Author's Notes: So here we are guys – at the end. I hope you've all enjoyed reading this as much I enjoyed writing it. Who knows, I may even be convinced to do a sequel ;-)
I guess by now you all know that this story does not feature Anya, Tara or Riley.
Dedicated to Pippa. Love ya.
And also Hex, because she's a good friend.
Giles pulled up at Angel Investigations. Ropen had given his word that he would kill Douleur, and even been kind enough to replace all the objects in Giles' apartment that he had damaged. That Ropen fellow is a rather decent chap.
Buffy had been quite anxious during the drive back to L.A. After all, that had been about six hours they had left the guys together for. She shuddered to think about what could have happened in six hours. She hastily covered the distance to the doors, expecting the worst...
Nothing in the world could have prepared her what she saw.
Sitting there, at the table, was Spike, Xander and Angel, playing cards and drinking beer.
"No way, man!" Xander yelled at Angel. "You are sooo cheating!"
"Nuh uh!" Angel argued, laughing. "I have three aces."
"If you two nancy boys would look closer you'd see that I have won. Beat that!" Spike slammed his cards down on the table for the other two to see. They both grudgingly agreed that Spike had won that round.
Then, at the same time, each one seemed to sense that they were being watched. In perfect synchronisation the three men slowly looked up, to meet Buffy and Giles' disbelieving faces.
Xander spoke first, looking sheepish.
"Uh...hey guys. You beat him?"
* * *
"Slayer! Behind you!"
Buffy spun, to meet the face of a grinning vampire. With lightning fast reflexes she plunged a stake into it's heart. The vampire exploded into a pile of dust. She turned back to Spike.
"Thanks."
Spike nodded. "Think we should call it a night?"
"Good idea. Boy, vamps sure seem to have depleted in number since Ropen." Buffy grinned. "It's nice to have it easy for a few weeks."
"Well if that's all you'll be needing in my service, I'll be off." Spike turned and began to walk away.
"Same time tomorrow?" Buffy called after him.
Spike turned back, gave her a cocky grin, and vanished into the night.
Buffy began to head back home herself. Since Ropen had left town, vamp activity had been at an all time low. And much to the disbelief of the Scoobies, Spike had been helping them regularly.
He even occasionally did it for free.
But all things considered, it was nice to have everything back to normal. As Buffy approached her house, she heard the phone ringing. Barely managing to get the phone before the caller gave up, Buffy answered breathlessly.
"Hello? Whoever this is, it better be good."
Giles voice travelled down the telephone.
"Why yes, Buffy. There is a matter of grave importance I must bring to your attention. You see, I was researching a summoning when..."
The End!