Disclaimer: Joss owns the lot, well except for Ariel, Cat, and Victoria.

Author’s note: Just a bit of clarification. There will be only one more chapter of The Rest of Our Lives after this instalment. This does not mean that the story will not be continued. The story will be continued in a sequel. Thanks to everyone who has been reading and reviewing.
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Chapter 28: Goodbyes

New Year’s day, complete with fancy dinner and resolutions was interrupted just after sunset, by a knock on the door.

Great Mrs Morganson from down the street still thinks Giles is here, thought Buffy.

Buffy opened the door to reveal what she could only describe as her sixteen year old self looking at her.

“Holy crap,” muttered Buffy. “Spike!” she yelled, causing the girl at the door to cringe.

“Ouch,” said the girl at the door, “Could you tone down the decibels?

Buffy looked hard at the girl. She was getting vamp tinglies from her.

“Bloody Hell! It’s another one,” said Spike from behind her.

“This one’s a vamp,” said Buffy.

The girl at the door rolled her eyes. “I guess it’s comforting that you two never change. I’m here to pick up Ariel and Cat.”

“And you would be?” asked Buffy.

“Oh right, sorry. I’m Victoria Jennifer Graves.”

“Vicky!” squealed Ariel coming down the stairs.

Ariel rushed past Buffy and Spike and flew into Vicky’s arms.

“Hey Ari,” said Vicky with a smile.

“It’s all over right? We can go home home now?” asked Ariel tearfully.

“Ya Ari, it’s over. We can’t go home though. You remember seeing the Sunnydale crater?”

Ariel nodded.

“Well there’s a Cleveland crater now. We’re going to go to England, that’s where the next hellmouth is.”

“What about all my stuff?”

Vicky smiled.

“We shipped it to the new house. Mum’s done this before.” Vicky looked into the face of her mother’s younger self. “You need to pack up the stuff you want to take back with you. The gateway is only going to stay open for a short time.”

Ariel nodded and rushed back upstairs.

“Come in,” said Buffy at last.

“Thanks,” said Vicky. “And thanks for taking Ariel and Cat for us.”

“No problem at all,” murmured Buffy.

Vicky entered the house, making sure to not lock eyes with Spike. Buffy thought it a bit odd that Vicky wouldn’t look at him at all. Buffy closed the door.

“He burnt again didn’t he?” asked Buffy suddenly, her voice wavering. “That’s why you won’t look at him.”

Vicky sniffed. “Ya, happened a lot like last time you closed the hellmouth, potentials died, Da saved the world, again.”

“He’ll come back thought right?” asked Buffy, grabbing Spike’s hand.

“That’s what Mum says.”

“97 days,” murmured Buffy.

“Ok, I’m ready,” said Ariel, carrying what seemed like half her room.

“Where’s Catherine?” asked Vicky.

“She’s off with Anya,” said Buffy.

Anya had come back from her New Year’s party at the Watcher’s Council mad at Giles, and full of tales about how a girl watcher in England had the hots for Andrew. From what Anya had told Buffy, Giles had done the unthinkable and had only danced with her once during the course of the evening.

“It’s prejudice,” Anya had said in a huff. “He’s all ‘I’m the leader of a secret organization that protects the world from demons’ and he’s refusing to be seen with a demon, that he has known and previously kissed I might add too, in public.”

Buffy had just rolled her eyes at the whole tirade.

“She has to come too,” said Victoria of Cat. “I think Mum would have a conniption if I didn’t bring Cat back. Or maybe not, but then Bianca wouldn’t be able to lord it over all us underlings that she was first born,” said Vicky.

Ariel laughed.

“Which reminds me,” Vicky pulled a stack of envelopes from her inside jacket pocket and handed them to Buffy. “Each envelope holds the name of your kids, you aren’t allowed to open them until that kid is born. Rowan put spells on all of them. See this one?” said Vicky holding up an envelope, “This one is me, but you won’t be able to open it until I’m born, go ahead, try to rip it...”

“I’ll take your word for it,” said Buffy.

“Mum said that you’d probably name us kids the names in the envelopes anyway, but she didn’t want Ariel to have a fit.”

“Hey!” protested Ariel.

“Buffy! Do you know where Andrew’s video camera is?” yelled Dawn from the second floor.

“Andrew?” asked Vicky.

“Don’t ask, he is strange,” said Ariel.

Vicky nodded.

“But the person yelling? That’s crusty old Auntie Dawn.”

“No, way!” said Vicky, rushing up to go see her aunt. Buffy let her eyes follow the mysterious third daughter.

There was a scream.

“Help! I’m being hugged!” shouted Dawn.

“Ya, Vicky’s like oh so old, but she still acts 17,” said Ariel wisely.

“She was turned at 17?” asked Spike

“Ya,”

“She’s Aurelian,” said Spike.

“Yes...”

“And I’m not telling you who turns me Da,” said Vicky as she came back down the stairs. “I won’t have you hunting down my sire.”

“Did you take care of your sire when you were turned?”

“No, she’s still out there somewhere. She wasn’t too pleased when I went and got myself a soul.”

Spike chuckled. “They never are pet.”

Vicky smiled. In the silence that followed, Ariel, Buffy and Spike all looking at Vicky with curiosity, the back door opened.

“I have a toddler that really needs to pee back here,” said Anya from the back door.

The family at the door turned and looked toward Anya’s voice. Buffy rushed a little to make sure that Cat got to the bathroom in time.

Standing covered in snow and her pink snowsuit that Buffy had purchased for her after the first snow, Cat clapped happily.

“Is that another one?” asked Anya, tugging at the zipper to Cat’s coat.

“I’m Vicky, Grannie Anya,” said Victoria shyly.

“Hello,” said Anya removing Cat’s hat and scarf.

“Vicky!” said Cat happily.

“Hey short stuff.”

“Gacie too?” asked Cat expectantly.

“No, honey, Grace couldn’t come. We are going back through the swirly vortex again.”

“She was asleep for the last one,” said Ariel.

“Oh,” said Vicky. “Potty?”

“Potty,” agreed Cat.

Vicky scooped up her sister and headed to the bathroom on the second floor.

Ariel hitched her bag up over her shoulder and stared at her parents, or their younger versions of themselves.

“Thanks, for you know, stuff,” said Ariel finally looking at the floor.

Buffy smiled. “No problem, Ariel.”

“Oh, could I ask you a favour?” asked the tween.

“Sure,” said Buffy with a smile.

“When I take the scythe for show and tell when I’m 6, can you not be so harsh next time? Cause, I don’t think that a six year old should have to polish weapons.”

“Clearly you were very traumatised by the incident,” observed Anya.

Ariel nodded.

Vicky and Cat interrupted the confessions by coming down the stairs, the toddler all packed up and carrying her Hello Kitty back pack.

“Don’t let her guilt trip you Mum,” said Vicky with a smile. “Ariel has a talent for getting into trouble.”

“I do not!” protested Ariel.

“Whatever Ari, we have to get back. I promised Mum, we’d be quick,” said Vicky.

“I don’t want you to go,” said Buffy quietly.

“You will see us again Mum, course it will be a while, but we will see you again,” said Ariel with a smile.

“You won’t tell us, just exactly when I get to be a grandma?” asked Anya.

Vicky laughed.

“Course not. It’s fun having a secret or two from you, Grannie Anya, it’s hard to find something that you actually don’t know. I mean you are ancient. More so than Da or Grandpa Angel.”

Anya nodded. “I could make you tell me you know, you are just a vampire.”

“And you are just a Vengeance Demon,” said Vicky with a glint in her eye.

“And when the posturing is over, can I hug you?” asked Buffy.

The idea that she wouldn’t see Ariel and Cat for a long long time was causing the Slayer to tear up. She wanted to hug them, she wanted to not let go.

Dawn and Xander appeared just as Buffy was pulling away from her hug with Ariel. Ariel waved at her Uncle and Aunt.

“Bye Uncle Xander!” said Ariel with a smile. It was a forced smile. “She’s gonna love you forever, even when she becomes someone else,” offered Ariel.

“Ariel Dawn!” barked Vicky.

“What I’m not giving anything away!” whined Ariel.

“Chrissy wouldn’t want you to announce that, she’s getting married next month!”

“She doesn’t love him!” said Ariel. “She loves Uncle Xander!”

Xander watched the exchange with interest. Too much interest Vicky decided.

“Look, you don’t marry someone called Chrissy. It’s a thing, a reincarnation thing. I still won’t tell you who you marry,” said Vicky resolutely.

“The idea that he marries anyone at all boggles my mind,” sniped Anya.

“You get married before he does Grannie Anya,” said Ariel, putting a smile on Anya’s face.

Before they could get into yet another side bar conversation, Vicky picked up Cat and grabbed Ariel’s hand. She exited the hallway and the house producing a flash of light.

Buffy stared out onto the front porch, where Victoria had disappeared with Ariel and Cat, dumb founded.

“They’re gone,” she said sadly.

“Yes,” said Anya. “Does that mean I can have Ariel’s room?”
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Buffy looked longingly at the front door of her house. It had been 2 days since Ariel and Cat had just walked out of that door and out of her life. She was left with more questions than she had answers for and a stack of envelopes that she couldn’t open.

Anya moved her stuff into Ariel’s room the same day the tween had left the house. Buffy hadn’t the energy to protest, she merely flopped down on the couch in the living room and sobbed at the loss of her children.

They all had tried to console her. Willow with cookies, Anya and Xander with spontaneous hugs. In the end nothing worked, because the one person they all knew would be able to stop her crying was himself just coping with the situation.

Dawn tried to diffuse questions from Ariel’s school about her absence from classes once the school year resumed. January continued along, without realizing that the house on Pinehill street was in a sort of mourning. Giles and Andrew were informed of the change of population in the house.

Buffy even received a sympathy card from Drusilla, who was still in Angel’s custody in LA.

Mrs Graves,

Our little Drusilla will arrive again, the pixies foretell it. You must believe the pixies, and Miss Edith, she rarely lies, and when she does I punish her. My Angel broods, and is angry at the sunshine. He doesn’t know what will comes, as I do. Fairy dust is coating the world, making all the tea magic.

You have to wait for the tea to be magic and our little Catherine will return. Give Mr Graves my best regards. Yours etc,
Catherine Mary St John
Drusilla, childe of Angelus

Magic Tea? thought Buffy upon reading this cryptic note.
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tbc...