Chapter 25
Aftermath

Two weeks later

Spike watched as Buffy ducked a blow from Xander and swung around with a roundhouse kick that connected with the Whelp’s stomach. Even pulling her strength, the blow looked like it had hurt.

Normally he would enjoy seeing Xander getting beat on, but the fun was lessened by the pain of what his mate was going through.

Buffy had never recovered after graduation day. She was still Buffy, still happier then anytime after her first resurrection, but she was missing the giddy confidence and happiness that had been there when they first had returned to this timeline.

Buffy was no longer quite sure that everything would be magically better. She knew things could always be worse. Faith and Anya were strong forces for good. Jonathon and Andrew were meshing nicely with the others, and would not be hooking up with Warren. Willow would gain magical training before she had a chance to kill a man.

The odds were in their favor with the knowledge of everything they had lived through, but the deaths of people who had been alive in the previous timeline, and the deaths that she felt she could’ve prevented weighed heavily on her mind.

One result of her guilt was the thrice-weekly training session that every member attended. Buffy was taking no chances with anyone’s safety, knowing that this changed time line could bring new dangers along with the old foes of the past.

She even practiced with the newly souled Harmony. They were not sure about the happiness clause, but since in theory a Harmony without a reflection could never be that happy…

It really didn’t matter though, Harmony was never very different with a soul than without. If she ever lost it, they probably wouldn’t even notice.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Faith watched as Xander sat down and Andrew stepped up to the mat.

Her current life seemed like a dream to her. She would never admit that she liked living with Andrew, but it was very peaceful. Andrew was like having an annoying little brother. Even Harmony could be tuned out after a while. The house was spacious, there was plenty of food, and she even managed to have her own room with a king sized bed. Staying there was calming and soothed something restless inside of her.

Living with Buffy had been nice, and it had been the first time she truly felt like she had a home, but after the break-up with Anya, she had needed a place to retreat to. No one understood why she did it, but she knew she had been right. The pain had finally faded, and lately a set of blue eyes had been flashing through her memory.

It wasn’t the way she’d planned to spend the night before graduation, but blue eyes hadn’t wanted to move past the kissing stage. Although his kisses were pretty amazing.

They had ended up talking until the wee hours. He told her about growing up in California and she had regaled him with tales of Boston. They had laughed and joked, and in spite of the simmering tension, they had been quite comfortable with each other. It was something she had never experienced before.

She wondered if he would be back.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Anya smiled as Giles picked her up for dinner. They had been going out frequently since graduation. It was nice. For once she was being treated as a member of the team and like someone who had valuable knowledge to share. It was strange that it took dying and coming back to get some respect.

She wondered if he would be as good in bed as he looked.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Buffy finished training and looked up to see Spike watching her. She knew he was worried about her. She smiled.

She would be okay. Yes, she knew training everyone so intensely was probably overreacting; she just didn’t want to take a chance. She had even signed her mom up for private lessons. Everything was so different this time. She knew what was coming, but not everything could be predicated. She was determined to save her mother, Tara, and others that had been lost before their time. But the First was still out there. It would still rise up and strike.

They knew what was coming, but together, with her mate, they would survive.

~Fini!~

Final Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed/is reviewing. I appreicate it greatly. There will be three summer interludes that will occur before Book Two, but I am not really sure if I can post them here because they focus on the non-Buffy pairings in the story. Book Two will continue with season four and new problems that occur, plus more prophecy; however this story - Book One - is now complete. Thank you!