Disclaimer: As I said before, it all belongs to Joss, I own nothing, and have no money anyway.
Author's Note:Thanks for the reviews, still to Spygrrl, but also to Blondegirl and Stacy75. I was wondering when I first put this story up if people were actually gonna read it, I guess so. Thanks a bunch. You guys are the reason I'm continuing with this! Ok, a little warning, the end of this chapter might be a little emotional. Just thought I should warn you. For all those Angel fans, don't worry, there will be more of him than what is there already. Ok, that's all from me. Enjoy!!
When the dove flew back and nodded to Keira through a window, she knew that the last member of this team was now on her way. The small bird then disappeared. Much like the griffon had before. Keira let out a soft sigh. Nothing ever really stayed for a very long time. It seemed to be her curse. Even the people she had known, the members of her clan, seemed to leave her as soon as they came into her life, though, when you live for eternity, or at least what seemed like it, even the normal life span of a person seemed relatively short. It was a plague that had killed them, and no matter how hard she had tried, she was powerless to stop it, and she saw everyone die in front of her. Of all the memories that she had, that one was the most painful. She knew as well, that even when this feat had been finished, that these people would again leave her, and she would be by herself once again, and probably for the rest of eternity, until the end of the world really did come. She watched the sun set as she thought of all of this, and it wasn't much longer after that that one of her guests had come into the room that she had been occupying. It was pretty much a nothing room, just a few chairs and one window that looked out on the small cliffs that bordered the water on that side of her island. She didn't even have to look to tell who it was. Even though they had only been there for what may not have even been a day, she was able to detect each of their own signatures. The two men each gave off a different feeling that made them both unique.
"Hello, Spike."
"Hello there. Enjoying the view."
"Not really, it hasn't changed much in the past millennia." Keira answered, as she turned around and looked at the blonde vampire. "Is there something I can do for you?"
"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing."
"Really, why is that?"
"I figured you would know, being that you are and empath."
That gave her a start.
"Um, I'm not an empath. I'm a telepath."
"Figured that was it." He said nodding his head before continuing. "You're not going into my head or anything, are you?"
"Oh no. Don't worry. I only read people's thought when they give me permission too, or if I'm made to, and then I really don't like doing it."
"How could you tell it was me then?"
"Well, the two of you give off, well, your own vibes that I can pick up. I guess in a way I am empathic."
"Right, then."
"Why did you want to ask if you could do something for me?" Keira asked.
"Oh, that well, I heard you talking to yourself yesterday."
Oh, I wasn't, um, talking to myself, it was to a book. I know it sounds crazy, but it is true." "Well, it does sound crazy, trust me, I was insane for a while."
"Really?"
"Yeah, back when I got my soul back...wait, are you making me tell you these things?"
"No, I swear, I'm not." She said, surprised. "If I was in your head, you'd know it. I've been told it kind of tingles."
"Tingles, right, I'll remember that."
"You don't feel very comfortable around me, do you?"
"No offence, love, but I've had enough people poking around in my head to last a lifetime, even a vampires."
"I won't I promise, unless you ask. But I do hope that there is some way that I can make you trust me."
Spike looked up from his seat and stared right at her pale gray eyes. He tried his best to tell whether or not she was lying, and all he saw was complete innocence. Something in them reminded him of Willow, before Tara died, and Dawn, and Fred, and even a little bit of Buffy. All the strong, good women that he had known and that had helped make him a better person, even if he still was a demon. Yes, even Willow, he thought now, with her wiccan ways, had somehow helped make him a better person, just by knowing him.
"I do trust you." He said simply.
Keira smiled her first true smile for a very long time.
"Thank you." She said softly.
Dawn and Buffy had found an old ship, something that reminded her of those galleon rides at small amusement parks, waiting for them at a secluded dock, the dock number that had been on the note the bird had left. Buffy knew that this was probably a really bad idea, but she didn't get the heey- geebies when she boarded the vessel, so she thought she might as well at least see where it went. When they boarded, Dawn and Buffy laid down their small bags, which contained a change of clothing, extra stakes, you know, the essentials, down on the deck and looked around. There was a small room type enclosure that had different foods on a table, and there was no other person to be seen. On the center sail post, she saw another note which simply read, "This ship will magically take you to your destination, please make yourself comfortable."
"Alrighty then." Buffy said.
Buffy walked over to the rail, and sat down leaning against it, she heard a crinkling in her pocket, and forgot that she had stuck a letter in there when she had left her hotel. She pulled it out and saw the typed address of where she had been living in Rome. She was a little surprised to see that it had been sent overnight delivery, but decided not to think too much about it. Along the back of the envelope, a Wolfram and Hart envelope, there was typed the sentence, "Only open when you are ready." She figured that it was from Angel, given the return address, and she pretty much decided that now was as good a time as any to read it. She opened the envelope and out fell two letters, one bearing her name and one bearing Dawn's.
"Hey Dawnie, come over here, would you?"
"Yeah, sure." Dawn said, walking over to her sister and sitting down in front of her.
"We seem to both have some mail." She said, handing her the letter that was her sister's while she unfolded her own. The letter wasn't from who she thought it was.
Dear Buffy,
I know that this letter will be hard for you, probably because its
hard for me to write. It is me, its Spike, and I am alive again, at
least I am while I am writing this letter, but I am not sure how long
I will be. I know that I should have told you as soon as I was again,
but I couldn't. Angel and I both agreed that you should be able to
move on. Yes, believe it or not, Angel and I did agree on something.
Something big is about to happen. We really don't know what, but we
do know its coming. Don't worry about us, though, we always seem to
make it through the tough ones. Who knows, maybe its bad luck. Just
kidding, love.
If I never get to see you again, I just want you to know that I did
love you, very much, and right now, all I ever want is for you to be
happy. You deserve it. You have been through so much in your life,
and you really don't deserve to have gone through so much pain. I
know I was the cause of a lot of it, and I know you have said that you
have forgiven me, but I honestly wish that there was some way that I
could take all of those things back.
You have meant more to me than anybody. I know now that whatever
there was between us probably wouldn't have lasted very long, even if
I had lived through that battle. But I want you to know that I
cherish those memories and I will forever. You made me want to be a
better person, you're the reason I have my soul, the reason that I
fight on the good side now. You gave me a very precious gift, and I
will hold on to it forever. I will never forget your compassion.
You take care of yourself, and always remember that you helped save
someone who otherwise would have been lost in the dark forever. No
matter what, you will always be my Slayer.
Spike.
Buffy took a deep breath when she read it, and looked over at Dawn, who was staring at her own letter.
Dear Dawn
My little Nibblet. You were the first person to ever show any kind of
kindness to this demon. And in turn, I was allowed to watch you grow
up and become a beautiful young woman, not that you are grown up yet,
little bit. You still have a lot of learning to do. Don't forget to
listen to your sister. She may piss you off some times, but she does
know best. Not that I really have to tell you that, do I?
Of all the Scoobies, you always amazed me. No wonder that deep down
inside you are this big ball of energy. Some times I even think it
starts to come out.
I will always miss you, Nibblet. You really were my first friend, and
I will treasure that. Please don't ever forget me.
As always,
Spike.
Author's Note:Thanks for the reviews, still to Spygrrl, but also to Blondegirl and Stacy75. I was wondering when I first put this story up if people were actually gonna read it, I guess so. Thanks a bunch. You guys are the reason I'm continuing with this! Ok, a little warning, the end of this chapter might be a little emotional. Just thought I should warn you. For all those Angel fans, don't worry, there will be more of him than what is there already. Ok, that's all from me. Enjoy!!
When the dove flew back and nodded to Keira through a window, she knew that the last member of this team was now on her way. The small bird then disappeared. Much like the griffon had before. Keira let out a soft sigh. Nothing ever really stayed for a very long time. It seemed to be her curse. Even the people she had known, the members of her clan, seemed to leave her as soon as they came into her life, though, when you live for eternity, or at least what seemed like it, even the normal life span of a person seemed relatively short. It was a plague that had killed them, and no matter how hard she had tried, she was powerless to stop it, and she saw everyone die in front of her. Of all the memories that she had, that one was the most painful. She knew as well, that even when this feat had been finished, that these people would again leave her, and she would be by herself once again, and probably for the rest of eternity, until the end of the world really did come. She watched the sun set as she thought of all of this, and it wasn't much longer after that that one of her guests had come into the room that she had been occupying. It was pretty much a nothing room, just a few chairs and one window that looked out on the small cliffs that bordered the water on that side of her island. She didn't even have to look to tell who it was. Even though they had only been there for what may not have even been a day, she was able to detect each of their own signatures. The two men each gave off a different feeling that made them both unique.
"Hello, Spike."
"Hello there. Enjoying the view."
"Not really, it hasn't changed much in the past millennia." Keira answered, as she turned around and looked at the blonde vampire. "Is there something I can do for you?"
"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing."
"Really, why is that?"
"I figured you would know, being that you are and empath."
That gave her a start.
"Um, I'm not an empath. I'm a telepath."
"Figured that was it." He said nodding his head before continuing. "You're not going into my head or anything, are you?"
"Oh no. Don't worry. I only read people's thought when they give me permission too, or if I'm made to, and then I really don't like doing it."
"How could you tell it was me then?"
"Well, the two of you give off, well, your own vibes that I can pick up. I guess in a way I am empathic."
"Right, then."
"Why did you want to ask if you could do something for me?" Keira asked.
"Oh, that well, I heard you talking to yourself yesterday."
Oh, I wasn't, um, talking to myself, it was to a book. I know it sounds crazy, but it is true." "Well, it does sound crazy, trust me, I was insane for a while."
"Really?"
"Yeah, back when I got my soul back...wait, are you making me tell you these things?"
"No, I swear, I'm not." She said, surprised. "If I was in your head, you'd know it. I've been told it kind of tingles."
"Tingles, right, I'll remember that."
"You don't feel very comfortable around me, do you?"
"No offence, love, but I've had enough people poking around in my head to last a lifetime, even a vampires."
"I won't I promise, unless you ask. But I do hope that there is some way that I can make you trust me."
Spike looked up from his seat and stared right at her pale gray eyes. He tried his best to tell whether or not she was lying, and all he saw was complete innocence. Something in them reminded him of Willow, before Tara died, and Dawn, and Fred, and even a little bit of Buffy. All the strong, good women that he had known and that had helped make him a better person, even if he still was a demon. Yes, even Willow, he thought now, with her wiccan ways, had somehow helped make him a better person, just by knowing him.
"I do trust you." He said simply.
Keira smiled her first true smile for a very long time.
"Thank you." She said softly.
Dawn and Buffy had found an old ship, something that reminded her of those galleon rides at small amusement parks, waiting for them at a secluded dock, the dock number that had been on the note the bird had left. Buffy knew that this was probably a really bad idea, but she didn't get the heey- geebies when she boarded the vessel, so she thought she might as well at least see where it went. When they boarded, Dawn and Buffy laid down their small bags, which contained a change of clothing, extra stakes, you know, the essentials, down on the deck and looked around. There was a small room type enclosure that had different foods on a table, and there was no other person to be seen. On the center sail post, she saw another note which simply read, "This ship will magically take you to your destination, please make yourself comfortable."
"Alrighty then." Buffy said.
Buffy walked over to the rail, and sat down leaning against it, she heard a crinkling in her pocket, and forgot that she had stuck a letter in there when she had left her hotel. She pulled it out and saw the typed address of where she had been living in Rome. She was a little surprised to see that it had been sent overnight delivery, but decided not to think too much about it. Along the back of the envelope, a Wolfram and Hart envelope, there was typed the sentence, "Only open when you are ready." She figured that it was from Angel, given the return address, and she pretty much decided that now was as good a time as any to read it. She opened the envelope and out fell two letters, one bearing her name and one bearing Dawn's.
"Hey Dawnie, come over here, would you?"
"Yeah, sure." Dawn said, walking over to her sister and sitting down in front of her.
"We seem to both have some mail." She said, handing her the letter that was her sister's while she unfolded her own. The letter wasn't from who she thought it was.
Dear Buffy,
I know that this letter will be hard for you, probably because its
hard for me to write. It is me, its Spike, and I am alive again, at
least I am while I am writing this letter, but I am not sure how long
I will be. I know that I should have told you as soon as I was again,
but I couldn't. Angel and I both agreed that you should be able to
move on. Yes, believe it or not, Angel and I did agree on something.
Something big is about to happen. We really don't know what, but we
do know its coming. Don't worry about us, though, we always seem to
make it through the tough ones. Who knows, maybe its bad luck. Just
kidding, love.
If I never get to see you again, I just want you to know that I did
love you, very much, and right now, all I ever want is for you to be
happy. You deserve it. You have been through so much in your life,
and you really don't deserve to have gone through so much pain. I
know I was the cause of a lot of it, and I know you have said that you
have forgiven me, but I honestly wish that there was some way that I
could take all of those things back.
You have meant more to me than anybody. I know now that whatever
there was between us probably wouldn't have lasted very long, even if
I had lived through that battle. But I want you to know that I
cherish those memories and I will forever. You made me want to be a
better person, you're the reason I have my soul, the reason that I
fight on the good side now. You gave me a very precious gift, and I
will hold on to it forever. I will never forget your compassion.
You take care of yourself, and always remember that you helped save
someone who otherwise would have been lost in the dark forever. No
matter what, you will always be my Slayer.
Spike.
Buffy took a deep breath when she read it, and looked over at Dawn, who was staring at her own letter.
Dear Dawn
My little Nibblet. You were the first person to ever show any kind of
kindness to this demon. And in turn, I was allowed to watch you grow
up and become a beautiful young woman, not that you are grown up yet,
little bit. You still have a lot of learning to do. Don't forget to
listen to your sister. She may piss you off some times, but she does
know best. Not that I really have to tell you that, do I?
Of all the Scoobies, you always amazed me. No wonder that deep down
inside you are this big ball of energy. Some times I even think it
starts to come out.
I will always miss you, Nibblet. You really were my first friend, and
I will treasure that. Please don't ever forget me.
As always,
Spike.