THE END IS ONLY THE BEGINNING
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.
CHAPTER 6-GROWING CLOSER AND EXPLANATIONS
Buffy was the first to pull away from the kiss, but noticeably reluctant to do so. A myriad of emotions swirled between her head and her heart. Her heart was pounding in her chest, loud enough for Spike to notice and smirk at the sound. The thoughts that barreled through her head were only rudimentary at first, but soon ideas began to take hold. She tried her best to put her feelings and thoughts into words, but at first the muscles that operated her mouth didn't seem to want to cooperate. They were far too busy turning into jelly at the sight in front of her. After a few exasperating seconds Buffy lifted her hand up and softly brushed it across Spike's cheek, eliciting a daring tear to escape from Spike's clutches. When Buffy's facial muscles finally obeyed her mind again they only allowed the words to be short and sweet, but only at first.
"You…you're warm…what," Buffy stuttered out meekly as the tears continued to cascade out of her tired and weary eyes, spilling down her blushing cheeks.
"Ya noticed huh…well that kind of goes with the territory, being a slayer and all and not a vampire with a soul anymore," Spike whispered back only loud enough for Buffy to hear, however Molly leaned in and grinned madly at the words.
"H…how…," Was Buffy's only clumsy response as Spike politely led her to a seat at the table, one that Giles had hurried to pull out.
"It was your mum…well not really her, but after I died she came to me…as a spirit…possibly an angel…and she said that you and the little Nibblet were soon going to need my help more than you'd ever know, then she gave me a choice to come back and help you…and here I am," Spike replied softly as a few more tears slipped out from his control and were suddenly slammed up against the side of Buffy's head as she lunged forward and caught him in a huge bear hug.
"Uh sorry to interrupt…but…huh…," Willow stammered out with a completely bewildered frown on her face as she looked over at Giles, desperate for an answer. The only response that Giles could affect was to sigh and shrug his shoulders before rushing into his office and returning a minute later with a huge pad of paper and several well sharpened pencils.
"Wow…," Molly mumbled softly in awe as she walked around the table and stared at Buffy, Xander, and Willow.
"Giles…who are these people," The younger Buffy demanded with a look of panic on her face as she backed slightly away from an overly excited Molly.
"I...," Giles stammered out with a completely lost look on his face before Buffy and Spike finished hugging.
For several breathless seconds Spike and Buffy sat motionless, each taking in exactly who was in front of them. Buffy's lower lip quivered a bit, garnering a soft response from Spike as he reached up and brushed his thumb across it. Giles sat silently regarding the two with confusion and awe. The staring contest between Spike and Buffy would probably have gone on for hours if not for her being able to tear her eyes away from his for one split second and spotting the wound on his shoulder. When she turned back to him her eyes asked what her mouth could only guess at.
"Oh this…credit our old friend Captain Cardboard and his impeccable aim," Spike said with a sarcastic chuckle as Buffy's brows furrowed in confusion. "That ponce knocked us out and held us captive…," Spike began again with a bitter look of anger on his face before Molly jumped in and added her two cents.
"He asked us all of these questions about where you were…what happened to Sunnydale...he thought Spike did it…," Molly said with an exasperated shrug of her shoulders before she pulled out a chair and sat down next to Buffy, who stared at the teenager with wide eyes.
"It's her Buffy…it's Molly, she's not the First or a ghost…trust me…," Spike whispered softly to Buffy as the realization dawned on her. Before Molly could add anything Buffy slung her arms around the new slayer and gripped her in a tight bear hug, mumbling her apologies about getting her killed.
"The First…who's that…," The younger Buffy asked with a confused frown on her face as she awkwardly pulled a chair up next to Spike and sat down.
"Uhm Buffy…don't the three of you have somewhere to be right now…," Giles said after clearing his throat and motioning to the clock. The younger Buffy started to blow off Giles' question before she noticed exactly what time it was and dragged a confused and startled Willow and Xander out of the library.
"This is all to much," Buffy mumbled softly before she let go of Molly and attempted to wipe away a few of the tears that she had shed.
"No argument here luv…," Spike added with a comforting hand on Buffy's shoulder, comfort that she gladly accepted.
"Not to spoil the mood but who are you…you can't be Buffy because she just…," Giles started to say with a confused sigh as he took off his glasses and began to clean them.
"She's Buffy all right Rupert…the chosen one…just the finished product and not the little girl that just dragged Red and the whelp out of here a minute ago…," Spike replied with a confident smile on his face as he half turned his gaze towards Giles before returning it to Buffy.
"This is…I mean…I don't see how…but how is it possible that the three of you are here…if what you're telling me is true then…," Giles sputtered out as it was evident that his mind was working light years ahead of his mouth.
"A big portal…," Buffy and Spike said softly in unison before Molly looked back and forth between the two nervously.
"Well could you…could you describe it a bit further…a big portal is hardly enough to go on…," Giles exclaimed with a nervous laugh as he adjusted his glasses and frowned. Buffy scrunched up her nose in frustration before answering.
"I don't know…it was a big black swirly thingy…oh with lightning…," Buffy replied with her brows now furrowed in thought before Spike jumped in.
"Yeah that's what ours looked like to…right before some but ugly demon came out and started killing all of the Initiative soldiers in its path before throwing me around like a bloody rag doll," Spike said with a serious scowl on his face as he and Buffy once more interlaced their fingers on top of the table.
"Riley…was he…," Buffy asked with a small bit of concern in her voice as she locked gazes with Spike, who shrugged his shoulders.
"Yeah he was there…the bloody git…nearly broke my nose punching me in the face like he did…oh…I mean last we saw he and his blushing bride were still alive…," Spike started to say angrily with a slight sneer on his face before he calmed down and tried to sound reassuring.
"Do any of you know where this portal came from…or who summoned it…," Giles asked nervously as he continued to scribble notes down onto the pad of paper.
"If we knew that then we wouldn't be here right now…," Molly replied with a frustrated and tired sigh as she turned around to face Giles.
"This is getting us nowhere…I know Spike…why don't you take Molly and give her the grand tour of Sunnydale…the early years…," Buffy announced with a hopeful smile on her face as it was apparent that Giles had more than a million and one questions to ask and was determined to ask them all.
"You sure pet…I mean we could stay and help…," Spike started to protest weakly before he saw the determined look in Buffy's eyes and knew that any further arguments were pointless. "Come on Bit…let's go for a walk…," Spike said softly with as chipper a smile on his face as he could muster as he turned to Molly.
"You can't go out dressed like that…people will think you're brain is addled…," Molly said with a slightly worried look on her face as she stood up and pushed her chair in.
"Molly's right…there are some clothes in the lost and found box in the office, perhaps you'll find something there that'll fit a bit better," Giles added with a concerned frown on his face as he nodded his head towards the doors of the library. Spike pondered his choices for barely a second before he leaned in and placed a whisper soft kiss on Buffy's forehead. Before Buffy could react Spike and Molly walked out of the library. Buffy took a second to collect herself before Giles began the inquisition.
"Now…you said that you all came here via a portal but you don't know who cast it or why…maybe if you tell me a little about what else was going on then it would narrow my search…oh hello Joyce…," Giles asked with a confused and bewildered frown on his face before Buffy heard the library doors open again. She took no notice of it at first because she expected that it was her past self or Xander or Willow. She hadn't even thought that it could be her mother.
"Giles…do you know where…Buffy…," Joyce started to ask with a slightly worried look on her face before she stopped as she saw Buffy sitting, with her back to her, in a chair at the end of the table. Giles started to attempt to come up with a believable response but was left speechless at the transformation that he saw take place in Buffy, all in a split second. Buffy went from looking tired and frustrated to looking like a very small girl. Buffy's eyes welled up with tears and she bit her bottom lip nervously before struggling to make her muscles get her up to her feet and to turn around.
"Mommy…," Buffy whispered softly as she fought to choke back the sobs that threatened to engulf her. Joyce stood silent at the outburst, unsure of exactly what to do. In the end Buffy rushed forward and buried her face into Joyce's shoulder as the floodgates opened and she let all of her pent up emotions rush out.
* * * * * *
"So wait you're telling me that you guys run Wolfram and Hart now…all of it…the whole thing…," Faith asked with a startled and impressed half smirk on her face as she sat in the backseat of Angel's car with a weary Wesley at her side.
"Not exactly…," Angel started to answer from the front seat as he carefully steered the car through the almost completely abandoned streets of Los Angeles.
"We…were only given control of the L.A. branch…as a reward…," Wesley finished with a pained wince, one that elicited a very concerned look from Faith, before he leaned back and tried to rub the fatigue from his eyes.
"Some reward…," Faith mumbled breathlessly as she nervously looked back and forth between Wesley and Angel.
"Not to be a killjoy but what are we supposed to do if the Beast is there playing lawn darts with lawyers…," Gunn asked with a grim frown on his face as he first looked to Angel before sending a worried look back at Faith and Wesley.
"We get out as many people as we can and detonate the large amount of c-4 in the basement…," Wesley replied calmly, as if he had been formulating the strategy that he had just laid out for some time.
"Wait…there's c-4 in the basement…, what for…," Faith asked with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, a feeling where she felt that she already knew the answer but she just wanted someone else to confirm her dire hypothesis.
"As a failsafe…in case the senior partners lost control of the situation here…they wouldn't want any of their secrets getting out…," Angel added without the slightest hint of emotion in his voice as he stared straight ahead.
"Well let's say we hope that it doesn't come to that," Gunn asked with a very nervous smile on his face as he shook his head. The quartet remained silent until Angel pulled into his underground parking garage. The ride up in the elevator was without incident but upon reaching Angel's office Faith had to help Wesley into one of the chairs before leaving the room to get him something to drink.
"There you are Angel…," Lilah called out with a fairly large amount of venom in her voice as she strode into the room, her arms full of files. As she passed Wesley she looked down only briefly and for a split second Angel caught site of the former lawyer's usually uncaring facade shatter as he could see the well hidden worry in her eyes.
"Lilah…come on in…," Angel replied with a sarcastic frown on his face as he pulled out his chair and sat down.
"Very funny…are you aware of the situation out there…," Lilah asked as she dropped the files on Angel's desk and opened wide the curtains. Angel instinctively flinched and prepared to jump behind his desk before his more rational side reminded him of the protective coating on the window.
"All to well Lilah…now do you have a point or are you just here to remind us why we're so happy that you're dead…," Gunn interjected with an annoyed scowl on his face before he softened his expression slightly as Wesley shot him a dark look.
"Ooh….down boy," Lilah purred seductively in response, an action that garnered a muffled groan of annoyance from both Wesley and Angel as Faith reentered the room with a glass of water and some pills.
"Here ya go Wes…I had to swipe these from the guards but they should still work," Faith said softly to Wesley as she knelt down beside him and handed him the water and the pills.
"Thank you Faith…," Wesley mumbled softly while wincing slightly in pain before he popped the pills into his mouth and drank the glass dry. During the entire exchange Lilah stayed silent at the window, although Angel could only guess at her response, one that he didn't have to wait very long for.
"Oh look Faith being nice to Wesley…kinda almost makes you forget that she tortured him nearly to death and liked doing it doesn't it…," Lilah said, mostly to Angel and Gunn, with a visible amount of venom in her voice as her smile only widened at the glare that Faith shot her.
"That was the old me…I've changed…reformed…," Faith said with a very serious, but yet slightly ashamed, look on her face as she stood up and took a step towards Lilah but stopped when Wesley softly laid a hand on her arm.
"Don't you get it little girl…you're evil…you always have been and you always will be…evil can't change…the whole leopard not changing it's spots thing…no matter how hard you try you'll always be a danger to everyone around you…you know what maybe it'd be best for everyone if someone put you out of your misery…," Lilah shot back, taking a great deal of delight in the battle in Faith's soul that she could see taking place through the look in eyes of the former rogue slayer.
"That's enough Lilah…if you don't have anything constructive to say then please leave," Wesley shouted with a very angry scowl on his face as he very nearly jumped to his feet and stepped in between Faith and Lilah.
"Whatever…I think you'll rather enjoy looking through those files…I sure did…," Lilah said with a look that seemed to say that she could care less about anything as she started to leave the room, though taking careful steps to avoid Faith.
"Lilah wait…how did you get these pictures…," Angel asked loudly as he looked up briefly from the file that he had opened and began digging through.
"We have a mole in the Initiative…several actually…but before his head and limbs were ripped off he managed to send us those pictures…I think you'll find the last few to be of particular interest," Lilah answered with a mysterious wink and a delighted smile before she walked out of Angel's office, shutting the doors behind her.
"What the hell was all that about…," Gunn asked with a confused look on his face as he turned back to Angel.
"Cordy…," Angel said almost in a breathless whisper as he got to the pictures that Lilah had mentioned. Faith cast Wesley a silent question but all the ex-watcher could do is shrug his shoulders and frown weakly.
"That was all about Cordy…sorry Angel but I don't…," Gunn started to reply with a bewildered look on his face before Angel looked up suddenly and interrupted him, the vampires face full of a sudden surge of hope.
"It's Cordy…look," Angel said with a nervous smile on his face as he handed Gunn the first picture and then gave the next to Faith and Wesley. Gunn had to squint a bit before he could make out the familiar face of the ex-cheerleader stumbling around in the fog. Beside him Faith and Wesley stared intensely at their photograph before Wesley looked up with a look of hope on his face.
"It's Cordelia…but how…this is…," Wesley stammered out with a still confused but nevertheless hopeful look on his face as soon both he and Angel were trying to keep their hopes under control.
"Yeah it looks like Cordy…but how do we know that it's really her…it could be another demon masquerading as…," Gunn started to say with a worried look on his face as he sat down on the edge of Angel's desk before Lilah slinked back into the room, with a leather bag slung over one shoulder. On her way to Angel's desk Lilah rubbed up against Wesley slightly, giving him a sexy wink before continuing on. Faith fought back the sudden urge to smash her fist into Lilah's jaw when she saw the look of contempt on Wesley's face as he edged closer to her.
"On no it's her…she's the real deal alright…," Lilah said with what she hoped was an air of confidence, but both Wesley and Angel knew her well enough to notice the small quiver in her voice. A quick look between the two only confirmed their feelings that Lilah was nervous about something but was trying her best not to show it.
"And we're just supposed to believe you…just like that…no proof…sorry but I'm not buying…," Gunn added with a growing scowl of concern on his face as he stood up and started to get in Lilah's face.
"It doesn't matter if you don't believe me…go check it out for yourselves…you can even use this…," Lilah shot back with a calm smirk on her face as she took a digital video camera and handed it to Angel.
"Whatever…let's go…," Angel said gruffly before he nearly jumped out of his seat and headed for his private elevator. Faith looped an arm around Wesley's and helped him towards the elevator while Gunn followed close behind, studying the camera as he went.
* * * * * *
Giles had been right and Spike had found some clothes that the former vampire had to admit didn't look to bad on him. However he swore to Molly that the first chance he got he was going to get himself some new clothes. The two had begun their trip by trekking through the cemetery that housed what would become Spike's crypt, as many weeks earlier Molly had asked about it and Spike was all to happy to show her, even though for the life of her Molly couldn't figure out how the crypt could ever be considered comfy. After a short stay there Spike had taken her by the Bronze and related how he had first come to set eyes on the slayer that would one day capture his heart. Molly smiled softly as she listened to Spike expand on his thoughts of how beautiful Buffy had been that night to him. Since the Bronze wasn't open yet their trek took them next to what would one day become the Magic Box. Spike took a great deal of time recalling one event that took place there after another, so many that Molly got bored and started to wander away, finally coming to rest on a bench that also served as a bus stop. Spike quickly caught up to her and sat down on the bench beside her with a nostalgic smirk on his face.
"What is it…," Molly asked with a slightly confused and concerned look on his face as she stood up and looked down at Spike.
"Me and Dru killed a homeless man on this bench, he begged for mercy but ya know it just made her bite harder…," Spike said through a short laugh before he stood up and followed Molly as she again began to nervously step away.
"Who's Dru…," Molly asked with a nervous frown on her face as Spike caught up to her on the other side of the street.
"Well pet it's a long story…so I'd better start from the beginning…," Spike replied with a happy to oblige smile on his face before he reached an arm around Molly's shoulders and pulled her closer. Molly listened intently as Spike began his story while the two began to head back towards the school.
END OF CHAPTER 6