A homegirl, and an enemy. Looks like she was the last original Slayer. The rest of them were artificial. Buffy was the original, and she always would be.

We cannot separate

'Cause you're part of me.

And though you're invisible

I'll trust the unseen

Somewhere, where everything was soft, and new, two people stood facing each other. One was a warrior, an angel, one that would always see the light, and always fight for everything she believed in. One was a vampire, a demon, one that would always do what he wanted to, simply because that was him. They embraced each other in the presence of their family and friends. Here, they would be together forever, and nothing would ever tear them apart. This was just them, and here, they were free from judgment, free from death, free from everything.

Tara smiled sweetly, watching them, remembering how Buffy reacted when she first started feeling like this for Spike. She sighed as she thought of her own lover, who was happy with another woman, and was probably all the better for it. She smiled again, and vanished.

Joyce and her husband hugged each other, knowing that one daughter was safe, and the other one was started a new life with the ones that she loved, and learning to live on her own. They vanished, resuming watching over their still young daughter.

Anya took in the scene, remembering a similar scene with her and Xander, and then left to watch her lover, and make sure that he wasn't falling for any other demons. Making sure that he remembered her, which he always would.

And in the midst of all of it, Spike took Buffy's face in his hands, and pressed his lips to hers, making sure she felt the love he felt for her. Buffy pulled away slightly, and smiled onto him.

"I said that I loved you." She said, sliding her hands up and down his arms, feeling the still firm muscles under his skin. Even in heaven, he remained his devious self, with his sexy smirk, and everything else that made him her Spike.

"I told you to leave." He said in a parental tone.

"I did. They don't need me anymore."

"Why?"

"I decided to take up your offer." She smiled with a minx's quirk.

"And what was that?" He asked, watching the smile with uncertain eyes.

"That I should stop thinking about everyone else, and start thinking about me. They don't need me anymore. And I need you. It works out." She laughed. And he pulled her to him again.

"Finally, she gets the point."

And they vanished to deal with other aspects of their eternal life. This was how it was going to be forever, and they had everything to do, and forever to do it in.

You're here and I'm never alone

FIN