Buffy closed her eyes and willed her body to be still, to stop resisting the inevitable.  She felt her shoulder and hip joints as they stretched to their limits and wished silently that she would pass out before they popped; before her skin and muscles ripped; before she was shredded by the vampires. She felt the fangs of the Turok-Han that was atop her rip into her neck and she was almost glad. If it would drain her before the others ripped her apart, at least she would be spared that final torture.  She held her breath involuntarily, waiting for the end to come. If she was lucky, it would only take a few seconds for the beast to drain her.

Suddenly, dust rained down on Buffy’s face and she felt the weight of the Turok-Han that had been pinning her vanish.  She opened her eyes to see Faith standing above her, the scythe that Buffy had dropped when she was knocked down, in her hand.  Then Faith was moving, swinging the scythe down on the neck of the vamp that was tugging at Buffy’s left arm and suddenly Buffy’s arm was free.  Buffy began kicking at the vamps that were tugging on her legs as Faith dusted them. Then, she felt the uber-vamp holding her other arm release its grip, she looked over to see Spike standing above it, retrieving his sword from the beast’s back as the Turok-Han screeched and collapsed in pain.

“Get ‘er out!” Spike screamed at Giles as he moved away from Buffy to join Faith in fighting back the Turok-Han that seemed to now fill the area.

Buffy tried to get up, but, after being stretched to near the breaking point by the beasts, her arms and legs refused to function properly and she fell back down.  Suddenly, she was being dragged along the ground. Looking up, she saw Giles pulling her towards the stairs that led out of the Hellmouth. 

“Leave me! Help Spike!” she said to Giles but she didn’t know if he could hear her. Even though she tried to yell, it came out as barely a whisper, the bite on her neck making it hard for her to speak.   Buffy heard Willow chanting something in Latin and suddenly the fighting stopped.  Willow had set up a protection barrier between them and the Turok-Han, but the beasts were banging on it hard; it was all Willow could do to hold it.

“WE NEED TO GET OUT!” Willow yelled at the others as she struggled against the onslaught by the Turok-Han against her magical barrier, her eyes black with Magicks.  Everyone turned and ran for the stairs.  Spike stopped and scooped Buffy up in his arms and he yelled at Giles to “GO!”  Faith brought up the rear, guarding their retreat in case the barrier failed, as everyone clambered up the stairs and out of the Hellmouth.

Once they were back up in the school basement, Spike fell to his knees with Buffy in his arms.  She was still bleeding severely from her neck where the Turok-Han had bitten her.  Spike clamped his mouth over her wound and pressed his tongue against it to stop the bleeding and seal it.

“I’m so sorry, Spike,” Buffy whispered as he pulled away from her neck, satisfied that he'd gotten the bleeding stopped. 

 “’S alright now.  Everythin’s alright,” he said as he held her tightly against him. Spike dropped a kiss on top of her head and Buffy closed her eyes tightly, silently willing the tears that were there to stop flowing.  She couldn’t believe how close she’d come to dying, again.  How close she’d come to leaving him and Annie, very possibly for good this time.

“Ummm . . . maybe not so much, Spike,” Faith said from behind him.  “How do we close this . . . this . . . thing?”

Spiked turned around to see what Faith was talking about.  The gateway to the Hellmouth remained open and Willow’s energy was waning in the battle with the Turok-Han to keep the protection barrier up.

“Buffy, how’d you open it, luv?”  Spike asked, turning back to his wife.

“Blood,” she replied simply, still barely able to speak above a whisper.  The tears she’d been holding back by closing her eyes spilled out when she opened them. She tried to wipe them away, but was still having problems moving her arms, so her tears ran freely down her face.

Spike stood up and carried her back to the gateway where everyone else was and gently sat her down on the ground next to it.  Standing up, he said, “What’d’ya think, Watcher?  Blood opens it, blood closes it?”

Giles began to say something when the emblem that was the door to the Hellmouth began shifting, folding and unfolding like some kind of possessed origami sculpture.  Everyone except Buffy backed up a step at the sudden movement.  Buffy’s tears were falling onto the gateway, closing the door on the Hellmouth and the Turok-Han.

“Right then, guess that answers that question,” Spike said as the final piece of the emblem locked into place.  Willow let the protection barrier fall and within seconds they could hear the Turok-Han pounding on the gateway from below them, but it seemed to be holding, for now.

**~**

Spike carried Buffy down the stairs into their garden at the mansion, but when they got to the door she insisted that she could walk now.  She didn’t want to scare Annie any more than necessary, so Spike put her down on her feet and helped her walk into the great room.

Annie saw them and came running. “Mama! Mama!” she yelled as she barreled towards them.  Spike stepped in front of Buffy to keep Annie from launching herself at her mother.

“Whoa, Niblett!” he said as he grabbed her up, stopping her momentum before turning and setting her back down in front of Buffy.  Buffy dropped to her knees and took Annie into a tight hug. The thought of what she’d nearly lost bringing tears to her eyes again as she rained kisses over her daughter’s face.

“Mama!” Annie said.  “Do you know Robin?  His mama was a Slayer, too!”

“Robin?” Buffy asked, looking up at Spike for the answer.

“Fella’ said he had somethin’ for ya’,” Spike explained.  “Told him he could wait.”

Looking up, Spike saw Tara and Robin walking towards them. Apparently, they had been sitting at the research table when Buffy, Spike and the others came in.  Spike helped Buffy stand back up as they approached.

“Buffy!  Are you alright?” Tara asked.  Buffy didn’t look very alright, with numerous cuts and bruises all over her, ripped and dirty clothes and a fresh vampire bite on her neck.

“Nothin’ a trip to the mall won’t cure. Those vamps are hell on my wardrobe.” Buffy gave Tara a small smile before turning her attention to the newcomer.

“I understand you’re Robin?  I’m Buffy,” she said, extending her hand to him.

Robin shook her hand. Buffy winced in pain and pulled back from his grasp.  “Sorry!” he said. “I thought . . . aren’t you the Slayer?”

“Yeah, well, one of them,” Buffy said, cutting her eyes towards Faith who was standing with Giles and Willow behind her.  “Just finished a ‘Stretch Armstrong' impersonation is all, so not quite at Slayer strength right now,” she explained.  Buffy grabbed Spike’s arm for support and started walking towards the research area.  “Could we maybe sit down?”

As Buffy sat down, Annie started to climb up on her lap, but Spike picked her up. “Why don’ you sit with me, Niblett?  Let your Mum talk to Mr. Clean a minute.”

When everyone was settled, Buffy asked Robin, “So, your mother was a Slayer?  I didn’t know any other Slayers had children.”

“I didn’t know there were any other’s either, until I met Annie,” Robin said, as he looked at the child now sitting in Spike’s lap.

“What was your mother’s name?” Buffy asked him.

“Wood,” he replied.  “Niki Wood.  She was killed in 1977 in New York.”

Buffy locked eyes with Giles across the table before looking at Spike who suddenly looked very uncomfortable as he stared intently at the back of Annie’s head, unable to meet anyone’s eyes. 

Pulling her thoughts back to Robin she said, “I’m sorry.  You must’ve been very young.”

“About Annie’s age,” Robin confirmed.  “Her Watcher raised me and I’ve kept in touch with the Council over the years.  That’s what brings me here now.” 

Robin reached down and picked up the leather duffel off the floor and set it down on the table.  “This . . . this was my mother’s.  It was supposed to be passed on to the next Slayer, but I just couldn’t part with it when she died.  I think that there may be things in here that can help you now.”

“What’s in it?” Buffy looked at the duffel then back to Robin.

Robin sighed. “I don’t know. Honestly, I never had the heart to look inside.  But, I know it doesn’t belong to me, it belongs to you.  The Council says that Potentials are being slaughtered by the evil you’re fighting.  That the whole Slayer line could be wiped out if it’s not stopped.  If there’s any chance that what’s in here can prevent that, then it would be selfish of me to keep it from you.  The mission comes first.” Robin blinked back tears that threatened his eyes as he said it.  His mother loved him, but the mission always came first. 

Robin stood up abruptly.  “I should be going now.  I’ve done my part. I hope it helps you.”

Buffy leaned on the table to push herself up.  In an instant, Spike set Annie down and was next to Buffy, helping her stand.   “You don’t want to see what’s inside?” Buffy asked Robin after she got to her feet.

“No.  It’s for the Slayer, not for me,” he said as he extended his hand to her again.  Buffy shook it.  “Thank you,” she said simply, also silently thankful that he didn’t squeeze so hard this time. 

Pulling away from Buffy, Robin extended his hand to Spike.  “Take care of your girls,” Robin said to Spike.  “You’ve got a beautiful family.”

Spike nodded and shook Robin’s hand.  Meeting the other man’s eyes with his own, Spike said, “Sorry about your Mum.”  Spike knew that Robin didn’t understand the true meaning of his words, but he had nothing else to offer him. Nothing he said or did now would undo what was done.

Robin nodded sadly and said simply, “Slayer.”  Spike’s eyes drifted to Buffy, the thought of how close he’d come to losing her again causing him to blink back tears of his own.  “Yeah,” he said, clearly understanding the meaning of that one word.

Giles showed Robin out and thanked him for his help.  When Giles returned to the research area, Buffy said, “If it’s ok with all of you, I think we’ll open our present tomorrow.  I think I’ve had all the surprises I can take for one day.”  Everyone nodded their agreement.

**~**

“Tell me the story about when you first saw Mama.”  Annie said as Spike tucked her into bed a little later.

“You want that old story again?” He smiled at his daughter and shook his head.  He must have told her this story a hundred times.  Annie nodded her head eagerly and Spike sighed.

“Well, it was the end of September, but still warm out, yeah?  Your Mum was on the dance floor at the Bronze with Red and Harris.”  Spike closed his eyes a moment remembering how she looked that night when he first saw her.  “She was beautiful, moved like an angel from heaven, she did.  Her hair glowed under the lights like a golden halo.  She laughed at something one of ‘em said and the whole room seemed to light up.”

“Then you saw her fighting!”  Annie prodded him along.

“Yeah, then she was fighting,” Spike agreed. “Graceful and strong, she moved like the wind.  Got knocked down, but right back up in an instant, she was.  Then, boom, she dusted the vamp. Bloody brilliant!”

“Then she saw you!”  Annie knew the story as well as Spike did.

“Yeah, I said, ‘Nice work, luv.’  I meant it, but I don’t think your Mum took it as a compliment at the time.”

“’Cause she didn’t know you,” Annie filled in.  Spike always left out the “I’ll kill you” part of that night when he told the story to Annie.  

“That’s right, she didn’ know me ‘til later,” Spike agreed with his daughter.

“But you fell in love with her right then,” Annie concluded.

“Yeah, that’s right, Niblett. Just like I fell in love with you the first time I saw you,” Spike confirmed as he dropped a kiss on top of her head. 

“Now, time for sleep,” he said as he rose from the edge of her bed. He lightly touched the glowing orb sitting on her dresser that still served as her night light before leaving her room and closing the door behind him with a soft “click”.

Leaning back against the closed door, Spike tried to rein in all the emotions this day had wrought on him.   The panic when he realized Buffy had run; the frustration of not being able to find her; the overwhelming fear when Faith pointed out that Buffy’s note was not just a goodbye but a suicide note; the hope stirred by Cordy’s vision when they finally knew where Buffy was and the horror and anger of seeing her being nearly torn apart by the Turok-Han.  Then there was the relief when they’d all gotten out of the Hellmouth alive, or undead at any rate, only to get home and be confronted with Robin Wood and the realization that the Slayer Spike had killed in New York had been a mother with a young child, just like Buffy.   Today was the kind of day when Spike’s soul really took a beating.  It didn’t happen often, but right now he felt that a brood-fest in a dark room may be justified.  A bottle of Jack wouldn't hurt, either.

“Spike?”  Buffy pulled him out of his thoughts as she walked up to him.  She’d showered and Tara had tended the worst of her wounds.  Her arms and legs seemed to be functioning again; they’d probably be back to full strength by tomorrow.

Spike looked at her and suddenly everything he’d been feeling came out of him as uncontrollable anger.  He grabbed Buffy by the arms and pushed her back against the wall on the other side of the hallway. 

“Don’t EVER do that again!” he growled at her as he shook her like a rag doll; her head banging back against the wall with every shake.  “Don’t you ever GIVE UP on me! On us!”

“I’m sorry,” Buffy choked out as he continued to shake her violently.

As if broken out of a trance, Spike suddenly stopped shaking her and pulled her into his arms. Holding her tight against him, he buried his face against her neck.  “I’m sorry, Buffy.  I’m sorry.  God, Buffy I thought I’d lost you.  I can’t. I can’t lose you again.  Promise me you’ll never do that again.”

Buffy slipped her arms around his waist and held him as tightly as he held her.  “I promise,” she said, her face pressed against his chest, her tears flowing uncontrollably. “I’m so sorry, Spike.”

“Is everything ok?”  Willow asked as she approached the pair. She’d heard the banging from her bedroom all the way down the hall and was afraid that Buffy was attacking Spike again.

Buffy pulled back slightly from Spike, wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at her friend.  “Yeah, we’re alright, Will.”

Willow looked at Spike for confirmation and he nodded.  “Ok, then,” she said and turned to leave. Stopping halfway round, she turned back and asked, “Do you need to me to stay until you, well, you know, get shackled?”

“No, it’ll be ok now,” Buffy answered her.  At Spike’s confused look, Buffy gave him a small smile.  Leaning in close to him she whispered, “Sing it for me.”   

Spike pulled back so he could look into her eyes, his brows knit, eyes narrowed in confusion.  Buffy just nodded at him, silently imploring him to do as she asked.

He pulled her back into a tight hug and, with his mouth just over her ear, he started, “Early one morning, just as the sun was rising . . .”

Buffy took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she clung to Spike and listened to him softly sing the words of the lullaby. She thought the trigger had been broken in the Hellmouth, but hadn’t been completely certain before now.  It really was over.

Spike pulled back and looked at her again. “How?” he asked simply.

“Turns out The First was right, only I could stop it,” she gave Spike a small smile.  “I left it in the Hellmouth. I stopped it.”

“Oh, God, Buffy!” Spike pulled her back to him, capturing her lips with his in a joyful kiss.  Buffy wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss as his tongue found its way between her lips into her soft, warm mouth. Her tongue swirled around his; tasting, teasing, pleading for more.

“Ok, then . . . I’ll just . . . umm, yeah.  Ok, good night,” Willow stammered as she turned and left the lovers alone in the hall.  They didn’t even hear her.

“Spike . . .” Buffy murmured into his mouth as he picked her up by the hips and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Never breaking the kiss, Spike carried her back to their bedroom, kicking the door open and then closed behind them before tumbling down onto the bed.  Each pulled and ripped at the other’s clothes in a frenzy to get to bare skin until, finally, they had shed the encumbrances.  This was no time for making love; they both needed hot, urgent, primal sex. His need to be inside her, and her need to have him fill her, was all that was driving them. 

Buffy lay back, pulling Spike down with her. Her arms around his chiseled back, their mouths fused in a kiss, as if each was starving and the other was their only source of sustenance. Buffy wrapped her legs around Spike’s slim, hard body, pulling his hard cock to her burning cunt.  As he entered her, she gasped against his mouth.  That feeling of him pressing into her was something that always made her heart beat that much faster, made her that much wetter and made her pussy throb even harder in anticipation of him filling her.  

“Need you . . .” she murmured as he pulled away from the kiss and held himself up over her body with his muscular arms so he could thrust into her with the intensity and the power that they both needed.  

“Yes!” Buffy screamed as he plunged his cock deep into her, bringing her hips up to meet him with just as much force as he used to drive into her.  There was no pause before Spike began pulling back out and then their bodies were slamming together again and again in a dizzying rhythm until all that was left was their screams of release as every cell within them seemed to explode in pure ecstasy.  The worries and frustrations and fears of the day momentarily forgotten as they let their bodies take over and their minds go blank; just letting themselves be what they were at their most primal level: warrior lovers.  

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