2 Years Later

Cleveland, Ohio 2023

Harris Residence

Dining Room

It was a typical Sunday afternoon. Buffy sat in the dining room with file papers for taxes were spread around her. Luckily, all she had to do was compile the year's receipts and documents and then send it to their tax man, who was conveniently located at the Academy.

The house was so quiet now that Josh was away at school in Massachusetts and typical seventeen-year-old with a boyfriend, Sarah was out most nights with him and her friends.

And Xander spent a lot of time outside in his workshop building… Buffy wasn't too sure but he enjoyed wood crafting and she was happy for him nonetheless.

Sitting back in her chair bored of organising documents, Buffy wished it was nightfall. Whenever she felt restless, she'd go out on a mini patrol in hopes of running into a vampire. But it was not night yet, only two in the afternoon.

She tapped her fingers on the table and wondered if there were any vampire nests around that she could raid. Maybe she'll call Faith and see if she wanted to go with her. No, she's in LA with Spike. It seemed so long ago when she had a sordid, passionate affair with Spike. She remembered her reasons for having such a dirt affair, but she could hardly believe that it was them that did it. So much had changed from then and now, they were completely different people. The Spike that Buffy knew was changed for the better. He came back on his hands and knees with a human soul he fought for Faith. And won.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

The sound of the cell phone ringing tore Buffy from her travelling mind.

She pushed back her hair and searched for the ringing cell phone, buried under papers. She read the caller I.D and a soft smile crossed her mouth excited to talk to her son. Buffy pressed the green button on the cell phone then held it against her ear, "Hi, honey."

"Hey, ma, what's up?" Josh asked cheerfully.

Buffy looked down at the piles of organised papers in front of her and wished for something more exciting, "Absolutely nothing."

A low chuckle sounded on the other end of the phone, "Wishin' it was sundown already?" Over last few years since finding out who his mother really was, a Slayer, Josh took notice of how restless she could sometimes become. He had never noticed it before, but now, knowing what he knew about her, it was clear as day.

She'd come up with a flimsy excuse just to escape the house for a few hours once the sun went down. Josh didn't understand why she made excuses, they knew about her slaying but it may be because he and Sarah would hound her and beg to come along. They've gotten good at fighting, but still, Buffy wanted to keep them out of the cemetery as much as possible. Why go looking for trouble, when trouble hasn't found you?

Josh also noticed that his father never questioned it. Josh assumed he just knew. But once Buffy came back, she was much calmer and more at ease, as if she gotten that itch that needed to be scratched.

"No, I am very entertained. I'm organising while your dad is outside building who knows what and Sarah's out with Joel and—Oh my god, I'm so bored." Buffy slouched back in the chair with a huff, while Josh laughed at her. "It's too quiet around here, I miss you."

"I miss you, too… Just think, it'll be dark before you know it."

"Yeah, I know." She glanced at the watch around her wrist. "I've never used to be like this—probably because you and Sarah were so little, it took up all of my time and attention... and energy... You two were exhausting."

Buffy could almost hear his frown on the other line. "What about before?—Before me and Sarah and it was just you and Dad?"

"I was saving the world a lot… it really wasn't much better. Why couldn't you and Sarah just stay little like you promised me?"

Josh laughed, "Sorry, I had to disappoint you."

They sat in a brief moment of silence when Buffy continued the conversation, "Tell me about you. What are you doing right now?"

"Staring at a textbook."

"Heard of it. They're those thick heavy things filled with paper, right?"

Josh laughed, "Bane of my existence."

"What are you studying?"

Releasing a heavy breath, Josh said, "Abstract algebra."

"That doesn't sound like a real thing." Buffy frowned.

No matter how he felt, his mother always had a remarkable way of getting him to smile. "It's very real and it's very hard."

Buffy was so proud of her son, though she could hear his stress in his voice and she could feel the weight of his desire and pressure to pass this course, she was so proud of him. "I believe in you, sweetie. You can do this."

"Thank's, Mom," Josh smiled into the phone.

"Buf?" Xander's voice sounded from the kitchen.

Buffy could hear the heavy footsteps from his boots shuffling on the wooden floor as he entered the dining room. "Hey, babe, have you seen my—" Buffy turned her eyes to him just as the front door opened and Sarah sprinted inside with wet eyes, reddened face, and the deepest frown Buffy and Xander had ever seen. The teen ran straight up the stairs and into her bedroom, slamming the door shut.

Buffy and Xander exchanged a look than a nod in a silent understanding.

"Honey, I'm gonna give you to Dad. I love you," Buffy stood up from the chair and passed the cellphone to Xander then she walked towards the stairs.

Xander watched her as she walked up the stairs. He took her place to sit in the chair and said, "Hey, Josh-y…"

Sarah's Bedroom

Opening the door of her daughter's bedroom, Buffy stuck her head inside to see Sarah sitting against the backboard. Her knees were bent and tightly against her chest and her face in her hands.

Entering the bedroom, Buffy closed the door behind her and went to her daughter's bedside to sit down. "Honey, what happened?"

Wiping away her fallen tears, Sarah sucked in a breath and forced herself to look at her mother, "Me and Joel broke up." Her hazel eyes welled with tears that fell down her rosy cheeks.

Buffy reached out and touched Sarah's shoulder, giving her a gentle squeeze. "I'm so sorry."

Buffy's heart broke for her daughter. She never wanted her children to know the pain of heartbreak after feeling love for the very first time. She could remember perfectly what that aching pain was like.

Shifting herself to sit against the backboard beside her daughter, Buffy wrapped her arm around the teen and hugged her into her side. Buffy pressed her lips against Sarah's head and held her as she cried.

"He s-s-said that he loves me but he doesn't w-w-want to be with me anymore," Sarah muttered against her mother.

Buffy's chest tightened recognising the vaguely similar words.

Sarah laid her cheek on her hands resting over the tops of her knees. "I really love him, Mom."

Tightening her arm wrapped around Sarah's shoulders, Buffy would do anything to make her pain disappear.

"Is this real?" Sarah asked meekly.

"Its real," Buffy replied sadly. "I know it feels impossible to see it now but…" Buffy whispered, running her fingers through Sarah's dark blonde hair, "… the sun always goes down. The sun always comes up. You'll get through this." Buffy paused vaguely remembering those words said to her in a dream.

"How?"

Buffy pushed Sarah's long hair off of her shoulder and said, "Time."

That was not what Sarah wanted to hear, she buried her face back into her hands with a groan.

"I remember that pain that you're feeling…" Buffy began, catching Sarah's attention. She slowly turned her face back to her mother and listened, "That feeling of giving your heart to someone completely, only to have your heart ripped out and stomped on."

"Has dad…?"

Buffy shook her head, "No. Before your dad… When I was your age, I fell in love for the first time. His name was—"

"—Angel?"

Pinching her brows together, Buffy eyed her daughter suspiciously.

"I read Pop-pop's diaries."

With a slow nod of understanding, Buffy revealed, "There are a lot of things your Pop-pop doesn't know."

"Like what?"

Not wanting to rehash that tragic piece of her life too deeply, Buffy looked at her daughter and wiped away her tears with the pad of her thumb, "Angel was my first… well… everything." She revealed. "I loved him so much. I saw an entire future with him; one with happiness, love—"

"—Children?"

Buffy looked away from Sarah with sadden eyes, easily remembering her thoughts and ideas from nearly thirty years ago. And in her seventeen-year-old mind, she did envision an entire future a with Angel. In this future, she did not include children, it would just be him and her living perfect happiness.

Running her fingers through Sarah's long dark blonde hair, Buffy gently smiled and said, "But it didn't last. He broke it off with me—in a sewer nonetheless," Buffy rolled her eyes smiling at it now but she could still feel the painful heartache from that day. "It was a pain I've never felt before. After everything that's happened between us… He lost his soul and then I killed him and he came back, and even then…" Sarah held her knees tighter into her chest. She had read about Angelus and what her mother had to do to the man she seemed to passionately love. Sarah found it excruciatingly hard to read then. "… We weren't really over but now it was. All those plans that I made were gone. Vanished. I couldn't breathe."

Sarah watched her mother's mind wander off thoughtfully.

Buffy pressed her lips against the top of Sarah's head and continued, "My heart was broken—more than broken… shattered." She admitted. "It was then, at that moment I stopped thinking about the future." She pushed her daughter's hair back and rested her cheek on top of her head. "For a long time, I felt like that. I was living but my dreams for the future were non-existent. I didn't see the point in dreaming if I couldn't be with Angel."

Sadden by her mother's loss of hope, Sarah laid her head on her shoulder and hugged Buffy's arm. "Then what happened?" Sarah knew there must've been a change sometime since her mother seemed happy now.

"Your dad came along," Buffy's eyes fell to the platinum diamond wedding rings wrapped around her left-hand ring finger. "And suddenly, I was dreaming again. He gave me so much hope—not just in love but being able to have it all… even as a Slayer."

"What future did you dream of with dad?"

Smiling softly into Sarah's hair, Buffy said, "I dreamt that we'd get married, live in a house—very similar to this one… I dreamt of the children we'd have together; one boy and one girl." Buffy looked at her daughter fully and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Sarah, I know it's so hard to see it now, I really do… and that your heart is broken but, honey, Joel won't be the only one you'll ever fall in love with."

Sarah looked at her mother, "He won't?"

Buffy kissed her forehead in response then said, "The next time you fall in love, it will be great and it'll make you feel whole. He'll give you things you never thought were possible." Buffy cupped Sarah's cheek, "You're gonna be okay."

Thankful for her mother and her nurturing and particular way of talking to her. Sarah looked at her mother with wonderment, really believing her. "Thank you, Mommy."

Smiling tenderly, Buffy brought the seventeen-year-old close, hugging her tightly and kissed her temple, "Whoever captures my little girl's heart again will be so lucky, he'll never let it go."

A knock at the door broke the tender mother-daughter moment.

Sarah and Buffy turned to look at the visitor, it was Jules, Sarah's best friend since kindergarten. Much like Sarah, Jules was a bit of an outsider. She was a corky teenager that loved dying her hair. Currently, her hair was a platinum blonde and added short bangs to her hairstyle. She wore a blue and yellow striped shirt and tight dark green pants with a pair of black and white checker slip-on Vans.

"Hey, I came over as soon as got your text," Jules entered the bedroom.

Realising that her time was finished and what her daughter needed now was her best friend, Buffy stood from the bed, letting Jules take her place. "Hello, Jules," she smiled at the teen, who was frequently over the house.

"Hey, Mrs H," Jules said flirtatiously, batting her eyes as if Buffy would never notice the teenagers attraction towards her.

Jules ran her eyes over her best friends mom as she headed for the door. "I'll be downstairs if you need me." Buffy tossed Sarah and Jules an easy half smile.

Jules' smile grew and she bit her bottom lip. She has always had a lifelong crush on her best friends mom. Mrs H was nothing like her own mother, who just did not understand her alternative daughter. Mrs H was cool, funny, unjudgemental, and absolutely gorgeous. When Sarah and Jules were twelve, Mrs H entered the living room just to say, goodbye before leaving with Mr H on a rare date night. She was decked out to the nines in a blush coloured mini dress with a deep v-cut, which showed off her tanned unblemished skin and her cleavage. Her long blonde hair flowed over her shoulders and down her back in soft curls. It was seeing her best friends mom dressed for her date with her husband that Jules realised that she was without a doubt, very gay.

She's been crushing on her best friends mom ever since.

"You are so weird." Sarah rolled her eyes at Jules, who was watching Buffy leave just to get a glimpse of her backside.

Jules smirked looking back at her best friend, "What? She's really wearing those—"

"—Oh God, please stop. Your infatuation with my mother is just… Bleh!" She shook in disgust, never understanding Jules' attraction towards her mother.

Jules snorted into laughter then grew serious. "Do you want me to kill him?" She asked as she sat down at Sarah's bedside wrapping her arm around her shoulders.


Standing outside the closed door, Buffy crossed her arms over her chest and listened to the conversation.

"What an idiot!" Jules exclaimed. "I can beat him over the head with a shovel if you want?"

"Jules, it's okay. You don't have to make him the bad guy."

Jules snorted then said, "As your best friend, that's my job. If your sad, I'm sad. If your happy, I'm fucking ecstatic."

Buffy softly smiled.

Pushing herself away, Buffy continued down the hall and walked down the stairs head to the backyard to Xander's workshop.

Xander's Workshop

Standing at the table saw, Xander cut the flanks of wood for a new project he's been working on since last winter; rocking chairs for the front porch.

He felt a pair of eyes on him, lingering on his back, watching him carefully and intensely.

Turning off the table saw, Xander stood straight, pushing the clear goggles onto the top of his head. He shifted around to see Buffy leaning against the doorframe. She looked casual and oddly at ease, Xander instinctively knew there was something on her mind.

"What happened?" Xander asked with concern.

Buffy stood straight from leaning against the doorframe and crossed over towards him. "Joel broke up with Sarah. And she fell in love with him." Buffy told him.

"I'll kill him." Xander expression darkened, hating the young man that broke his daughter's heart. "How is she?"

Faintly smiling at him, "No, you won't." Buffy took another step closer, "She'll be okay."

Letting out a breath, Xander knew that she was right, he wouldn't hurt a high school kid—no matter how stupid he was. He was so relieved that Buffy was here and she talked to their daughter about this. She was the only one that could, in Xander's opinion. "What'd you say to her?"

"I told her…" Buffy crossed her arms, "… that the pain is real. That with time she'll feel better." She took another step towards him. "I told her that she'll fall in love again. And the next time she does, that love will be great and it will last."

Watching her closely, Xander felt astounded to be standing in front of such a kind, tender, and warmhearted woman that's so often overshadowed by her strength, confidence, and pessimism.

"You're a really great mother." He told her with genuine perception.

Buffy took a deep breath and released a soft smile.

He tore his gaze from her and looked down at the tools on the workbench. Xander began to straighten up, deciding that he needed a break from working.

As he cleaned up the area, he felt Buffy's eyes still on him. He glanced up at her and shot her a lopsided smile. He could see that she was still carefully thinking about something; it was evident on her face. He left her alone with her thoughts and continued to put away his tools.

"Xander," she called his name softly.

Xander paused what he was doing and looked at her, waiting patiently.

Buffy stepped closer towards him, tilting her chin up high to look at him straight in the eye. "You're the love of my life."

Unable to keep the surprise from his face, Xander stared at her. His heart pounded in his chest. He wanted to fall to his knees and worship the ground she walked on. He wanted to pray to the Powers That Be and give them thanks for bringing this perfect woman into his life.

"You've never said that before." Was all that he managed to say.

It's true, she never had said it before. She never thought that she needed to. Buffy always thought that he knew just what he meant to her. But there was something inside of her—a little voice, telling her that he just needed to hear it, so she said it.

A slight curve across Buffy's mouth tugged wider, giving him a half smile that always had the ability to melt his knees. She placed his hands on his chest and let them slide up, until twining around his neck. Her fingers laced through his greying dark hair.

Drawn to her, like a moth to a flame, Xander was unable to resist her, as she gently lowered his head closer to hers. Their noses nuzzled against each other, their smiles grew, lost in the cloud of their love.

Xander covered her mouth with his own. His lips tingled as they touched hers. His eye closed, basking in the blissful gentleness of their kiss just as it deepened into something much more passionate and uncontrolled—like all of their kisses tended to get.

Cupping her cheek with one hand, Xander's free hand, wrapped around her back and pulled her closer against his chest. He wanted to assert twenty-six years of his undying love for this woman into their kiss. He wanted her to feel his faithful love for her.

Breaking their kiss in order to catch their breaths, Buffy and Xander's foreheads touched. They opened their eyes to look at one another, both breathing heavily. Her eyes danced around his face then a bright smile crossed her mouth. Her hand slid from his hair to cup his cheek. Their mouths met again in another fervent kiss.

Months Later

Abandoned Factory

"Jules, I don't think we should be here…" Sarah said as she followed her best friend into an abandoned factory.

The abandoned factory off of Carmichael Street and near the railroad tracks was a major hangout for the teenagers at the surrounding High Schools including Forest High School. Sarah was no stranger to coming here but usually, it was with a group of people and during the day.

Sarah and Jules were supposed to be going to the movies—at least that's what Sarah had told her parents. And they were actually on their way to the movie theatres until Jules had the brilliant idea of taking a shortcut through the abandoned factory. Jules really wanted to see if there was anything cool happening before they went to their actual destination.

It was almost nine at night and the abandoned factory looked eerily off-putting.

Sarah turned on the flashlight on her cell phone, as did Jules. They entered the dark factory listening quietly for rumblings of their schoolmates also hanging out but it was dead quiet. The only sound echoing against the thin rusty metal structure was the shuffling of their shoes walking across the loosening concrete.

Illuminating the walls with the flashlight, Sarah looked at the newly added graffiti tagged on the pealing walls.

We shouldn't be here. Sarah had a sinking feeling as she looked back at Jules, who was mindlessly kicking the empty beer bottles.

Releasing a heavy breath, Sarah pushed her beach wavy hair off of her face looked at the wall. Her eyes fell on a melting skull sprayed with perfect precision on the wall. The skull didn't have eyes, but she felt like it was staring at her.

Wanting to leave, Sarah turned back to Jules then jumped back frightened to see a large man with golden eyes closely hovering behind her grinning a fanged smile.

"Boo," the vampire named, Sal said with a low chuckle.

Unable to think straight, Sarah instinctively kicked Sal into the stomach. Sal's smile widened, unscathed by teen's human strength. He lunged toward her. She ripped the silver cross necklace, given to her by her mother from around her neck and held the cross against the vampire's face.

Sal roared in pain as his skin sizzled.

"Jules!" Sarah made a break for it.

"Sarah!" Jules cried out for her best friend as she tried to fight off another vampire that had also appeared form the darkness.

Sarah reached into her back for the wooden stake.

Coming up from behind, Sarah stabbed the vampire into his back. Jules watched wide-eyed as the vampire burst into dust.

Jules saw was left agape, "Holy shit!"

A second vampire advanced the girls. Sarah tried to attack the vampire with the stake but it was easily knocked from her hand. Fighting him off, Sarah grabbed Jules hand, pulling her up to her feet. "C'mon, we gotta go!"


The girls raced towards the only exit when they saw two more vampires blocking the large doors, snarling at the girls with a growl.

"What the fuck?" Jules saw their deformed faces.

"We need to find another way out!" Sarah's voice was strained from her fear and stress.

She tugged Jules by her arm and led the way to a glass window when Sal stepped in front of the girls. He gently touched around his burned wound and glared at the dark blonde haired girl, watching as she was trying to locate an escape.

Chuckling, Sal tilted his head to the side, "There's no way out, little girl. You're trapped." He nodded for the other vampires hiding in the darkness to step out into the dim light provided by the streetlights seeping through the upper windows.

Seven vampires surrounded the girls.

Jules felt her heart pound in her chest, terrified, "I've got money." She said in desperation. "And a dime bag."

Sarah rolled her eyes, "You brought that?" She looked at her best friend.

Jules shrugged, "Just in case the movie was a drag."

Sal laughed in the teens face, "I don't want your money… or your pot."

"Then what do you want?" Jules tossed her terrified blue eyes to the vampires closing in around them.

"Your blood," he grinned a sadistic smile.

Stealthy sneaking her hand into her bag, Sarah took out a water bottle. "How 'bout some water?" She opened the lid and splashed the vampires behind her, trying to break the circle surrounding them.

Three vampires cried out in pain as the holy water sizzled their skin.

Sarah was so glad she read the 'Do's' and 'Don't's' on that website she found that was all about Vampires, Demons and Slayers.

"Let's go!" Sarah grabbed Jules by her wrist and dragged her along towards an open door leading to a large room that was used to store products.

Sal stared at the teen genuinely impressed, "Clever little bitch." He was beginning to think, she had an idea or two about vampires. But she was human, thus she can be easily killed.

Sarah slammed the door closed and began to barricade it with loose heavy equipment. "Jules, help me!" She ordered.

Jules wiped away her frightened tears and helped her friend, who was trying to protect them.

The Steakhouse

Meanwhile, across town, nestled in a booth in a dim lit back corner of a busy restaurant.

It wasn't often that Buffy was able to break away for a date night with her husband. Xander was always so patient. He rarely ever made a fuss about her working so much, now that the N.W.C Academy had been expanding, and this time with the United Nations.

It was an agreement that was a long time coming. Giles only finalised the Council's agreements with the UN a month ago. And Buffy's been working overtime ever since, trying to bring the various militaries around the world up to speed as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The Hellmouth, Slayers, Watchers, magic, and demons had become the worst-kept top secret, secret amongst the IGO (international governmental organisation). The White House had reached out to the head directors of the New Watchers Council; Buffy and Giles to work with the sovereign state's security and intelligence but it wouldn't run as the failed Initiative had been. If the Council and world governments were going to work together, it would be under the Council's command.

It was unanimously agreed upon to let the New Watchers Council take command.

In addition to running her own sector of a continuously growing Council, Buffy found herself standing in front of the General Assembly every September for as long as she held her position. She'll be in a hidden bunker, away from the media to council the Nations leaders of security and intelligence—provided by the Council. This was a position Buffy didn't see herself ever being in, not in a million years.


Fingers laced through his, Buffy nuzzled her nose against Xander's, so grateful to have a moments breath.

"I'm so happy that we're finally doing this." Buffy lifted her eyes to his with a smile. "I've really missed you."

Xander's smile widened, "It's been an active few months."

"It just keeps getting crazier."

Smirking, Xander took her hand that was in his and turned it, so her palm faced upwards. "Soon our little girl is graduating high school then going off to college."

Buffy groaned, "Please, don't remind me. I'm not ready for that."

With his index finger, Xander began to draw random shapes into her palm.

Buffy buried her face into his shoulder with a widening smile. Always the romantic, Buffy perched her chin on his shoulder. "Ursa Major?"

"One of these days, I'm gonna stump you." He turned his eye to her and accepted her gentle kiss.

Breaking the kiss, Buffy looked down at his watch and began to pout her lips. Xander knew what this meant, she wanted something.

"Let's go dancing." She bit her bottom lip, ran her index finger over his hand and gave him a hopeful smile.

Xander had an inkling feeling that, 'dancing' was going to come up sometime during the night. She always wanted to go dancing on their date night. But Xander had other ideas he knew would entice his wife a whole lot more.

"You know what I wanna do?" He asked with a sultry low voice that made Buffy's stomach flip-flop.

She cocked a highbrow as a silent response for him to continue.

"I wanna take you home," his eye went to her mouth before lifting to her eyes, "I wanna make love to you… for hours. I wanna kiss you… all over." Xander knew he had her undivided attention by the way her lips parted and her eyes darkened with desire. "I'll even do that… thing that you like so much." Their hands danced together, feeling their skin tingle with burning need. "What'd you say?"

Letting her mind catch up with the lust burning inside of her, a slow devilish smile crossed her mouth, "Get the check and take me home."

A lopsided smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, he forced to break his gaze with her and looked for the waiter to flag him down.

Abandoned Factory

Jumping back from the door when powerful fists tried to break through, Jules whirled around to see Sarah taking out her cell phone.

"Oh good, you're calling the cops," Jules said with hope. She had lost her bag with her cell phone in it in the main area of the abandoned factory.

Sarah shook her head, "No, not the cops."

"Then who?" Jules frowned.

"My mom," Sarah pressed Buffy's name labelled 'Mom' on the speed dial.

"What?" Jules began to question her best friends sanity.

The Steakhouse

Parking Lot

Pressing his gorgeous wife against the passenger's side of the Jeep, Xander's hands roamed over her body and his mouth was at her neck, nipping, licking, and kissing her skin.

Buffy's hands ran over the front of his dark purple button-down shirt. More than anything she wanted to rip the buttons of his shirt off, just to feel his skin and the dark hairs on his chest under her thin feminine fingers.

His mouth trailed up the column of her neck, down the line of her jaw, finding her mouth again.

Their kiss was deep, wet, and open. Tongues wrestled for dominance. They could taste the reminisce of wine, that had been shared between them.

Pressing his front against hers, Xander's hands went to her hips and ground his growing erection against her pelvis, showing her just how much he desired her.

His hands slipped from her waist to her lower back, finding her backside.

"Xand…" Buffy broke the kiss, breathless. Her eyes rolled back and released a moan when his mouth found that sensitive spot of her neck that always made her toes curl. "… Baby… we gotta d-d-drive home…" her voice was heavy with desire.

He grunted a response as he continued to kiss her fervently.

"Xander…" her breath hitched her throat when his hand snuck into the front of her flowing dress pants, feeling her arousal through the flimsy material of her panties. "I want you…" she kissed him.

A ringing sound came from Buffy's small purse.

She broke the heated kiss and began to dig into her designer purse for the ringing cell phone. Xander cupped her cheek and turned attention back to him. He kissed her heart-shaped mouth and licked his lips. "Ignore it." His voice was low and husky.

"What if it's Sarah?"

Xander knew he couldn't argue with that. He smirked and let her continue to find the cell phone. In the meantime, Xander went back to kissing her neck then her collarbone.

Buffy looked at the caller I.D that read, 'Sarah'. She answered the phone call with a smile trying desperately to not sound like she's about to have sex in a public parking lot. "Hi, honey! Movie over alre—"

"Mom! I need help!" Sarah's panicked voice suddenly sobered Buffy.

Standing straight, Xander instantly knew that what was being said was not good by the way Buffy's entire demeanour abruptly changed and calmly, but firmly she asked for a location.

"Do you have a stake?" Buffy asked.

Xander watched Buffy release a breath of relief.

"Y-yes, I staked a vampire and I used the holy water, tooa-and my necklace..."

"Good. Sweetie, you need to try to get out of there or find someplace safe to hide until we get there."

"Okay… Mom, I'm really scared."

Buffy swallowed the petrified knot in her chest at the sound of her daughters weak and childlike voice.

Trying not to let her fear seep into her voice, Buffy closed her eyes willing herself to stay strong and levelheaded. Think straight. Keep emotions out. She reminded herself. "You have to be brave. I'll be there in five minutes."

Xander watched as she clicked off the call. "What happened? Is Sarah—"

"—She's at that abandoned factory off of Carmichael Street," Buffy said as she went to the trunk for the Scythe.

"Near the train tracks?" Xander took out the keys from his pocket and power walked to the driver's side.

Buffy nodded, climbing into the Jeep. "She's surrounded by seven vampires." Buffy forced herself to say, unable to stop the quiver in her voice.

Understanding her fear, Xander reached out and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. She looked at him, sharing her fear.

Xander turned key in the ignition and sped off.

Abandoned Factory

Supply Warehouse

Jules watched Sarah try to open the seal shut windows with thick glass. She was annoyed that her best friend called her mother instead of the police. "Why the hell didn't you call the cops?"

"Because my mom can help us," Sarah said, gritting her teeth using her might to open the window.

"Sar, what's she gonna do?—Whip her shampoo commercial hair back and forth?" Jules' sarcasm seeped into her words.

Sarah tried to open another window, "She's the only one that can save us."

"Did you see those guys? What the fuck is wrong with their faces? And how the hell did that guy explode into dust? What the fuck is going on?" Jules stared at the barricaded door listening to the thuds of fists trying to break into the room.

"Those guys are vampires."

Jules' mouth dropped in disbelief, "Vampires? Now, Sar, you've really lost it—"

"—Vampires, demons are real!" Sarah said. "It's all real."

"Sar, are you listening to yourself? First, you say that your mom is gonna save us, now you're saying those assholes out there that look like they wanna murder us are vampires?—Really?"

Sarah whirled around, getting into Jules' face as she started to try the windows across the warehouse. "If we don't try to get out of here, they're gonna kill us by sucking our blood 'cause that's what vampires do! Now, stop bitching and help me get us outta here before that door comes down!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The door began to splinter under the increasing impact. Sarah and Jules watched helplessly as the door cracked off of its hinges and shoved open.

The gang of vampires easily moved around the objects blocking their entrance.

They made way for Sal to step forward.

He stood tall with his hands stuffed into his jeans pockets. Sal's golden eyes bounced between the two teens, trying to decide which one would he fondle then kill first.

"I've been very generous and I let you have your time to try to escape and you failed," Sal said, pushing back his slick back hair and straighten the lapels of his leather coat. "I think I'm gonna kill you first." He pointed at Sarah, still pissed off at the burning wound she left on his face. "I'm gonna rip you open and play with your insides." He told them with an eery calm matter-of-fact voice.

"Try it," Sarah said, shoving her terrified fear down and forced herself to be brave, like her mom. "You don't know the power I have."

"You've lost your stake, your Holy Water, your cross..." Sal took out the silver cross necklace from his pocket and dangled it by its chain. "All of your bag of tricks." He sat back on his heels with bored interest, "So what else are you gonna do? What power does a little girl have?"

On cue, Sarah's cell phone began to buzz turning the vampire's attention. Smirking, Sarah glanced at the caller I.D then looked at Sal, "Reception." She picked up the call, keeping her hazel eyes on the vampires surrounding them. "Hey, Mom, I'm in the back warehouse."

Sal chuckled, "Your mom?"

Sarah frowned, slightly surprised, "You don't know who my mom is, do you?" She had assumed every demon knew that she was the daughter of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Sarah thought that was why these vampires were here wanting to kill her.

"No," Sal rolled his golden eyes and smirked, "I dunno who your mom is."

Sarah tilted her head to the side, "You should."

Jules stared at her best friend shocked by her sudden display of confidence.

Humouring his soon-to-be-victim, Sal released an unneeded breath and asked with a huff, "Fine, who's your mom?" The seven vampires behind Sal snickered at the absurdity.

Sarah narrowed her hazel eyes on the vampire and unleashed a smile that said, 'checkmate,' "The Slayer."

Suddenly the laughs died and Sal, cocky grin fell flat.

He didn't need to ask who 'the Slayer' was.

There were thousands of Vampire Slayer's in Cleveland, let alone the entire world but there was only one Slayer that was infamous. In the Underworld circles, she was simply known as the Slayer, the boogyman for demons. She was the most feared Vampire Slayer to ever walk the Earth. She's defeated the Master, an Old One (pure demon), Glorificus a Hell Goddess, the legendary vampire, Angelus, and the absolute embodiment of all evil, the First.

Vampires and demons stood out of her way, never wanting to step in her path. And now she was coming right to them.

Masking his fear, Sal swallowed his worry and remained cocky. "Good," he heard himself say, "just makes me wanna kill you more. I'm not afraid of the Slayer."

Suddenly the windows glass shattered as Buffy flew into the warehouse, immediately on a raging attack.

Two vampires stepped up first to attack her, Buffy swung the Scythe in her hands with a wiping zing, decapitating the vampires to dust.

Sarah and Jules jumped back with wide shocked eyes.

Sarah had been on a few patrols with her mother but she has never seen her fight like this. This wasn't her mother, this was the Slayer. It was amazing but terrifying to see the woman she's looked up to her entire life and loved so much be breathtakingly violent. Buffy used the Scythe with majestic ease. Watching her mother fight was like watching a prima ballerina dance; effortless, precise, mesmerising. It made Sarah increasingly curious about what her mother was really like in Sunnydale, before its fall.

In a series of blindingly fast, economical moves, Buffy twirled the Scythe in her hands, piercing one vampire with the wooden stake end. She then ripped it from the vampire's chest and stabbed the other vampire with the stake that was lunging at her from the opposite direction. Another vampire charged straight in front of her and she sidestepped and jabbed the stake into the vampire's heart with perfect accuracy.

Another vampire ran up from behind, Sarah saw that her mother hadn't turned yet, "Mom, watch out!"

Buffy whirled around and with an unceremoniously whipping def move, she finished off the vampire.

To the final vampire challenging her, Buffy fired a series of kicks into a vampire's body before slicing the vampire in half with a singing blade.

Sal slowly backed away from the Slayer, terrified. He caught sight of her dark green eyes and swallowed.

Hanging back, Buffy didn't move from where she stood as Sal slowly backed away towards his only escape.

He turned around just as he made it to the broken door when he was met with a wooden stake to his heart. He lifted his yellow eyes to his killer and was unable to keep the shocked look from his face. It wasn't the Slayer that had staked him, it was the Slayer's husband.

Sal collapsed to the ground bursting into a cloud of dust.

Buffy went over to the girls and quickly checked Sarah for injury but only found a few scrapes on her knees. She looked over Jules and was equally relieved that she was safe as well.

Jules stared at Mrs H wide-eyed, never in her life did she expect to see what she had just witnessed. Not only was her best friends mom a bonafide hottie but she was a hottie with superpowers.

Calming down her rattled never and her flip-flopping stomach of terror and the tingling thrill slaying had always given her, Buffy grew very serious. Sarah swallowed, she knew what was coming.

"Into the car… now," Buffy ordered in a firm but eerily calm voice that shook the teens to their core.

Without a word uttered, the girls scurried to the exit and headed straight for the Jeep idling outside the abandoned factory.

Xander stepped further into the warehouse and went straight to Buffy. He knew that she was pissed off and scared. He was pissed off and scared, too. Sarah had lied to them about where she was going to be and was almost killed because of it. But despite their anger towards their teenage daughter's poor decision making, they were so relieved and thankful that they made it on time to save her and her friend.

His hands wrapped around her upper arms, forcing her to look at him.

Looking into her eyes, he said with a soft velvet voice, "Breathe."

Buffy took a few deep calming breaths.

They silently stood, staring into each other's eyes intently, without blinking or making a move.

Buffy took a few more deep calming breaths.

Xander pulled her close and pressed his mouth against her forehead, "She's safe. She's okay." He told her, which seemed to sufficiently calm her down.

Harris Residence

Living Room

"What in the hell made you two think that going to an eerily creepy abandoned factory at nine o'clock at night was a good idea?" Buffy yelled at the two teenage girls sitting on the couch looking terribly guilty and apologetic.

"We're sorry," Sarah's muttered hanging her head.

Buffy held her hands on her hips, "You could've been killed!" She shook her head, trying to calm herself, "If I didn't get there in time..." Buffy lowered her eyes to her daughter, "... you could have been killed."

Hanging in the background, Xander leaned against the wall with his arms folded across his chest, "Not only that but you lied to us." He interjected, with a much calmer voice than Buffy's.

"We were going to the movies when—" Sarah tried to explain herself.

"—It's my fault, Mrs H," Jules interrupted her best friend, trying to take the heat off of her when it actually was her fault that they ended up at that abandoned factory in the first place. "I thought it would be cool if we took a shortcut to the movies… Sarah didn't even wanna go there but I talked her into it. I'm so sorry. It's my fault." She brushed away her fallen tears with the back of her hand, "It's my fault we almost died."

Calming down her anger, Buffy dropped her hands from her hips and moved around the coffee table to sit down in front of the girls. Though Sarah should know better by now about places that are dark, creepy, and abandoned—especially going to them at night, she wasn't a Slayer. Buffy knew teens hung out at the abandoned factory, she usually has Slayers patrolling the area and its written in their reports and sometimes Sarah is spotted.

But almost losing her daughter, it was the most terrified she's ever been. "You girls scared me."

"Really?" Sarah eyed her mother with a bit of surprise.

Frowning, Buffy's brows pinched together, "Of course, I was. You're my little girl." She looked at Jules, "And you're my little girl's best friend. Yes, I was very scared."

"You didn't seem very scared," Sarah said. "The way you fought those vampires..."

Buffy smirked, "I had to protect my girls."

"So, uh..." Jules frowned, "... what are you? 'Cause Sar was goin' off about vampires and then you fly through a friggin' window and beat the shi—crap outta those guys... and wow, I'm confused."

Buffy looked at the teen with amusement, "I'm a Vampire Slayer."

"Hense the 'slaying' of those vampires..." Jules pieced together. "Okay, cool. Got it. It's weird and I see didn't that coming—like at all... But okay, cool. You're a Vampire Slayer and vampires are real... alright. I can roll with that. But uh, can I, uh..." Jules began, "... Can I stay here tonight?" She shifted uncomfortably on the couch, not wanting to admit that she was terrified to be alone after the night's events. She wanted to stay with her best friend under a roof that had friggin' Wonder Woman living in it.

"Of course, you can." Xander said pointed his finger at Sarah, "But after tonight, you're grounded."

Sarah's face twisted in disappointment.

Jules snorted a chuckle.

"You shouldn't be laughing, I'm grounding you, too." Xander glared at the teen, who treated the Harris household as if it were her second home. Which was perfectly fine with Buffy and Xander, they've accepted Jules as if she was a part of their large blended family.

The lifelong close friendship reminded Xander of his own lifelong friendship with Willow. Since they were children, he was constantly over Willow's house and slept over more often than not, just to escape the madness of his own home.

Similarly, Jules was over constantly for years now. She had more of a relationship with Buffy and Xander than her own parents. They even attended Jules orchestra concerts and Sarah didn't even play an instrument. Jules had her own drawer in Sarah's room for her stuff.

Jules appreciated and loved how much she was apart of this family. She so much a part of this family, she even gets punished like she's a Harris kid.

"Crap," Jules fell back against the couch, sharing Sarah's angst.