Author's Note: Messing around with "Buffy" seasons five and six here. Hope you don't mind...although it might explain some things that M.E. didn't bother to.
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IN THE INTERREGNUM- HOME OFFICE

Holland Manners knew that entropy engagement was a tricky thing, and with this new development he had to scramble to salvage this operation. The Champion had help from an unexpected quarter. This was not foreseen, although, it should have been.

As Holland paced his lushly carpeted office he surveyed the fine mahogany furnishings. Nothing but the best of everything was offered here. It was their best recruiting tool. Appeal to a being’s vanity, his baser instincts, and nothing can pull them from your grasp. Not even a Higher calling can sway them, once they’ve been led down the garden path.

This kind of manipulation was what the Home office was known for. And it would have worked, if not for the anomaly that called itself a vampire.

Holland Manners had grown accustomed to the perks that came with this office. And now because the Champion had somehow convinced the Higher Ups to make an exception, this could all disappear. In the blink of an eye, he could be down with the dregs, with the rest of the rabble.

This was unthinkable. The Higher Ups had never, never granted this request before. The only way to stop this now was to take the child and keep her until her presence would no longer be of any effect.

Holland hated to think of the kind of damage that would be inflicted by this agreement.

The effects could be devastating. No Slayer had ever come back from the dead.

This could be disastrous.
****************************

THE INTERREGNUM- HIGHER PLANE

Joyce Summers knew better than to try to talk her daughter out of this. There was no talking a Slayer, or a Summers woman, out of anything once their minds were set. Still, she had tried. For hours she tried, but nothing had worked.

There was still one thing she could pull out of her bag of tricks that might, just might, stop Buffy.

“You know, Sweetie,” Joyce knew it was futile, even before she said it, but it was all she had. Why not go for broke? My God, she thought as she drew up the courage to say it, I really do take after my son-in-law, “Spike won’t really like this idea very much.”

“I know,” Buffy acknowledged grimly, “That’s why he can’t know.” She shook her head, the images still swimming in her mind, “It was bad enough the first time around, for both of us. If he knew this?” her eyes gleamed back at her mother, “It would destroy him. I know it would.”

Joyce tried to put herself in that position, to try to understand why Buffy felt she needed to do this, “But Buffy, that doesn’t excuse…”

“No,” she agreed, “it doesn’t. But, in the end, he might be able to understand, and forgive me,” she sighed, “I can’t leave him alone. I have to do this. Even if it all ends up the same, even if he never knows, or understands why I did this, it still has to be done.”

Joyce held Buffy’s shoulders lightly, trying to give comfort. She remembered watching, wishing she could do something, as his wounded soul agonized over the very same thing. It agonized so much that it nearly drove him mad, “He’s already forgiven you. He told you that.”

“Then maybe I need to do this to be able to forgive myself,” Buffy looked down in shame, unable to meet her mother’s eyes, “Someday maybe I will.”

Joyce gave a nod of sad acceptance, “All right then. She’ll be coming soon,” Joyce turned to leave, “You’re sure?” she called back over her shoulder, giving Buffy one last opportunity to back out.

Buffy nodded.

“I’ll go meet her then,” Joyce said as she disappeared into the mist, “She’s expecting me.”
**********************************
MAY 22, 2001-

The last thing Buffy remembered was jumping off that tower. Then, there was nothing. She saw all her friends standing still, in shock. They were looking at something on the ground.

It was her they were looking at. She was lying on the ground. And, she was dead.

Strangely, it should have hurt. She knew she was dead because her friends were all around her, and they were crying. She knew they were crying because she heard the sound. A sound unlike any she’d heard before. It sounded like an echo, like something empty would sound. Her body should have hurt, but it didn’t. The body was just temporary. She could get over the hurt of the body. It was nothing.

It should have hurt. It did hurt. The empty sound tore at her. She had to make it stop. She had to find out what was making that sound and do whatever she could to offer comfort. Because she knew what that kind of sound came from. She’d made that sound herself, in her heart, when her Mom died.

She looked around for the source of the sound. Maybe it was one of her friends. Xander, or maybe it was Willow who was making that sound. Or maybe it was Dawn.

No. Dawn would survive. She was strong, and that was a good thing.

Buffy heard a voice behind her. A voice that was dead and gone. Did people have voices after they were dead? Buffy didn’t think they did. But she knew now that she was wrong because her Mom said, “Hello, Sweetheart. How are you?”

“Mommy?” she asked, putting her hands over her ears to block out the painful sound, “Is that you? Do you hear that?” she pressed her hands hard against her ears trying to block the sound. It hurt. It really hurt. It hurt so much that she was starting to cry, “What is that?” she yelled, trying to be heard over the aching wail, “Do you know?” Buffy couldn’t stand it anymore. It had to stop.

Buffy saw her Mom give a sad smile, “Yes. I do know. That’s what it sounds like when a soul breaks,” Joyce said, walking up to her daughter and hugging her, “It’s the saddest sound the angels can hear. They hear it every time a loved one dies.”

Buffy couldn’t bear it anymore. She shook her head to try and force the terrible sound out, “Oh Mommy, it hurts! I didn’t know. I thought Dawn would be all right. I didn’t know…”

“Not Dawn,” Joyce whispered, as the sound she had grown accustomed to grated against her nerves as well.

Buffy’s eyes went wide, looking at her silent friends. She had no idea that he cared this much. She moved in closer to him, to watch his face, “Xander?”

“No Buffy, not Xander.”

“Then who?” she asked.

Her mother turned around, stepping out of the way so that Buffy could see what she didn’t see before, “Look.”

She did. What she saw stunned her. He was separate, away from the others. The strong vampire, the one she counted on to protect Dawn, was gone. Buffy didn’t even recognize him. No. It wasn’t possible.

“And, why not?” Joyce asked gently, “Why isn’t it possible? He told you he loved you,” Joyce hated watching his pain and tried to keep the emotion out of her tone as she continued, “And unlike some of his kind, he has a hard time with untruths. But then, he’s always been a puzzle.”

“But, he doesn’t have a soul,” Buffy wondered at him. She knelt down to see him better; grateful she was invisible because the pain in his eyes made her ache. She could see his hand trembling as he stared, disbelievingly, at the body that lie on the ground broken and battered.

The body was nothing. It meant nothing. But somehow she still hurt. She hurt for him.

As she watched him collapse as if something had been ripped from him, she heard the roar. And suddenly, she understood, “That awful sound. It’s deafening,” she gasped, as she knew it hadn’t abated, but grew in its intensity, crushing him under its weight. She turned her wondering eyes toward her mother, “It’s him, isn’t it?” she blinked back tears, “It’s him that’s making that sound?”

Joyce nodded, “It is.”

“I didn’t know,” she sobbed for him, “I swear…I didn’t know.”

“There’s so much that this world doesn’t understand. So much that you don’t.”

Buffy slowly drew herself away from him, and his pain, “But I want to,” she said as she came to her Mother’s side, “I want to. Show me.”
**********************

In the blink of an eye she was transported through space and time. She found herself in an underground cavern. She had to squint because of a bright light. Weren’t caves supposed to be dark? She squinted harder, trying to find the source of the light.

What she found amazed her. Spike was the source of the ethereal light that bathed the cavern. He was pinned against a wall of stone and sand. The emotions she felt flowing from him were seismic, yet he remained still and serene.

He knew he was dying and that he wouldn’t have her light to guide him anymore. Time to fly. His chin lifted in defiance. Come on then. Let’s do this. Give it me good. Buffy. Goodbye, Love. Live for me. Live Love. And, be happy. Please.

Was that a laugh she heard emitting from his disintegrating throat? Yes, it was. With that, the vampire she thought was indestructible scattered and disappeared. No, it wasn’t possible.

Buffy was bereft, “How Mom?” Buffy had forgotten that she no longer needed to breathe, and choked on the hurt she felt putting pressure on her chest, “It shouldn’t hurt, but it does. Why does it hurt so much to watch that?”

“It hurts because of this,” Joyce said, as she waved her hand.

The scene changed. Buffy saw two clasped hands, joined in flame, and in death. This was his last. She knew that. She couldn’t wait anymore. Couldn’t put it off. She had to say it, before it was too late.

Buffy’s soul screamed out the words. I love you!

Joyce watched as the tears cascaded down Buffy’s cheeks. She tenderly wiped them away with her thumbs as she comforted her grieving daughter, “It hurts because you’ve just been shown a thing that you’ve been taught cannot be. It hurts because, whether you know it or not, you’ve just been torn from your other half,” at Buffy’s puzzled look she said, “Without you he cannot fulfill his destiny. Without you, the First will win. Without him, you will die.”

“What?”
*******************

The scene before her changed once again:

Dawn was suddenly grateful that Georgina had agreed to take care of Jonina for the night because she didn’t think she would be able to explain this to her. The wail was as inhuman as anything on the Hellmouth.

They were all huddled outside the small bedroom of the idyllic New England home. He had brought the tiny family here when she had taken ill, to take care of her.

It was as far from the Hellmouth as he could get her.

The look in Willow’s eyes as she reacted to the sounds of grief emanating from the room were nothing compared to the void that Dawn knew awaited her when, and if, she was brave enough to go into that room. Willow wanted to do what she could to comfort him, and started to make her way to the doorway when Dawn stepped in her way, “Willow, I’m not sure that’s a good idea right now,” she said, as she listened to the slowly rising tide of grief, “You never know what he could say or do,” she nodded begging her to understand, “He may still blame you.”

“I know,” Willow sobbed, “And, I don’t care. I deserve it.”

The sound that Dawn heard coming from the room now was a sound she hadn’t heard in twenty years, and it chilled her to the bone. That sound meant only one thing. It was over. Her sister was dead.

Dawn tried to close her ears to the sound and focus on Willow. It wasn’t much, but she would take any port in the storm of grief that she was sure awaited her once she went into that room.

She didn’t want to go into that room. She would have done anything to stay out of the Hell that was in that room. She couldn’t bear seeing that vacant look in his eyes again. He had put all his hopes in her and now with her gone she wondered if he would be able to pull himself out, or if he would let himself drown again.

Dawn walked slowly into the darkened room. The haze of sorrow that hung in the air made it difficult to see, though she could make out the outline of Spike as he hovered near the head of the bed, “Spike, is there anything I can do?”

His voice was a strangled whisper, “Nothing to be done, Bit,” the vortex of pain and grief that rose up to meet her nearly made her gasp, “She’s dead. There’s nothing left.”

The pain she felt riveted her to the spot. It took all her effort to make the muscles of her throat work so that her voice could be heard over the lump of sadness that had settled in the pit of her stomach, “Yes, there is, Spike,” her voice wavered, “There’s you. There’s me, and there’s Joni.”

His eyes narrowed, as if her name was painful to him, “Joni?” his eyes widened in recognition, “Joni? Where is she, Bit?” he stood up abruptly, his voice shaken, “Bit, tell me she didn’t hear that. I didn’t…oh God,” his head was shaking in disbelief, his eyes beseeching her to understand, “Bit, I didn’t mean for her to hear,” Spike had crossed the little room with surprising speed, grasping Dawn’s shoulders in a desperate embrace, “Tell me she didn’t hear that. I couldn’t do that to her.”

Dawn could see that the idea of keeping Jonina insulated from her mother’s death was the only thing that was keeping him tethered to this reality, “No, Spike, she didn’t hear that,” she said softly, “Joni’s safe,” at his questioning, frenzied look she finished with, “She’s with George,” she nodded, “Understand? She’ll be back in the morning.”

He looked back at the window, his voice seeming to come from very far away, “It’s dark. She hates the dark. She needs a night light.”

Dawn couldn’t be sure he was talking about Joni, “She’ll be all right,” Dawn cooed, as she led Spike slowly out of the room, “She’s your daughter. She’ll be all right.”

For the first time since she knew him, Spike truly felt like dead weight in her arms as she guided him out into the small hallway. Buffy really did seem to be his life force. And now that she was gone, Dawn didn’t know if he’d ever be the same again.

As they reached the threshold Willow stepped into their path. Dawn silently prayed that she would just keep her mouth shut and leave him alone. She hoped that Willow would know enough about Spike by now to just let him pick up the pieces at his own pace. Once he could put the pieces back, in some kind of order, then he’d approach her. Willow just needed to give Spike time to lick his wounds. She just needed to back off. But, Dawn knew, in her heart, that this was something Willow still needed to learn.

“Spike, I’m so sorry,” she sobbed, “I never, never thought that this would happen,” the tears were flowing down her face, “I’m so sorry. If there’s anything I can do…”

Dawn winced as the demon he seldom let come to the fore revealed itself, as if it were protecting the injured part of itself from a threat, “Why is the witch weeping?” he growled, “Your job is finally done. She finally succumbed,” his head tilted in grim contemplation of the instrument of his destruction. Amber eyes swam as they stared at her, “I admire your prowess, witch,” he spat, “I’ve known the lifeblood of two Slayers,” his throat and lips quivered. It was a thing that Dawn didn’t think she’d ever see. A demon in the throws of sorrow, “And shared the life of one. But you,” he pointed a shaking finger at her, “you’ve taken the lives of hundreds! How does it feel, witch, to have your hands drenched in their blood?”

Willow shrank under his fiery glare, “Spike, please. I want to help.”

His jaw twitched, “You wish to help me, do you, witch?”

She nodded.

Spike placed his hand in the center of his chest and nodded, “You want to help me, Red?” his face fixed itself into a mask of agony, “Find a stake and do it, Red. It’s hollow.”

Willow shook her head in horror at what he was asking, “No!” she gasped, “What about Joni?”

“Please, Red, I’m empty without her. You’ve already killed me. Just finish the job,” he choked down a sob as he begged for release from torment, “Please?”

Willow was stunned into silence as Dawn gently guided him past her, “Come on, Spike,” she whispered, “You don’t know what you’re saying. Let’s get some rest.”
*******************

Buffy’s heart clenched in fear and her mind reeled, “Mom, what was he talking about? There’s only one Slayer, always has been. Who’s Joni? Mom, who died? What would make him prefer a stake in the heart to being here? He’s always been so strong.”

Joyce nodded grimly, “Yes. He’s always been strong. But, even the strongest of us have a breaking point,” her eyes went down in a gesture of love and respect for the loss they’d just been witness to, “His wife just died. And, Joni is their little girl. She’s only ten, and she’s just lost her Mother. Spike’s just lost his life.”

Buffy was taken aback by this news, “Wife? Spike’s married?”

“Yes. To the Slayer.”

That made Buffy a little jealous. She grinned in spite of it, more than a little happy for the news. Though she was at a loss to explain why, “He married a Slayer?”

“Not just a Slayer. He married * the * Slayer. Buffy, he married you.”

Buffy began to understand. “Something happened, didn’t it? Because of this?”

Joyce nodded again.

Spike pleaded with the spirits, “I understand, I do. I know what’s at stake,” he looked, sadly, over at Buffy and Joni as the stood huddled together, trying not to look as devastated as he felt.

“Child, you understand that if this is done the other will receive the thing that should rightfully be yours.”

“What?” Spike gasped.

“It is done, and it will not be undone. We have done as you requested, child. We can do nothing more,” the angel he had pinned his daughter’s future to, and Buffy’s as well, disappeared from sight.

For an instant, nothing moved. Nothing could. Even here, Angelus had managed to best him. He just couldn’t fathom it.

He turned when he heard his daughter and wife sobbing. He saw the pain on their faces, and tried to smile, “You be good now, Joni. Take care of your Mum. She’s gonna need you,” he looked at Buffy longingly as he wiped away her tears, “No tears now, Love. Please? I couldn’t take it. We know I don’t belong here now. Maybe I never did.”

“That’s not true, Spike!” she sobbed, “You…”

He shook his head, resigned to his fate, “That may have been true once, Love,” he shrugged, “But I never really belonged anywhere. I’m used to it,” the next words came out quickly, for fear that they would be taken from him before he could say them, “I love you,” he was desperate, “Remember that, please!”

In the blink of an eye, they disappeared.

Buffy watched as he disappeared from sight. Spike was condemning himself to Hell, and he was doing it to protect the people he loved. This wasn’t right.

Suddenly it all seemed clear. The decision was an easy one to make, “I’m going to follow him,” she said.

“But, Mommy you can’t do that.”

Her eyes flashed, “I know why he did what he did, Joni,” her chin quivered at the emptiness and loss she was feeling, “But, you should know by now that your parents don’t exactly follow the rules. I promised him once that I would follow him, no matter where he went. And, I’m keeping that promise. He needs me.”

“But, what about…”

Buffy gritted her teeth and tilted her head in determination. For an instant, Joni was reminded of her Daddy, and how much she missed him, “Joni, I don’t really care what happens. I have to be with him. I can’t leave him alone, not when he needs me. What can happen,” she asked the wide expanse, “I die again?” she smiled wryly, “Been there. Done that,” she hugged her daughter close, “I have to keep my promise, Joni.”
*************************

Buffy was dizzy with the impact of what her Mom was showing her, “His destiny is tied to me, isn’t it?” She understood what her mother was silently asking her, “I have to go there, don’t I? I have to give him hope. Keep the promise, so that he can save me.”

“Yes.”

Fine,” Buffy nodded, “I’ll go Mommy. I love you,” Buffy said as she melted into the mist.