Disclaimer: All the characters and recognizable dialog belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. Certain dialog borrowed from Lies My Parents Told Me and Dirty Girls. 

Last chapter. Short and, well, not really sweet, but hopefully satisfying.

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The situation unraveled with frightening speed after Buffy’s death. The handful of survivors had returned to Revello Drive, nursing wounds both physical and mental. The Potentials who had survived were in shock, terrified of what they had seen. Willow was devastated by the loss of Buffy and Kennedy, and could not be comforted. Xander felt lost, guilty, and angry at Giles, Buffy, and anyone else who got near him. Robin Wood was silent and brooding, unsure of his place and what to do next.
 
Giles had staggered in the door, sick at heart and moving like an old man. He had done his best the next day to comfort the Potentials and the Scoobies as they buried Buffy next to the other fallen Slayers in her yard. Dawn had screamed and thrown herself on the grave, wailing in her grief. Xander had tried to comfort her, but in the end he was helpless to console the teen. Giles had said a few words in a cracked voice, but his words dissolved into sobs and he couldn’t continue.
 
They had attempted to regroup, to continue the fight. But the next attack came within a few days of the assault on the vineyard, and the remnants of the Potentials were overwhelmed. The band that survived had crammed into two cars, and had fled to L.A. They had arrived at the Hyperion as a battered caravan, and had stumbled into the lobby, surprising and alarming Angel’s gang. There was plenty of room for them all, so small was their number. Xander and Willow, Anya and Dawn, four Potentials, Giles and Robin were all that were left. Faith had fallen in the battle, taken down by Caleb and a wave of Bringers. Robin had been dropped off at the hospital along the way, and his chances were slim. Dawn was near catatonic, and refused to speak to anyone. Fred led her to a room and tried to make her comfortable, but she curled up in a chair and rocked slightly, pale and terrified. Willow too was on the point of collapse, having nearly exhausted herself using magic to cover their escape. Angel and the others busied themselves providing first aid and whatever comfort they could to the Sunnydale survivors. Giles worked alongside them, burying himself in movement until at last everyone was fed and bandaged and bedded down to take whatever rest they could find.
 
Giles came down the stairs with the last of his strength, joining Angel, Wesley, and Gunn in the lobby. Lorne was doing his best to comfort Dawn, while Fred was looking after the most injured of the Potentials. ”Giles, sit down, please,” Wesley said, guiding the exhausted man to the nearest chair. Angel came from the office with a glass of whiskey, which he pressed into Giles’ hand. Giles brought it to his mouth with shaking hands, the class clinking against his teeth as he drank.
 
“Can you tell us what happened?” Angel asked gently. Giles didn’t answer, but just stared blankly into space. “Giles?” Angel repeated.
 
In reply, Giles dropped the glass and covered his face with his hands, weeping and shuddering. The others watched helplessly as the Watcher lost every last shred of his control. Angel finally raised the broken man and gently but firmly led him upstairs, settling him in Angel’s own bed to recover. Angel rejoined his crew, and they conversed in hushed whispers about what could have gone wrong. Angel had asked about Buffy and Faith but there had been no answer other than shaking heads and sad looks. Eventually Gunn and Wesley went to bed while Angel sat in his office, contemplating the situation.
 
Giles was the first of the Sunnydale group to come downstairs the next day, having slept little. Angel had taken off on an unknown errand during the night, and was nowhere to be found. Wesley was in the office, poring over a book, when Giles came in. “Giles,” he said with concern. “Sit down. Can I get you some tea?”
 
“Tea, yes,” Giles said absentmindedly. Wesley got up and went into the small kitchenette, coming back in a few minutes with a large steaming mug of Earl Gray, which he pressed into the hands of his former co-worker.
 
“Drink, it will do you good,” Wesley said, taking his seat. Giles took a long drink, welcoming the scalding burn down his throat. “Angel will be back soon I expect,” Welsey ventured, not at all sure what to say. “I expect then we’ll be able to…”
 
“It was my fault,” Giles said as he stared into the mug. “I misjudged her… and him.”
 
“I’m sorry?” Wesley said, confused.
 
“I was convinced that she was making a mistake,” Giles said. “Buffy. She was getting close… to Spike.”
 
“Spike? You mean William the Bloody?” Wesley said in amazement. “How was he involved?”
 
“He had been… working with Buffy. They were… involved. I don’t quite know the details,” Giles stammered out. “But I was sure that he was a danger to her, to the mission. I… I went behind her back. Robin Wood killed him while I kept Buffy occupied.” He took another drink of the tea to steady himself.
 
“How did Buffy take it?” Wesley asked quietly.
 
“She was… completely devastated. It broke her spirit,” Giles admitted, to himself as much as Wesley. “I was trying to get her to understand the necessity, but she was grieving, and I was… I was an insensitive bastard.”
 
“Come now, I think that’s taking it a bit far. You cared for your Slayer more than any Watcher I’ve ever known,” Wesley protested.
 
“I let my concern for her get in the way,” Giles said. “I wanted her to lead, but I thought I knew the best way to do that. She had surpassed me, Wesley. And I didn’t see it until too late.”
 
“Perhaps you had a point though,” Wesley said quietly. “From what I understand of the story, her idea to go after the Preacher ended very badly.”
 
“I wish I could assure myself that it was a mistake,” Giles said, his voice breaking. “I find myself wondering if she was on a suicide mission. If she had just given up completely and saw death as the only way out.”
 
Wesley’s mouth dropped open at the suggestion. “I don’t believe that. She was many things, but suicidal?”
 
“You didn’t see her, Wesley,” Giles said. “She was curled up in Spike’s bed, wouldn’t eat, barely talked. I will never forgive myself for doing that to her. And for all that I treated her as a failure at being a general, the fact is that once she was gone we lost almost everyone, including Faith.” Tears welled up again as he finished the last of his tea, now grown cold.
 
“What are your plans now?” Wesley asked.
 
“I don’t know,” Giles said hopelessly. “Sunnydale is lost. The Turok-Han will soon be free, and will start rampaging up and down the coast. There are legions of them. I don’t know how to stop them.”
 
“I’ve been working on that,” said Angel, who appeared at the doorway. His own eyes were reddened, and the Brits realized that Angel had probably heard much of the conversation. “Giles, I would like you to come with me. There is someone who may be able to help us, but the price will be steep, and they want to talk to you directly.”
 
“Angel, who…?” Wesley inquired curiously.
 
“I’ll fill you in if it works out. For now, I need to keep things quiet,” Angel said. Wesley looked at Angel searchingly, but realized that he was going to get nothing further out of the vampire, and said nothing. “Giles? Are you coming?”
 
“Yes,” said Giles. He got up slowly, still dazed and exhausted. He thanked Wesley for the tea and followed Angel down to the basement and into the sewers.
 
“Sorry about the route,” Angel apologized. “But this is too important to wait until sunset.”
 
“It’s fine,” Giles answered. He walked beside Angel, saying nothing, occasionally shooting sideways glances at the vampire. If Buffy hadn’t been involved with him, would I have been so close-minded about Spike? Did those experiences with Angelus cloud my judgment so completely that I was blind to everything but Spike’s vampire nature? His brain was an endless whirl of guilt, doubt, and self-blame.
 
“I feel the need to warn you,” Angel said. “You may or may not like the person I am taking you to see.”
 
“Oh?” said Giles, not particularly caring.
 
“She represents a large law firm. Wolfram and Hart.”
 
Giles stopped. “I’ve heard of them. They are involved in all manner of nasty dealings. Why are you taking me to them?”
 
“Because this threat is more than we can handle, and they control a vast amount of power,” Angel replied.
 
They resumed walking. “What makes you think they will help us? You’d figure that an evil takeover of the world would be right up their alley.”
 
“They have their reasons, I guess,” Angel said. “But they may drive a hard bargain. Are you prepared to do what needs to be done?”
 
“I’ve got nothing left to lose,” Giles said.
 
Angel winced at the tone of Giles’ voice. “Giles, this is an enemy beyond anything you’ve ever experienced. Even if you hadn’t… lost Buffy, the outcome might have been the same.”
 
“I’m not so sure,” said Giles. “Spike was one of our strongest fighters, and he and Buffy had a connection that I never understood. I thought… I thought I was saving her from herself.”
 
“Tried that myself, Giles. As I recall it didn’t work for me either,” Angel said ruefully. “There was no one like her,” he added regretfully.
 
“No. No there wasn’t,” Giles agreed. The two men walked the rest of the way in silence.
 
They came out through a door into a parking garage. Giles followed Angel to an elevator, and in a few minutes they were coming out into a modern lobby. Angel strode purposefully to a reception desk. “Ms. Morgan is expecting me,” he said shortly.
 
“Thirteenth floor,” said the receptionist. Angel led Giles to another elevator, and soon they were stepping out into a carpeted hallway. Angel knocked on one of the doors and a female voice said, “Come in.” With an unnecessary breath, Angel opened the door.
 
A severe looking woman stood up from behind a desk. Giles was slightly alarmed to see the terrible scar that ran across her throat, but the woman was cool and collected as she walked over to meet them. “You must be Mr. Giles. Lilah Morgan.” Giles took her proffered hand reluctantly, deeply suspicious. “Your problems in Sunnydale have come to the attention of the management here. You have caused us a great deal of trouble.”
 
“You and the rest of the world,” Giles said bitterly.
 
“You contacted me about a proposition, Lilah,” Angel put it. “I still want to know why Wolfram and Hart is trying to prevent an apocalypse.”
 
“Purely business reasons,” Lilah said in her cool voice. “We have some very important clients whose interests will be disrupted if the First Evil is allowed to take over at this time. They are willing to use their power and influence to ensure this will not happen.”
 
“So what do you need me for?” Giles asked. He was exhausted to the very bone, and grief filled him completely. His patience with this cold, calculating, rather creepy woman was wearing very thin.
 
“Given our resources, we have the ability to return you to a point in time prior to the death of the Slayer Buffy Summers. You alone will have memory of what transpired the first time. It is imperative that the Slayer survives if the First is to be defeated,” Lilah explained.
 
“What’s the catch?” Angel asked. He knew enough to know that Wolfram and Hart’s offers never came free.
 
“The Slayer’s life must be traded for another,” Lilah said with a cruel smile. “Conservation of death, if you will.”
 
“I’ll take the trade,” Giles said quietly.
 
Angel was alarmed. “Giles, wait, don’t agree to anything at this stage. These guys…”
 
“Can help me erase one of the biggest mistakes of my life,” Giles interrupted. He turned his red, pained eyes to Angel. “I was entrusted with training and protecting the Potentials and mentoring the Slayers. I failed. If I don’t make this right, whatever the cost, I will never find peace again.” He turned to Lilah, “I will offer my life in place of the Slayer. Tell me what to do.”
 
“Giles, don’t…” Angel warned. But even as he said it, he knew that the Watcher had made up his mind. Lilah produced a document which Giles read carefully. The lawyer then produced a small knife and a fountain pen, and Giles signed his name in blood.
 
“Good,” said Lilah, looking over the signature and filing the document. “Follow me.” Giles and a reluctant Angel followed her to the elevator, which went down to the bowels of the building. A winding corridor led to a small chamber which seemed to be carved out of rock. Several flaming braziers surrounded the darkened space, and a figure in dark robes sat cross-legged in the middle. Lilah beckoned Giles forward. “Sit there, facing him. He will ask you the point in time that you wish to return to. Choose carefully – you only get one shot at this.”
 
Giles turned and shook Angel’s hand. “Thank you, Angel. Hopefully we will never have to be in this situation again.“
 
Angel pleaded one last time with Giles. “Giles, wait, do you realize what you’re doing? You’ve had quite a shock and…”
 
“I have to make this right, Angel,” Giles said firmly. “If I don’t, then we all might die.”
 
Angel finally nodded in acquiescence. “Take care, Giles,” Angel said in a low voice. “Safe journey.” Giles turned and went to sit down in front of the shadowy figure. The figure leaned forward and murmured something to Giles. Giles answered, in a voice too low for even Angel to catch from his position outside the door. The dark figure nodded, then raised his hands and began to chant. An orange light began to surround both figures, then with a flash, everything changed.
 
***************
 
Giles watched as Buffy and Spike walked up the stairs. He was back. He was so overjoyed to see the figure of the Slayer walking, to hear her voice again that he almost missed the voice behind him.
 
“Mr. Giles,” said Robin Wood. “Do you have a moment?”
 
Giles turned to him and asked, “What’s on your mind?”
 
“Same thing that’s on yours. We got a problem.”
 
“You mean Spike,” Giles answered.
 
“Look, I know I’m an outsider to you people, and you don’t know me at all. But I’m fighting for the same reasons, against the same enemy. So hear me out.”
 
Giles took a deep breath. “Robin, I know you are going to suggest doing away with Spike. I’ve done a little poking around. You’re Nikki Wood’s son, aren’t you?”
 
Robin’s eyes widened. “How did you know?”
 
“Watchers have their sources,” Giles said. “I know you have every reason to hate Spike. He hasn’t been my favorite person in the world either. And I know he is a vampire. But I also know Buffy. If I go behind her back, or act without her consent in this matter, I will lose her trust completely. The girls need Buffy as a leader. So we need to treat her as the leader and follow her judgment here. If Spike needs to be removed from the equation, Buffy can and will do it. I’ve seen her make harder choices than that before. So while I understand your feelings in the matter, I must insist that you leave Spike be until Buffy says otherwise.”
 
Robin was taken aback slightly at the force and conviction in the Englishman’s voice. But in the end he said, “I sure hope you’re right.” Robin made his way upstairs with a dissatisfied air. But Giles took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. He knew without a doubt that he would not survive the final battle. But he knew that everyone else at least had a fighting chance. Secure in that knowledge, he went upstairs to support his general and her troops.
 
The End