Chapter 42: Cleanup

After killing Winsloe, they changed, and then they returned to their clothing. No time for lingering. There was still work to be done at the compound. Every bit of evidence had to be found and destroyed. Then they had to remove all traces of their presence. Eventually someone would find the compound and the bodies within. To decrease the likelihood of a large-scale police investigation, Dawn hacked into the computer system and transferred the property deed to a Colombian drug cartel. While she was at it, she also hacked into the rest of Winsloe's accounts and transferred everything else into Savannah's name. Buffy considered it payment for what Winsloe had done to her daughter. As for Winsloe, they'd disposed of his body in a way that ensured he'd never be found.

"Did Savannah look okay to you?" Buffy asked as they finished dressing. "She hit that wall pretty hard."

"She seemed fine. Jeremy will look after her," Clay said as he pushed aside a branch for the sisters. He looked towards Dawn. "Watching Buffy with Savannah, I was thinking—"

"You think we're ready?" Dawn asked.

"Yes," Clay said. "Now that we know it's possible." He walked a few more feet, then grinned. "Hey, you know what else? If we had children, you couldn't leave. You'd be stuck with me. Now there's a thought."

Dawn laughed. "Actually Clay, if we had kids you would have to come with me."

"Really?" Clay asked.

Buffy nodded. "We're not staying at Stonehaven forever. You and Jeremy both knew that. For one Dawn and I are immortal. Since we don't age, at all, it will look suspicious if we stay in one spot for too long. A decade, two max. The second reason is we both have obligations we will have to take care of. We will have to return to Sunnydale to make sure our past selves are never targeted. I'm thinking the time my past self is in high school, that's likely when Dawn and I will be the most vulnerable to threats wanting to erase us from history. Then we will have to eventually return to Port Royal. To resume our lives."

Clay nodded. "As I told Dawn before. If she leaves, so will I." He then pulled Dawn into a kiss as Buffy walked on.

"Aunt Dawn and Uncle Clay are kissing." A young voice. Savannah.

Dawn twisted to see Buffy walking toward Jeremy who yanked Savannah back. Then he peered through the bushes.

"Oh, you three are dressed," he said, and released Savannah.

Dawn wriggled out of Clay's grasp. "Of course, we're dressed. Since when have we ever stopped in the middle of a dangerous situation to have"—she glanced at her niece— "a rest."

Jeremy rolled his eyes.

"Did you kill Winsloe?" Savannah asked.

"Kill—" Buffy choked. "Um, no, we—uh—"

"He's been taken care of," Jeremy said.

"Any sign of Leah?" Buffy asked.

Jeremy shook his head. "There's no trace of her. Perhaps you three can do a better job."

"I'll go with mom and Aunt Dawn," Savannah said. "If we find Leah, I can use my binding spell again."

Buffy and Dawn both opened their mouths to protest, but Jeremy beat them to it.

"Why don't we go find Adam?" he said. "Perhaps we can help him."

Savannah's eyes sparked at the mention of Adam, but she only shrugged and allowed that she supposed that would be an acceptable alternative. When Jeremy headed toward the compound, Savannah trailed behind him.

Buffy sighed. "I may have finally met a challenge I'm not ready for," she said as Dawn and Clay laughed. "Go! Find Leah. I want her dead." She then jogged after Jeremy and Savannah.

"You intend to return to Port Royal?" Jeremy asked when Buffy had caught up to him. He had part of the discussion between her, Dawn and Clay.

"You knew that was the plan, Jeremy," Buffy said. "We have to eventually return to our old lives."

Jeremy sighed as he, Savannah and Buffy stopped. "Buffy, I've been thinking about retiring. For that I need a successor. I've been thinking you…"

"I'm not interested, Jeremy," Buffy said. "You know what will happen ten years from now, just before the Battle of Sunnydale. Dawn and I have told you and Clay both about our pasts, your future. I don't want to go through that again."

Jeremy sighed.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

When they left the compound at dawn there was no evidence to suggest anything out of the ordinary had happened there. Before leaving, Adam started a series of small fires, not enough to be seen by passing planes, but enough to fill the building with thick smoke, further damaging anything that remained.

Oh, and Leah? Dawn and Clay never did find her. They spent two hours scouring the grounds outside the compound. If she'd left, they should have found a trail. Since they didn't, they had to assume she'd holed up somewhere in the compound, where she would have eventually been overcome by smoke. And if she did manage to escape? Buffy planned to eventually visit Leah's home state of Wisconsin when she felt that Leah had let her guard down, assuming she had even survived. Till then she was going to raise her daughter.