Monday, February 20^th, 2005:

As Buffy laid on the bright, sterile floor next to all that remained of her life, her heartbreak turned to anger. It was an anger like she’d never felt before, anger that threatened to consume her - that burned within her just as surely as the fire that consumed her husband, and her whole mission changed. Two can play the vengeance game. If she couldn’t get her life back, then one way or another, she would have revenge.

Buffy pushed herself up from the floor and she wiped her face with hands as she turned to Lilah. “Tell me what you know about D’Hoffryn,” Buffy demanded of the lawyer, her voice surprising her with how deadly calm it sounded.

“I’ve told you pretty much all I know … you should check with your friends at Wolfram & Hart, they have a whole room dedicated to him and his organization,” Lilah advised her with a shrug.

“Get me outta here.” It was more of an order than an request as Buffy brushed past Lilah and headed back the way they’d come.

**~**

It was nearly noon when Buffy got back to the Hyperion, and she decided it was time to get Dawn up – there was work to be done. When Dawn made it down to the lobby, still bleary eyed and sleepy, Buffy wasted no time putting her to work.

Handing her the paper that held the summoning spell for D’Hoffryn, Buffy instructed her sister to, “Summon that bastard,” as Buffy stood to one side of the magical-herb circle with her scythe in hand.

Dawn looked at the circle, then down at the paper then back up to Buffy. “What happened?” she asked.

“Never mind what happened, summon D’Hoffryn,” Buffy replied curtly.

“Okey-dokey … someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,” Dawn muttered under her breath.  She looked at the circle again and realized the talisman wasn’t in it. “You have to put his talisman down in the center of the circle,” Dawn instructed her.

“Fuck!” Buffy exclaimed, realizing what she’d done wrong before.  Of course, it wouldn’t have made any difference, even if she’d gotten him there earlier, she wouldn’t have had enough time to do anything about it before Lilah had shown up.

Buffy took the pendant off from around her neck and laid it in the center of the circle, then stood back and held her scythe at the ready. “Ok …” she said to Dawn and Dawn began to recite the incantation to summon the demon.

There was a flash of light and then the master of the vengeance demons was standing in front of them. “Behold, D'Hoffryn. Lord of Arashmahar. He that turns the air to blood and rains…” he began in a regal tone, before looking around.

“Dawn! It’s been a while! How have you been?” he asked, stepping out of the circle on the floor.

“This isn’t a social call,” Buffy informed him, moving closer to him with her scythe.

“Yes, I see …” D’Hoffryn agreed. “You realize that I would be gone before you could even swing that, don’t you?” he asked her nonchalantly, waving his arm at the scythe.

Buffy straightened slightly and loosened her grip on the weapon. “I need some information,” Buffy told him. “I need a wish reversed – I understand you can do that or tell me how to.”

“I see … this wish wouldn’t have anything to do with one of my ex-employees being turned into a rat, would it?” D’Hoffryn asked.

“That was an accident … what she did wasn’t. She’s gone too far and it needs to be fixed this minute,” Buffy argued. Buffy hoped that since Spike had just been … sentenced, perhaps if the wish was reversed immediately, she could get him back – perhaps he was still in processing or … in line waiting to be searched for contraband or something.

D’Hoffryn ran his thumb and forefinger down his moustache and beard as if in deep thought. “I see … yes, I can see your point,” he started. “Unfortunately, it’s bad for morale for me to go behind my girls and second guess them. I’m sure you understand.”

“What!?” Buffy screamed, moving toward the demon. “You’re talking to me about morale!? I’m talking about people’s lives here! I’m talking about Spike’s soul being damned to hell for fucking eternity! As in forever! Are you out of your fucking mind? Fix it!”

“You have no idea who you’re dealing with, little girl. I’m not some two-bit vampire that quakes in their boots at the mention of the Slayer.  I don’t take orders from you … I don’t take orders from anyone!” D’Hoffryn informed her.  “You and your little problems are of no concern to me …”

“They’ll be your concern when I kill every last minion you have!” Buffy threatened, raising the scythe up to a ready position again. “You won’t be much of a pimp without any hos!”

“You’re way out of your league, Slayer. My girls are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves against the likes of you …” D’Hoffryn snorted.  “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m late for my tee time with Izzy,” D’Hoffryn said matter-of-factly before turning back to Dawn. “Good to see you again, young lady,” he told her and just that fast, he was gone.

“ARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!” Buffy screamed, lifting the scythe up and bringing it down on the round settee in the middle of the lobby over and over again as she vented her fury and frustration.

“Buffy! Stop!” Dawn yelled at her, but Buffy didn’t even hear her.

“Buffy! It’s dead! You’ve slain it!” Dawn informed her sister when it was nothing more than a pile of wood and fabric and stuffing and springs on the floor of the lobby. “Stop now!”

Buffy finally stopped her assault on the furniture and turned and faced Dawn. “Stay here, I’ll be back. Do that research you were gonna do,” Buffy instructed her as she handed Dawn the scythe then headed for the door.

“Where are you going now?” Dawn called after her.

“The belly of the beast … Wolfram & Hart,” Buffy called back as she hit the door and started running.

“Geez … she really needs to switch to decaf,” Dawn observed as she shook her head and headed for the kitchenette … maybe there was some Chinese food left … she was starving again.

**~**

“Buffy!” Angel exclaimed, as he came around his desk and met her halfway across the floor of his office at Wolfram & Hart.  Angel grabbed her in a hug and Buffy returned it … she really need a hug, even if it was from Angel, and she didn’t need to piss him off, either – not when she was about to try and get him to help her.  Buffy found him being corporeal to be quite telling … she knew that when the Spike from the other dimension was released from the amulet, he was a ghost for a long while … no one at W&H was able to find the correct spell to make him solid again ... isn't that convenient? It was amazing what the PTB will do for their ‘golden child’, even more amazing to her was that the PTB still considered Angel their prophecy-boy.

“You look good,” Buffy told him when he released her. “Last time I saw you you looked like something Liz Taylor wore to her last wedding.”

Angel laughed lightly and waved his arm at a chair for Buffy to sit down. “I understand I have you to thank for getting me out of there.”

Buffy shrugged. “The Powers direct, I follow. Like a good little lemming …” she replied sarcastically.

Angel looked at her with confusion. “Huh?”

Buffy shook her head and waved it off. “Nothing … never mind. Look, I need a favor – I think you can help me with a problem I’m having.”

Angel brightened. “Sure – anything! Just ask! We ... I owe you - big time!”

“I need all the info you have on D'Hoffryn. How to reverse wishes, how to find and defeat vengeance demons, how to kill them … everything you’ve got,” Buffy told him, as he took his seat behind his desk.

“Oh …” Angel answered slowly. “Ummm…ok, well, let me see what I can do and I’ll get back with you. How’s next week? Lunch maybe … Friday?”

Buffy narrowed her eyes and looked at him. “What’s wrong? Don’t tell me the mighty Wolfram & Hart is afraid of D’Hoffryn!”

“Uhhhh … well, no, it’s not that,” Angel hedged, then made a face like he was in pain, which he was afraid he would be in a moment. “Actually, he’s a client and … we have client-attorney confidentiality issues.”

“You cannot be serious!” Buffy exclaimed, jumping up from her seat and moving towards his desk.

Angel backed up away from the desk until he was against the wall at his back. “I’m afraid I am … but, I can have Wes and Gunn go through what we have, and anything that’s public record we can give you,” he offered hopefully.

“D’Hoffryn didn’t build a fucking vengeance demon empire by publicizing their Achilles’ heels! I need to know how to defeat him, not what tailor he uses or where he plays fucking golf with Izzy!” Buffy exclaimed, pressing her fists down on Angel’s desk and cracking the thick, wooden top.

“I’m sorry, Buffy … I just – we can’t give you that,” Angel apologized, trying to figure out if he could get past her and out the door of his office before she could catch him.

Buffy snorted out an angry laugh and folded her arms across her chest. “What happened to you, Angel? You used to be one of the good guys. They must be paying you pretty well … nice office, necro-tempered glass, good view of the City of Angels from way up here in your ivory tower,” Buffy asserted, moving away from him and looking out at the panoramic view of the city below.

“You used to be on the frontlines – you used to know what it was to help people, now you just look out your window while they die in the streets … too far below you for you to even notice. What happened to you?” she asked again, turning back around and facing him.

Angel sighed and looked down at the floor, before lifting his eyes back up to hers. “It’s not what you think … I’m still one of the good guys,” he defended.

Buffy snorted again. “Right. Keep telling yourself that and one day you may actually believe it – but I’ve got news for you, thinking it don’t make it so, Angel. The only thing that counts is actions,” Buffy preached.  “I don’t know what I ever saw in you … you're pathetic,” she informed him angrily as she headed out of his office.

“I guess that means you don’t want to get lunch?” Angel called after her, but she just kept walking.

**~**

Buffy refused to cry as she walked out of the Wolfram & Hart building and started back towards the Hyperion … another dead end. It was like a conspiracy, every road she took led her nowhere.  Buffy stopped in a small park along the way and sat down on one of the benches to try and gather her thoughts – she had no way to find D’Hoffryn’s vengeance demons, she didn’t know how to defeat them if she did find them or where their ‘power center’ was and she was worried that time for saving Spike was past now.  Knowing how time moved in the other dimensions, his soul was most likely firmly ensconced in hell with Dru.  A sudden pang of jealousy stabbed at Buffy’s gut and she laughed ruefully at herself.

“Oh, yes, that’s good … let’s be jealous of Dru spending eternity in hell with Spike. You are so mental!” Buffy admonished herself out loud, drawing funny looks from passersby.

Buffy dropped her head in her hands and willed herself to push the fear and heart wrenching sadness away, she needed to hold onto the anger, because she’d never have Spike back now … all she could do was wreck havoc on the demons that did this to him … and on Cecily. She had to find someone who could give her more information on D’Hoffryn and on vengeance demons – someone with no scruples, someone without a confidentiality contract, someone who dealt with demons or perhaps was a demon.  “Rack …” Buffy said aloud, answering her own question.  He certainly fit that description to a ‘T’.

But L.A. was huge … Rack’s place could be anywhere. How do you find a crack house? By asking crackheads. How to find a warlock that dealt in dark magicks to demons? Ask demons.

Buffy found the nearest sewer entrance and dropped down into the underbelly of L.A.  She touched the stake she had in the waistband of her jeans at her back and made sure it was within easy reach, then started walking … picking the direction at random. It didn’t take long to find a couple of vamps – it really was just what she needed – a good fight, a good slay … it was all over in just a few moments.

“Oops …” Buffy moaned aloud when she dusted the second one in the heat of the battle. “Nice work, Destructo-Girl! They can’t talk when they’re all dusty like that!” she reminded herself, rolling her eyes and stuffing her stake back into her jeans.  “Just talk to them … no staking next time…” she instructed herself as she started walking again.

It wasn’t long before she came upon another vamp, this one was sitting in a dry area of the tunnel smoking a doobie.  Buffy walked right up to him and was standing over him with her arms crossed (to keep from staking him too soon) before he even saw her.  “Dudette … you’re like, in my personal space,” the blond whined before taking another toke.

“That’s illegal, you know,” Buffy informed him, taking the half-smoked reefer out of his hand and tossing it into a puddle a couple of feet away. "It'll fry your brain cells, too..."

“No way!” the blond screamed, jumping up. “That’s totally bogus! It’s no more illegal than killing the poser that I stole it from … just like I’m gonna kill you!”

Buffy backed up a step and put her hand on the stake at her back, but didn’t pull it out. “Wait a minute! I know you!” Buffy exclaimed when she got a good look at the vamp’s face. “You’re Kalani! You drive a limo!”

“Too true … but I don’t drive limos anymore … I kill little dudettes who think their shit don’t stink…” Kalani informed her, pulling a small Derringer, two shot pistol out of his pocket and aiming it at her.

Buffy ducked and grabbed his hand, twisting it and turning him around, so his arm, and the gun, was twisted up behind his back.

“What kinda vamp are you? Vamps don’t use guns!” she exclaimed.

“Whoa! Like, didn’t mean nothin’ personal, Little Blondie,” Kalani cried, trying to get free of Buffy. “Gun’s pretty cool, though, right?  That’s called thinkin’ outside the box! I’m like Taco Bell!” Kalani announced with a proud grin. “You should try it – be radical – dangerous, unpredictable!” he advised her.

“Yeah, and I think someone’s rung your bell one too many times. Guns are never helpful,” Buffy informed him taking the gun out of his palm and sliding it into her back pocket.

“Ever heard of a Slayer?” Buffy asked him, still holding him tight.

“Yeah – heard stories … figured they were bogus, like, just to scare us, ya’ know?”

“Well, you would be wrong, but I’m sure you’re used to that. You’ve just met your first Slayer and, if you’re a good boy and give me some information, you’ll live to tell the tale … so to speak,” Buffy informed him, never loosening her grip.

“Sure … I’m Info-Dude – I’m like a kiosk of information … whatcha need to know?” Kalani agreed immediately.

“Where do I find Rack’s place?”

“Rack? You don’t want to mess with Rack, Little Blondie … he’s bad news,” Kalani informed her.

“I’ll be the judge of that – just tell me where to look for his place,” Buffy insisted, lifting Kalani up onto his toes by his arm.

“Owww! Whatever! Just chill already!” Kalani screamed and Buffy let off the pressure on his arm slightly.

“Where do I look for him?” Buffy repeated.

“Near the pits …”

“The pits? I’m starting to think that could describe most of L.A.,” Buffy retorted, tightening her grip again.

“No, no, Little Blondie … the tar pits!” Kalani clarified. “If he isn’t in the park near the pits, then try between Wilshire and Pink’s on La Brea – he likes the hot dogs.”

“What hot dogs?” Buffy questioned.

“Pink’s,” Kalani clarified.

“He likes pink hot dogs? What in the world do you make pink hot dogs out of?” Buffy asked, scrunching her nose up.

“Not pink hot dogs! Hot dogs from Pink’s,” Kalani tried again. “Are you sure you haven’t had a toke or two, Little Blondie?”

“No, unfortunately, I haven’t – I’m just not from around here…” Buffy explained.

“Usually he sends someone out for the Bacon, Chili & Cheese Dog with the works around 2am. My girlfriend used to be his …” Kalani started, but stopped.

“His what?”

“You really don’t want to find out … he’s bad news, Little Blondie, you should steer clear of that place,” Kalani advised.

Buffy released the surfer vamp, pushing him away from her as she did.  “Thanks … and, sorry about the – you know,” Buffy motioned her head towards the soaked reefer on the ground.

“Yeah, that was totally rude – you really need to chill out, Little Blondie,” Kalani advised her, looking sadly at the wasted weed.

“That is so true,” Buffy agreed as she turned away from him and started walking … now she had somewhere to start looking for Rack.  Buffy went up to the street at the next manhole and looked around for somewhere to get directions.  She found a convenience store about halfway down the block and got directions from them to the tar pits, it wasn’t too far.  Buffy looked at the watch Dawn had given her … it was only 2pm, it would probably be hours before Rack would have his place set up for business.  Buffy sighed and headed back to the Hyperion to see what Dawn had found out about Cecily and William’s children.  Not that it really mattered now, but …

As she walked she thought about Kalani … somehow Spike’s erasure from this world had changed his fate.  Probably some vamp that Spike would’ve dusted didn’t get dusted and ended up turning the surfer from a polite, mild-mannered limo driver to a reefer stealing killing machine.  Buffy wondered how many more Kalanis there were in the world … people that had been saved by Spike’s actions or damned by his absence.  She snorted softly … there was probably no way to even calculate that, even if she didn’t hate math.

“Why couldn’t you idiots see this!!??” Buffy exclaimed to the sky as she walked. “What fucking good are you if you let one rat bitch do all this!?”

A drunk grabbed his brown paper bag and stumbled up from where he was sitting on the curb before staggering across the street away from Buffy. Buffy rolled her eyes and kept walking … she was now officially crazier and scarier than L.A. street people.

**~**

Dawn jumped up from where she was sitting at the reception desk when Buffy walked in. “BUFFY! You’ll never believe what I found! Check this out!” Dawn exclaimed, waving her sister over to the computer.

Buffy walked over to where Dawn was working and looked at the screen as Dawn pointed to the important part. It was a scan of a birth certificate for a Henry William Hart, born in L.A. in May of 1987.  “And?” Buffy asked after looking at what Dawn was pointing at.

“And …” Dawn started. “This is Anne Weckerly-Johnson’s great, great, great, great, great grandson,” Dawn informed her, counting off the ‘greats’ on her fingers.

Buffy’s brow furrowed as she looked from the screen to Dawn. “Are you sure?”

“Totally! I tracked it … it was easy, apparently someone’s already done a total genealogy map on ancestry.com … all I had to do was find Anne and it was all laid out!” Dawn informed her. “And, he still lives in L.A! Or Venice Beach, to be exact,” Dawn continued, pulling his name up on the white pages listing.

“Wow … that’s … wow,” Buffy stammered, not really sure what to do with this information. 

“Let’s go talk to him!” Dawn suggested eagerly.

“I don’t know … I mean, what can he really tell us?” Buffy wondered aloud, but in truth her curiosity was about to get the better of her.  There wasn’t anything she could do now, anyway, not until later that night when Rack was open for business …

“Awwww… c’mon! I found something! And it’s right here! He might remember something or have some old stuff handed down …” Dawn begged.

Buffy looked at her with doubt. “He’s eighteen and living on Venice Beach, Dawn. I doubt he’s into genealogy or the history of his family…”

Dawn gave Buffy her best sad puppy look and Buffy rolled her eyes and sighed. “Fine … let’s go meet Henry William Hart.”

**~**

The cab pulled up and stopped in front of a house painted a bright lilac that Buffy thought might’ve been a Cracker Jack box in another life, actually, it was so small, it might’ve been the prize at the bottom of a Cracker Jack box …

“Well, at least there’s not a lot of upkeep to worry about,” Buffy mused as she paid the cab driver and she and Dawn got out.  Buffy found herself running her fingers through her hair, trying to make herself look more presentable.

“Do you have a scrunchie?” Buffy asked Dawn, as she pulled her hair back from her face.  It still wasn’t very long, but it had grown some since she’d landed in this crazy world, and was finally long enough that it could be put in a short ponytail at the nape of her neck.

“A what?” Dawn asked, looking at Buffy, confused.

“A scrunchie … for my hair?” Buffy explained, holding her hair in a pony tail with her hand.

“I don’t know what a scrunchie is … but I have some of these rubber-band thingies,” Dawn offered, pulling out a blue, elastic ponytail band from her purse.

“What do you mean you don’t know what a scrunchie is?” Buffy asked, taking the band from Dawn and securing her hair in a ponytail.

Dawn shook her head, shrugged and held her palms up. “Never heard of it …”

“You’ve lived a sheltered life…” Buffy told her with an eye roll as she smoothed her shirt down and turned to Dawn. “How do I look?”

“Like a crazy person who hasn’t slept for days who would just as soon bite your head off and eat your brains as look at you,” Dawn told her with a sarcastic smile.

“Perfect. That’s the look I was going for,” Buffy quipped as she started up the walk to the front door of Henry’s Cracker Jack box.

Buffy rang the bell and the girls waited … they could hear someone moving around inside then a man’s voice call, “Just a minute,” through the closed door.

Buffy’s stomach was doing flip-flops, she really couldn’t figure out why she was so nervous meeting what would’ve been William’s great grandson six generations removed …

When the door finally opened, Buffy’s jaw dropped and she reached out and grabbed Dawn’s arm to keep from collapsing onto the floor of the small porch.

“Spike?” Buffy asked at last, unable to take her eyes off the young man that stood before them who looked almost exactly like her husband.

“Yeah? Can I help you?” he replied, his voice deep and rich, but with no discernible accent other than southern California.  Buffy’s eyes were drawn to his …they were just as blue as Spike’s, his cheekbones were just as sharp, his lips just as luscious, his jaw just as strong, his hair short and spiky and platinum blond. A pair of baggy, blue surf trunks with the word ‘Billabong’ written down one leg barely clung to his hips … and that comprised his entire outfit.  He was a little taller than Spike … maybe six feet, Buffy guessed … and he was missing the scar in his brow, but otherwise – he was a teenage Spike.

Buffy’s eyes wandered down his hard, tanned torso and legs all the way down to his bare feet, then back up to his face, which now had a smirk on it that made her hold more tightly onto Dawn’s arm, lest she either throw herself into his arms or simply melt onto the porch like a bowl of Jell-O in the microwave.

“Hi!” Dawn started cheerfully, giving Buffy a death glare as she moved slightly in front of her. “We’re looking for Henry William Hart.”

“You found him,” the young man replied, as he glanced quickly at Dawn but then looked back at Buffy who stood motionless with her mouth hanging open.

“A closed mouth catches no flies,” Henry informed her as he reached out and put a finger under Buffy’s chin and lifted lightly.  Buffy snapped her mouth shut and averted her gaze from him to a very interesting "Welcome" sign that hung by the door, which featured a line of multicolored flip-flops and some palm trees. Under it was another sign that read "Gone Surfin'" and featured a red Woodie with a surfboard on top.

Dawn elbowed Buffy in the ribs and Buffy jumped and yelled, “Oww!” as she rubbed the spot that Dawn had hit, giving her sister a death glare of her own.

“Do you surf?” Buffy asked, moaning to herself at the absurdity of that question, but unable to think of anything else to say.

“Yeah … Do you?” Henry replied, the smirk still on his face, as he dropped one hand down and hooked his thumb into the waistband of his trunks and splayed his fingers down the front of them.

Buffy’s eyes followed his movements despite her best efforts to keep her attention on the ‘Welcome’ sign, and her eyes stopped at his crotch. Dawn elbowed her again. “What!?” Buffy exclaimed, tearing her eyes away and looking at Dawn with wide eyes.

“He asked you a question,” Dawn reminded her as she widened her eyes, raised her brows and motioned with her head towards the young man standing in the doorway.

“Oh … what was the question?” Buffy asked, looking quickly at Henry then back to the ‘Welcome’ sign.

“Do you surf?” he repeated.

“Oh … no … no, I don’t,” Buffy stammered, trying to remember just what it was they had wanted to find out from this man.

Buffy wanted to pound on her forehead to get her brain to work, but thought that would just make her look even crazier than she already did, so she tried to concentrate on just breathing a moment.

“Are you like a professional or something?” Dawn asked, trying to buy some time.

“Or something …” Henry replied, never taking his eyes off Buffy.

“Have we met before?” he asked Buffy, narrowing his eyes as if trying to remember where he’d seen her before.

Buffy gulped and her eyes went wide as she looked up at him. “No … no, I’m sure … I would remember,” she stammered, dropping her eyes back to the ‘Welcome’ sign and trying to calm down as she concentrated on the colorful flowers that were painted on the flip-flops and wondered why a Woodie would be painted red ... weren't they like ... wood grain - wasn't that the point?

Buffy took a deep breath and met his eyes again. “You’re probably wondering who we are and what we want,” she said at last.

“The thought had crossed my mind,” Henry admitted as he leaned against the door jamb with amusement in his eyes and that sexy smirk on his face.

“Well, you see …” Buffy started, trying not to look directly at him, but past him, “… we’re working with the Historical Society of Clapham, England and we’re trying to find any information on former residents that lived there during the 1800’s and your name came up…”

Henry ran his tongue across his lips and smiled wider. “I didn’t live in England in the 1800’s,” he pointed out.

“That’s what you think…” she muttered quickly under her breath before laughing nervously. “No, of course you didn’t. But we believe your distant grandparents did … William and Cecily Weckerly, and we were hoping that, as their heir, you might have inherited some photographs or other documents…” Buffy began to clarify when she was cut off by a woman’s voice coming from behind Henry.

“Who is it, Spike, honey? If it’s the Hare Krishnas, tell them we gave last week down at Sammy’s.”

Buffy looked towards the voice … it sounded familiar, in fact it sounded like … “Hallie,” Buffy muttered as a woman in a short, red, silk robe walked up behind Henry and wrapped an arm around his waist as she moved up beside him into the doorway.

Hallie smiled sweetly at Buffy. “You don’t look like a Hare Krishna,” she informed Buffy as she ran her free hand down Henry’s chest, across his hard abs and finally settled it on top of his hand that he had hooked into the waistband of his trunks.

Buffy’s mouth moved but no words came out … if seeing a man that looked almost exactly like Spike was a shock, seeing Hallie with him was a double-whammy.  Buffy’s chest tightened and she couldn’t breathe, she was aware of the very real possibility that she might actually faint from lack of oxygen.

“C’mon, baby … we have some unfinished business in the bedroom,” Hallie whispered loud enough for everyone to hear as she guided Henry back out of the doorway.

“Sorry girls … I don’t have anything from any distant relatives … didn’t inherit a thing,” he told Buffy and Dawn as he let Hallie pull him back into the house and closed the door.

Buffy could hear them talking … Hallie asking who they were and what they wanted and Henry … who apparently went by Spike, telling her he wasn’t really sure what they wanted, but they were amusing.

“Buffy, are you alright?” Dawn asked when the door was closed.

Buffy turned around and sat down on the top step of the small porch and tried to breathe, leaning her head down between her legs as she tried to not hyperventilate.  

“Buffy?” Dawn questioned again, sitting down next to her sister.

“That’s…that’s Spike and that’s Hallie … Cecily,” Buffy finally told Dawn.

Dawn looked back at the closed door. “She looks good for a great, great, great, great, great … great grandmother. He’s not bad either.”

**~**

Back at the Hyperion, Buffy paced back and forth near the slain settee, trying to calm down and gather her thoughts.

“Obviously, she’s not human,” Buffy contended as Dawn sat on the stairs and watched and listened to her sister rant and think aloud.

“Obviously, she’s a total whack-job,” Buffy continued. “I mean, you’re sleeping with your own great … whatever grandson!? Who does that?”

“She might be human but immortal,” Dawn pointed out.

“Humans are not immortal,” Buffy disagreed, shaking her head as she continued to pace the floor.

“I thought you told me that you were,” Dawn argued.

“Yeah, I’m a Slayer, too … I don’t count,” Buffy contended and Dawn just raised her brows at her.

“Plus, he’s eighteen! Even if you don’t count the hundred and twenty five years since she married William, and the millennium she lived as a vengeance demon, she’s old enough to be his mother!” Buffy continued to rant.

“How old was Spike when you married him?” Dawn posited.

“Not old enough to be my fucking father!” Buffy defended.

“And if he was? Would that have changed anything?” Dawn prodded. “What about Angel? He was pretty old, and weren’t you like … seventeen?”

“We’re not talking about me, we’re talking about her! A cradle robbing, incest-sicko, rat bitch!” Buffy exclaimed.

“I doubt she’s over thirty,” Dawn opined.

“Pffft!” Buffy snorted. “She’ll never see forty again!”

“What are you going to do?” Dawn asked, changing the subject, sure she’d never win the age argument.

Buffy stopped pacing and turned to face Dawn.  “I’m going to slay her … she’s a demon.”

“What if Henry loves her?” Dawn questioned.

“He’s young, he’ll get over it – he can do way better than her, anyway!” Buffy assured her sister.

“What if she’s human?” Dawn continued, but Buffy just shook her head.

“She’s not, by any stretch of the imagination, human,” Buffy informed her.

**~**

Buffy waited down the block from the Cracker Jack house later that night, hoping Hallie would come out, and she wasn’t disappointed.

Buffy followed Hallie down the street and then past Pacific Avenue and onto the beach.  When Hallie got to a deserted area with no homes or people nearby, she stopped and turned around. “I knew you’d come eventually,” she said to Buffy, who was about fifty yards behind her.

“Yeah … and what did you plan on doing about it when I showed up?” Buffy asked, closing the distance between them.

Hallie shrugged. “Rubbing your nose in it … then maybe finding a witch and having her turn you into a rat.”

“Who did you get to grant your little wish, anyway?” Buffy questioned, like she was talking to a friend about where they went to lunch.

Hallie smiled at her as Buffy got within a few feet and stopped. “That’s a question even I don’t know the answer to … see part of the wish was that I don’t remember who I made it with. It could’ve been one of over a dozen different friends.”

“How do I know you’re not lying?” Buffy questioned.

“You don’t … but I had a long time to think about this while your little brat dressed me up in those ridiculous Barbie outfits and I ran on that fucking exercise wheel for hours and days and months on end! I left nothing to chance, and you can believe that,” Hallie sneered.  “How is that little brat anyway?” Hallie asked in a friendly tone. “Oh, that’s right … I forgot, she’s my little brat now! Mine and William’s,” Hallie taunted.

“Have a good life, Slayer,” Hallie called as she turned her back on Buffy and started walking away.

Buffy launched herself at Hallie, tackling her around the middle and driving her into the soft sand of the beach, but Hallie had more strength than Buffy anticipated and she hit Buffy in the ribs with an elbow and knocked the Slayer onto her back.  Hallie jumped up and turned to face Buffy, her stance low, ready for the fight.

“I’ve been waiting a long time to kick your ass, Slayer,” Hallie informed her as she pulled a switchblade from the back pocket of her jeans and opened it.  “Get ready to join William in hell …”

“You can save me a seat,” Buffy hissed angrily as she reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out the small, two shot Derringer that she’d taken off Kalani, pulled the hammer back, and aimed it at Hallie’s chest.

“Just like a rat to bring a knife to a gun fight,” Buffy quipped as she pulled the trigger.

Hallie’s face was awash with confusion and pain as the hollow-nose bullet hit her chest and mushroomed as it traveled through her breastbone and into her lung.

Buffy was on her in a second. She kicked the knife out of her hand and spun Hallie around then knocked her down onto her face. Buffy held the ex-demon against the sand as blood flowed out of the bullet wound in her chest and stained the white sand beach a crimson red.

Buffy leaned in close to Hallie’s ear. “If you want to see Spike again, tell me who granted the wish and I’ll make sure you do, otherwise …”

“You shot me!” Hallie exclaimed, still in shock, as she coughed up blood and tried to breathe. “I’m human and you shot me!”

“Yeah, I was told I should think outside the box … You’re running out of time,” Buffy informed her. “Tell me who granted the wish and I’ll help you get back to Spike.”

“You shot me!” Hallie said again as she touched her hand to her mouth looked at it … it was covered with blood.

“I think we’ve covered that portion of the program already. Who granted the wish?!!” Buffy demanded, pressing down harder on Hallie’s back and making her cry out in pain.

“I don’t know! I really don’t know!” Hallie screamed.

“Give me somewhere to start looking then!” Buffy challenged.

“Uhhh … Bianca or Yumiko or maybe …” Hallie started before beginning to cough uncontrollably.

“Give me more!” Buffy demanded

“Jaiyana,” Hallie choked out, “… Abrianna.”

“Is that it? You said over a dozen!” Buffy screamed at her.

“No … it’s … one … of … those,” Hallie assured her between deep gasps of oxygen.

“You’re sure? Bianca, You-me-ko, J-yawn-na, and A-bree-anna? That’s it?” Buffy confirmed.

“Yes … yes … please, I need some help,” Hallie pleaded.

Buffy smiled ruefully and lifted up slightly, then flipped Hallie over so she was lying on her back in the sand and facing Buffy. Buffy dropped back down and straddled her stomach, keeping the ex-demon from getting up.  Hallie’s chest was covered in blood, with sand caked on it, and blood was coming from her mouth and nose, as well.

“You took my family …” Buffy informed her, her voice low and calm. “You took Spike, you took Annie, and Dani and Billy,” Buffy continued as tears welled in her eyes. “They didn’t get any help, did they? You didn’t even look them in the eye when you killed them. You didn’t hear Spike scream in agony when they took him to hell! You didn’t see him …” A sob escaped Buffy’s throat and she choked it back as the memory of Spike burning right in front of her flashed through her mind.

“Please …” Hallie begged as she started to cough up blood again.

“They didn’t get to beg for their lives – Anya and Xander, they never had a chance to plead with you, not for their lives or the life of their son. I thought Anya was your friend!” Buffy accused, trying to change her focus away from Spike, lest she break down and lose her advantage.

“Casualties … of … war,” Hallie gasped out as she tried to breathe.

“Casualties of war,” Buffy repeated slowly. “How very casual.

“They were people! They were my friends! My family! My life!” Buffy screamed at her as tears flowed down her face and her anger grew like a fireball in her chest. “They weren’t characters in a video game or pawns on a chessboard! They were people! They didn’t deserve to be killed just because you got your feelings hurt!”

“I gave you…what you asked…keep your word,” Hallie begged again.

“With pleasure …” Buffy sneered as she stood up, pulling Hallie with her, but, instead of heading up the beach towards help, Buffy pulled the injured and bleeding woman into the water.  Hallie tried to pull away from Buffy, but she’d lost too much blood – even with the extra strength that she’d had added with her wish, she couldn’t break free of Buffy’s hold.

“You promised …” Hallie pleaded with her as Buffy pulled her deeper into the ocean.

“Yeah … I promised to let you see Spike again. When you see him in hell, tell him I said ‘hello’,” Buffy hissed as she pushed Hallie under the water. Hallie struggled against her, but only for a few moments before she went still.  Buffy swam with Hallie’s lifeless body further out into the waves until she was well off shore, then heaved the small gun as far as she could throw it.

“Guns do come in handy sometimes,” Buffy observed as she left the dead woman floating in the waves and swam down the beach several hundred yards before coming ashore.

**~**

When Buffy got back to the Hyperion, she found Dawn waiting in the lobby.

“You killed her, didn’t you?” Dawn asked solemnly. “She was human, wasn’t she?”

“Yeah, and I got some names,” Buffy confirmed excitedly. “We need to track them down … find out how to summon them, how to destroy their power centers …” Buffy started as she headed for the desk to find some paper and write the names down.

“No,” Dawn replied simply.

Buffy stopped and looked at her. “No?”

Dawn shook her head. “No … I can’t … I can’t condone what you’ve done. I … I’m going back to England, back to school; I’m leaving,” Dawn informed her, reaching behind the desk and pulling out her suitcase.

“You can’t condone what I’ve done? What about what she’s done!?” Buffy exclaimed angrily. “She killed Tara and Kennedy and I don’t know how many other Potentials, not to mention Anya and Xander … she drove Willow totally insane and had me on the brink of it! She killed Spike and sent his soul to hell for eternity! She took away my children and raised them as her own … she … she disfigured Giles, making him a bitter, angry, lonely man. What the fuck about all that!? You think she should get a free pass on that because she’s human!?”

Dawn shook her head and closed her eyes. “I don’t know … I just know, this isn’t right. This isn’t you. You don’t kill humans,” Dawn insisted.

Dawn opened her eyes and looked at Buffy. “Where does it stop? Who made you judge, jury, and executioner?”

Buffy snorted angrily and shook her head, folding her arms over her chest. “I’m the Slayer … I’ve always been the judge, jury, and executioner, Dawn. Hallie knew who she was dealing with when she started this – she knew better than to fuck with me right from the beginning.”

Dawn frowned and looked down at the floor. “I doubt that … I don’t even know you anymore, I doubt she had any idea…”

“She was a fucking ex-demon, Dawn! She’s not Joe-Blow out there pissing on the sidewalk! She killed people, real people, on purpose … premeditated, and planned out … perfectly executed. Who am I supposed to call to judge her? Judge Judy? Joe Brown? Simon Cowell, maybe?” Buffy quipped.

“I’m the only one that could’ve done it … and I did what I had to do. I’m not going to apologize for it. Shit – we don’t even have fucking scrunchies in this godforsaken world she created!”

“And what if you get caught? They’ll send you to jail, or worse!” Dawn pointed out.

“I’m not gonna get caught and go to jail,” Buffy moaned with a roll of her eyes.

“That’s what all criminals think, until they do! Otherwise, they wouldn’t be criminals!” Dawn argued, folding her arms across her chest to match Buffy.

“I’m a nobody … a stranger. They don’t know me from Adam …” Buffy asserted.

Dawn mimicked a police officer doing an interview, “Yes, Mr. Hart, did anything unusual happen on the day your girlfriend was killed?” then, changing her voice to a deeper one, she answered her own question, “Why, yes, officer – there were two lunatics here acting strangely and asking questions …”

“Two lunatics with the Historical Society of England asking questions about historical stuff!” Buffy defended. “Just where do you think the police will be looking for those two nut-jobs? In an apparently abandoned hotel in east L.A.? Doubtful.”

Dawn shrugged and shook her head slowly as tears welled in her eyes. “Buffy – don’t you remember what happened to Faith? Where does it end? Today it was Hallie … but what happens tomorrow? What happens when someone else … another human, crosses you?”

“I’m not Faith!” Buffy argued. “I know what I’m doing! It’s not the same thing.”

“Faith thought she knew what she was doing, too…” Dawn contended sadly. “I’m sorry … I can’t … I can’t help you anymore. I won’t tell anyone – I won’t tell Giles or Riley where you are or what you’re doing, but I can’t do this. You’re asking too much.”

Dawn’s heart was breaking … she thought she had her sister back – she thought she had what little was left of her family back, but she’d been wrong. Buffy … the old Buffy, would never kill a human, no matter what she thought that person had done; it was wrong.  Dawn’s hopes that she’d found her sister again were dashed in the blink of an eye … or the squeeze of a trigger.

Buffy sighed deeply and shook her head as she rubbed a hand tiredly across her eyes. How could she get Dawn to understand that sometimes in life you had to make hard choices … sometimes you had to shoulder a heavy burden to protect the ones you love … and in the case of a Slayer that could mean that you have to mete out the ultimate punishment because there was no one else that could.

“Dawn, please understand,” Buffy begged her. “I did it to protect my family … including you – you have no idea what she’s capable of. There was no one else that could do it, only me.”

Dawn shook her head in disagreement. “You did it for revenge, Buffy … you can wrap it up in pretty paper and tie it up with a bow, but what you did was no better than what she did … now you’re both murderers.

“I suddenly don’t know who you are – you’re not my sister – not the sister that I knew and looked up to. I thought I had you back, but… you aren’t who I thought you were,” Dawn explained sadly as she tried to control her quivering lip and keep her tears from falling.

Buffy sighed heavily as her frustration over the whole situation boiled up to the surface. “Fine … that’s fine, you should go. I’ll handle the rest myself,” Buffy said coldly, as she turned and headed to the desk to find a pen and piece of paper like she had started to when she first came in.

When Buffy looked back up, Dawn was walking out the door. Tears welled in Buffy’s eyes as she watched her only friend, her only ally, her only family, walk away. She wanted to call her back … tell her … tell her she loved her and was so proud of her and beg her to stay, but she wouldn’t apologize for what she’d done to Hallie. She had killed a human and she’d done it in cold blood, but she wasn’t sorry. It had to be done … and she was the only one that could do it. Spike wasn’t here to take that burden from her shoulders like he had when Riley attacked them and shot Tara; this would be Buffy’s burden to carry and she’d carry it and answer for it when the time came.

**~**