THE END IS ONLY THE BEGINNING
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created like Joyce.
CHAPTER 29-DREAM A LITTLE DREAM FOR ME
It had been almost two hours since Angel had drawn Spike, Buffy, Giles, Wesley, Lindsey, Eve, and Whistler into the kitchen to discuss the startling revelation that Eve was Buffy and Spike's daughter from the future. Riley and Sam had retired to a room on the third floor because Riley had become lightheaded. Joyce woke up only a few minutes later and Molly and Jenny had both gotten up and headed for the stairs before they stopped abruptly and tried to let the other go ahead. Willow and Dawn had instantly pounced upon the opportunity given them and rushed up the stairs ahead of the two, Dawn intent on spending some more time with her niece and Willow not wanting to be left out. Faith did her best to stay out of everyone's line of sight as she hoped that Robin would not seek her out, but her luck only held out for less than five minutes before he stepped up in front of her and laid it all on the line.
"Not this time, you're not going to run away and hide with him like you always do," Robin stated very clearly with an expectant look on his face as he crossed his arms and glared down at Faith.
"What do you want from me Robin," Faith asked with a frustrated and nervous smile on her face before she hardened her outlook and scowled back up at the son of a slayer.
"The same thing that I've always wanted Faith…the truth," Robin replied with a very cold look on his face, one that Faith bet that he had used many a time on a wayward student.
"The truth huh…what truth, who's truth…sorry Robin but you're going to have to be a little bit more…," Faith started to joke with an amused smile on her face before Robin uncrossed his arms and glared down at her and interrupted.
"That's enough Faith, quit acting like a child and dancing around the subject, act like an adult for once and tell me…you're with him now aren't you, you and he are a couple, we're through…," Robin exclaimed with a very frustrated and angry scowl on his face as he turned his back to the rest of those assembled in the lobby.
"Oh act like an adult…okay let me tell you something about acting like an adult…it's overrated, and we were over long before Wesley and I ever started having sex," Faith shot back with a defensive and angry scowl on her face as she pushed herself up onto her tiptoes.
"I don't know why…what you could possibly see in him, what does he have that I don't…," Robin asked with an inwardly defeated sneer on his face as he leaned down towards Faith's face, until the two were almost touching noses.
"In a word…me," Faith stated back softly with a pointed and almost gleeful smile on her face before she turned and walked away, leaving Robin to only grumble something under his breath before marching off into Angel's office.
* * * * * *
"This is insane…," Lindsey exclaimed with an angry and unconvinced frown on his face as he tightly clenched the back of the chair that Angel had pulled into the kitchen with him.
"It's not insane…just highly improbable," Giles added with a concerned frown on his face as he adjusted his glasses.
"About as improbable as Buffy and I getting sent through time by a nice shiny portal Rupert…," Spike joked with an almost mocking smirk on his face as he turned to Giles. Beside him Buffy couldn't help but fix her gaze on Eve, watching as she alternated between acting as if she didn't have a care in the world and acting as if she were trapped under a glass dome with droves of onlookers staring greedily at her.
"Whistler…how can Eve be Buffy and Spike's daughter, when did she grow up," Angel demanded with a confused and frustrated expression on his face as he paced back and forth just inside the doorway.
"It's all in the timing Angel my friend, Eve…or Joan as she'll be named, was born about a year from now and lived with her family until about the age of two…then everything went to hell, almost literally, after that she went from one foster home to another, never feeling like she fit in," Whistler replied with an almost bored look on his face as he walked up to Angel and patted him on the shoulder.
"Joan…," Spike quipped aloud with a confused furrowing of his brows as he turned his gaze away from Giles and to Buffy.
"It was what I named myself…when Willow did that spell to make Tara forget about her using too much magic, but something went wrong and we all forgot who we were, I said that I felt like a Joan…," Buffy replied softly with a worried look on her face before Spike reached over and slipped his hand into hers, interlocking their fingers and giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"What does all of this have to do with Eve…," Lindsey started to ask with an infuriated grimace on his face before he was silenced as Eve spoke for the first time since entering the kitchen.
"You used to give me cookies when mommy wasn't looking…sweets to, but she found out and yelled at you…," Eve said softly, almost as if in a daze, as she stared oddly at Spike first and then Buffy.
"Is that supposed to be happening Whistler," Wesley asked with a concerned frown on his face as he nodded his head towards Eve.
"No…it's not, she's worse than I thought, we have to go now…," Whistler replied with an unhappy frown on his face before he took a pouch out of one of his pockets. Before anyone could act he took a bit of sand out of the pouch and threw it up into the air, mumbling a few arcane words in the process. With a bright flash the room was empty.
* * * * * *
"Uh guys…where'd they go," Rhona asked with a slightly shocked and surprised look on her face as she gently pushed open the kitchen door and caught sight of the empty room.
"Where'd who go Rhona," Dawn asked with a bored frown on her face before she turned back to Joyce and her frown turned upside down into a broad grin.
"Angel and Mr. Giles and the others…they're gone…," Rhona answered with a shocked and somewhat worried look on her face before the others rushed into the kitchen. Soon everyone was busy scouring the hotel for any sign of those that had gone into the kitchen, at least they were until from one of the windows on the top floor Molly caught sight of what looked like an entire army of Scourge marching in line towards the hotel.
"Bloody hell…," Molly gasped softly with a very worried expression on her face before she hurried back out of the room, grabbed Vi's arm, and dragged the confused new slayer back down the stairs, shouting the alarm as she went.
* * * * * *
Soft music filled the air. The lights were all out in the room except for a single solitary lamp that almost seemed to be shining more out of spite than any real want to shed light. Buffy was the first to rouse from what she could only guess had been the effects of some spell that Whistler had placed on them. Turning her head to one side her gaze came across Spike lying just to her left, snoring softly. Angel and Giles were lying next to one another near the door, both looking none the worse for wear. Wesley had somehow ended up sprawled out on the coffee table, arms and legs draped over the sides. Eve and Lindsey were not at first visible, but when Buffy struggled against her own muscles to get up to her feet their two sleeping forms were found curled up together on the large couch that dominated the room.
"Where am I…Spike," Buffy started to wonder before her own fears overtook her and she rushed back to Spike's side, nudging him gently in his side.
"Nnh…not yet pet, please just five more minutes…," Spike mumbled softly with a scrunched up frown on his face as if he were dreaming about Buffy trying to wake him up.
"Spike," Buffy shouted very loudly as she reared back and slapped him hard across the face. Had Buffy not jumped back Spike's almost instant motion of sitting up would have caused their heads to collide.
"What…who, oh…Buffy," Spike shouted loudly at first before he blinked a couple of times and turned to Buffy.
"You okay," Buffy asked with a worried and somewhat guilty smile and look on her face before Spike yawned widely and nodded his head.
"Where the bloody hell are we…kind of familiar though somehow," Spike asked with a confused and concerned edge to his voice as he looked around and then back to Buffy.
"I don't know…but this place does seem to have your style," Buffy agreed with a confused look on her face as she helped Spike up to his feet and brushed a lock of hair back behind her ear.
"Are we dead…," Wesley asked quietly as he picked his head up, looked around, and then turned his head to the couple standing next to him.
"I don't think so, and I should know, I've died twice and to tell you the truth this looks a lot better than…," Buffy started to joke with a forced smile on her face before Angel's eyes shot open and he took in a very unnecessary breath.
"Buffy…," Angel exclaimed with a very shocked and confused look on his face as he leapt to his feet and looked around, his gaze finally falling on Buffy and Spike as they helped Wesley up to his feet.
"I'm okay…," Buffy replied with a meager smile before she dropped her gaze downward to Giles still asleep at Angel's feet.
"Come on Rupert time to wake up," Angel stated with a calm frown on his face as he leaned down and shook Giles by the shoulder.
"Mmpf…hey now…," Giles grumbled loudly as his eyes snapped open and the first image that his eyes registered was of Angel standing over him looking very serious.
"It's okay Giles…really," Buffy exclaimed with an almost frantic tone to her voice as she navigated through the room and knelt down beside Giles, helping him up to a seated position.
"Speak for yourself luv…what the hell happened to my clothes," Spike interjected with a less than pleased grimace on his face as he half held his arms out to his sides and stared down at his clothes. It was then that Buffy noticed that Spike's clothes had indeed changed. Gone were the usual black shirt and jeans topped off by the black leather duster. In their place was a pair of gray sweatpants and a tight fitting t-shirt that looked as if something had been spilled down the front of it with someone's name scribbled underneath it. Buffy couldn't help but giggle at the sight, an act that caused Spike to growl and angrily shake his head.
"Buffy…you're clothes…they've changed as well," Giles mumbled through a wide yawn as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and slowly got to his feet.
"What…," Buffy gasped out in astonishment as she regarded her own clothing selection and noticed that Giles was indeed correct in his assessment of her clothes. Like Spike she now wore something different than she had only moments before. Gone were her dark blue jeans and cream colored blouse with the flowers on it. In their place was a pair of loose fitting boxers, most likely Spike's, topped off by a top that looked to be half missing. There was a band across her chest with only a sheer long sleeved blouse thrown over top of it. But that wasn't what caught her, or now Angel's attention the most. "I'm pregnant…," Buffy stated with a surprised look on her face as she looked down at her protruding stomach.
"So…you were pregnant before…well this happened remember," Spike said with an unhappy frown on his face as he walked over towards them and placed his hand gently on Buffy's stomach.
"I know…but my stomach wasn't nearly this big…and why am I wearing your underwear," Buffy asked with a confused look on her face as she softly ran her hands in circles around her bare stomach.
"You're in the future…or better yet Eve's past," Whistler stated with a clever grin on his face as he materialized out of thin air.
"Wait, come again…," Spike asked with a confused expression on his face as he turned to face Whistler.
"Eve's…or Joan's future is also your future, and in that future you Buffy are pregnant with your third child…," Whistler replied with a somber frown on his face as he walked past the group to stare down at the still comatose Eve and Lindsey.
"Hey…," Spike shouted with a shocked and a little hurt look on his face as Buffy smacked him in the chest with the back of her hand.
"God, you got me pregnant again…," Buffy grumbled with an angry pout on her face as she crossed her arms and lightly rested them on the top of her stomach.
"What…not likes it's a bad thing…," Spike mumbled softly under his breath with a dejected and somber look on his face as he walked away from Buffy and sat down unceremoniously in one of the chairs.
"That's enough you two, Whistler what are we doing here…how are we here…," Angel stated with a frustrated and concerned for both Buffy and Spike look on his face as he stepped in between the two and walked up to Whistler.
"I brought you here…well me and the cutie over there who's memory this all is, as to what you're doing here well you're here to make sure that the nightmare that is tormenting her every time she closes her eyes is gotten rid of," Whistler answered with a calm but yet very serious look on his face as he knelt down beside Eve and Lindsey.
"I've heard about something like this in the texts of Thymescria…but I never thought it to actually be possible, outside of a few cryptic instances where no one made it out alive," Wesley gasped out with a look of awe on his face as he instantly began checking everything that he could get his hands on to check the date, finally proudly holding up a folded up newspaper with the date clearly marked on the top.
"It's dated two years from today," Giles exclaimed with a surprised and a little bit ecstatic smile on his face as he walked forward and took the newspaper from Wesley, instantly unfolding it and scanning every page.
"You still haven't explained how we're supposed to stop this nightmare, and where is everyone else…Cordy…," Angel demanded with a confused and frustrated look on his face as he half looked back at Buffy, who had become very interested by a number of framed pictures arranged on a fireplace that dominated one wall.
"Buffy…what is it," Wesley asked with a concerned frown on his face as he went over to Buffy and gently laid a hand on her shoulder. When she didn't immediately answer he began to ask again but stopped instantly when one of the pictures on the mantle caught his eye. He was nearly brought to tears by what he saw. Situated directly next to a very lovely picture of Spike and Buffy on their wedding day, Spike in a tux and Buffy in a beautifully white dress, was a very similar picture. However at first he didn't recognize the woman in the picture, for it was like he had never seen her in this way before. Snickering to himself Wesley gazed at the picture for a bit before he slowly took it down off of the mantle and gazed down at it. Faith wore a white wedding dress similar to Buffy's but different enough that Wesley could tell that Faith had most likely picked it out herself. He saw himself standing beside her, with them both looking happier than he ever thought possible.
"Anyone care to enlighten the rest of us…Buffy…Wesley…," Angel asked with a confused and nervous expression on his face as he completely turned to look at Buffy and Wesley.
"Forget about that right now Angel…we have bigger problems," Whistler interjected with a very serious and unhappy frown on his face as he walked into the kitchen.
"Bigger problems…why don't I like the sound of that," Spike moaned with a worried and somewhat angry scowl on his face as he got up out of his chair and followed after Angel and Whistler.
"Because the party will start soon and I need you to get Joyce and Joan as far away from here as you can before it all falls apart," Whistler answered with a serious and commanding look on his face as he paced around the island in the center of the kitchen.
* * * * * *
"Weapons…we need weapons," Kennedy shouted with a very determined and energized look on her face as she rushed to the weapons cabinet and threw open the doors.
"How many are there," Robin asked with a very nervous frown on his face as he rushed to the Hyperion's front doors and did his best to lock them.
"I think it's the whole bloody lot of them…," Molly answered with a determined frown on her face as she rushed down the stairs dragged Vi with her.
"Great…catching us with our pants down…," Faith grumbled with an angry smirk on her face as she came back into the lobby, scythe firmly in hand.
"I thought that's how you liked it…," Robin spat out with a vindictive smirk on his face as he walked away from the doors and began to roll up his sleeves.
"Why you mother…," Faith started to yell with a very angry sneer on her face before Cordelia jumped in between the two.
"Stop it…if you want to kill him then you'll have to do it after the Scourge get through ripping us apart," Cordelia exclaimed with an almost frantic yet oddly calm and very serious look on her face as she glared first at Faith and then to Robin.
"We have to get out of here," Jenny said with a worried look on her face as she held a softly crying Joyce closer to her.
"There's no time, they'll be here before…," Cordelia started to shout back with an overwhelmed look on her face before the ground shook violently beneath their feet, forcing them all to the floor.
"What's happening…," Rhona shouted out loudly over the rumble that followed the ground shaking as Jenny immediately made sure that Joyce was alright before Molly rushed over to do the same.
"It's the Beast, it's not going to take any chances this time, it'll finish us all," Riley answered through painfully gritted teeth as he made his way down the steps, weapon in hand, with an also heavily armed Sam right behind him.
"Glad t' see that you could make it," Molly joked with a half amused grin on her face as she stood back up and leaned the spear back on her shoulder.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Sam answered with an odd smile of her own before she followed Riley to the front doors.
"What's he doing," Vi asked with a scared and panicked look on her face as she watched Riley and Sam pull a large black box out of his backpack.
"Trying to help save our lives," Riley shouted back with a determined look on his face as he helped his wife open up the box and take out several pop can shaped objects out of the box.
"What are those things," Robin demanded with a cautious and uncertain frown on his face as even though he didn't know exactly what the two members of the Initiative had planned he already knew that he didn't like it.
"Those are bombs aren't they," Faith added with an almost furious edge to her voice as she rushed to the landing.
"You've got a good eye, yes they're explosive devices," Riley replied softly with an in control look in his eyes as he set about arming several of the devices.
"We're going to use them to create a perimeter around…," Sam started to add with a determined and steadfast look on her face before Gunn broke in.
"There's a way out in the basement…it leads into the sewers, Angel uses it to get around during the day," Gunn stated with a very in control frown on his face as he rushed up to the front doors and quickly glanced out into the courtyard.
"Then what are we standing around here for…last one in the sewers is a two day old hunk of drakken meat," Lorne shouted at the top of his lungs as he flung up his hands and tore off towards the basement, leaving everyone else to stare off after him, confused looks all around.
END OF CHAPTER 29