Disclaimer: I own nothing except the computer I use to make Joss' creations play the way I want the to.

Spoilers: Everything in Season 7, up to episode 21 is fair game.

Feedback: please

A/N: I am using some spoilers and ignoring others, I'm trying to end everything the way I would like to see it end.
Chapter 10

"Spike, wait." Buffy called out.

The potentials looked at each other and then raced after Buffy and Spike. There was no way they were going to miss this.

Angel looked confused and angry. He raced after them as well.

Spike refused to stop and sped up until he reached the house. He slammed in the front door determined to make it to the basement before Buffy and Peaches could make it back.

Unfortunately, Giles was there. When he noticed that Buffy was absent, he decided it would be a good time to try to reason with Spike to get him to leave.

"Spike, I've been wanting to talk with you. Now, despite what Buffy, and you, believe, I know that you are still a liability to her. You are distracting her and even with the trigger deactivated, you are still a danger. I insist that you leave, now, before..."

"Sod off, Watcher!"

Spike tried to dodge Giles, but just then Buffy stormed in the front door followed closely by Angel who was followed by all of the Potentials. The multiple slammings of the front door brought the Scoobies and Andrew from the kitchen.

"Angel?"

"What's he doing here?"

"No wonder Spike looks so pissed."

"Angel, why are you here?"

"Buffy, what's going on?"

All questions went unanswered as Spike tried to escape to the basement again, but Buffy grabbed his arm.

"Stop it, Spike. Talk to me."

"I can't bloody well do this again, Slayer."

"Don't call me Slayer."

"Damn it, Buffy, I've been here before and I will not do it again."

"Buffy, what is he talking about? And why did you chase him all the way back here?"

"Not now, Angel. Spike, I love you..."

"YOU WHAT?"

"Shut up, Angel.

"Honey, do you remember what I told you that night?"

"Yeah, you said I taught you to redefine love, that it didn't have to be about pain, betrayal, and abandonment. It could be about trust, friendship, and acceptance."

"That's right. And yes, I will always have feelings for Angel, but I don't love him. Not like I love you. I told you once that I couldn't trust you enough to love you, but you earned my trust and my love. I can't trust Angel with my heart anymore. He's broken it too many times.

"My heart is yours now, and you'd better not forget it."

Spike moved to pull Buffy into his arms.

"Buffy? What is going on here? What are you saying?" Angel looked hurt, angry, and confused.

"I'm sorry, Angel. You left me so that I could find someone new, and I have. He's here and he stays. Even when other people think he should go, he stays because I love him and I need him."

"I had to go to protect you, to let you have a normal life, with a normal guy. Not so you could get involved with another vampire."

"I've tried normal. Five times. One wanted to date me for the adrenaline rush he got from danger. One dumped me because I was 'too distracted'. One used me as a doormat. One turned to vampire whores because he wanted to understand the power that you and Dracula had over me. Then he left me, too. The last one turned out to be the son of a Slayer that Spike killed and he tried to seek revenge while we are in the middle of the fight of our lives.

"I've tried 'normal'. It doesn't suit me. Spike loves me. I love him. We are equals, partners. He has been here through some of my toughest times and he has never left me for my own good." She paused as if thinking.

"In fact, the only time he did leave me, he went away to get his soul back."

"Yeah, about that..."

"Forget it, Peaches. My soul's permanent. No happiness clause."

"How?"

"Demon in Africa. Series of trials. Had to prove myself 'worthy'."

"Where in Africa?"

"Look, Peaches, we make it through this alive, or well, undead, and maybe we can talk about it. Meantime, stay away from my Slayer."

"Your Slayer?"

"Shut up, both of you. Now, Angel, if you're just here to criticize my taste in men, you can feel free to head back to LA"

"No. I came here to help." He hesitated, "But, you know, just because he has a soul doesn't mean that your relationship is a good thing. Even without the happiness clause he could still lose his soul, then where would you be?"

"The same place I was a year ago, and two years ago. I'd be with a soulless demon who endured hours of torture at the hands of a Hell God to protect my sister, who got thrown off a tower trying to save her, who stayed around after my death to protect my sister, because he promised me he would.

"I would be with a vampire who swore he'd never hurt me and felt so terrible the one time he did that he went and got his soul back so he wouldn't do it again. I'd be with a vampire whose demon killed to get back his soul, rather than one whose demon has chosen to kill to prevent the return of his soul.

"Spike isn't you, Angel, and he's not Angelus. He was capable of love, compassion, and devotion even without his soul."

She looked defiantly at Angel. "Now, if that's all, maybe we can get to the actual purpose of your visit. Let's get you up to speed."

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

The next night after patrol, Buffy sent the potentials home while she, Spike and Angel lingered behind to talk.

Buffy and Spike had talked the night before about the prophecy and decided to talk to Angel about it.

At first, Spike had been nervous.

**"Did you ever think that maybe he might be the 'warrior of darkness'?"

"No. Angelus didn't 'choose the light'. It was forced on him. Angel may choose to help people and fight evil, but Angelus hates it. Whenever he loses his soul, Angelus fights to maintain his soulless status. You fought to regain your soul. If anyone has chosen the light, it's you."**

So, now here they were, explaining the details of the prophecy to Angel.

"Actually, it sounds like you've figured it out. Are you sure you don't want to consult Giles?"

"NO!" Both Slayer and vampire answered vehemently.

"Okay, okay. So, what's your plan?"

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

A few nights later, Turok-Hans attacked the house. Everyone inside was forced to flee. Buffy and Spike led them back toward the vineyard where Spike and Andrew had seen the seal. The Turok-Hans followed in close pursuit. They were quickly joined by a number of Bringers.

When they reached the vineyard, they found themselves surrounded by an army of demons, vampires, Bringers, and ubervamps.

They began fighting in earnest. Buffy and Spike began fighting their way to the seal. They were blocked time and again. Suddenly Spike vamped out and roared and nearly a hundred demons of all shapes and sizes poured out of the shadows of the vineyard.

Spike and Angel spoke to them in a variety of demon languages, directing them where to fight.

Finally Buffy and Spike made their way to the seal.

The appearance of the new demons the tide began to slowly shift in favor of the Scoobies and potentials. It shifted enough that many of Buffy's friends and family were able to witness what happened next, but were too far away to affect the events unfolding before them.

Just as they reached the seal everyone watched in horror as Caleb stepped forward. He smiled a cold, evil smile and began to sing.

"Early one morning, just as the sun was rising
I heard a young maid singing in the valley below..."

Spike turned his head toward Buffy as his demon emerged once again. He pulled Buffy toward him and gripped her tightly. As he pulled her in one hand grasped her head and tilted it to the side. He bent forward to bite her, but unseen by everyone else, he quickly bit into his own forearm, drawing blood.

As his own blood began to drip onto the seal he looked deeply into Buffy's eyes, then lowered his head to her neck. He bent her backward almost like a dancer dipping his partner in a sultry tango. As his fangs pierced her skin she cried out briefly. Then he drew back and her blood began to drip down onto the seal as he held her hair away from the wound.

Their blood began to run together along the seal. As it did, the blood began to glow with a yellow light. Spike pulled Buffy up with him as he stood quickly. He leapt off the seal as Buffy stood in the middle, surrounded by light.

She remembered the spell she had found by accident during a late night research session a few weeks earlier. She had gone back to find it the night before. She had gathered the necessary ingredients from Willow's herb stash and now the conditions were perfect.

As the light surrounded her and began to flow outwards, she lit the small pile of herbs and spoke the words to the spell. Suddenly she felt an immense rush of power go through her and out into the light.

The light penetrated every being within the confines of the vineyard. The white hats glowed gold, but were unharmed. The demons that had poured forth at Spike's beckoning shimmered and fell unconscious. The demons, vampires, Turok-Hans, and Bringers all grew bright orange, then caught fire and burned to ash. Caleb was burned as well; the First withdrew from his body as it collapsed into ash.

It roared at Buffy, but the light penetrated it as well. The light surrounded it and seemed to hold it as if in a cage. Suddenly the light reversed itself and withdrew back into the seal. As it did it pulled the First with it, trapping it within the seal, inside the earth.

As the light withdrew, everyone collapsed. Some time later, no one knew how long, the survivors of the battle awoke and headed for Buffy. Spike was cradling her in his lap. She was conscious, but weak. She knew by looking that there were many casualties Most of the potentials were gone. She didn't see Anya, and she knew Xander would be devastated. The rest of them appeared to have a variety of injuries, from minor to wounds requiring medical attention.

But, it was over. They had defeated the First Evil. It wasn't dead. It could never be destroyed, but it had been defeated by love, the only weapon against hate.

She looked at Spike and saw his love for her shining in his eyes, and she knew he could see the same thing in her eyes.

Willow spoke first.

"Buffy, what happened? What was that?"

Buffy smiled weakly.

"It was love, Will. I had a dream; the First Slayer told me that my weapon was inside me. Then she showed me what I needed to know."

"You had a Slayer dream and didn't tell me?" Giles asked.

"Yes."

"How did you know that you'd interpreted it correctly? You haven't exactly been thinking clearly lately..."

"See, that's where you're wrong, Giles. I'm the only who has been thinking clearly. Well, except for Spike. The others have been too scared to think clearly. You've allowed your feelings for Spike and your past experience with Angelus to color your perception.

"You refused to see Spike as anything but a threat. And you refused to see me as a grown woman, and a mature, experienced Slayer. You still looked at me and saw the lovestruck seventeen year old who couldn't do her duty until it was too late for Jenny and almost too late for the world.

"But, I've grown up, Giles. And I know how to do my duty.

"I didn't tell you about the dream, and I didn't tell you about the prophecy my dream led me to, because you have demonstrated a complete lack of trust in my judgment and ability to carry out my duties. I fully expected you to refuse to believe me, or worse, try to stop me, and I knew that this was the only way to win."

"Buffy, if you had told me about the dream...and what is this about a prophecy?"

"Two warriors, one of darkness who chooses the light,
One of light who embraces the darkness,
Shall come together, heart and soul.
Their bond shall be sealed in blood
And their light shall push back the darkness."

"Hmmm. Well, obviously it worked, but how could you have been so sure that the prophecy meant Spike and not Angel?"

"Asked her the same question myself, Watcher. She told me that Angelus had no choice, his soul was forced upon him, and that while Angel may choose to do right, Angelus didn't. I did. I made the choice while I was still a soulless demon. A warrior of darkness who chose to cross over to the white hats."

"Well, it was still foolhardy and it might not have..."

"See that's what I'm talking about. It did work and you're still trying to second-guess me. This is why I didn't tell you. And after you conspired to have Spike killed, I couldn't trust you. Honestly, Giles, if you and Wood had succeeded in your little murder scheme, we never would have been able to win.

"I knew that we needed Spike. I told you that and you didn't believe me. That's why I didn't tell you."

"Well, in the future..."

"There won't be any future, Giles."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm done. See, while that light was pouring out of me it was taking a tremendous amount of power, not just from me, but from all of the forces around me. And it was pouring into the other Chosen Ones. So, while that power flow was going on, I did a little transference spell. Ask Faith and the others how they feel."

Faith and the surviving potentials looked at each other.

Faith answered for all of them.

"Stronger. Alot stronger, more powerful. How?"

"My spell. I transferred my Slayer powers to all of you. None of you have a full dose of Slayer strength, but you all have more than before."

"Buffy, how could you...?"

"Giles, I'm twenty-two. I've died twice. I've lost friends, family, and loved ones. I'm tired. I've finally found some peace and happiness and I want to enjoy that before I die again.

"Spike and I talked about this and I finally convinced him that this is what I want. You have a Slayer and a group of girls who are ready to pick up the mantle. I'm done. I'm just a normal girl, now. Well, you know, except for the vampire lover, vampire ex-lover, witch best friend, ex-key sister, demon magnet best friend..."

Everyone laughed lightly at that.

"Now here's the part you're gonna hate." She took a deep breath. "Spike and I are leaving. The hellmouth is closed. You have a Faith and the other girls. I need some time away. The past two years have been really hard for me. And to be honest, as much as I love you guys, you're a big part of the reason that it's been so hard.

"After you guys made me leave the house, Spike pointed out that it might be a good thing. It would give me some peace and quiet to clear my head. And it worked. The afternoon after I left was when I had the Slayer dream.

"So, I'm going to go away with Spike and clear my head."

Dawn looked at Buffy with tears in her eyes.

"What about me?"

Buffy put her arms around Dawn.

"Sweetie, I have not been a very good parent to you. I wasn't ready. When Mom first died, I had to keep you with me to keep you safe. But last year, and this year, we have had a hard time because I'm not ready to be a mom. I could barely keep a roof over our heads and I almost lost you several times, to demons, Hell Gods, best friends gone bad, and social workers from Hell.

"If we had been a normal family, you would have gone with Dad in the first place, not me. You deserve to have a normal life. I can't offer you that. At least, not right now. So, I called Dad. He just got transferred back to LA. You can go to school there. You can come back and visit Willow and Xander and any of your friends from school all the time.

"Spike and I are going to be traveling. You can join us on vacations, and when we decide to settle down, if you still want to live with us, we can work it out. But we need this time. I need this time to clear my head, get things straight before I try to tackle motherhood again."

Everyone began to cry, but none of them could begrudge Buffy the opportunity to enjoy life a little bit. She had more than earned it.

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

Two weeks later, the house at 1630 Revello was up for sale.

Willow had moved into an apartment near campus with Kennedy.

Xander had gone to England with Giles to assist him in starting the Watcher's Council up again. Everyone had agreed that Xander, as the Scooby who "sees stuff" should be a Watcher's assistant.

Dawn was settled in LA with her father. She now also had a new stepmother and a stepsister her own age with whom she actually became friends.

Angel returned to LA and picked up where he had left off.

Faith stayed in Sunnydale to await her new assignment from the newly reformed Council of Watchers.

The demons that survived the battle against the First had been imbued with a strong desire to fight the good fight. Most continued to live in Sunnydale and they quickly drove out all evil beings, human and demon. Sunnydale soon became an extremely pleasant and popular place to live.

Buffy and Spike took Buffy's SUV, they delivered Dawn to Los Angeles then headed out to parts unknown. Spike's lawyers had liquidated his assets and netted him a tidy sum somewhere in the low millions. He settled some of it on Dawn, and invested a little, but most was reserved for his love. He and Buffy traveled around the world. They occasionally came back to California, but mostly lived abroad.

Buffy had finally found love and she was able to spend the rest of her last life living in peace with the man who taught her a new definition of love.

THE END

A/N: Sappy I know, but Joss has said Buffy won't die again, JM has said that the ending will be romantic for Buffy and Spike, and that the ending is both very cool and also the worst way to end the show. This is my version.