A/N:Wow, I'm so sorry for such an incredibly long wait for this chapter, especially because it's the last one! Both my beta and I have been super busy and that's really the only excuse I have. Except that I also got super emotional finishing this story, it was the first one I ever started and I didn't want to say goodbye to this Spike and Buffy.

There will be an epilogue to follow which is already written and with my beta so I promise it won't be as long until I post hit. Thanks so much for reading and commenting and just encouraging me to keep writing. I wrote and posted the first chapter of this story on New Years Eve and it's taken almost a full year to finish it.

Thanks, as always, to BewitchedXx for being a great beta and sticking with me this whole time!

We're all walking down in the Initiative tunnels trying to find a place for everyone, other than Spike and I, to do the spells. It's just as creepy as I remember but unfortunately, although I remember the creepiness, remembering where they all hid last time is a lot harder. Spike never spent any time down here either this time around, so he's no help. Which is of the good. I'd much rather him not know anything than have been tortured down here. I thought about having Giles and Xander stay behind but one–knowing them, they'd just follow us as soon as we leave, and two–we need them here in case we have to do the adjoining spell.

Something inside me is telling me not to do that one if I don't have to. I know it worked out fine last time and if we do have to do it this time, it will be Aspen taking care of it, but that doesn't change this yucky feeling I have in my gut about it. Plus, no cheese man dream is of the good. Over the years, I've learned to trust my gut so that's what I'm going to do. Hopefully, with all the witchy mojo we have with Aspen, Tara, and Willow, Plan A will work fine. Plan A is for them to basically suck the energy out of his power center long enough for Spike and I to get it out of him.

The spell might not even be necessary—this time I have my handy dandy scythe, four more years of experience, and much scarier apocalypses under my belt. At this point, Adam is a small fry to me. I shake my head, now isn't the time to get cocky, that's how people mess up. It'd really suck to get mortally wounded in this fight, I have my mate at my side, a brand spanking new awesome apartment, and if all goes to plan, three years apocalypse-free after this.

Although, if I go by what Dawn thinks, mortal wounds might not take me out after all. If I'm honest with myself, I get what she's saying. After the fight with the First and the Turok-Han got me in the gut, I thought I was done for. Then it was like I could just stand right up with barely a twinge of pain, and kept right on fighting. That's strange, even in the life of Buffy. It's good though, I want to be around for my friends and family, I don't want to listen to what every Watcher's diary tells me and die young. I want to live a long life.

Which, again, if I go by Dawn, I'm going to. But way longer than a normal human's life, closer to a vampire's life. That thought makes me shiver, I know Slayers were made by combining a human girl with the essence of a vampire demon but I still don't like thinking about any part of me being like a vampire. I know it's irrational, and I'm just lying to myself because even though I hate to admit it, I do have things in common with them. I enjoy the fight as much as I do, I get twitchy if I don't get my 'spot o' violence' like they do, and now, apparently, I'm going to live as long as them.

I shake my head, nope, still not ready to think about all that. It's still too big for my Buffy brain right now. No, for now, I have to focus on this battle and getting past it, then I might have time to focus on big life-altering, outliving most of my loved ones, stuff. No, there can't be a might about it, it's not fair to Spike. He keeps bringing it up and walking on eggshells around me because he's so happy about the news but he knows I'm undecided. I have to make up my mind about how I feel about it so I can tell him and he can know if he should prepare to celebrate with me or comfort me.

"This room looks like it'll do us quite nicely."

Thank God for Aspen, I just decided I have to focus on the battle then I let myself get wrapped up on future thoughts. I look at the room she's talking about along with Giles and after a second, I nod.

"Okay, you guys really have to barricade yourselves in here in case you have to do the adjoining spell. Whoever's involved with that spell will be totally out of it. You won't be in your own body anymore, you'll be sharing mine."

Willow nods enthusiastically, "That's right… wait, how did you know that? You weren't there when we were studying and going over the spell."

There I go again, letting my big mouth get away from me. I really have to talk to Dawn again. I told her that I won't make the decision to tell everyone the truth because it affects all of us but I really think we need to, it's getting too hard to not give anything away. Plus, I don't like lying to my friends. If she really doesn't want to tell them, she has to actually give me a good reason not to because this is becoming too much.

"I was talking to Giles and Dawn about it. You know you bookish types love to talk about your new discoveries. I couldn't shut them up about it." I laugh awkwardly and feel like I have the word liar stamped on my forehead.

"Oh, okay. Well, either way, we're ready for both spells, Buffy. And in case we have to use the second one, we're setting up a barrier spell around the room and have some other prepared offensive spells to stop anyone from getting to us."

"Oh yeah, that's good. I just want everyone to be safe and healthy at our victory party tonight." Just because everyone was fine the night after we took down Adam last time, doesn't mean it'll be the same this time. Especially because Spike won't be there to help them in case they need it because he'll be with me trying to take down Adam.

Thinking of Adam, I look around and find the camera in the room. I'd be surprised if they weren't turned on, so he probably already knows we're here. Although, most of the electricity is out down here, so maybe they're not working. That would be best but usually, Buffy and luck are unmixy. I take a deep breath and then look at all my loved ones.

"Okay everyone, you know the plan. Please do whatever you have to, to stay safe." The words clog up my throat for a second but I eventually get them out, "I love you all."

They all nod at me while Willow, Dawn, and Tara all walk over to hug me. Spike grabs my hand and starts pulling me out the door, I follow him but stop before we're all the way out. "Make sure to put up this barrier as soon as we're out of here."

"Yes dear, it is already set up, we just need you to leave. Do not worry about us, we will be fine. Put your energy into making sure you and your mate are safe during the battle, you two are the ones in the most danger." Aspen says with a kind, motherly smile.

I nod seriously at her because I know she's right. I'm just being a worry wart over my friends but I really do have to focus on myself and Spike, we're the ones actually fighting Adam. With one last look over the group, I turn around and walk out of the room. As we're walking down the halls, I can see Spike keep giving me weighing looks. After a while, I get annoyed. So I stop, huff, then look at him.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, kitten. I'm jus' worried about you. You've been in your own little world ever since we got the news about the prophecy. I'm not trying to rush you or make you decide how you want to feel about it, I just need you to put that away right now and focus on the fight. Don't want anything to happen to you, Buffy."

I'm annoyed at what he's saying but I'm also filled with love because I know this is only coming from a place of worry and love for me. So instead of huffing again and getting angry like I want to, I grab his hands and look him in the eyes. "Spike, I'm the Slayer, I've been doing this for almost a decade. I know how to compartment-tableize. I've been having to do it since I was 15. I became a master at it when I had to fight and then send my first love to hell. Don't worry, I got this."

He chuckles at my wordage slip up and leans in for a kiss. I deepen it for a few seconds then reluctantly push away because Spike is right, we have to focus right now. "Sorry, Mr. Big Bad. All hanky panky and smoochies will have to wait until after the other Big Bad in town is taken care of."

He sighs, "Whatever you say, Slayer."

I lean up and give him one more chaste kiss, he of course tries to deepen it. I'm very proud of myself when I only allow it for a minute. When I pull away, I'm in full Slayer mode. I try to remember exactly where he was hiding the last time I did this. Then again, I don't think it's the same exact date I took him down last time so he might not even be in the same room. Either way, it isn't long until we hear him talking to someone. So Spike becomes super quiet in a way that only vampires can, he stops breathing and it's almost like he's walking on air, I hear no footsteps. On the other hand, I try to do the same but I feel like I'm stomping and panting compared to him. It must not be too bad though because even with Adam's mechanically modified senses, he doesn't hear me and keeps on talking.

"You will go out and bring me more soldiers tonight, I do not have enough for what I have planned."

"I'm trying but most of the soldiers left when the Initiative shut down and the ones that remained aren't leaving the base in groups less than ten. They know we're out here and trying to recruit more."

Wait, I know that voice, how did he get caught by Adam? I thought he'd be safe this time around. I feel like a failure, I thought I did everything to prevent this but I guess not. I might not be dating his best friend this time around but I don't want to see him hurt or turn into a Frankenstein creature like Adam is. Poor Forrest, it seems like sometimes, no matter what you do, some things are meant to be.

I shake my head, it's sad but right now I have to focus, we get as close as we can to the door without being detected and wait for the spell to start. Aspen said she'll know when we're close to Adam, she said she'll be able to feel our auras near each other and that will be her signal to start. I trust that she's telling the truth and that she'll start the spell soon. So I take a deep breath, look at Spike, nod, and walk into the room like I own it.

"Hmm, I like what you haven't done to the place," I say with all the valley girl I can muster.

"You! What are you doing here? You're early, I wanted more time to prepare before I turned you into one of us, I was hoping to have a bigger army to present to you. Oh well, I can make this work." He gets in a fighting position and I do the same.

"Present to me?" I ask, in my dumb blonde voice. Unfortunately, my confusion is real, I have no idea what he's talking about and I don't like that.

"As my wedding present. Once we are alike, we will join then create our family of those like us together,"

"Um, thank you? But honestly, when it comes to prezzies, I'd rather take a gift card. But how about, majorly of the no when it comes to turning me into something like you? And a super no to being your bride and making a family of super freaks. I'm already happily mated thank you very much."

Good, not he's the one looking confused. I see he's starting to understand though and he's getting angry. Enough of this, the spell should kick in any second and I'm tired of waiting. I'm in need of a good fight. So, instead of continuing the banter, I lift my scythe and run at him. I hit Adam but it doesn't do nearly as much damage as I'd like, it's because of the metal in his body. It's okay though, I'm expecting that, this is just to work off some frustration until the spell is cast. I see out of the corner of my eye that Forrest is trying to sneak up on me to double-team me, which is such a cheap move. I don't have to worry though, Spike chooses this second to make himself known by leaping into the room and battling with his sword up in the air. He swings at Forrest but he notices in just enough time to jump back away from me and away from getting sliced.

"Oi, that's not very sportsmanlike, pillock, attacking a lady when her back is turned. I knew there was a reason I never liked you."

Well, that, and because he had one of his memory flashes of Forrest, Riley, and Dr. Walsh all torturing him in the name of science last week. He's been extra ready to end this once and for all since then, even if he wasn't expecting to fight any of his would-be torturers. "I've been looking for a good reason to have it out with you."

Forrest looks confused because he doesn't even know Spike other than the few run-ins we've had with them but he quickly disregards what Spike is saying and puts his attention into fighting. I must be paying too much attention to them because Adam punches me in the face and it's hard enough to knock me down. Instead of letting myself stay down I use the momentum to roll backward and land on my feet.

"I'm done playing now, if you don't want to become like me, you shall die."

He moves his left arm and a skewer from a Palgara demon comes out. Last time that was a little intimidating but now it's nothing compared to my scythe, he won't even get close enough to me to use it. I run forward, this time with the stake part of my scythe, and aim for his human eye. He manages to move just enough that I stake the cheekbone of the demon part of his face. He yells in pain but I don't do nearly as much damage as I was hoping, the bone in his face stops me from pushing it in further.

I pull it out and immediately turn the scythe around to try to slice the hand that the skewer is in. I forgot how fast he is though because it's been years since I've fought him last and he's able to move enough again that I just cut the skewer off him, not the hand. I remember too late what his other arm can do. In fact, I don't remember until his right arm turns into a machine gun.

"I've been upgrading."

"Spike, watch out!" I yell as I run and dive behind a desk as he starts letting bullets fly.

"Bloody buggering fuck, Slayer, you could have warned a bloke about that," Spike yelps as he dives behind the same desk. He's moving so fast that he can't stop himself in time and lands right on top of me so hard that I lose my breath for a few seconds. I don't respond until I catch my breath.

"I would have if I remembered. What is going on with that spell? Shouldn't his battery be dead by now? Now shhh, it's too quiet."

I start to poke my head around the desk but as soon as I do, he starts shooting again. I stop and think for a few seconds to try to figure out what to do next. A Slayer is strong and can beat a lot of things and withstand a lot of damage, but a Slayer against an automatic weapon is a no-go. Thankfully, Aspen finally finishes the spell because I hear something that sounds like a computer powering down.

"Adam, Sir? Are you okay? Now really isn't the time to fall asleep," Forrest says.

Part of me is surprised that Forrest is still all charged up but I guess they were only focusing on Adam. That's okay though.

"Okay, you focus on Forrest while I get the power center out of Adam."

"On it, Slayer."

Spike jumps up and attacks Forrest with abandon, I can feel through the bond that he's having the time of his life. My vampire really likes his violence, I think it's part of the reason we work so well together. I shake my head, now is not the time to have Spike thoughts, now is the time to end our current Big Bad. I get up and make my way over to Adam.

Having a plan and completing it are two totally different things. I dust vampires every night, most nights I take out a demon or two—sometimes they're really gross too—and once a year I take out a Big Bad and stop an apocalypse. So, I'm no stranger to getting my hands dirty and dealing with things that are of the gross. There's something different about this though, it feels a little wrong. I know he's not a human anymore, heck, most of his body doesn't even look human but it just feels wrong to hack a partly human-looking guy in the chest while he's, for lack of a better word, asleep.

I take my scythe and swing it at his chest, now that there's a really big gash in him I reach my hand in and try not to gag at the grossness and squishiness.

"Hey! What are you doing? Get away from him!" Forrest yells and tries to make a break for me. Spike punches him in the face before he can get away.

"Oi, get your priorities straight, I'm kicking your arse over here. Don't worry about her, focus on me," he says then punches him again.

I stop paying attention to them when I see that Spike has it under control, and continue trying to find his power center. I scrunch my nose, this is so of the yuck. Finally, I find it and then wrap my hand around it. I pull with all my might and just when I think I'm not going to be strong enough, it comes loose. I breathe a sigh of relief, Adam is dead. Now I just have to figure out what to do with the power center, I'm not all magic'd up this time around so I can't just make it go poof.

"Hurry up, darling, I want to go check on everyone and figure out a way to get rid of this thing."

"No problem, luv."

"Wait!" I say then run over and push Forrest against the wall. "How many others did he make like you?"

"Why should I tell you? You killed my creator!"

"I killed the guy that drugged you, experimented on you, and added random parts of demons and machines on you. You should be thanking me. You can do that by answering my question. Then again, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, you were just as defensive and loyal to Walsh, and she did the same things to you." I loosen my hold a little then slam him against the wall again.

He scoffs. "I'm not telling you how many or where they are. Now that Adam is dead, I'll continue his mission in his place."

I laugh loudly. "You don't honestly think you're walking out of here, do you?"

He looks a little worried now. "You can't kill me, Riley said it's against your rules to hurt humans."

"You're not human anymore in case you didn't notice. Plus, just because I have those rules, doesn't mean he does," I say and nod to Spike. It's not true, Spike won't hurt any humans because he loves me, but if Forrest still considers himself one, I don't want him to think he's getting off scot-free. Plus, those rules have become a little blurred in the years since I've lived this the first time. Now it's more, Buffy against evil to protect the good, not Buffy against demons to protect the humans.

"Do what you want to me, I'm not telling you anything."

I sigh, it's not like we won't find them on our own but it'll take time and I'm just ready for this to be over. I take a step back then pick up my scythe from where I put it down before I manhandled Forrest and with one swing, cut his head off.

"Hey! He was mine, no fair, Slayer."

I giggle, leave it to Spike to know exactly what I need. I was getting melancholy thinking about the extra work Forrest made for us before Spike made me laugh.

"Sorry, Spikey. I'll make it up to you, you can dust the first five vampires we come across on patrol."

He thinks it over then smiles. "No, I think he was worth ten vamps, at least. He at least made me work for it."

"You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Big Bad but I think I can work with that."

"Come'er luv," he says as he pulls me into his arms and I sag into them. "You did good, pet. You didn't even need me here, you could have taken them both out yourself."

"Yeah, you're right, you were totally not of the necessary. I did all the work myself and that's exactly how we're going to tell the story when we meet back up with the gang."

"Oi, I said you didn't need my help, not that I didn't help, barmy chit."

"I still don't know what chit means but I'm 95% sure you're insulting me. Keep it up and I'll have to punish you," I say with a laugh. I jolt a little bit when I feel a strong wave of lust through the bond, it seems Spike likes the idea of getting punished. Hmm, I think I can work with that.

"Oh yeah, kitten? What type of punishment am I in for?" He asks in a husky tone.

"You'll just have to wait and find out," I say with a wink. "But for now, you have to tone that lustyness down, mister. I meant it when I said I want to check on everyone."

He lets out a long-suffering sigh then steps back and holds his arms out urging me to go first. "Lead the way, luv."

I nod and start walking back to where I think we came from. Buffy and a sense of direction are non mixy things, unfortunately. After walking for ten minutes I decide that I definitely made a wrong turn somewhere. I look at Spike to ask if he knows where we're supposed to go and see that he's clearly enjoying himself. He might not actually be laughing at me but his eyes certainly are. The jerk was just going to let me keep walking in the wrong direction without saying anything. I slap the side of his arm.

"Don't say a word. Just show me where our friends are."

He holds up his hands in surrender and then takes the lead, although I can clearly feel his mirth in the bond.

'Now I'm definitely going to have to punish him tonight' I think with a wicked little smile on my face.

By the time we make it back to the gang, Aspen is just finishing up taking the barrier down. I smile widely when I see that everyone is safe, although Willow and Tara look a little worse for wear. The spell must have taken a lot out of them.

"Is everyone okay?" I ask just to be sure.

"We're fine, dear girl. In fact, I should be asking you that, we weren't even in the battle, most of us didn't even do anything," Giles says, sounding a little put out that he wasn't more help. He doesn't know how much help he's been to me since I came back here just by being there for me, listening to me, and giving me his opinions instead of telling me what to do.

"You helped more than you know, Giles." I can tell he knows I mean more than just today. "We're fine though, they didn't stand a chance. Although, that machine gun scared me for a second."

"Machine gun?" Willow asks.

"Oh yeah, Adam upgraded himself so he was able to turn his arm into one. No biggie though, we got him. Oh! Except, I'm not really sure what to do with this."

I hold up his power center. Aspen walks over to look at it. "You don't need it for anything do you?"

"Well, there's a lot we can learn from it. Maybe I should take a look."

"No, I want to get this thing away from us as quickly as possible, it's dangerous and much with the badness," Willow and I speak at the same time.

In this situation, I don't know who's right, because we probably could learn a lot from it, but why? Unless we're planning on using it for ourselves but I couldn't see what we would need that much power for. It stays quiet for a few seconds until Giles clears his throat.

"I do not see what we would need to learn from it, that much power is only needed for Frankenstein humans or nuclear bombs, I say we get rid of it."

"Oh, okay, you're probably right," Willow says.

"Okay then." Aspen concentrates on it, her eyes glow bright white, and her hair lightens too. It reminds me of Willow right before our battle with the First Evil. It doesn't take long for the power center to disappear. I breathe a sigh of relief, it's officially over.

"Right then, now all we gotta worry about is taking out the rest of the hybrids Adam made. What do ya say, Slayer? Wanna go get started or is your human body too tired?" He asks with a taunt in his voice.

Oh, right, I forgot about them, I guess we're not quite done yet.

"You wish, vampire. I could outlast you any day." I taunt right back.

His taunting face has turned more into a leer. "Oh yeah, kitten? We'll see about that."

It didn't take us long to make sure everyone made it home safely. Then Spike and I spent the rest of the day finding and taking out those hybrid creatures and spent the night celebrating. Oh yeah, he got his punishment too, it turns out I enjoy being in control in the bedroom, who would have guessed? Ha. Alright, maybe everyone would have. Anyway, it's something we're going to explore more.

Right now though, it's the next morning and we're sitting in Giles' living room. It's Me, Spike, Giles, Aspen, Dawn, and Mom. Basically, everyone who knows about my time-travel adventures. Actually, now that I think about it, I still don't know how Aspen knows but it is clear she has from the beginning when she called me the "traveling Slayer". As far as most people know, I, 19-year-old Buffy Summers, haven't left California in my life. The 24-year-old me still hadn't done much traveling before traveling back in time.

"Hey, Aspen, I've been wondering, how did you know about mine and Dawn's traveling adventures?"

"Well, it was something that was pieced together in my coven. We have seers, and they see a lot but rarely the whole picture. They each got different visions of you that made it more clear. The prophecy filled in the rest of the blanks."

I nod my head and see Giles taking out his notebook to ask her more questions. I decide to continue the conversation before he starts his 10 million questions. "Okay, so I guess you're wondering why I've called everyone here today."

"Yes, especially because you now have a house of your own. I don't see why the meeting had to be at my place."

I start to blush because I haven't even considered inviting everyone over there. "Sorry, Giles. I didn't even think to have it at my place, this is just where the meetings always are. Anyway, I've called this meeting to tell you guys that other than the weekly evil demons that are easy to take care of, we're officially going into a future I know nothing about. Now that Adam is gone, and so is Glory, the First Evil won't have enough power to attempt an apocalypse on its own. Willow now has guidance so hopefully, we don't have to worry about her going off the deep end, and the nerds will be easy to handle. In fact, I'm planning on speaking to two of them, and offering them a place in our group, they were just lonely guys who wanted to belong."

My mom puts her hand on my shoulder, "It must be a little scary, for the last few months, you've known everything that was going to happen, you had a plan and now it's just back to guessing again." Spike puts his hand on my knee and nods at my mom.

"Right you are, Mum. Must be a might bit frightening."

My mom and Spike can always see down to the heart of the matter, somehow they always know what I'm thinking. I nod my head. "Yeah, it's scary. I mean this is what we've been working for but now that we're here, it's like how do I make sure I don't mess things up so much that time travel is needed again? It's not like I can go to the Powers That Be every time things get messed up. I'm pretty sure this was a one-time-only deal."

"You don't have to worry about that, Buffy. You're a lot older and more mature than you were the first time around and I think you see things a lot more clearly. I'm sure you'll whip every one of us into shape if you see us falling into habits that got us to where we were in your original timeline. I'm not worried, I believe in you."

I glow at my mom's praise but I also feel my shoulders grow heavier with the more responsibility that is thrown on it.

"You're not alone in that either, luv. Dawn lived through it too and I reckon I've seen enough through the memories to know what to look out for too. Nothing to worry your pretty little head about, we got this."

I smile at Spike because there he goes again, saying exactly what I need to hear.

"Oh yeah, if you think I'm going to stay quiet this time around and just let things happen that I know are bad, you have another thing coming," Dawn chimed in.

Spike and I both look at her incredulously. "You think you stayed quiet before?" I ask in a voice just as incredulous as my look.

Dawn's cheeks darken, I don't know if it's in embarrassment or anger, I don't think she knows either. Either way, she doesn't say anything; she just rolls her eyes in a way that clearly says 'whatever'.

"That is true though, I have gone over those notes probably 100 times since Dawn here gave them to me, I can see the things that went wrong and where things changed for the worse. I think that as long as we're all careful and vigilant, we'll be fine."

"Good job, Giles. Way to jinx us," Dawn says exasperatedly.

"Yeah, Giles. Do you want another apocalypse so soon? Is the calm too boring for you?" I ask.

"Come on, Watcher, You've lived in Sunnyhell long enough to know better than that," Spike says and I can feel the glee in our bond. He just enjoys messing with Giles.

"Oh, dear lord. Are you children quite done? I feel a migraine coming on."

I laugh, "Yes, Giles. That's all I had to say. Just wanted to let everyone know we're now mostly in the dark as much as you are. And I wanted to thank you for working with me and not trying to change my mind or make decisions for me."

Giles flinches and I feel bad, I totally didn't mean to make him feel bad. Especially because he didn't do any of those things that his future self did to make me worry. Well, that's not completely true but we've already worked through those things that he did do. He takes his glasses off and cleans them before putting them back on and clearing his throat.

"Quite right. Well, Buffy, I hope you know that I will always be on your team and I only want to help you. I've learned lessons from those Watchers' diaries. I won't make the same mistakes I did in that quite terrible timeline, if I may be so bold."

Dawn laughs, "You can say that again, Giles. It was so bad even the Powers That Be decided it needed a do-over."

I smile widely and grab Spike's hand. "Aww guys, I love you all so much."

I can't help but chuckle. I look around, I can't believe we've come this far and how different my relationships are than they were before. Giles and I work together, he doesn't do things behind my back or try to give me orders. We listen to each other and respect each other's opinions. He accepts Spike and me as a couple, and I think he's even starting to like him, although I doubt he'll ever admit it.

My mom, Dawn, and I are so much closer than we were. We're more than family, they've become part of the team too. I don't have to keep secrets from them anymore, they know what's going on and they help with it. Dawn has grown so much too, she is learning about who she is as the Key and how to take control of her power. She might have a long way to go but she's not the same scared girl she was. I'm so proud of her. I know we still have the worry of Mom's brain tumor but we're on top of it, we decided at the beginning of the new year we're going to set up the doctor's appointment, it might still be too soon to find anything but the sooner we find it, the more likely she'll have a full recovery. So I'm feeling pretty good about that too.

Both Willow and Xander still have some growing to do but they've already come so far. They understand that being my friend doesn't mean they get to decide things for me, they get to offer their opinions and I get to choose if I take them or not. Xander has been much nicer to Anya this time around too ever since I've had that talk with him about how unfair he's being to her. I don't know where Willow stands with Oz, or Tara for that matter but I know it'll all work out. Willow still has some work to do with her magic but she's been learning in leaps and bounds when it comes to the laws and rules of safe earth magic, I'm proud of her. I've grown too, I wasn't in the headspace to be the friend I should have been the last time around, I was too focused on myself and my problems. Now we're here for each other.

Then there's Spike. I just think about the different place we were at this point in the last timeline. Hell, I can think about where we were when he was a ghost before we came back here, even then, the change in our relationship now is so immense. I love him so much and I'm so happy where we are. I feel so bad for how it was and how I treated him in the last timeline. I was so focused on how Angel was the love of my life and I kept comparing Spike to this fake version of Angel I made up in my mind. Of course, Spike never measured up because that ideal version of Angel that I had in my mind didn't actually exist.

Of course, that wasn't all my fault. Once I found out that Angel's bite bonded us together it made a lot more sense. None of that matters now though, not here, not now. I have my family here, my mate who can walk in the sun with me, my friends, and a bright future that as of now, has no apocalypses for the next three years. I couldn't be happier.

There are still things that will have to be handled when the time comes but I know we'll be able to get it done. For now, it's time to enjoy the time I have with the people I love.