NOVEMBER 19, 2027-NEW ENGLAND-

Joni felt the atmosphere around her shimmer and shift, as if the air itself were sliding into a place it didn’t belong. She opened her eyes and found herself, once again, in her Daddy’s room.

Aunt Willow never told her spells could be that rough. She sniffed and put a hand under her nose, feeling wetness there. Her hand came away with a red smear. Damn, now her nose was bleeding. She quickly looked at her father. He hadn’t stirred. If the scent of blood couldn’t wake him, she was almost certain nothing would.

The images flashed in her mind so quickly that they nearly made her vomit. Some of these things had to be part of her Daddy’s illness. Connecting with him must have made her susceptible to his confusion. The things she’d seen, they just couldn’t be true. Not all the Slayers had died. She wasn’t alone. Her Uncle was never a vampire. True, he’d never really talked about the past. But, her Mom would have told her if something like that had happened. It was the kind of thing that a Slayer would know about.

And most of all, her mother hadn’t died. She was still alive. Yet Joni could still hear the echoes of her Daddy’s sobs. She could still remember, in her little girl way, wanting desperately to hear her Daddy’s voice and see him smile again, if only for a moment.

Her heart still ached with need. Joni could remember wanting to make it all go away so that her Daddy wouldn’t be angry with her. But she didn’t know how to make it better.

She could still see the empty look in his eyes as they stared out into the darkness. He would cry for hours on end, mindlessly rocking his body in a gentle motion, which reminded her of the way he used to rock her when she’d awakened from a nightmare. There were times that he didn’t even know her. He would stare right through her, like she wasn’t even there. He wouldn’t eat or sleep. He was just waiting to die.

She could remember promising to be good. She’d promised to eat all those yucky beets he said were so good for her, if he would just look at her.

When her Aunt Willow took him to Rome, to the hospital, she cried. And, she cried hard. Why was he leaving her? What had she done? Whatever it was, she swore she wouldn’t ever do it again. If only he would stay and look at her like he used to.

But, before she knew it, he was gone, and it was because of her. She’d taken Mommy away, and now her Daddy was leaving too.

She just wanted him back. But, he stayed away for a whole year, and she knew it was because of her. He said it wasn’t, but she knew. She knew that she had taken Mommy away from him. And she wanted to make it right.

She remembered. She knew it could not have happened. Yet she still remembered it all, in painful clarity. Could it be true, somehow?

No, it couldn’t be true. Her mother was a Slayer, and so was she. Maybe that would explain it. Still, no Slayer dream felt this way. None of the other dreams were this detailed.

And, that old man, who was he to her? He was the only thing that made sense. He looked so familiar, like she should know him. His name was on the tip of her tongue, just waiting to be spoken. But she couldn’t seem to say it. She knew he was important. But how could that be, when she’d never seen him before?

Joni left her father’s room in a daze. There were just so many pieces to fit together that she didn’t know where to begin.

Walking softly down the hall, she thought about asking her mother. But, then she thought better of it. It was obvious to her that her mother was trying to hide something from her.

No. Her only option now was her Uncle Angel.

She didn’t want to leave the house now. She could feel the pallor of death hanging in the air, more now than it ever had before. She wasn’t sure her Daddy could hold on much longer. But, she needed answers. To find them she needed to leave.

Taking a breath, and silently sending her Daddy all her strength in the hope that he would still be when she returned, she walked out the door.

Her Daddy wasn’t leaving her again.
************************************************

IN THE INTERREGNUM-HIGHER PLANE

Spike felt fear creeping up his limbs as he stared at Buffy. Shock he’d expected. He’d even shocked himself a little, but once the words were out of his mouth they just seemed right.

This was more than shock. Buffy looked as though she’d been hit by a two-by-four. It was more than just unnerving, this was bordering on terrifying. He looked into her face and said slowly, “Buffy, are you all right?”

She blinked and swallowed hard. The vague ache that she felt suddenly became unbearable to her. Now she understood. And she couldn’t believe what he was willing to give up, for his family and the world. It was amazing. If she could find a way to show him what this meant to her, if there was any way she could ease the pain she knew his choice would cause, she would take it, “Spike, I… I didn’t know.”

He smirked, “Neither did I, Love. But, that’s not important now. It’s Joni that matters,” he swore he could still get lost in her eyes. Even here, he was amazed, and more than a bit humbled by the pride she seemed to have in him, “The rest will keep. It will wait. Now’s not the time.”

“But, what you’re giving up,” her eyes welled up with tears at the thought of what he’d just been given, and what he’d just handed back; all for her sake, “Why would you do that?”

Spike was still amazed at her. This was the woman who somehow, just with her very presence in his world, had changed his nature and made this a possibility, and she was asking him why.

He held her face gently in his hands and said simply, “I meant what I said, Buffy. He can have his prophecy. He may seem to have everything, but appearances can be deceiving. Having you, and the girls, that means I have everything. My reward just comes a little later now, is all,” he said as his eyes twinkled a bit.

Buffy sighed into Spike’s chest, “You sound like a Watcher.”

“I suppose I do,” he agreed, “I’ve been watching over my girls long enough.”

Buffy gasped as realization hit her and she looked at Spike with fright in her eyes, “Wait, Spike. Would that mean that you would have to…?”

“Not everything is as it seems, Pet,” his lips curled into the familiar smirk that told Buffy he was up to something, “You know I’m certainly not.”

Buffy couldn’t help but admire the passion he had. She’d never seen anything so intense in any being, living or dead. And, it astounded her. Amazement colored her tone as she held him tight, “Now there’s the understatement of…ever.”
*******************************

DECEMBER 4, 2005- ROME

Giles scribbled furiously, trying to transcribe what he heard, “That’s l-o-t-e-r? Yes, I’ve got it,” he shook his head, “ Yes, we do have people who can help us to locate him. Stephen Riley will be taking the next flight to the States, and Los Angeles. He may be of assistance in that. Can you gain access to the object in question? I see. Well, I will put you in touch with an associate of ours. She is acquainted with Spike, as well as the former C.E.O. of the Los Angeles branch. She will tell you where your search may be most fruitful. Once you find it, please make sure it gets to Mrs. Buffy Summers-Dustin-number 80 Jennings Street- Los Angeles. No, I will tell her to expect it. Thank you for your help, Miss Johansen. Pia,” he smiled, “Yes, thank God for the computer age. Everything still has a paper trail. Thank you again,” he said as he hung up the phone.

“Well,” Xander pressed, “What did she say? Did Wolfram and Hart have a file on Spike or not?”

“Yes they did. They opened the file when it was discovered that he wore the amulet, rather than Angel. It seems that the firm had intended to coerce Angel to do their bidding first by giving him power, then by tying him to their firm through the amulet,” Giles sighed, “It was hoped, apparently, that he would be grateful for his ‘rescue,’ and overlook some of the firm’s more shady dealings.”

“ ‘Rescue?’ From where?” Dawn asked.

“From a dimension called X’yxeth. It’s a Loterminenthalogcial dimension.”

“A who?” Xander questioned.

“A dimension where one’s most hidden thoughts are collected, and made real.”

“You mean, like the time the kid in the coma made all of our nightmares come true?”

“Yes Xander, I suppose I do. Except, rather than a localized disturbance, as was the case in Sunnydale, essentially, an entire world could be populated with terrors such as we experienced.”

“Oh,” Xander groaned, “That could be bad.”

“Indeed.”

“But, Angel didn’t wear the amulet. Spike did. What does that mean for him?” Dawn bit her lip and her eyes widened with worry, “What was the amulet supposed to do?”

“The amulet was designed to hold Angel prisoner. Until he agreed to Wolfram and Hart’s terms of release,” Giles said grimly.

“What terms?” Dawn asked.

“Allow the apocalypse to proceed, unchallenged. Angel only discovered the true nature of the talisman when he became C.E.O. of Wolfram and Hart. By then, it was too late to help Spike.”

Dawn was horrified, “You mean, that Angel let Fred die, and possibly the Slayers, because he was trying to get Spike out of there?”

“Yes,” Giles lowered his eyes and his voice was barely a whisper, “I’m afraid so.”

“And, did they come through with their end of the deal.”

“No.”

“Which just proves that lawyers are evil personified,” Xander commented, “Angel should have seen that one coming.”

“So,” Dawn asked, “ Spike is still trapped there?”

Giles nodded, “There is a portion of his soul that was not released into the ether when he rescued Buffy from Drusilla. So yes. A part of him is still trapped there.”

Dawn could feel her throat tightening, “And, what happens to Spike, or us, if we try to get him back?”

“There’s no way to know.”
*********************************

HOURS EARLIER- LOS ANGELES

His transient turn as a member of the human race had done nothing to prepare him for how much his body hurt. As a vampire, Angel had never wanted to run into the Slayer, for obvious reasons. Now, as a human, he was sure he didn’t. He was released from the hospital ten days ago, and his body was still bruised.

He was just about to try to sleep, try to put his surreal existence to rest and start to forget the look of emptiness in William’s eyes, a look that not even his daughters could remove after Buffy died.

Except, she hadn’t died. That had all been a lie cooked up by the Senior Partners to make him feel guilty. But maybe it wasn’t a lie. Maybe it was a type of Hell. Maybe watching Buffy die, and seeing what it had done to Spike, was his punishment for leaving Spike in that place.

Perhaps it was his conscience, feeble as it was, that made him persist in that place for thirty years. Or maybe it was Spike. Perhaps he was exacting vengeance somehow by making him watch the last of his family weaken and die, and then make him unable to fulfill his last family member’s dying wish; to take care of his children.

And then there was the ghostly visitation in the hospital. Were those just figments of a fevered brain? Was what he’d seen just the consequence of his new state of being? He wasn’t sure.

But, whichever, or whatever, was behind it, it meant one thing to him. Somehow, Spike still existed. And, if he still existed, Angel knew that this type of torment was the least he deserved for consigning Spike to that horror.

Just as he was about to drift off into his nightmares, the phone rang. He thought about ignoring it, but then realized he couldn’t, and slowly rose from his bed and stumbled in the dark to answer the insistent bell, “Liam Donovan,” he was surprised at how quickly the name came to him; it had been so long since he’d had occasion to use his human name, “Who is this, and why are you calling me at this hour?”

The tone on the other end of the line was terse and familiar, “So sorry,” Giles snipped, “but as you are the only being who has even had a glimpse of William Dustin in weeks, sadly, you are our first stop, as it were. It may also interest you to know that Willow was able to retrieve Buffy and Joni from inter-dimensional space, but was unable to ascertain where, or even if, Spike still exists. And, it seems that, the child, who only weeks ago was an infant, is now an apparently feral, and understandably frightened, young girl who is eight years of age,” his tone was sarcastic and biting, “ Forgive my rudeness, but we thought perhaps you could enlighten us.”

Angel sank heavily into the chair that was part of the dinette set near the wall-mounted telephone as he ran his hands nervously through his hair, “Oh the amulet. I was hoping that wasn’t true. That, it was just another of Wolfram and Hart’s lies.”

“Sadly, that does not seem to be the case.”

Angel took a deep breath, “Okay, Giles. You know that modern philosophy holds that there are four elements to existence. Earth, air, fire, and water, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, medieval philosophy held that there was a fifth. It permeated all existence, all beings. Not just human beings. It was called quintessence. It was believed to be a being in its purest form. It was what celestial beings were composed of. It’s what the seraphim are made of, if you believe that kind of thing. Wolfram and Hart sought to trap that, and use it to their advantage. Hold it for ransom, until I did what they wanted me to do.”

“But, you didn’t behave as they had hoped.”

“No, I didn’t,” Angel sighed, “Or, maybe I did. I don’t know. In any case, Spike played the hero, and paid the price.”
******************************************

DECEMBER 6, 2005- SYNERGY DOJO

A few days ago Rupert Giles called her at her home and told her about what Wolfram and Hart had expected from “Mr. Angel” when they transferred control of the Los Angeles branch to him. Georgina knew now what the amulet had done. And, she knew what it had done to Spike.

Rupert Giles did not have to enlist her help in aiding a paralegal from the Cleveland office in her quest to find the amulet. She would have volunteered.

So, when a call from Rupert Giles came through, Georgina transferred it quickly to Buffy in the apartment above and busied herself trying to get lost in the minutia of organizing the files on her computer. It was easy to forget about where Spike could be when she had the much smaller chaos of time management to deal with.

She looked up from her work when she felt a cold shadow fall over her. She looked up and was amazed by who it was that was standing in front of her. Georgina could not believe he’d dared to even show his face, “What are you doing here?” she nearly spat out the words.

Angel gave a slight smile and took a deep breath, “Hello George. It’s good to see you.”

Sea-grey eyes looked back at him, “Can’t say I can say the same,” she said calmly, “And it’s Georgina to you.”

Angel swallowed hard, “Fine. I’m here to see Buffy…and Joni. I heard. Is she all right?”

“We don’t know. No one’s been able to reach her. And, I’m fairly certain that Buffy wouldn’t want you anywhere near her,” Georgina placed her hand just below the burglar alarm button that was mounted under her desk, more than ready to press it if she needed to, “So, why don’t you just turn around now, and I might forget I saw you here.”

“Sorry George. I can’t do that. If Buffy wants to throw me out, I’ll let her tell me.”

Georgina Whitby-Robert had been taught the finer things of etiquette. It was part of her upbringing. After all, she did come from old money. But all of that refinement and breeding went by the wayside as she stared at this unapologetic man. His transformation had taught him nothing that she could see, about being human.

She could feel the rage building as she slowly made her way around the desk. Positioning herself squarely in front of him, she refused to let his size deter her. Her chest burned with a smoldering fire as she confronted him. She advanced as she spoke, slowly causing him to retreat, “Why you arrogant son of a…” she reached up and shoved him, low in his chest, catching him by surprise and making him stagger back a step, “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” she advanced still more, “Now get out before I forget that I’m a lady!”

The menacing voice of the Slayer spoke from behind her, “Don’t get your hands dirty, Georgie. Let me take care of this.”

Georgina looked over her shoulder at Buffy’s tired face, “You’re sure? Because I’d be more than happy to…”

Buffy smiled sadly, “I know. But this is my fight.”

George eyed Angel warily, “If you’re sure.”

Buffy nodded, “I’m sure,” her eyes glinted dangerously at Angel, “Why don’t you pick Stephen up from the airport?” Buffy suggested, “It’ll give Angel and I a chance to catch up on things.”

“Okay,” Georgina said, as she headed for the entrance, “But if he’s here when I get back, I can’t be held responsible for what happens.”

After being sure that Georgina was out of earshot, Buffy turned to Angel and said, in a low, menacing voice, a voice that told Angel that she had no compunction about carrying through on her promise, “Now, Angel. You tell me where my husband is, and how I get him back where he should be, or I will kill you. Do you understand me?”
*******************************

IN THE INTERREGNUM-

Things were worse when he remembered. The other beasts here could sense when he was weak and would attack him. To survive here, he had to forget the sounds from his dreams. Because, when he remembered, he was weak.

He had tried to forget, but he could not. He knew it was better to forget, that forgetting would make him strong. But the strange other world was all he had. In the other world there were sounds that held meaning, but here there was no sound, no meaning.

So, he held on even though he knew he should not, to the things from that world he still understood.

He held on to the Promise. And he held on to Love.

Without them, he was numb. The other world was full of things he had forgotten. Sometimes he would try to reach out and grasp the edges and try to pull them close. He should have been able to catch these things. The hunt was what he knew. He was patient. But when he came close to knowing what these strange things were, they would skitter away faster than the small things he fed upon.

And he would weep at the loss. In that world there were things like him. Things were soft. The softness was pleasing. And he knew Love.

When he woke, they were gone, his warm, soft things. And he didn’t know how to get them back. Eventually, he grew to accept that he would never be warm again.

This was his world now. There was no going back. Here, there was no sound, nothing like him. There was only him. There was only now. The other world was a foolish thing.

Still he had hope that soon he would remember. To keep that light in the distance, he began to practice making the sounds. First, from his dreams and then he began giving the things around him sounds and meaning. He did all this in the hope that She would come for him now, as She had in his dreams.
******************************************************

NOVEMBER 20, 2027- NEW HOPE CEMETERY

There was more than just sadness here tonight. It had been years since Homer had felt anything like it, but he knew it well. He knew the smell of it, and could practically taste it in the air. And as he slowly rounded the Morris plot, he saw her.

She was vengeance personified. Her eyes were blazing and her jaw was set. He remembered that feeling. For years it was all that sustained him.

But it wasn’t right for her. Someone that delicate, that beautiful, should never feel that. It would destroy her. And, he knew that if he didn’t stop her, she would be trapped in its snare. She would be cold and alone, much as he had been before she came.

He couldn’t allow that to happen. Not this time.
************************************

Her Uncle Angel was going to explain this. As she stalked through the cemetery, she tried to clear her vision of the angry tears that kept flowing down her cheeks. He was going to explain the blank spots in her memory. And, he would explain why her Daddy had nearly killed him last night. And, why her Daddy was leaving her.

After he explained all of that, she was going to kill him.

A voice, sounding from near her feet, stopped her cold, “No you won’t, Joni. Slayers aren’t killers. You’re not a killer.”

Joni looked indignantly at the little old man who had the audacity to speak as if he knew her. Her mouth opened and she was going to put him in his place. She was going to tell him that he should mind his own business, when he brushed the earth from the plot he’d been tending to from his hands, slowly stood, and turned to look at her.

It was then that the rebuke died in her throat. The air seemed to shimmer and slide again, and she blinked. For just an instant, he looked like her Daddy. But, that couldn’t be. The grief must be doing things to my head, she thought.

She swallowed hard, suddenly feeling dizzy, “Who are you?”

The trace of a smirk pulled at his mouth, “No one important. But, will you stop and listen to an old man, before you do something rash?”

Joni could only nod.

“Good,” Homer said.
**************************************

DECEMBER 9, 2005-LOS ANGELES

“But, Buffy, there had to be a reason Spike told you to leave him there,” Willow knew that she was the wrong person to make this argument, considering her actions in the recent past. She bit her lip, unsure she should even breathe the words, “Maybe we should…do as he asked?”

Buffy whirled on her in fury, “Willow, How can you say that? Stephen has tried for days to reach her. She’s only said one word since we came back,” Buffy sniffed back her tears, “She is wild, Will. And, she’s scared. Nothing here is familiar to her. Nothing makes sense,” a sob shook through her, “I remember what that’s like. She needs the one person she knows. She needs her Daddy, Will. And, so do I.”

“I’ll try,” Willow gave in, even though she knew there would be consequences, “But in order to attempt this kind of retrieval, I will need the catalyst for the original spell. In other words, I will need the amulet.”

“It’s on its way, Willow. A paralegal from the Cleveland office found it. But she has to send it on the sly. She has to do this under the Senior Partners’ radar. So, it should be here in three days.”

“Until then,” Willow said, “why don’t you and Stephen try again to reach Joni?”
***********************************************

The room was full of bright, round colors. No sharp edges here. This was a room just waiting for a little girl to make it hers. What little girl wouldn’t flutter with happiness at the sight of that rainbow on the wall, and that bright blue sky? Stephen was almost a man, and even he was impressed at the care and thought that had gone into this room. There was even a cradle sitting silently in the center of the room.

It looked forlorn. As if it knew it would never fulfill its purpose.

This was meant to be a place of comfort and warmth.

It wasn’t now though. Now it was unfamiliar and sharp to the one person it was supposed to protect. That wasn’t the girl’s fault.

No, that fault lay squarely on his father’s shoulders.

As Stephen looked at the eyes staring wide-eyed at him from the corner of the room, he wondered. Had his father seen the same look in his eyes when he’d returned from the only world he’d known? He’d wondered too, if he’d be able to reach her. He himself was sixteen when he’d come back. His mind could understand, could survive the shock this world was to him. But could she?

He crouched, making sure his head was a little lower than hers. Until he knew different, the submissive posture was best. He looked up at her and spoke slowly and distinctly, “Hello Jonina. My name is Stephen. It’s nice to meet you. Can you understand me?”

She nodded. And Stephen noticed that she pulled the tattered plush rabbit she carried closer to her, as if to protect herself from him.

“Easy. I won’t hurt you. Can you talk?”

She pouted and tilted her head, sizing him up. Her eyes flashed with indignant flame. The sound was feral, and just barely qualified as human, but he understood it perfectly as it rose from deep within her, “Yes!” she growled.

Stephen could tell that she was fighting the fear and exhaustion she felt. He knew he would get no more from her tonight, “That’s good,” he said softly as he backed out of the room, “We’ll talk some more tomorrow.”

Stephen closed the door with a heavy sigh. Turning his eyes to Buffy’s anxious face, he tried to tune out the keening that was rising beyond the door, “We’re not getting anywhere tonight. She’s too frightened. She’s just too traumatized.”

“I did that to her,” Buffy cried, “I took her from the only home she’s ever known. I tore her from his arms! We have to get him back. We just have to.”
***********************************

IN THE INTERREGNUM-

He’d nearly forgotten it had been so long. Night after night he’d wept and howled, looking up at the sky.

He’d become reckless, wanting the other beasts to attack him, hoping that, one day he would finally be swept up, and found worthy, to be with them.

But, something within him knew it was not to be. He was a beast. A lowly creature. A creature that did not deserve their warmth.

Then one blessed night, it happened. He was on a hunt when he felt the wind bite at his skin and the sky began to rumble. A loud, pounding rhythm filled his whole being. It was hypnotic and compelling. He followed it blindly, knowing within himself that it would somehow lead to Her.

In the blackness of night, he saw the sky open up. There She stood, floating in the air, just beyond the rise. And, She looked so warm and good. He had to be a part of it. Even if She shunned him.

He forgot everything. Saw her alone, and ran. He ran to their warmth. He ran to things remembered.

He ran to Her.
********************************************


DECEMBER 12, 2005-

Buffy couldn’t stop her hands from shaking as she opened the envelope, and took out what was inside. She hadn’t had this in her hands in over two years. If she had understood what it had done to him, she never would have given it back to Angel.

The paper fluttered silently to the ground as she ran out of the room, calling out, “Willow, it’s here! We have to do this. I can’t leave him there any longer.”
************************************

With Joni calmed enough to sit quietly on her lap, and Stephen flanking her just in case he came back as feral as Joni did, she tried to listen to what Willow was saying, “…Now remember, Buffy. This is just like the guidance spell. All you have to do is focus on him and I, and the amulet, will do the rest. Just try to breathe normally.”

Buffy tried to focus on just breathing in and out. Her mind was racing and her heart was pounding. She could feel the heat and electricity in the air. Then she felt the familiar warmth that she had before, when Homer appeared.

Her breath hitched as she saw the flash of light bloom behind her closed eyelids, and her ribcage vibrated with the impending sonic blast.

Buffy reached down to cover her daughter’s ears, and sighed with relief when she did not flinch at her touch.

The silence that followed was suffocating, and was broken by the sob of a little girl as she was reunited with the only other being she knew in the entire world, “Daddy!” Joni cried as she flew from her mother’s lap and sought the only comfort she knew; the comfort of her father’s arms.

Buffy had never seen anything as beautiful as his shocked, frightened, golden gaze as he instinctively held her. The golden shock turned to blue disbelief as his gaze fell to her. The sound that came was more animal than human, but she would have understood it in any language.

“Buffy,” he growled as he ran toward her and took her in his arms.

Passion nearly overtook her as he nuzzled her neck and growled possessively, gently laving the closed puncture marks with his tongue. A shiver ran through her when he sighed against her and his fangs brushed her skin with a feather-light touch. It was as if he were asking her permission to take in the elixir that she knew he’d been denied. Sighing his name, her fingers tenderly held him in place.

She was blissfully ignorant of the tears that fell from both their eyes when she felt the brief sting of his fangs as they broke the tender flesh there.
********************************************

DECEMBER 2, 2027- NEW ENGLAND-

Her vision blurred again as she looked at his sleeping form. It had been nearly two weeks since she had even seen Joni.

Maybe she sensed her father was dying. Maybe she blamed her. Heaven knew she blamed herself. Her voice shook as she pressed a kiss to the back of his hand, as it entwined with hers, “Spike, it was a long, slow road back, then. But you made it. We had…so much. We have so much,” she swallowed the knife that was slicing her throat and making it difficult to speak, “Oh, God, if I had known what that spell would do to you, maybe I would’ve…no,” she shook her head, “I would have done it, even if I had known. I’m selfish that way. You knew I would do it, didn’t you?” Buffy tentatively brushed her fingers across the amulet she held in the pocket of her dungarees, “Willow says it’s the only way to stop this. But, I don’t know if I can do it. What if,” she stopped, as sobs once again took her speech. She rested her head against his chest and whispered, “I don’t know what to do.”
************************************************************************

Joni hadn’t meant to stay away so long, and as the sound of her footsteps rang in her ears, she couldn’t believe it had taken her this long to put it together. Everything the old man said suddenly made sense.

As she ran toward the house she wondered how many times, and how many different ways her Daddy had to hurt, before now. Before she finally understood.

How long had that old man been waiting for her, in that cemetery? How long had he been there, and she hadn’t noticed him? How long had her Daddy been waiting?

The tears ran down her face as she ran, “Oh, Daddy, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”
***********************************************

Buffy’s sorrow was broken by the loud crash of the sickroom’s door opening. She looked over at the intrusion to see her daughter grinning with tears sliding down her face, “I get it now Daddy!” she said triumphantly, “I finally get it. It all fits!”

Buffy was sure the stress of her father’s illness had broken her, “Joni, please,” she breathed, “Calm down.”

Joni’s intense brown eyes held her mother’s gaze, “Mom, you trusted me when you rescinded the Slayer awakening spell, didn’t you?”

Buffy nodded, wordlessly.

“Then trust me now. Aunt Georgie can watch after Daddy,” Joni grabbed at her mother’s hand and gently pulled her along, “You still have the amulet?”

Buffy gave another stunned nod.

“Come with me,” Joni said, as she led her mother out of the house.
************************************

The caretaker in the cemetery watched their approach, safely hidden behind a stone. He had forgotten how beautiful she was.

He could see her trembling with emotion, even from this distance as she slowly took the amulet out of her pocket and set it on the nearest stone, “That’s it, Love,” he whispered, “You can do this. Help me. Let me be with you, when the time comes. Love me enough to let me go. Trust that I’ll be with you. There’s no other place I’d rather be.”

Through her tears, Buffy brought the amulet back and just as she was about to smash it against the stone, she caught sight of the caretaker’s eyes, peering at her from behind a stone. A warmth of recognition shot through her, “Homer,” she whispered as the crystal shattered against the stone.

A warm breeze, unusual for December in New England, brushed softly by her cheek. Buffy could swear that she heard a voice in that breeze that said, “Thank you.”

Buffy wiped tears from her eyes as her cell phone chirped, “Hello?”

Georgie’s ecstatic voice sounded in her ears, “Buffy! I don’t know what you did, but…it’s gone! Like someone flipped a light switch or something. He woke up and he recognized everyone! Little Mabel,” Georgie laughed, “Even Xander! It’s like a miracle, Buffy. You have got to see this for yourself.”

Buffy closed her phone in a daze and looked up at Joni, “Joni your Daddy…he’s awake! I have to get back to him,” she said as she started running in the direction of the house.

Joni smiled as she watched her Mom running toward their house, “Okay Mom. I’m right behind you,” as she ran she whispered to the sky, “I love you Daddy.”

THE END