Author's Note: And here's the final chapter. Since it is kinda short, I might start posting the next one earlier than Monday - let's see how it works out with my schedule :D I hope you enjoyed the story :)

"I thought about destroying the Staff", Giles told them all as they had assembled in Buffy's home a few hours later, the whole gang being present, even Anya, despite the fact that it was a work day and she usually was quite reluctant to close her shop then, "but I do have to admit that I have some doubts about doing so. It is quite a powerful artefact…"

"I thought about the same yesterday", Willow let him know, having made herself comfortable on the couch, with Pat right next to her, the taller woman's hand resting on her upper leg, "it'd be a pity to destroy it, but we have to keep in mind that it's not only powerful, but dangerous, as well."

"I'm well aware of that", Giles reassured her, "but if we don't want this Staff to fall into the wrong hands, we either have to destroy it – or keep it somewhere where it can't be used to do any harm. What exactly was Deira planning to do with the Staff, Willow?"

"Guess what", the witch sighed in reply, once more dismayed about how easily Deira had tricked her into letting the torc take control of the dark magic within her, "he wanted to use it, and me, to cause yet another apocalypse. He must have planned this very well, he knew that the first thing I'd do would be to find out if he told the truth about that torc…"

"They also must know me well", Pat threw in with a frown, "to figure out I'd take those bolts when he had his men fire them at you from that van."

"I'm afraid that's quite common knowledge by now among the non-human population of Sunnydale", Buffy was the one to answer that before anyone else could, giving the demon an almost apologetic look, "they may call you Slayer's Pet, but they also know how far you're willing to go to protect Willow."

"Great, just great", Pat grumbled, finding her cigarettes and lighting one of them up, glad when no one tried to protest, "so, just to make sure, if they want to take me out during future fights, they'll go after Willow."

"I told you", Willow admonished in reply, giving her a strict look, "you're too reckless when it comes to protecting me. One of these days, that'll get you killed, and what will I do then?"

"Cry?" the taller woman replied with the first thing which came to her mind, only to cringe at the withering look she received in reply; clearing her throat, she was thankful moments later when Giles brought the topic back to the Staff, asking once more what the others thought should be done with it.

"Well, I don't think destroying it is a good idea", Buffy was the first one to put in her opinion, "it might be dangerous, yes, but it has been very helpful, and seeing how often the two of you end up attacked at your own home, it might be good to have something around which will help you fight, just in case Pat's… indisposed."

"Good point", Willow had to admit, "but I have to admit, I am a bit afraid of relying on the Staff too much in the future… You saw how easy fighting with it was for me, so of course there's always the temptation to use it as an easy way out…"

"Most of the fighting will still be done by me", Pat told her in a strict voice, her tone making it clear that she wasn't willing to discuss this, "even if you are capable of easily kicking ass with that Staff, I can heal. You can't."

"A good point", Giles nodded, making them both look at him again, "and, just in case the Staff does have some… unpleasant side effects, it can still be removed from your possession and destroyed after all."

"Yes", Willow agreed after a moment, even though she wasn't as sure as the Watcher that removing the Staff would be as easy as he was making it seem right now, should she really get addicted to the power it gave her; clearly sensing her doubts, Pat patted her leg reassuringly, then looked at the rest of the group, curious if any of them had any doubts. If they had though, they didn't voice them, merely nodding their agreement to Giles' suggestion; and so, it was settled rather quickly that the Staff would remain in Willow's possession for now, even though the witch still felt a bit uneasy about the whole idea.

"Let's hope we won't have to use it any time soon", Buffy stated after the decision had been made, "and not only because I had my arm broken. After all these adventures lately, we deserve some calm and quiet."

"Speaking of your broken arm", the demon remembered the other topic her partner and she had discussed at breakfast, "tomorrow, once the twenty-four hours are up, I can heal you. No more broken arm then."

"Oh thank God", Buffy sighed out in response, "and, you know what? I can't believe I didn't think of this myself. How often have we borrowed your healing by now?"

"I stopped counting", the taller woman smirked, prompting the blonde to roll her eyes, "but hey, as long as one of us thinks of it…"

"Indeed", Giles nodded, then changed the topic once more by asking Pat if she could take over patrol for the coming night, since Buffy still would be unable to fight then, the taller woman nodding at once; and while they started talking about it, Willow leaned back into the seat comfortably, smiling at her lover's enthusiasm about getting to fight again so shortly after yet another demon with malicious intentions had been defeated, glad that once more, they had come out victorious and that at least until the next challenge, they'd have some time to relax and enjoy each other's company, without having to worry about any threats the supernatural world of Sunnydale might throw at them.

End.