Chapter Twenty-One
"Past, Present and Future"

Buffy stirred, restless even atop the goosefeather mattress. She tossed and turned, then gave up and
sat up in bed. Upon opening her eyes, though, she realized she wasn't in Minas Tirith any more.

Once again, she was standing on the shores of the sea, and the sun was bright on the western horizon.

In a flash, Buffy remembered all the details of the first dream. At that same instant, the lady with the
burning eyes appeared off to the side.

She smiled at Buffy, for a moment, but it was a sad smile.

"Little one... Too long have you lingered on the wrong road. Spring is gone and summer is waning.
You must make haste now if you will find the way before winter comes..."

"I don't understand!" Buffy protested. "Where do I have to go?"

"Seek ye the shores of Mithlond before autumn fades into winter greys, and then your path will be
clear... Let the bright light of my love open the door."

Before Buffy could ask any of the dozen questions forming in her mind, the vision ended, in a bright
burst of light as it had before.

She stared out the window for a moment, looking down upon the Anduin as it glittered in the waning
light of the crescent moon.

The moon...

Buffy frowned. Something was important there. Something Giles had said. No, something that
Willow had said Giles had said. But what?

Then, suddenly, she remembered.

Buffy jumped out of bed and hurried to Giles' room. She pounded on it twice. "Giles! Wake up!"

A moment later, a very sleepy-looking Giles opened the dented door. "Buffy, what on Earth?" he
said, blinking at her. "What's the matter?"

"I just had another one of those poetical prophecy dreams, that's what," she answered. "I know how
to get home. I know when we can do it, and I know where the gate is."

"All right, slow down... Where - "

"Mithlond!" She stared at him for a second, then frowned. "What's Mithlond?"

-

"The Grey Havens? Sounds like a nice vacation spot," Xander said, then yawned. Giles had
convinced Buffy it could wait until morning, but she'd used a very liberal definition of morning
when coming to wake them all up.

"It is, actually," Giles replied. "Or so I'm told. It's an Elven port, far in the north, not all that far from
the Shire. They set sail to the West from there." He, Buffy and Ára all turned and looked out the
westward-facing window for a second, then smiled self-consciously at Willow and Xander.

"Okay, that's great," Xander said. "Two questions. One, how do we get there. Two, how do we get
there before winter? It must take months to get from here to the Shire, and if this place is even
farther..." He left the obvious conclusion unsaid.

"Can we get the Eagles to come help again?" Willow asked.

Giles shook his head, shooting down that hopeful theory. "The Eagles wouldn't, even if we knew a
way to contact them. They're... well, particular."

Ára gently cleared her throat. "Excuse me, sir. But there is a simpler way."

"What?" Buffy asked, glancing over at the other Slayer. Ára seemed to have a habit of keeping her
mouth shut around everyone except Buffy and Giles unless it was important.

"If we can't ride, we sail," the dark-haired girl suggested. "It's only a few days to the Sea, even by
barge," she pointed out, then leaned back against the wall, apparently thinking that was all that
needed to be said.

Xander, for one, wasn't quite satisfied. "Okay... and we pay for this, how? Or do they have public
transportation in Gondor?"

"What?" Ára frowned, confused. Then she waved her hand at Buffy. "She need only ask the King.
How could he refuse the Slayer such a small favor?"

-

As it turned out, it was nearly that easy. Actually getting an audience with King Elessar took longer
than the request itself, a request he happily granted. The new King did not forget the deeds of Buffy
and her companions, small as they may have been in the overall course of the War.

A small ship, with a good crew, was given to the heroes, and on a cool morning late in April, they set
sail from the white city, making their way down the Anduin once again. The going was slow at first,
for the wind was against them, but after several days, the ship finally passed through the great delta
and onto the waters of the western Sea.

"Whoa," was all Buffy could say when she saw the sun setting away in the west that evening.
Xander and Willow couldn't even manage that much, and instead stared in awe. They'd all seen the
sun set over the Pacific plenty of times, of course, but this was different in a way none of them
would ever really manage to describe.

For her part, Ára took one look at the western sun, held her hand against her heart, and began
mumbling something in Elvish. Giles was also mumbling, but his face was green and he quickly
retreated below decks, thankfully unnoticed by any of the others.

For several days thereafter, the sheer novelty of an ocean voyage, even one that clung closely to the
coasts, kept their spirits high. But day after day of the same routine - stay out of the way of the crew
- wore away at them. Eventually, even Willow, who took to the sea air with the most enthusiasm,
squirreled herself away in the cabin she shared with Buffy and Ára most of the time.

Finally, perhaps a fortnight after they'd left the Anduin behind, Buffy cornered the captain, a native
of the same coastal province that Ára hailed from.

"Excuse me - " she began, but he started bellowing orders and she stopped, nonplussed. Then,
louder, "EXCUSE ME!"

"I'm not deaf, young lady, just busy," the captain growled without so much as a glance in her
direction.

Buffy winced a little, but didn't let that stop her. "I was just wondering - how far are we from the
Grey Havens?" she asked him.

At that, he did turn, but only shrugged and gazed northward. "Can't say for sure just how far. Last
time I was this far north o' Gondor, I was half your age. But I seem to remember it being at least a
two week's journey." The captain shrugged again. "Might be shorter. We've got a strong wind with
us, have since the minute we passed the first watchtower on the coast."

"Two weeks?" Buffy repeated. [Another week, then, maybe,] she thought, pessimistically adding a
few days to the total. It was getting closer to autumn, but that would be enough... she hoped.
"Thanks," she said to the captain, who grunted in reply, and retreated back below decks to share the
news.

As could be expected, it wasn't taken well by any of them. Shipboard life was far worse than life on
the road, and even the promise of returning home in the end wasn't enough to ease the daily miseries.

Finally, when tempers had begun to snap to the point where all five of the passengers were avoiding
each other and the crew as best they could, a bright dawn saw them round a sandy cape and turn
sharply to the east. The wind increased in strength, sweeping them up the great gulf. Soon, the sea
vanished and they were enclosed in green again - the distant arms of the gulf - and a thick grey mist
that rolled in from the shore as soon as they took the eastward turn.

Early the next day, the lookout cried out and all of them rushed to the bow. Ahead, through the mist,
they could see faint dark shapes jutting up on the greenish-grey haze that was the southern shore
(the north was lost in the fog). For a moment, the wind died down and the ship was dead in the
water, then, all at once, the mist melted away and the wind picked up again, driving them the last
little distance to what was now clearly a coastal village.

"Mithlond," Giles murmured reverently, then shrugged when they all stared at him. "Well, I just
wanted to be sure you knew," he muttered.

"Ahoy!" came the cry from the lookout. Dark shapes were coming through the mist - ships, Elven
ships with white hulls and sails that bore the mark of the sun and moon upon them.

The crew - few of whom had ever seen an Elf before - began to murmur amongst themselves, at least
until the captain shouted them down.

"Quiet, you wretches, and mind you don't drift us into yon swanboats!" he bellowed, which had the
desired effect.

All watched in silence as the Elf ships silently drew closer.

"Now what?" Buffy asked when the Elves were perhaps twenty yards distant.

Before any of her friends could make a suggestion, one of the Elves raised a cry of his own.

"Master Giles! Lady Buffy! Come ashore!"

"I think we should go ashore," Xander declared after a second or two.

-

The village - town, really - of the Elves was like neither Rivendell nor Lothlorien, save for the
feeling of immense age and power hidden everywhere.

Buffy, at least, found it the saddest of the three Elf settlements she'd visited in Middle-earth.
Rivendell was quiet, but thriving in its own way, and Lothlorien was - well, beyond description.
The
Grey Havens, though, reminded her of a nursing home more than anything else, crude as the
comparison was. A place where people went before passing on.

That, at least, was her first impression. But it soon faded, as she saw the Elves there more closely.
They were sad, and they were leaving, but they were not dying. The very idea of death seemed
remote, in fact, as one breathed in the salty sea air and the thousand strange scents of the shipyards.

"Círdan awaits you," their Elvish guide said, pointing at the mostly-finished ship before them. It
was the largest one in the yards, easily as big as the one they'd sailed from Minas Tirith, and
currently being worked upon by a half dozen or so Elves.

Giles frowned. "Pardon me, which one is - " he began to ask, then fell silent. The question was
pointless, for at that moment, a tall Elf came around the prow of the ship and approached them.
Unlike every other Elf they had ever met, this one bore a long white beard, much like Gandalf's, and
his face was lined with age.

"Lord Círdan," Giles said, bowing instinctively, as did all the others, even Willow.

The ancient Elf smiled and gestured for them to rise. "Thou art too exalted in the eyes of the West,
and hath not need to bow," he said, speaking in a strange, archaic manner. "Come. I would show
thee that which thou seeketh." He brushed his dusty hands on his robes, which were coated with
sawdust, and then turned and began to lead them away from the shipyards and the river entirely.

A short walk later, they came to the largest building in the Grey Havens - a tall white tower, so high
they all wondered how they had missed it while sailing up the river.

Silently, Círdan unlocked the single grey door at the base of the tower and then vanished inside.

Buffy glanced at the others, then followed, the rest close behind.

The inside of the tower was dark and dusty, and smelled like old books. Aside from the sunlight
streaming in through the odd window, there was very little light at all, just dark shapes and strange
shadows.

Círdan stopped at another doorway, also locked, and then began to descend a narrow stairway.
Down and down it went, hundreds of feet it seemed. Finally, though, they reached the bottom. The
narrow tunnel that held the staircase ended and a vast open space lay before them.

In the center of the great cavern was a large, cube-shaped assembly of silver and brass tubes. Fixed
to the side of the giant cube were all manner of tiny wheels, bars and unidentifiable devices of
crystal and steel. All of them were still, but upon close inspection, the entire assembly seemed to be
interconnected. From the back of the strange machine, two slender cables - silver and brass
entwined, in each case - ran out until they joined a massive circular doorway carved, it seemed,
entirely out of crystal.

The two cables framed the doorway and wound around it, as well as the small silver spikes that
jutted from it at even intervals. The spikes each had a tiny crystal at their sharp tips, and the crystals
had a faint blue glow to them.

"Whoa," Xander said, breaking the awed silence. "What is it?"

"The way home, Xander," Giles replied, somewhat impatiently.

Xander shook his head, equally impatiently. "No, no, I got that. I mean, *what* is it?" he asked,
turning to Círdan for an answer.

It was Buffy who replied, though. "It's the time machine... the one Sauron had," she said, staring at
it in both awe and dread. "But not... uh... evil looking."

"The Elves made Sauron's time machine?" Willow asked, getting an angry look from Ára, who
couldn't even conceive of such a thing.

"Nay... as he did with much that was fair, Sauron took that which was the fairest and greatest work
of old, and twisted it to his own ends," the ancient Elf explained, age-old anger blazing in his eyes.
"'Twas Feanor who designed the gate, and his sons who wrought it, seeking perhaps..." He stopped
and shook his head. "I cannot say what lead them to make this wonder."

"So... how does it work?" Willow asked. She stared intently at the strange construction, as if she
could decipher it in a few seconds. She could sense Power, though, and it almost seemed to be
singing to her.

"None liveth yet who could say. But..." Círdan gazed intently at the great doorway and then smiled.
"The moment is coming," he added, apparently seeing something in the shadows that none of the
others could.

The meaning was clear enough, though. Giles sighed and turned to his friends. Círdan withdrew,
after a hushed "Good bye", leaving the four of them, and Ára, alone in the glow of the ancient
device.

"Well... This is the end, isn't it?" Buffy asked after a minute or two. She glanced over to Ára who
nodded slightly. She recalled the conversation they'd had about Giles and his decision to remain
behind.

"Not the end, Buffy. The beginning." Giles smiled and shook his head. "Besides, it's not
forever," he said, knowing it was cold comfort. He glanced at Xander, smiled inwardly when he saw
how close he was to Buffy, supporting her with his presence. "We will meet again, Buffy."

"Beyond the Sea, right?" Buffy asked uncomfortably, even as a faint ripple, like hot air over
pavement, appeared in the dead center of the gateway.

"Something like that." In an unusual move for Giles, he held open his arms to her.

Buffy nodded then hugged Giles, tears streaming freely down her face. Now that it came down to it,
she didn't know what to say, didn't feel like there was anything to say at all. At last, she let him go
and stepped back to watch Willow do the very same thing.

"I hate doing this all over again," Willow murmured as she held tightly to him. She looked up at
him as she stepped away. "I only hope this is the last time." She opened her mouth to explain what
she meant but Giles only laughed lightly and held up his hand to her. Blushing wildly, she managed
a small smile through her tears.

"I'm certainly going to miss that about you, Willow," he told her.

"Giles," Xander said as he stepped forward. He merely shook Giles' hand, and both glanced at
Buffy for a second. Xander nodded. "Don't worry," he assured the old Watcher. "We'll take good
care of her. Won't we, Wills?"

Willow nodded then smiled over at her best friend. "We'll keep her out of trouble." A pause.
"Well, as much of it as we possibly can."

The ripple effect was intense now, and nothing could be seen through the gateway - and then, faintly,
a familiar street, dimly lit by the rising sun. With each passing second, the scene on the other side
became clearer and clearer, until -

"It's time," Giles forced himself to say.

"Giles, I - " Buffy started to say, her voice trailing off. "Thank you." She gave him one last smile,
then turned and, still crying, stepped through the portal, Xander right at her side.

Willow followed, but hesitated right at the threshold. She looked back at Giles -

"Go, Willow," he told her. "They'll need you."

Head bowed, Willow waved slowly, then turned back and stepped through.

********

Once the three of them were safely on the other side, the portal snapped shut behind them. Buffy
sighed heavily then looked to both of her friends. They were in one piece and with her. They were
back in 1999 and on the lawn in front of her house. Her house. Her eyes narrowed when she looked
at the front door. It was broken apart. A large board had been propped up in front of the doorway.
The porchlight was on as well as most of the other lights in the house.

"You guys ..." Buffy gestured to the house. "Do you think we're -"

Xander and Willow glanced at each other then looked to Buffy. "Right back where we started
from?" Xander offered.

"Unless your door's been broken down again," Willow put in. She shrugged. "But I don't see how
that's likely."

A panic rushed through Buffy. "Mom," she breathed. She bolted for the house. "Mom!" she cried
out, shoving the piece of wood out of her way. She skidded to a halt at the foot of her stairs and
glanced around. Everything the Orcs had broken during their search had been cleaned up.
"Mom?"

Xander and Willow entered the house behind her.

"Is she here?" Willow asked.

Buffy shrugged. "She's not answering me."

"Mrs. Summers?" Xander called. He looked to the girls. "I'll check upstairs. Buffy, you try the
living room and Willow, you try the kitchen."

Without any arguments, the three of them split up.

Buffy entered the living room. "Mom?" she asked. She crossed the room, looking in the corners not
easily visible from anywhere in the room. About to go into the kitchen to help Willow, Buffy
stopped. She heard a soft moaning from one of the armchairs and she turned. Just as she did, the
throw blanket tumbled to the floor to reveal Joyce Summers, still in her pajamas with a small gauze
bandage on her neck, stirring. "MOM!"

Joyce jerked awake. She opened her eyes then stared at the girl in front of her, dressed so very
strangely. "Buffy?" She sounded unsure of herself. This didn't resemble her daughter. Not much.
This was somebody who'd been through even more than her daughter. Then tears welled up in her
eyes. "Buffy ... is that really you?"

"Yes! Mom!" She rushed forward and enveloped her mother in a hug. She held tightly but not so
tight as to hurt her. "Oh my God. I'm so happy to see you. It's been forever! I'm happy to be
home." Tears of her own spilled down her cheeks. "I love you, Mom. I don't tell you that enough.
I really don't."

Joyce was warmed and relieved by the words. She was overjoyed that her child was home and in
one piece. "Buffy ... you talk like you've been gone for months!" She shook her head and hugged
her closer. "I don't care. You're here now. You're alive and you're here." Sighing, she relaxed
and enjoyed having Buffy back.

Willow and Xander entered the room, instantly smiling when they saw the happy reunion on the
armchair. Buffy sitting in Mrs. Summers' lap like a four year old would.

"Oh. Xander! Willow!" Joyce said when she noticed them in the living room. She let go of Buffy
and the Slayer wiped away her tears as she looked back to her friends. "What are the two of you
doing here at this hour?"

"It's a long story, Mrs. Summers," Willow replied. She glanced from Buffy to Xander. "A long
story, indeed."

-

Once Joyce had provided a breakfast for the three teenagers, Willow and Xander decided to head
back to their own homes.

"Thanks again, Mrs. Summers," Xander said as he and Willow stopped by what was left of the front
door. The morning sunlight was pouring through the front windows and the doorway. Cars drove
by periodically. All the sounds of a time they had spent so long away from were welcome. "You
really didn't have to do that for us, but I appreciate it."

"It's no trouble. I just expect to hear the whole story about ... this - " she gestured to the three of
them, still dressed in their clothes from Middle-earth. " - someday. All right?"

"Certainly," Willow answered with a firm nod.

Smiling, Joyce brushed a hand through Buffy's hair before she ambled up the stairs.

"I can't believe it. They sent us back to roughly the same time we left," Willow whispered once
Joyce was gone. She shook her head, amazed. "It's almost like we never left. Again."

"Almost," Buffy said. The light in her eyes dimmed a bit. She didn't need to say what it was that
bothered her. Xander and Willow gave her sympathetic looks but didn't say anything. "I ... I guess
we should get some sleep. Who knows what demons and monsters will be waiting for us tonight?"
She folded her arms across her chest.

"I'm looking forward to sleeping in a nice, soft bed," Xander sighed, almost dreamily. "Soft bed,
soft pillows and ... " He shook his head. "It's good to be back in our own time. So good." He and
Buffy stared at each other for a few moments before each of them looked away.

Willow cleared her throat, not missing the awkward little exchange. "I'll ... I'll just wait outside,
okay, Xander? We can walk home together." She gave Buffy a quick hug. "I'll call you later on,
all right? We can start figuring out new patrol strategies." With that, she nudged Xander before she
headed out of the doorway to wait on the front lawn.

Buffy licked her lips, nervously, then let her arms fall to her sides. "Hey ... uh ... in all the
excitement of Sauron's defeat and us trying to get home ... I never really thanked you for what you
did. Coming after me. Braving Hell and Mordor to help me." Her expression became softer. "I
can't believe how lucky I am to have you, Xander."

He shrugged, trying to play cool. "Well, anyone would've done it," he said. "And, Willow came
too, you know." He jerked a thumb behind him, indicating her. "It was really a group effort, Buffy.
Elves and humans and me and -"

His words were cut off by Buffy placing a kiss on his lips. After a few moments, she pulled away
and smiled up at him. He blinked a few times, wondering if that was his imagination or reality.
Had Buffy Summers just kissed him?

"Not anyone, Xander," she assured him. "Thank you."

Smiling widely, he chuckled and began to back away. "Well, it wasn't a problem. No problem at -"
He bumped into the doorway then stumbled onto the porch. Quickly, he tried to compose himself as
Buffy covered up a smile with her hand as he did so. "Anyway ... " he said as he put on a suave
exterior. "The next time you want to get out of a date, Buffy, just say you're washing your hair,
okay? I don't want this to become a weekly occurrence."

"Why would I want to get out of it?" she asked. When he just stared back at her, she waved a little.
"Good bye, Xander. I'll see you later."

"Yeah. Uh ... bye, Buffy." He smiled broadly as he turned around. He nearly tripped on the steps
of her front porch, stumbling forward. He managed to catch himself before he fell. "It's okay!" he
exclaimed, holding up both of his hands. "I'm allll right!"

"Come on, Mr. Suave," Willow said as she clamped a hand on his arm, trying not to laugh out loud.

Buffy turned around and leaned against the wall with a sigh. Her smile faded away as she thought
about Giles. Things at home might've been well but she couldn't help worrying for him so far in the
past. As she thought about him, she felt what Ára had spoken of. That Giles had a great purpose to
fulfill in the past. Something that would be very important to the future. Very important indeed.

*****************

"Your Highness," Giles greeted as he bowed before Aragorn who sat regally upon his throne. "I am
so very pleased that you agreed to see me. I know how busy you must be." He returned to his full
height, eyes meeting the King's. "Reforming a kingdom isn't easy work."

"No, it is not, Master Giles, but the message you sent ahead intrigued me," Aragorn replied. He
gestured for Giles to come closer. "What is this organization that you propose to create? I have
forgotten the name, please excuse me."

"The Watchers Council, Your Highness," Giles replied. He held out a scroll, neatly bound with
ribbon towards the new King. "To help battle the evils that remain in this realm, and to train those
who would fight against them." He made a sweeping gesture to Ára who stood proudly, yet not too
proudly, behind him. "The Slayer."

Aragorn nodded as he accepted the scroll. "The Watchers Council," he murmured as he unraveled
the paper.

A smile crept to Giles's face when he saw the expression on the King's. "Yes, Your Highness. The
Watchers Council."

THE END.