New Horizons: Chapter Sixty
The Continuance
By Annie
2002-07-21
Buffy stared at her friend, the white glow was still very much surrounding her and she was wearing a simple white dress.
"You're blonde," she finally stated and Cordelia smiled at that.
"Yeah, I thought I'd...you know, try something different for a while... Which I guess turned out to be forever," she answered her; voice a little wry, but Buffy was too surprised to pick up on it.
"You're...glowing," Buffy stated now and Cordelia looked down at herself and then up again, raising her eyebrows.
"What? Wasn't I always?" she asked and Buffy smiled a little hesitantly.
"A second ago you were sizzling around in the shape of a small star thingy," Buffy then pointed out and Cordelia met her gaze before nodding a little.
"Can you believe it? I get outta Sunnydale to avoid those kinda things and what do I get for moving to L.A? Nada! Well... I mean, I get to fly, which is kinda cool," she concluded and Buffy observed her for a moment.
"You just...saved her, didn't you?" she asked silently, her hands still against her stomach and Cordelia grew serious as she eyed the Slayer for a moment before nodding.
"Yes," she answered. "She's too important to die like this," she added and Buffy swallowed hard, Spike who had been getting to his feet to stand slightly behind Buffy stared at the woman before them, disbelieving.
"Says who?" Buffy asked and Cordelia shrugged a little.
"The Powers that Be, mostly... but others as well. ME, for instance," she answered and Buffy smiled a little at that.
"So, she's really alive? What I'm feeling, it's really her?" Buffy asked silently and Cordelia nodded.
"It's her," she confirmed and Buffy sighed with relief.
"I thought we'd lost her..." she mumbled.
"You did," Cordelia stated and Buffy's eyes grew a little. "I'm only telling you because I need to get one thing straight: this was a one time deal. I can't interfere again, not ever, do you understand?" Both Buffy and Spike nodded to that and Cordelia did as well.
"Good," she said.
"Cordy...What happened?" Buffy now asked, gesturing towards her friend's appearance and Cordelia laughed a little.
"Funny story," she answered, sounding slightly bitter. "I'll have to tell it to you sometime, when there's MORE time, I need to leave or they'll be screaming in my ear pretty soon..." she added, giving a nod towards the sky above their heads and Buffy looked at her, then smiled.
"I'll be looking forward to it. You telling me, I mean," she said and Cordelia returned the smile.
"Take care of her," she now said and Buffy hesitated before taking the steps dividing them and they embraced in a hard hug.
"I can never repay you for this," Buffy mumbled and Cordelia shook her head as they pulled apart.
"You were never supposed to," she answered and Buffy felt her eyes tear up. "I'll see you when I see you," Cordelia added, taking a step back and turning her head to give Tara and Dawn a smile each, which they returned, stunned expressions on their faces.
Once more Cordelia turned to the Slayer.
"Finally I got to make up for all those times you saved my cheerleader butt," she said and Buffy laughed, shaking her head before retorting:
"You were never supposed to," and Cordelia smiled at that and with a nod her form gently became brighter until they all had to turn away from it, then the small ball of energy was floating before Buffy's face.
It hovered for a moment before it shot upwards and just like that it was swallowed by the incredible night sky.
***
"What are you thinking about?" Spike asked silently as he came up to put his arms around her from behind, his hands gently placing themselves over hers on her stomach.
She sighed a little, leaning her head back to rest it against his shoulder and then she answered:
"A million things."
Spike felt a small, involuntary twitch near the place of his heart when he thought of what, or rather whom, Buffy must be associating Cordelia with.
"Angel?" he therefore couldn't help but ask and Buffy was quiet for a short moment before she nodded a little and then said:
"Of course."
She turned around in his arms and reached up to wrap her own around his neck, holding his gaze she smiled and then she stood on her toes to give him a kiss on the mouth.
"And how in love I am with this child of ours already," she then added and now he couldn't help but smirk.
"More than you're in love with me?" he asked and she laughed, shaking her head slowly.
"I don't think you're up for comparison with anybody," she stated and he smiled wide before bending down to kiss her.
"What had happened to Cordy?!" Dawn exclaimed from behind Buffy's back and the Slayer and the Vamp pulled away from each other slightly to turn to her as she took a few steps forward. "Why was she all white and glowy and everything?" she now added, her eyes round and Buffy smiled reassuringly.
"I'm not sure..." she answered her sister slowly, giving Spike's shoulders a squeeze before she let him go. "She was obviously working for the higher powers...but how she got there...? Someday she'll tell us," she added and Dawn frowned slightly, looking up into the sky with a sigh and shaking her head a little.
"That was really weird," she stated.
"Oh, and demons and more demons and slaying and catching the bad, bad mortal Trio wasn't absolutely something out of the ordinary, I suppose?" Buffy asked and Dawn smiled brightly before taking the steps left between them and embracing her sister and then she answered soberly:
"No, not really. I mean, demons we deal with every day AND we live with one...and sometimes more. And the whole slaying thing is just part of the whole deal, even I know that. And the catching of the bad, bad mortal Trio, well, I could see that coming for miles 'cause they SO deserved to be caught! Cordy dropping down from the skies like some glowing, white superpower lady thingy, now THAT is WAY out of my anticipation range," she added and Buffy smiled at her.
"I love you," she then said and hugged her baby sister tight.
"Love you too," Dawn answered, hugging back.
Suddenly a thought seemed to come to the Slayer as she pulled back slightly and looked around at the surroundings before saying:
"Hey, wait a second here, what DID happen to the Trio of Nerds? I mean..."
Tara interrupted her as she came up to join them:
"All taken care of," she said. "Will, Anya, Xander and Giles are taking them to the proper authorities as we speak."
Buffy smiled a little and yet there was a small look of disappointment on her face.
"Aw, come on, Slayer," Spike said as he put an arm around her waist and pulled her to him. "The important thing is that they're put out of business, right? Not that you're the one doing the actual 'putting out'."
She looked up at him and nodded.
"Yeah, and you couldn't have done any 'putting out' in this instance anyways," Dawn agreed. "But I guess it's still a BIT annoying that you don't get to see their faces when they're handed over," she then added.
Now a bright smile spread on Buffy's face and she almost laughed as she said:
"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about me NOT getting to see it. I would've just liked to actually have been there in person." The others looked at her questioningly but she only shrugged a little before adding: "Spike's absolutely right, what matters is that they will soon be behind those bars Warren was mocking me with. Revenge sure can be sweet, can't it?"
***
Willow slipped in between her covers and with a sigh she rested her tired head and aching shoulders against her pillow.
What a day. What an evening.
Sleep. All she needed right now was to sleep and dream nothing that she would remember.
When she and Xander, Anya and Giles got back from the police station Buffy and Spike had already gone to bed; Buffy had according to Tara excused herself the moment she, Spike, Dawn and Tara stepped inside the door to the house. Tara had also told Willow all about the events which took place after the other four had left with the Trio, and so the fact that Buffy was a little bit tired wasn't very shocking. Spike, of course, had hardly left Buffy's side and so they had both retired, and it was as it should be.
Willow sighed a little again, pulling her covers up to her chin and wanting to close her eyes, but finding herself not really able to. So much had happened in the past few weeks, so much had changed in their lives. A lot of things had come to a close, others were just beginning. She rolled over on her side and forced her eyelids shut as she drew a deep breath and tried to focus her mind on something relaxing.
There was a knock on the door which made her open her eyes, turn to it and then hesitate a moment before saying:
"Come in?"
The door opened and Tara stepped inside.
Willow couldn't help it, her heart started to beat a snap faster even though she tried to instruct it to stop with its foolish hopes. Tara just wanted to say good-night...again. Or perhaps she just wanted to have a little chat, she might not be able to sleep either. After all, the house was occupied with the whole Scooby gang and so there wasn't very much room and even less comfortable places to sleep in.
"Hi," Tara said with a small smile.
"Hi," Willow said back and smiled welcomingly.
"D-Did I wake you? 'Cause I-I can go if..."
"No! No, you didn't wake me. Stay, okay?" Willow interrupted and Tara smiled a little timidly before walking up to sit down on the edge of the bed.
"Okay," she then said and Willow smiled a little as well.
"Having trouble sleeping?" she asked and Tara nodded. "Me too. I mean, Torah just seemed like such a nice girl, you know. I REALLY didn't see that one coming. And the fact that Jonathan of ALL people turned out to be the one to actually do some good in this whole mess. I guess he always was kinda like that, though," she added and Tara nodded again.
"I'm just so happy about the baby," Tara then said and Willow's eyes lit up as she nodded her agreement eagerly.
"Was it amazing," she asked and Tara smiled a little.
"The whole star-from-the-heavens thing? Yeah, it was pretty amazing," she answered and Willow grinned.
"Have you been thinking about names and stuff?" Willow asked, changing the subject abruptly, but neither of the Wicca's really paid any attention to that, and Tara couldn't help but smile widely as she nodded.
"You?" she then wondered and Willow nodded as well, they both giggled a little at that. "What names have you been thinking then?" she added and Willow pulled herself up into a seated position before she answered:
"Well, I've only been thinking about three names which I kind of think might fit a Slayer."
Tara made herself a bit more comfortable before she looked at her fellow Wicca through the darkness cut with moonlight of the room, waiting for her to continue.
"Okay, the first one is Bridget."
"Hmh, I don't know if I think that's very Slayeresque, but then you never know, 'Buffy' is a little odd too, isn't it?" Tara said and Willow laughed a low laugh, nodding.
"But THAT'S a suiting name for a Slayer though, Buffy - the Vampire Slayer, doesn't it just sound... right?" she asked and Tara giggled again.
"It does," she then agreed. "Okay, name number two, please."
"The second one is...Margaret."
"Margaret; Maggie. Yeah, I like that one," Tara said, approvingly nodding her head and Willow smiled, feeling a little proud that she had been able to at least get one name which Tara actually appreciated.
"Thanks," Willow said. "I mean, I like it too."
"And number three?"
"Number three is Clara," she answered and Tara leaned forward a little before she said:
"Clara is MY second choice!"
"It is?" Willow asked, smile growing on her face and Tara nodded.
"Isn't that pretty...cool?" she asked and Willow giggled.
"It IS!" she then agreed and Tara laughed with her. "But now I wanna know the rest of them, how many are there?" she asked and Tara smiled.
"Five," she said.
"Five? Wow, you've been busy!" Willow exclaimed and Tara giggled again before shaking her head.
"Not really, that's why I've had time to think them all up," she stated and Willow huffed warmly. "Okay, I'm just gonna say them all at once so are you ready?" Tara now asked and Willow said yes. "Okay, my names are: Bonnie, Clara, Tracy, Lisa and Kim," she then said, pronouncing each name carefully to give them each a bit of impact and Willow was quiet for a short while before saying: "I really, really loved Bonnie. I mean, I liked them all, but Bonnie. Wouldn't that just be perfect?!" Tara smiled.
"Thanks for the confidence, I really like that name too," she said and Willow nodded.
"You have to tell Buffy about it," she then proclaimed. "I'm sure she'll just absolutely love it as well! You have to, okay?"
"Okay, okay, I will," Tara agreed with a laugh.
They grew quiet for a minute and then Tara said silently:
"I can't sleep down stairs, Xander is snoring and Anya talks in her sleep and Giles is growling at both of them to be quiet." Willow laughed, but Tara managed to keep a straight face as she added: "It's AWFUL, don't laugh!" which made Willow laugh even more before calming down a little and then growing serious before asking just as quietly:
"Would you...like to sleep here? I mean, just for tonight!"
Tara hesitated a moment before nodding and crawling over to the right side of the bed where she had been sleeping before she moved out one- hundred- and-forty years ago, it seemed.
Willow drew a small breath as she sunk down for the second time between the covers and felt Tara settle herself next to her.
"Well... good night?" she said tryingly.
"Good night, Willow, and thanks," Tara answered and Willow smiled before closing her eyes.
Her head didn't hurt anymore, her whole body seemed relaxed and soon she drifted into that well-needed deep sleep she had so craved a short and still wonderfully eternal while earlier.
Everything was getting to be as it should. Wasn't it?
***
Buffy turned up the volume on the stereo and kept on dancing around the downstairs - from the living room into the kitchen, from the kitchen into the dining room, from there into the hall and then through that back into the kitchen and so on - she was cleaning; a little here and a little there, as she kept a rag and some Windex in her hands, but wasn't standing still.
"Buffy!" Dawn screamed from upstairs. "Buffy! BUFFYYYYY!"
Finally the music was turned down and Dawn's voice was heard again:
"Phone for you, it's Giles!"
"Thanks!" Buffy yelled back before walking into the kitchen and grabbing the phone there. "Hey, what's up?" she asked and there was a short pause before Giles said:
"I might have to go back to England."
"What?"
"Only for a short while...I think."
"You think?" Buffy asked, feeling a sense of loss already. "Giles, I want you to stay. Please, don't go away again, we all miss you so much and I know you miss us and we need you here, you know we really, really do."
"Buffy," he interrupted softly. "I know, and I know you know that I know all that. I love you all so much, you're like the sons and daughters I never got to have...that's why I'm only going back for as LONG as is necessary to put all my affairs on home turf in order and then I'm returning....for good, I suppose."
Buffy was silent for about two and a half seconds and then she gave a cry with joy and started jumping.
"Really? Are you sure?" she asked, voice dangerously squeaky and Giles laughed heartily.
"Be careful so you don't have a melt down, Buffy Summers," he said and she stopped jumping, a huge smile on her face.
"Giles, you've always been like a dad to me, us, you know that and I know that you know and yada yada, and this just makes me so happy!"
"Me too, Buffy. Did you really think I'd just leave and miss the birth of your firstborn?" he then added and Buffy's smile incredibly enough grew one notch on each cheek and then she laughed.
"No, I suppose not. Thank you, Giles. I love you, you know."
"I love you too, so very much, and I will be back as soon as I possibly can manage," he stated and she nodded to herself before saying:
"But, you're not leaving now, are you? You HAVE to stay for the celebration thingy tonight! Please!" Giles laughed again.
"I will be, don't worry, I wouldn't miss that for anything in the world! I'm leaving tomorrow, though. Noon."
"Okay," Buffy said, still overwhelmingly happy. "Just...this is just so...great! I mean, now we have something else to celebrate tonight!"
"Yes, I agree with that. I had to think about what I really wanted for some time before I could make up my mind, but in the end I just think that the answer was there all the time, I just didn't know how to get a good hold on it. Sunnydale has always been my true home, you have always been my real family. England is just where I was born... it's my country, but my place is with you," he stated as though he for the final time made the closing argument with himself.
Buffy squeaked with joy again and then they both laughed together.
"I SO agree with you," she then said. "This is just the best thing that could possibly have happened! I can't imagine what could top this!" she added and Giles laughed again.
"Well, we'll just have to see about that," he then said and she was about to ask him exactly what he meant by that but he said: "I'll see you tonight, okay?"
"Okay," she said, shrugging a little and then she felt the smile take its place again. "See you then."
They hung up and she didn't hesitate a moment before she ran into the hall and up the stairs, yelling for Dawn and Willow and Tara.
The Continuance
By Annie
2002-07-21
Buffy stared at her friend, the white glow was still very much surrounding her and she was wearing a simple white dress.
"You're blonde," she finally stated and Cordelia smiled at that.
"Yeah, I thought I'd...you know, try something different for a while... Which I guess turned out to be forever," she answered her; voice a little wry, but Buffy was too surprised to pick up on it.
"You're...glowing," Buffy stated now and Cordelia looked down at herself and then up again, raising her eyebrows.
"What? Wasn't I always?" she asked and Buffy smiled a little hesitantly.
"A second ago you were sizzling around in the shape of a small star thingy," Buffy then pointed out and Cordelia met her gaze before nodding a little.
"Can you believe it? I get outta Sunnydale to avoid those kinda things and what do I get for moving to L.A? Nada! Well... I mean, I get to fly, which is kinda cool," she concluded and Buffy observed her for a moment.
"You just...saved her, didn't you?" she asked silently, her hands still against her stomach and Cordelia grew serious as she eyed the Slayer for a moment before nodding.
"Yes," she answered. "She's too important to die like this," she added and Buffy swallowed hard, Spike who had been getting to his feet to stand slightly behind Buffy stared at the woman before them, disbelieving.
"Says who?" Buffy asked and Cordelia shrugged a little.
"The Powers that Be, mostly... but others as well. ME, for instance," she answered and Buffy smiled a little at that.
"So, she's really alive? What I'm feeling, it's really her?" Buffy asked silently and Cordelia nodded.
"It's her," she confirmed and Buffy sighed with relief.
"I thought we'd lost her..." she mumbled.
"You did," Cordelia stated and Buffy's eyes grew a little. "I'm only telling you because I need to get one thing straight: this was a one time deal. I can't interfere again, not ever, do you understand?" Both Buffy and Spike nodded to that and Cordelia did as well.
"Good," she said.
"Cordy...What happened?" Buffy now asked, gesturing towards her friend's appearance and Cordelia laughed a little.
"Funny story," she answered, sounding slightly bitter. "I'll have to tell it to you sometime, when there's MORE time, I need to leave or they'll be screaming in my ear pretty soon..." she added, giving a nod towards the sky above their heads and Buffy looked at her, then smiled.
"I'll be looking forward to it. You telling me, I mean," she said and Cordelia returned the smile.
"Take care of her," she now said and Buffy hesitated before taking the steps dividing them and they embraced in a hard hug.
"I can never repay you for this," Buffy mumbled and Cordelia shook her head as they pulled apart.
"You were never supposed to," she answered and Buffy felt her eyes tear up. "I'll see you when I see you," Cordelia added, taking a step back and turning her head to give Tara and Dawn a smile each, which they returned, stunned expressions on their faces.
Once more Cordelia turned to the Slayer.
"Finally I got to make up for all those times you saved my cheerleader butt," she said and Buffy laughed, shaking her head before retorting:
"You were never supposed to," and Cordelia smiled at that and with a nod her form gently became brighter until they all had to turn away from it, then the small ball of energy was floating before Buffy's face.
It hovered for a moment before it shot upwards and just like that it was swallowed by the incredible night sky.
***
"What are you thinking about?" Spike asked silently as he came up to put his arms around her from behind, his hands gently placing themselves over hers on her stomach.
She sighed a little, leaning her head back to rest it against his shoulder and then she answered:
"A million things."
Spike felt a small, involuntary twitch near the place of his heart when he thought of what, or rather whom, Buffy must be associating Cordelia with.
"Angel?" he therefore couldn't help but ask and Buffy was quiet for a short moment before she nodded a little and then said:
"Of course."
She turned around in his arms and reached up to wrap her own around his neck, holding his gaze she smiled and then she stood on her toes to give him a kiss on the mouth.
"And how in love I am with this child of ours already," she then added and now he couldn't help but smirk.
"More than you're in love with me?" he asked and she laughed, shaking her head slowly.
"I don't think you're up for comparison with anybody," she stated and he smiled wide before bending down to kiss her.
"What had happened to Cordy?!" Dawn exclaimed from behind Buffy's back and the Slayer and the Vamp pulled away from each other slightly to turn to her as she took a few steps forward. "Why was she all white and glowy and everything?" she now added, her eyes round and Buffy smiled reassuringly.
"I'm not sure..." she answered her sister slowly, giving Spike's shoulders a squeeze before she let him go. "She was obviously working for the higher powers...but how she got there...? Someday she'll tell us," she added and Dawn frowned slightly, looking up into the sky with a sigh and shaking her head a little.
"That was really weird," she stated.
"Oh, and demons and more demons and slaying and catching the bad, bad mortal Trio wasn't absolutely something out of the ordinary, I suppose?" Buffy asked and Dawn smiled brightly before taking the steps left between them and embracing her sister and then she answered soberly:
"No, not really. I mean, demons we deal with every day AND we live with one...and sometimes more. And the whole slaying thing is just part of the whole deal, even I know that. And the catching of the bad, bad mortal Trio, well, I could see that coming for miles 'cause they SO deserved to be caught! Cordy dropping down from the skies like some glowing, white superpower lady thingy, now THAT is WAY out of my anticipation range," she added and Buffy smiled at her.
"I love you," she then said and hugged her baby sister tight.
"Love you too," Dawn answered, hugging back.
Suddenly a thought seemed to come to the Slayer as she pulled back slightly and looked around at the surroundings before saying:
"Hey, wait a second here, what DID happen to the Trio of Nerds? I mean..."
Tara interrupted her as she came up to join them:
"All taken care of," she said. "Will, Anya, Xander and Giles are taking them to the proper authorities as we speak."
Buffy smiled a little and yet there was a small look of disappointment on her face.
"Aw, come on, Slayer," Spike said as he put an arm around her waist and pulled her to him. "The important thing is that they're put out of business, right? Not that you're the one doing the actual 'putting out'."
She looked up at him and nodded.
"Yeah, and you couldn't have done any 'putting out' in this instance anyways," Dawn agreed. "But I guess it's still a BIT annoying that you don't get to see their faces when they're handed over," she then added.
Now a bright smile spread on Buffy's face and she almost laughed as she said:
"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about me NOT getting to see it. I would've just liked to actually have been there in person." The others looked at her questioningly but she only shrugged a little before adding: "Spike's absolutely right, what matters is that they will soon be behind those bars Warren was mocking me with. Revenge sure can be sweet, can't it?"
***
Willow slipped in between her covers and with a sigh she rested her tired head and aching shoulders against her pillow.
What a day. What an evening.
Sleep. All she needed right now was to sleep and dream nothing that she would remember.
When she and Xander, Anya and Giles got back from the police station Buffy and Spike had already gone to bed; Buffy had according to Tara excused herself the moment she, Spike, Dawn and Tara stepped inside the door to the house. Tara had also told Willow all about the events which took place after the other four had left with the Trio, and so the fact that Buffy was a little bit tired wasn't very shocking. Spike, of course, had hardly left Buffy's side and so they had both retired, and it was as it should be.
Willow sighed a little again, pulling her covers up to her chin and wanting to close her eyes, but finding herself not really able to. So much had happened in the past few weeks, so much had changed in their lives. A lot of things had come to a close, others were just beginning. She rolled over on her side and forced her eyelids shut as she drew a deep breath and tried to focus her mind on something relaxing.
There was a knock on the door which made her open her eyes, turn to it and then hesitate a moment before saying:
"Come in?"
The door opened and Tara stepped inside.
Willow couldn't help it, her heart started to beat a snap faster even though she tried to instruct it to stop with its foolish hopes. Tara just wanted to say good-night...again. Or perhaps she just wanted to have a little chat, she might not be able to sleep either. After all, the house was occupied with the whole Scooby gang and so there wasn't very much room and even less comfortable places to sleep in.
"Hi," Tara said with a small smile.
"Hi," Willow said back and smiled welcomingly.
"D-Did I wake you? 'Cause I-I can go if..."
"No! No, you didn't wake me. Stay, okay?" Willow interrupted and Tara smiled a little timidly before walking up to sit down on the edge of the bed.
"Okay," she then said and Willow smiled a little as well.
"Having trouble sleeping?" she asked and Tara nodded. "Me too. I mean, Torah just seemed like such a nice girl, you know. I REALLY didn't see that one coming. And the fact that Jonathan of ALL people turned out to be the one to actually do some good in this whole mess. I guess he always was kinda like that, though," she added and Tara nodded again.
"I'm just so happy about the baby," Tara then said and Willow's eyes lit up as she nodded her agreement eagerly.
"Was it amazing," she asked and Tara smiled a little.
"The whole star-from-the-heavens thing? Yeah, it was pretty amazing," she answered and Willow grinned.
"Have you been thinking about names and stuff?" Willow asked, changing the subject abruptly, but neither of the Wicca's really paid any attention to that, and Tara couldn't help but smile widely as she nodded.
"You?" she then wondered and Willow nodded as well, they both giggled a little at that. "What names have you been thinking then?" she added and Willow pulled herself up into a seated position before she answered:
"Well, I've only been thinking about three names which I kind of think might fit a Slayer."
Tara made herself a bit more comfortable before she looked at her fellow Wicca through the darkness cut with moonlight of the room, waiting for her to continue.
"Okay, the first one is Bridget."
"Hmh, I don't know if I think that's very Slayeresque, but then you never know, 'Buffy' is a little odd too, isn't it?" Tara said and Willow laughed a low laugh, nodding.
"But THAT'S a suiting name for a Slayer though, Buffy - the Vampire Slayer, doesn't it just sound... right?" she asked and Tara giggled again.
"It does," she then agreed. "Okay, name number two, please."
"The second one is...Margaret."
"Margaret; Maggie. Yeah, I like that one," Tara said, approvingly nodding her head and Willow smiled, feeling a little proud that she had been able to at least get one name which Tara actually appreciated.
"Thanks," Willow said. "I mean, I like it too."
"And number three?"
"Number three is Clara," she answered and Tara leaned forward a little before she said:
"Clara is MY second choice!"
"It is?" Willow asked, smile growing on her face and Tara nodded.
"Isn't that pretty...cool?" she asked and Willow giggled.
"It IS!" she then agreed and Tara laughed with her. "But now I wanna know the rest of them, how many are there?" she asked and Tara smiled.
"Five," she said.
"Five? Wow, you've been busy!" Willow exclaimed and Tara giggled again before shaking her head.
"Not really, that's why I've had time to think them all up," she stated and Willow huffed warmly. "Okay, I'm just gonna say them all at once so are you ready?" Tara now asked and Willow said yes. "Okay, my names are: Bonnie, Clara, Tracy, Lisa and Kim," she then said, pronouncing each name carefully to give them each a bit of impact and Willow was quiet for a short while before saying: "I really, really loved Bonnie. I mean, I liked them all, but Bonnie. Wouldn't that just be perfect?!" Tara smiled.
"Thanks for the confidence, I really like that name too," she said and Willow nodded.
"You have to tell Buffy about it," she then proclaimed. "I'm sure she'll just absolutely love it as well! You have to, okay?"
"Okay, okay, I will," Tara agreed with a laugh.
They grew quiet for a minute and then Tara said silently:
"I can't sleep down stairs, Xander is snoring and Anya talks in her sleep and Giles is growling at both of them to be quiet." Willow laughed, but Tara managed to keep a straight face as she added: "It's AWFUL, don't laugh!" which made Willow laugh even more before calming down a little and then growing serious before asking just as quietly:
"Would you...like to sleep here? I mean, just for tonight!"
Tara hesitated a moment before nodding and crawling over to the right side of the bed where she had been sleeping before she moved out one- hundred- and-forty years ago, it seemed.
Willow drew a small breath as she sunk down for the second time between the covers and felt Tara settle herself next to her.
"Well... good night?" she said tryingly.
"Good night, Willow, and thanks," Tara answered and Willow smiled before closing her eyes.
Her head didn't hurt anymore, her whole body seemed relaxed and soon she drifted into that well-needed deep sleep she had so craved a short and still wonderfully eternal while earlier.
Everything was getting to be as it should. Wasn't it?
***
Buffy turned up the volume on the stereo and kept on dancing around the downstairs - from the living room into the kitchen, from the kitchen into the dining room, from there into the hall and then through that back into the kitchen and so on - she was cleaning; a little here and a little there, as she kept a rag and some Windex in her hands, but wasn't standing still.
"Buffy!" Dawn screamed from upstairs. "Buffy! BUFFYYYYY!"
Finally the music was turned down and Dawn's voice was heard again:
"Phone for you, it's Giles!"
"Thanks!" Buffy yelled back before walking into the kitchen and grabbing the phone there. "Hey, what's up?" she asked and there was a short pause before Giles said:
"I might have to go back to England."
"What?"
"Only for a short while...I think."
"You think?" Buffy asked, feeling a sense of loss already. "Giles, I want you to stay. Please, don't go away again, we all miss you so much and I know you miss us and we need you here, you know we really, really do."
"Buffy," he interrupted softly. "I know, and I know you know that I know all that. I love you all so much, you're like the sons and daughters I never got to have...that's why I'm only going back for as LONG as is necessary to put all my affairs on home turf in order and then I'm returning....for good, I suppose."
Buffy was silent for about two and a half seconds and then she gave a cry with joy and started jumping.
"Really? Are you sure?" she asked, voice dangerously squeaky and Giles laughed heartily.
"Be careful so you don't have a melt down, Buffy Summers," he said and she stopped jumping, a huge smile on her face.
"Giles, you've always been like a dad to me, us, you know that and I know that you know and yada yada, and this just makes me so happy!"
"Me too, Buffy. Did you really think I'd just leave and miss the birth of your firstborn?" he then added and Buffy's smile incredibly enough grew one notch on each cheek and then she laughed.
"No, I suppose not. Thank you, Giles. I love you, you know."
"I love you too, so very much, and I will be back as soon as I possibly can manage," he stated and she nodded to herself before saying:
"But, you're not leaving now, are you? You HAVE to stay for the celebration thingy tonight! Please!" Giles laughed again.
"I will be, don't worry, I wouldn't miss that for anything in the world! I'm leaving tomorrow, though. Noon."
"Okay," Buffy said, still overwhelmingly happy. "Just...this is just so...great! I mean, now we have something else to celebrate tonight!"
"Yes, I agree with that. I had to think about what I really wanted for some time before I could make up my mind, but in the end I just think that the answer was there all the time, I just didn't know how to get a good hold on it. Sunnydale has always been my true home, you have always been my real family. England is just where I was born... it's my country, but my place is with you," he stated as though he for the final time made the closing argument with himself.
Buffy squeaked with joy again and then they both laughed together.
"I SO agree with you," she then said. "This is just the best thing that could possibly have happened! I can't imagine what could top this!" she added and Giles laughed again.
"Well, we'll just have to see about that," he then said and she was about to ask him exactly what he meant by that but he said: "I'll see you tonight, okay?"
"Okay," she said, shrugging a little and then she felt the smile take its place again. "See you then."
They hung up and she didn't hesitate a moment before she ran into the hall and up the stairs, yelling for Dawn and Willow and Tara.