THE END IS ONLY THE BEGINNING
Disclosure: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created like Joyce.
CHAPTER 25-WHEN RUPERT MET JENNY
Spike burst through the front door, carrying a coughing Molly in his arms. Jenny had just come out of the shower and dove back in to avoid Spike's hurried rush to the first open bed that he saw while Buffy jerked upright in her chair. During the ride home the young slayer had seemingly been on a seesaw in terms of her condition. At times she had looked like she was back in control and calm. But mere seconds later she'd almost collapse into another fit of violent coughing. Spike had been about to wish to himself that he were a cold heartless vampire again, rather than half to stand by and watch and listen to Molly's pain, when he had pulled the damaged van back into the hotel's parking lot. Molly had managed to slip out of her seatbelt and open her door through the pain before she had collapsed into Spike's arms the moment that the door opened.
"Sp…Molly," Buffy started to ask with a confused and shocked look on her face before her face went white at the sight of the injured slayer in Spike's arms.
"What happened," Jenny asked with a very worried look on her face as she rushed back into the bathroom for the first aid kit that she had set there along with her suitcase.
"We fought the Scourge and the Scourge won…," Spike replied with a deadly serious look on his face as he carefully laid Molly down on the bed and helped Buffy to gently pull her duster off and lay it on a chair nearby.
"Angel…," Buffy asked with a slightly skipping of her heart before Spike Molly interrupted with a fit of coughing.
"Peaches is fine Buffy, Molly here's the only one that got hurt," Spike answered with a grim frown on his face as he quickly untied Molly's boots and pulled them off before sliding them off of the rest of the bed as Buffy started to lift Molly's shirt up a bit to check for blood.
"Outside Spike, now…Buffy and I can handle this…," Jenny announced with a very determined expression on her face as she came back into the room carrying several towels thrown over her shoulder and an ice cream bucket full of warm water.
"But…," Spike started to protest with a slightly hurt look in his eyes before he realized that he was beaten and turned around and walked out of the hotel room, leaving Buffy and Jenny to tend to Molly.
* * * * * *
"It was really her…are you sure Kennedy," Giles asked with an unconvinced frown on his face as he paced back and forth in front of the circular sofa in the Hyperion's lobby.
"Yes Giles I…," Kennedy started to reply with an angry scowl on her face, and a nervous hand gingerly brushing the bruises on her neck, before she became frustrated at Giles' disbelief and closed her mouth.
"It was her Giles…I'm sure of it…Spike even…," Angel added with a stern and thoughtful scowl on his face as he leaned up against the counter and pretended to find one of Cordelia's hair clips interesting.
"Spike was here," Dawn jumped in with an excited and happy smile on her face as she pushed away from the stairs and walked towards Angel.
"He showed up at the end, mowed down a couple of the Scourge with a van before he picked Molly up and left," Kennedy replied for Angel with a confused look on her face as she turned her head to face Dawn.
"But there seemed to be something…different about him…did he seem older to you," Faith asked with a deep in thought frown etched on her face as she slowly paced first by Robin and then by Wesley.
"He did seem to be a bit slower than I remember him being…but other than that…," Angel started to say with a contemplative expression on his face before everyone's attention was caught up by the sound of the Hyperion's front doors opening and closing.
"It's not the portal jumping people, it's the mileage," Lindsey joked with an odd smirk on his face as a shorter blonde woman at his side crossed her arms and took in those assembled with a look of disdain on her face.
* * * * * *
"Feeling any better," Spike asked softly as he turned to Molly, who sat gingerly next to him on the bench outside of their room.
"A little…don't think that my ribs are done healing yet, glad I don't have to wait weeks for them to get done…," Molly replied with a pained smile on her face as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"You'll be back to normal before you know it Bit, you'll need to be when we visit Angel again," Spike added with a sincere smile on his face as he slipped an arm around Molly's shoulders and carefully drew her close, with her head resting on his shoulder.
"You never did tell me why you two don't get along so well…I mean other than you both being in love with Buffy and all," Molly asked with a tired yawn as Spike leaned his head back and stared up at the overhang.
"He always loved to take what I had, it didn't really matter what it was but the moment he knew that I had something that I coveted he'd do his best to make sure that it was soon his, it all started with Drusilla…," Spike answered softly with a faraway look in his eyes as a contemplative smile crept upon his face.
"Speaking of her…you never did tell me how she killed that slayer…what was her name again…Kendy…Kiki…," Molly asked with a calm look on her face as she watched a lone car drive by their hotel and disappear around a far corner.
"Kendra, her name was Kendra pet, you see Dru had the ability to enthrall people, really didn't matter about their gender, Dru enthralled Kendra long enough to snap her neck, for a long time I wished that I had been there to see that…have to admit that at times I still do as morbid and sick as that sounds…but unlike Buffy Kendra was a different bird entirely, Buffy had her friends, family and Giles to be at her side, Kendra only had her watcher that from what I've heard sounded more like a bloody caretaker than a father figure…she must have missed out on so much, being separated from her parents for so long…she barely remembered them in fact…it's sad really…," Spike replied with an unhappy frown on his face as he slowly rubbed some of the tension out of Molly's shoulder with his thumb while she tried to process everything that he was telling her.
"That sounds horrible, I couldn't imagine growing up without tasting me mum's tarts and bread…she used to make the best cakes in town, people used to order them months in advance…," Molly added sadly with a nervous pout on her face as she rubbed the ends of a few of her hairs in between her fingers.
"You're mum and mine probably would probably have been good friends…but now before we actually do all get ready and go and see Angel and the others I think that we should have some codeword or something, a word that would let us know that you were in trouble or not feeling up to it," Spike mused with an almost nostalgic look in his eye before he frowned and leaned back a bit.
"I'll be fine Spike, after all you and Buffy trained me…what could be so hard about meeting them all again," Molly quipped with an amused smile on her face as she stared up into the hazy fog that seemed to have settled over the city.
"Angel's not going to take seeing Jenny again very well and then there's Joyce, Buffy and I being married…and another little one on the way…," Spike said softly with a growing look of concern and worry on his face before the door opened and Jenny walked out followed by Buffy, who supported Joyce as the youngest Wilmington slowly walked out of the hotel room, a new stuffed bear in her arms.
"He's going to have to accept that things have changed Spike, they all will, and I for one am not going to take anyone's crap…," Buffy stated with a very clear and certain look on her face before she scooped Joyce up and kissed her daughter on the forehead.
"Maybe I should meet Rupert first…over coffee or something, that way we could get the particulars out of the way," Jenny offered with an optimistic smile on her face as she leaned back up against one of the overhangs support posts.
"Sounds like a good plan to me…none of us have eaten since we left the past…what do you think luv," Spike agreed with an almost bored look on his face before he turned to look up at Buffy.
"Guess it's as good a plan as any…and it would be nice to have someone on our side when we get the third degree from everyone else…okay Spike you call the Hyperion and set it all up, tell Giles to meet us at that corner coffee shop…the one with the cracked window, in half an hour and we'll tell him everything," Buffy said with a commanding presence about her before she set Joyce down in Spike's lap and helped Molly up to her feet. Spike did as he was told and made the call, almost having to resort to shout into the phone at the old watcher to keep him from giving away who he was talking to. A soft spoken woman had answered the phone and at first Spike had been worried that the secret was out but he had been relieved when Giles had picked up. Spike could tell that the man on the other end of the phone was preoccupied about asking about it but never got the chance as Giles hastily agreed to the meeting and hung up.
"Do you see him," Jenny asked softly, her heart beating more than a mile a minute as she looked down at her watch. Half an hour had passed and the former teacher's worries had only intensified before Spike broke in with good news.
"Yep…there he is, seated in that far booth, we're in luck to, he has his back to us," Spike announced with a triumphant and relieved smile on his face as he turned back to Buffy and Jenny. Molly stood uneasily nearby with Joyce in her arms, still wincing every few seconds with each breath as her ribs were still healing.
"Good, now Spike you go in first and then I'll come in when you give me the signal…I'll let Molly bring Joyce in, no need to overwhelm him…Jenny we'll bring you in last," Buffy stated with a confidant smile on her face before Spike shrugged his shoulders and headed inside.
"You made it," Spike said with a touch of sarcasm in his voice as he walked up to the old watcher and took in the confused look that he was given with a good natured smile before sitting down and picking up a menu.
"Of course I made it…now where is Buffy…is she alright," Giles quickly replied with a poorly hidden worried tone to his voice before he took a sip of his coffee.
"She's fine Rupert…better than fine actually…in fact why don't you ask her yourself," Spike joked with a borderline cocky smirk on his face before he hid his face behind the menu.
"What…," Giles started to ask with a confused and somewhat angry at Spike frown on his face before he was interrupted from behind.
"Giles…," Buffy said with a worried and nervous smile on her face before only seconds later she found herself wrapped in her watchers arms as Giles hugged her as tightly as he could, tears coming to his eyes.
"Uh…Rupert, you should probably let go now, Buffy does need to breathe remember," Spike spoke up with a half amused and half concerned frown on his face as he set the menu down on the table in front of him.
"Buffy…you…you look," Giles stammered out as he took a step back and took a good look at Buffy.
"Different…," Buffy joked with a tear laced smile on her face as she couldn't help but cry a little at how happy she was to be back.
"Beautiful…I was going to say beautiful Buffy…," Giles stammered out through tears of his own before he gave Buffy another tight hug for good measure.
"See pet, I told you everything would be fine…maybe now would be a good time to tell him about the three years that we spent in the past," Spike interjected with a daring smile on his face, one that only grew when Buffy glared daggers back at him.
"What…three years…," Giles stammered out in shock before he settled back down into his seat and shook his head while Buffy walked around to stand beside Spike.
"Yeah Giles, we spent three years in the past, that portal transported us back to Sunnydale, shortly after I arrived in Sunnydale, but don't worry we made sure not to try and change the past…but I have to admit that we were tempted to…many times," Buffy added with a sincere look of happiness on her face before Spike cut in.
"And since there were now two Buffy's running around she didn't have to work as hard…letting her concentrate on a few more important matters, letting her other self handle the slaying duties," Spike stated with a short laugh as Buffy stomped down hard on his foot for cutting in.
"Buffy what…what could possibly be more important than your calling as the slayer…I don't…," Giles started to ask with a look of total disbelief on his face before the answer to his question presented itself.
"Mommy," Joyce shrieked with a happy squeal of glee as she tore across the floor of the coffee shop and threw her arms around Buffy's right leg, holding on for dear life.
"Sorry Buffy but she…," Molly started to say with an apologetic smile on her face before she winced in pain and gingerly sat down on one of the stools by the counter.
"It's okay Molly," Buffy said softly with a reassuring smile on her face before she caught the completely shocked and confused look on Giles' face.
"Buffy…what is going on here…did she just…," Giles stammered out his question with a flustered frown on his face before Buffy ended his jabbering.
"Giles, I'd like you to meet our daughter, Joyce Ann Wilmington…Joyce this is grandpa Giles," Buffy said with a happy smile on her face as she leaned down and picked Joyce up into her arms. Giles could only stare in amazement, until he looked closer and saw the resemblance between Joyce and the former vampire seated next to Buffy.
"The answer that you're so heartily searching for Rupert is yes, I am Joyce's father, along with her little brother and or sister," Spike jumped in with a proud smile on his face before he placed his hand over Buffy's stomach, softly rubbing her bellybutton through her shirt with his thumb. Both Spike and Buffy could only smile as Giles' eyes widened as the full realization of Spike's words hit him.
"Can I tell him now…," Molly asked with an impatient frown on her face as she slowly slid off of the stool and came to stand next to Buffy.
"Tell me what," Giles asked softly after having taken a moment to catch his breath and take another sip of his coffee.
"That I'm sorry…for everything," Jenny managed to say, almost in a whisper, before a sob wracked her body. Giles barely took the time to turn around before Jenny collapsed into him, crying into his chest. Spike stood up and wrapped his arms around Buffy and kissed her softly as the two stood and watched the scene in front of them. Molly wiped away a happy tear as Giles hugged Jenny as tightly as he could before letting her back up a bit. With a visibly shaking hand Giles slowly reached out and gently wiped away a tear. Molly nearly clapped with excitement as Giles pulled a very nervous Jenny into at first a light kiss. The kiss deepened into one with much more feeling before Spike loudly cleared his throat, barely able to hold back a laugh as he did so.
* * * * * *
"What are you doing here Lindsey…and more importantly…," Angel started to ask with an angry scowl on his face after he ushered Lindsey and the mystery woman into his office and shut the doors behind them.
"Her name is Eve, and as for why I'm back…well sorry big guy but I don't really feel like telling you just yet," Lindsey replied with an easy smile on his face as he slowly looked around at the various items in Angel's office, never once looking Angel in the eye.
"You're right Lindsey, he doesn't seem so scary up close…more like a neutered puppy," Eve chided with a sly smile on her face before Lindsey turned back around and laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Now Eve, is that any way to treat our host…," Lindsey joked with a proud laugh before Angel slammed his fists down onto his desk.
"Cut the bull shit Lindsey and tell me what you want; I'm not in the mood to let you talk my head off before never getting to the point," Angel shouted with a very angry edge to his voice, one that told Lindsey that the vampire with a soul wasn't in the least interested in continuing the game that he was playing.
"Fine Angel I cut the crap out and tell it to you straight, this city is going to descend straight into the bowels of hell and it's all your fault, how's that," Lindsey declared with a very serious look on his face as he walked up to Angel and looked him in the eye.
"Oh yeah, and how did you figure that out…," Angel asked with an unconvinced scowl on his face as he regarded Lindsey with disdain in his eyes.
"A little birdie told me…a little birdie with a penchant for saving your wretched ass from the fate that you deserve, I think he said that his name was Wiffler…Waffler…something like that," Lindsey replied without missing a beat, keeping the smug smile firmly entrenched on his face as Eve only rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Whistler…," Angel growled angrily under his breath as he clenched his jaw tightly and slowly sat down in his chair, never taking his eyes off of Lindsey.
"Yeah that sounds about right…except he didn't actually say that Angel was going to fail to keep the city of angels from being pulled into hell," Eve interjected with a bored look on her face as she settled down into one of the chairs on the opposite side of Angel's desk than his chair and looked lovingly up at Lindsey.
"You're right Eve…he did say that Angel fails to save the world…but if you think about it a bit that still means that it's your fault," Lindsey said with an amused smile on his face as he sat down beside Eve and laughed.
* * * * * *
"What's going on in there, who is that," Robin asked with a very determined frown on his face as he paced back and forth in front of the steps.
"The man is Lindsey McDonald, a former lawyer at Wolfram and Hart, one that tried on numerous occasions to kill Angel and put us out of business, but the last that we saw of him he had supposedly turned over a new leaf and left town, I have no clue who the young woman is," Wesley answered with a very serious and deep in thought frown on his face as he looked up from his seat behind the counter.
"He tried to get me to kill Angel a few years ago…I came close but needless to say he's not a man to be taken lightly," Faith added with a very serious and concerned look on her face as she stood beside Wesley. Unbeknownst to everyone else Faith right and Wesley's left hand were clasped together underneath the desk.
"So now all that we have to do is figure out what he's doing here," Gunn said with an unhappy frown on his face as he continued to polish his new axe.
"Yeah, and you can bet whatever his plan is it won't be pretty," Fred added with a worried look on her face as she sat down beside Gunn.
"Then what are we waiting for…let's ask them," Anya exclaimed with an energized smile on her face before she stood up and took off walking towards Angel's office, leaving Xander to scramble after her.
END OF CHAPTER 25