Author's Note: Hey gang! So, this is going to be the final chapter of this fanfiction - I started writing this when I was 15 and now, I've just turned 25 so it's been going for nearly 10 years. This story has followed me through all of my a-levels, university and into the start of my career as a teacher. I loved writing this story but I'm now at a point where I don't feel in a position to finish it the way I would've loved to, taking Rebecca and Wesley and Amy all the way up to Season 7 and into Angel. So, I'm ending the story here, where it feels like there is a natural stopping point.

Thank you so much to those who have favourited, followed, reviewed this story - both old and new! I hope you enoy this final chapter and that you find it a good conclusion! Thank you for accompanying me and Rebecca on this journey!


Chapter Fifty-Four:
Returning.

It turns out that there was a reason 'Lily' looked so familiar. Her name before was 'Chanterelle' and she'd been part of Ford's 'we worship vampires' cult. L.A really was the runaway town, wasn't it?

It was also a town, (well, city), where there was a portal to a demon dimension where you worked until you couldn't anymore and you were spat back into L.A. Oh and 100 years in the demon dimension was a day in the human world. Fun times.

Honestly though? As terrifying and horrifying the whole experience had been… I'd enjoyed it. The fight, the power, the adrenaline… I'd missed it.

"What's your plan, now?" Lily glanced between Amy and I as we sat in our dingy apartment.

I looked at Amy, unsure, but she just smiled back at me.

"I think we're gonna head back to Sunnydale. We've got people waiting on us," I said; Lily smiled sadly. "You could come - you've got a decent axe swing, we could find a place for you?" I offered.

Lily shook her head. "Thanks but I've always clung to whatever came along… Now that Ricky's gone… I think I need to find something of my own," she murmured, placing a hand on the heart tattoo on her arm.

"You'll be okay, Lily. The rent on the apartment is paid until the end of the month and you can have the diner job. It's not much, but it'll get you started."

"Thank you both, so much," Lily said and I gave a shrug, smiling softly.

Amy nudged me softly, glancing at the window; the sun was starting to set, dusk beginning to fall.

I grabbed the suitcase beside me, looking at Lily awkwardly. "We've got a bus to catch. You've got my number, if you need anything, if you run into any trouble-"

"I know, Becky. Honestly, thank you but I'm gonna be okay," Lily smiled and there was the beginning of a confident spark in her eyes.

I pulled her into a hug, before heading for the door as Amy said her goodbyes.

"Good luck," Lily called after us and I gave her one final smile and wave, as the apartment door swung shut.

"You ready?" Amy asked. I shook my head. "Me neither," she admitted, grabbing my free hand. "Let's go!"

~8~8~

My hand hovered above Wesley's doorbell, shaking. I'd managed to get all the way here but now, I wasn't sure what to do.

What would I even say? 'Sorry I disappeared for almost two months but I'm back now, with my soulless vamp sort-of ex-girlfriend who tortured our friend?'

You can't actually say anything unless you open the door, another voice said.

I mean, I technically didn't need to knock. Wesley's house is my house. I can just open the door with my key…

I don't know how long I stood outside Wesley's/my house for but it was definitely too long. My hand pressed the doorbell before I could let my courage falter and I waited anxiously.

The door swung open and Wesley stopped, staring at me. His hair was mussed, he had a 5'o'clock shadow and his shirt was only half done up. He looked… not like my Watcher, not put together.

I barely had the chance to say 'hello' before I was being tightly enveloped in a hug. Any words I was going to say died on my lips and I instead sank into the hug, wrapping my arms tightly around Wes.

It was good to be home.