Buffy paled and Giles reddened as they became aware of what she had said.
"I-I, uh, you didn't hear that, did you?" she asked faintly.
"Hear what?"
"H-hear...can I take it back?"
"Do you want to?"
Buffy thought for a moment. "No. I don't. My timing sucks, and I promised myself I wouldn't do this, but I don't want to take it back."
"Are you sure?"
"Never been more sure of anything in my life. I couldn't take it back even if I wanted to. Which I don't."
They sat in silence for a while, thinking hard. Barriers had been crossed that could never be put back and they were not sure why. Only that it had to happen.
"Are you mad?" Buffy asked after a while.
"Mad?"
"I shouldn't have said anything. You don't feel the same way...and you're a ghost...so this whole thing is just a bad idea. I'm sorry."
"Who said I don't feel the same way?"
"Well, you look like the world is just about to end so I'm assuming-"
"You assumed incorrectly. I've known how you feel for weeks now - ever since Riley broke up with you. I was still here."
"Oh."
"And in that time I've thought long and hard about this. I've had a lot of time to after all. I could never not love you, but this is not a normal situation."
"No, it isn't."
"I've watched you struggle with this and I've felt my heart break each time you look at me. Did you know you keep your heart in your eyes? I've wanted to tell you that I love you a hundred times a day."
"So what happened?"
"I'm dead. I may be here, I can talk and walk around, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm dead. That's why I couldn't say anything."
"I don't care. You're here and I can't stop loving you just because we can't be together." Buffy looked into his eyes and paled even further. "You can't leave."
"I have to. I only stayed because I promised myself I wouldn't hurt you any more. Well, now my being here is going to hurt you so I have to go."
"No! How can I go on without you?"
"You'll survive."
Buffy had tears streaming down her face. "I nearly didn't last time. I won't this time."
"You will. You'll go on to live without me, to love someone else and at the end I'll be there for you. Waiting."
"No. I won't let you go."
Giles stood and looked down at her, memorising every inch of her beautiful face. "You can't stop me."
Buffy ducked her head as she realised the truth of his quiet statement. "But I can ask you to stay."
He shook his head. "You won't."
She let out a deep breath. "No, I won't. Why are you always so smart?"
"I'm not. If I were 'smart' I wouldn't have fallen in love with you. You'd be out with your friends, laughing and having fun rather than crying. And we wouldn't be having this conversation."
"It's not your fault. I should have stayed quiet." Buffy stood and looked at him. "I'll miss you."
"I'll wait for you."
"I'll be there as soon as I can."
"No, you won't. I want you to grow old and die in bed, surrounded by grandchildren."
"That's a nice dream but I'm the Slayer. It's not gonna happen."
Giles reached out and gentle stroked her cheek, closing his eyes in pain when he could not feel the soft warmth beneath his fingers. "Maybe not, but I can dream."
"So can I. And I'll always dream of you."
Against all his best intentions, and his better conscience, Giles leaned down to kiss Buffy. He was barely inches away from her lips when he felt her freeze. For a moment he felt the pain of rejection stab his heart until he realised why she had frozen. There was a sound outside.
It was so faint that he thought he had imagined it, but then it came again. A faint scraping against the door followed by a quiet click as something tapped against the handle.
"Someone's out there," Buffy whispered.
"It's probably our midnight visitor."
"Visitor?"
"Someone has been coming here, looking through the windows, several times over the past few weeks."
"And you were going to tell me when?"
There was another scraping sound outside.
"Now?" Giles said, hesitantly.
"Thanks."
She walked to her back, pulled out a stake and went to the door.
"What are you doing?" Giles asked.
"Looking outside."
"You don't know what's out there," he protested.
"I will in a moment."
Buffy took a deep breath, put her hand on the door handle, and twisted it open. She pulled sharply and the door opened. The person on the other side fell in and landed at her feet. For a moment there was stunned silence and then the visitor shook its dark hair out of its face.
"Faith?" Buffy whispered incredulously.
"The one and only," the dark Slayer replied, standing.
"I thought you were-"
"Dead?"
"Gone."
Faith smiled. "You can't get rid of me that easily, B. After what you did, you know I had to come back."
"What I did? What about what you did? You stole my body and my boyfriend - does that ring a bell?"
"He wasn't that hard to steal, B," Faith said, still smiling. "As for your body, believe me it was not one of my highest points."
"Thanks."
"No, really, revenge is sweetest when it's shared." She leaned against the doorjamb. "And the best revenge takes time. I went about it all wrong, I realised that."
Buffy looked at her curiously. "You realised what?"
"I realised that if I wanted to get revenge I had to go after the person you cared about most and I was wrong about who that is."
The dark Slayer watched the slowly dawning horror on her opponents face. "That's right. I finally worked it out. There's someone you care about more than Mr. Beefcake, more than your brooding hunk, even more than yourself. And believe me, it was quite a rush to watch."
"No. No." Buffy shook her head. "You didn't."
"Yes. Yes. I did." Faith slowly walked around the other Slayer. "I found a magician who didn't care for much other than money and, well, you know how that turned out. I'm told it's wicked painful."
"It is."
Now Faith pouted. "Only it doesn't seem to have worked out quite the way I intended. You're looking good, B. You shouldn't, but you are. What happened?"
"It didn't quite work out the way you intended," Buffy said, aware of Giles moving to stand just behind her. "He died and it was painful. But he's still here, watching over me, so how can I let go?"
"He's here...no way! He's dead, B. A stiff. Pushing up the daisies." Faith began to shake. "I killed him! I got my revenge! He's as dead as a dodo."
"I guess someone should look into the dodos then. Because he isn't as dead as you hoped."
Faith began to look desperate. "No! He's dead - I saw it! I saw him die!"
Buffy smiled cruelly. "Ever hear of ghosts? He's right here, with me, and your perfect revenge backfired on you."
"No!"
Before Buffy could react, Faith lunged at her and the breath was knocked out of her. She felt a dull pain, as though someone had punched her in the chest and she looked at the other Slayer dazedly.
"What have you done?" she asked quietly.
Faith could only stare at her, horror turning her face pale and widening her eyes. Buffy looked down and saw with shock that there was a knife hilt sticking out of her chest.
"W-what have you...done?" Buffy asked, the words coming painfully as her legs gave way beneath her.
"B?"
Buffy hit the floor and smiled up at Giles' concerned face. "It's ok. I'm with you now."
The world went black.
***
Slowly the blackness faded to grey.
"Buffy?"
The voice was familiar but she did not want to wake up. The greyness was a safe, warm place and nothing could harm her there.
"Buffy? Love, can you hear me?"
Slowly the greyness faded and the blonde Slayer woke up. She was surprised that there was no pain even though she was awake. Cautiously she opened her eyes to see Giles' face mere inches from hers. As soon as their eyes met, the frightened look melted from his face and he pulled into a tight embrace. She could feel his warm arms around her, tight and strong, and after a moment of stunned disbelief she hugged him back. They clung together for long minutes and Buffy felt warm tears running down her face as she half-laughed, half-sobbed. Pulling back, she looked into his face and was surprised to see tears in his green eyes.
"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked. "We're together again. Am I dead?"
"Not quite," a strange voice said from behind her.
Giles stood and offered his hand to her. She took it and he pulled her up into his arms, determined that now he could hold her, he was not going to let go. Looking around, Buffy realised that instead of being in Giles' apartment she was standing in the middle of a plush office. The green carpet was covered with gold fleur-de-lis and the warm light from a fire in the hearth was reflected from the dark panelling on the walls. A desk with a worn leather chair behind it stood nest to her and the reading lamps on it had green covers with gold edging, matching the motif of the carpet. For some reason the sight of those familiar lamps reminded her of the library that now lay in ruins back in Sunnydale.
"Who are you?" Buffy asked. "No, wait, I know that. You're Barnabus, aren't you?"
"The one and only," Barnabus said, a huge grin splitting his round face. "And you're Buffy. I can see why ya broke all the rules for this one."
Giles smiled and nodded but said nothing.
"Where am I?" Buffy asked slowly. "If I'm not dead then I must be alive, but that's impossible. You see, I have this really clear memory of being stabbed."
"And they're operatin' on ya now," the balding mentor said, sitting down behind his desk. "But you've got something you've got to do first."
"What do I have to do?"
"Choose."
Buffy shook her head and peered at him, puzzled. "Choose?"
Barnabus picked up and a pen and leant back in his chair. "The Powers That Be feel that ya have done enough for the world that you can make the choice rather than Fate. But choose wisely; once you've chosen ya, can't go back. Yer choice is final."
Buffy turned in Giles' arms to face the peculiar little man. He gently wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back to his chest, bolstering her with his love and warmth.
For a moment Barnabus fiddled with his pen and then he look back at the couple. "Down there, the docs are tryin' to repair yer heart. That knife made a hole in it and it's touch and go right now. Therein lies yer choice."
"It does?"
"Yer the first person to get this choice. Ya get to chose whether ya live or whether ya die."
Buffy froze with shock and gaped at the short, tubby man. "H-how can I make that kind of choice?"
"Easy. Ya can decide to live, protect humanity from the horrors of the Hellmouth and the evil that ya can't even begin to comprehend."
"Or?"
"Or, ya can go onto yer reward with yer man there."
Buffy felt Giles tighten his arms around her and she rested her head against his shoulder. "If I go on, what will happen to my friends? My family? The world?"
Barnabus shrugged. "Another Slayer will be called." His face grew melancholy. "Of course, she won't have yer training or experience. Yer almost the older Slayer on record and that gives ya an edge; combat experience. She'll do her best..."
"But she won't be good enough."
"What's coming is bigger that anything ya've ever faced before."
"And if I stay, Giles can't come with me?"
It was closer to a statement than question and Barnabus simply nodded sadly.
Buffy turned and met Giles' eyes. "I have to choose between eternity with you or years of pain and suffering. How can I?"
"Love..." he trailed off, his words becoming choked so instead he trailed a finger down her cheek.
"Choose," Barnabus demanded.
Giles gently cupped her cheek and Buffy leaned into his hand, closing her eyes. It would be so easy to say 'stuff the world, I've done enough' but it would never be that simple. She felt his thumb softly stroking her temple and she almost sighed at the injustice of the world.
Opening her eyes she looked deeply into the pools of green so close to her.
"I love you," she whispered.
"I know."
"Do you?" she asked, feeling a hot tear slowly trickle down her face. "I love you so much. I've never loved anyone like this and I'll never feel this way again."
She put a hand on his shoulder and slowly pulled herself up onto her toes so that her face was close to his.
"I'll never get to do this again, so I'm going to now while I have the chance," she breathed.
And then she kissed him.
In the kiss she tried to express all the love she felt and all the pain she felt at the thought of being separated. He returned the kiss with equal fervour, trying to taste every inch of her lips while he could and imprint the memory of it on his mind forever. Eventually they pulled back and locked gazes, tears now bright in both their eyes.
"I'll wait for you," he said brokenly. "As long as it takes, I'll always be here. Waiting."
"I'll try to get here as soon as I can," she replied, her voice muffled with tears.
"No, love, I want you to live and love as much as you can."
"I can't without you."
"You can. I'll be here for you at the end. Don't be afraid to find someone else."
"No one could ever replace you." She traced his mouth with the tip of her finger. "I could never love anyone like this again."
He rested his forehead against hers, breathing in her scent for the last time and then planted a last, tender kiss on her lips.
"Good bye, love," he whispered.
Buffy did not reply, instead turning to face Barnabus with a look of intense determination. "I'm really. Send me back."
"Are ya sure?" the tubby man asked. "I can't undo this if ya want to come back."
"I'm sure. I have a duty and if I abandon it I won't deserve his love," she replied, lifting Giles' hand and kissing it. "Send me back."
Barnabus looked at Giles and smiled. "I knew there was a reason ya loved this one. She's quite somethin', huh?"
Giles nodded. "She's...Buffy."
The shorter man nodded and stood. Walking to the fireplace he raised his hand and made a 'lifting' gesture. In response, the crackling flames widened and rose until they were taller and wider than a man. Abruptly they froze to form an unwavering sheet of golden light and Barnabus turned to Buffy.
"Walk through there. That's the doorway."
Buffy nodded and turned to Giles.
"I'll be waiting," he simply said.
"I'm counting on it," she said and kissed his hand one last time.
Then she turned and, without a backward glance, walked through the fire.
***
Giles stared into the fire until his eyes were tearing and the after-image burnt brightly when he blinked. Even then he kept staring, half-hoping there had been a mistake and she would walk back through the fire and into his arms. Eventually the motionless sheet of flame wavered and began to flicker again, slowly dying down until it became an ordinary fire in an ordinary heath. Or at least, as ordinary as anything in that office could be. He closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath before turning to face Barnabus. The short man's eyes widened and he paled slightly.
"Ya sacrifice - both yer sacrifices - have been noted," Barnabus said quietly. "It'll be rewarded in time."
"Where am I going now?" Giles asked, his voice betraying none of the pain her felt.
The tubby man shook his head. "I don't know yet."
"Then find out. I can't...I can't stay here...without her."
Barnabus nodded and returned to his desk. "She's braver than I thought she would be. Her duty lies heavily on those young shoulders."
"Yes. Yes, it does. But she'll survive," Giles said, his voice shaking slightly. "Now, where am I going?"
Barnabus looked thoughtful for a moment and picked up a telephone that Giles was sure had never been on his desk before. "Wait outside. I have to talk to someone."
A door opened in the wall and through it Giles could see the waiting room he had first arrived in. He looked back and Barnabus made a 'shooing' gesture. Sighing, the former Watcher walked to the door and stepped through the hazy looking portal. On the other side the room had not changed since he was first there. Doreen still sat reading a magazine at her desk, complete with blue rinsed hair and polyester suit. The people in the chairs were different but they all wore the same expression of hollow despair and flicked through the blank magazines. Giles walked over the desk and waited expectantly.
"Name," Doreen said in a bored voice, not raising her eyes from her magazine.
"Rupert Giles," he replied. "Barnabus told me to wait out here."
A momentary flicker of surprise crossed the older woman's face but it was quickly replaced with the usual expression of bored disinterest.
"Wait over there," she said, gesturing vaguely to the chairs. "I'll call you when it's your turn."
Giles took a seat and leant back, closing his eyes. His mind replayed his final few minutes with Buffy and he found himself swallowing back tears again.
***
As if from far, far away Buffy could here a persistent beeping sound. It echoed through her aching head and would not go away. She vaguely tried to reach out and turn it off but her arm felt too heavy. Slowly she became aware that there were other sounds around, the low hum of machinery, a slight buzz of conversation far away, the click of shoes on linoleum and the quiet sound of two humans breathing.
Gradually, as that awareness took hold, she became aware of more pressing issues. There was a burning pain running down her chest, her throat felt raw and sore and she could feel at least two I.V.'s in her arms, one the bad of each hand. She flexed the muscles of her arm experimentally and found another one in the crook of her left arm. There was a mask over her face and she could hear the faint hiss of an oxygen tank. The Slayer shifted slightly and let out a low groan as the movement sent a wave of pain through her, radiating from her chest.
Immediately she heard a chair scrape back and her eyes fluttered open to see Xander and Willow peering over her.
"Buff?" Willow asked quietly.
"Yeah," she croaked and winced as the effort tore against her sore throat.
"I'll go and get a doctor," Xander said quickly.
Buffy closed her eyes briefly and then looked at Willow. "What happened?"
"Ssh, don't try to talk," Willow said and picked up a glass from a cabinet next to the bed. A straw poked out of it and she held it to the Slayer's lips.
Buffy took a few sips and sighed as the cool water soothed her irritated throat. As she rested her head back against the pillows a door opened and she heard some approach the bed.
"Miss Summers?" a pleasant, female voice asked. "How are you feeling?"
Buffy smiled wanly. "Awful."
"Well, that's better than I expected," the doctor said with a gentle smile. "You have an amazing constitution. I didn't think you'd make it for a while."
"Buffy's special," Xander said proudly.
"That she is." The picked up a chart and made a notation. "I'm Doctor Lewis and I assisted on your surgery."
"Hi," Buffy said, her voice still croaky. "What happened?"
"Well, the knife made a hole in your heart so we had to operate to fix it. That's why you have a large incision in your chest that's probably pretty painful right now. We put you on bypass for the operation and you received several transfusions, which is why there are so many needles in your arms. You had a tube down your throat to help you breathe so your throat is probably quite sore right now." Doctor Lewis smiled. "But you're a lucky girl. You're going to be fine."
Buffy had a brief flash of Faith pushing the knife through her heart and grimaced. "Thank you."
Lewis looked at the two teenagers who had spent the entire night sitting with their friend. "You can stay for a few more minutes and then you need to let Miss Summers get some rest. She'll still be here later."
Xander and Willow nodded and saluted.
"We'll get going in a minute," Xander assured her. "We just wanted to make sure she was ok."
Lewis smiled at them. "That's very good of you. When did you say her mother would be here?"
Xander frowned. "Tomorrow...sometime. She couldn't get a flight."
Lewis nodded and left. Xander and Willow pulled up chairs on either side of the bed and sat down, each holding one of their pale friend's hands.
"What happened?" Buffy asked.
"We told the police you were mugged," Willow began. "I don't think they'd believe that you were stabbed by a vampire."
"Vampire?" Buffy asked, surprised. "Are you sure?"
"We saw it," Xander confirmed. "I staked the bastard myself."
Buffy looked baffled.
"You don't remember?" Willow asked and sighed as Buffy nodded. "What can you remember?"
"I'm not sure. What day is it?"
Willow told her and Buffy nodded, surprised to find that she had only been out for twelve hours.
"And you're sure you saw the vampire stab me?" she asked.
Xander frowned worriedly. "We were patrolling with you, so yeah. Ever since Riley left-"
"Riley's gone?"
"Yeah. He went home after we killed Adam-"
"What?" Buffy asked, incredulous. None of this was anything like the world she remembered.
Willow stroked her hand, trying to calm her. "How much can you remember? You could have amnesia. You know you're the Slayer, right?"
"Of course I'm the Slayer."
"Good. 'Cause that would have been bad."
Buffy closed her eyes and tried to order her thoughts. She could remember everything so clearly, Giles' death and return, the exams, Faith, Barnabus, but somehow events seemed to have happened that should not have.
"I-I remember things but...it's clouded. Maybe you guys could help me?"
The two teenagers nodded slowly.
"Ok, can you remember Faith coming out of the coma?"
Willow nodded. "You switched bodies and we had to switch you back. Then you and Riley had that falling out thing and nearly split up. And then there was that weird Jonathon-verse and he got you guys back together-"
"Jonathon-verse? What's one of those?"
Xander and Willow exchanged glances but it was the witch who spoke. "Jonathan made us all think he was this great movie star, and writer, and musician, and superhero - the biggest 'Mary Sue' complex ever."
Buffy looked blank.
"Don't you remember it? Or that weird haunted house thing, which was not fun by the way? Or-or killing Adam?"
The Slayer shook her head at each event and Xander winced. "This is not good. Can you remember anything?"
Buffy thought for a moment, weighing up the odds and possible reactions. Something had happened to change recent history radically and she did not know whether it was a good change or a bad one. She decided to play safe until she could work out what had happened. For a moment, tears threatened to well up as waves of Giles miss-age washed over her, but she firmly swallowed them down.,
"It's all...hazy. I feel like I should remember it but I can't. What happened to Faith?"
"She turned herself in," Willow said. "She's in custody waiting for a trial. Angel is helping her."
"Good."
Buffy felt her eyes begin to close again and Willow gestured to Xander.
"We'd better get going. We'll be back soon," she said, walking to the door.
There was no response and she looked back to see Buffy sleeping peacefully.
***
Giles felt as though he had been sitting in the waiting room forever. The silence was frustrating, and the endless succession of hopeless people was monotonous. As he sat in his chair, his mind went into a half-trance and, not matter how hard he tried to steer it elsewhere, he always came back to the same thing. Buffy. Her scent, her warmth, the soft flesh of her cheek, her expressive, beautiful eyes, and, inevitably, the pain in them when he last saw her. It was a pain that was mirrored by his own heart and he found himself unable to forget it.
Eventually a low buzz sounded from the desk and Doreen looked up. "Rupert Giles. He's ready."
Giles sighed and stood. The walk to the door seemed like the longest he had ever endured, although it was only a few paces away from his chair.
In the office, nothing had changed from the last time he was there. The fire still crackled merrily in the hearth, the reading lamps still reflected warmly from the dark panelling and Barnabus still sat behind his desk. Unusually, he had a reflective, almost pensive, expression and there was none of his usual exuberance when he spoke.
"I talked to The Powers That Be," he said without preamble. "It took a bit of persuasion, but I've managed to get ya a new assignment."
The former Watcher nodded. "Where am I going?"
"I'll take ya," Barnabus said and stood abruptly.
"You will?"
"It's something in the nature of bein' a special assignment," the shorter man explained. "I'll need to tell ya some things when we get there. I don't want ya mucking this up. I put too much work into sortin' it."
The tubby man walked around his desk and approached the fire in the hearth. He gestured to it and, rather than spreading out as it had earlier, the fire seemed to burn brighter. The heat from it increased until Giles, standing several feet away, felt sweat bead on his forehead. As it intensified the fire changed from a merry yellow colour, lightening until it became pure white. Only then did it grow and spread, although it took a shape rather than becoming the sheet of living flame it was a few hours ago. Tendrils of white flame shot upwards, tentatively at first and then more frequently, eventually meshing to form an archway of brilliant white light. The heat was incredible and Giles was amazed that Barnabus, standing so close, was not burnt.
The short, balding man looked at the archway critically for a few moments and then he made a cutting gesture. Abruptly, the heat ceased and was replace by icy coldness. The archway framed a portal leading into darkness so complete that it was almost a living thing and Giles felt almost as though it was pulling him, trying to suck him in.
Barnabus turned to face him. "Ya have to follow me. This ain't gonna be pleasant but it's necessary for yer task. No matter what happens, keep following me. Stray from the path and yer history."
Giles nodded his understanding and Barnabus turned without saying anything more. For a brief moment the little man seemed to hesitate, but then he took a deep breath and walked through the portal. As if drawn by a magnet, Giles approached the dark opening. He could feel something tugging him into it despite the cold that was so intense it almost burned. He put one hand out to touch the flaming archway but at the last moment drew it back. Shutting his eyes, he walked forwards.
***
Shards of burning ice pierced his skin and he cried out in pain. At once, he felt both broken and remade, pain so intense he burned with it and ecstasy so great he wanted to die. Nothing existed outside the sensations. The pain had no beginning and no end; it simply was.
As suddenly as it began, it ended and Giles landed painfully on the floor. He lay for a moment, his eyes closed and gulping in soothing air. Eventually, he recovered enough to cautiously open his eyes and sit up. It was with some surprise that he realised he was sitting in his own living room. Confused, he looked around to see Barnabus standing a few feet away, straightening his jacket.
"Why am I here?" Giles asked.
Barnabus turned to him. "It's yer assignment."
Giles carefully stood and shook his head to clear it. "Pardon? How can my assignment be here?"
Barnabus' face split into an enormous grin. "Easy. I did some fast talking with TPTB and here ya are."
"But why? I thought...I mean Buffy...what...could you explain?"
The tubby man sat down on the couch and gestured to Giles to join him. "It's simple. I talked to The Powers That Be - and believe me, that ain't a conversation I want to repeat - and they agreed with me. Ya weren't meant to die when ya did and ya both made an incredible sacrifice for the world. So, yer being rewarded."
"Rewarded?"
"It's sort of an early reward," Barnabus continued. "Originally, ya were meant to die at the same time and go onto yer reward together. And yer reward was gonna to be eternity together. But as ya know, that all went up the creek when yer other Slayer decided to kill ya. It wasn't meant to happen so ya were spit out into limbo, unable to go anywhere."
Giles nodded. "That doesn't explain why I'm here though."
Hold on, I'm getting there." Barnabus paused. "Don't suppose ya'd have some tea around here?"
The murderous glance Giles gave him was enough to persuade him to continue.
"TPTB have decided to start yer reward early, you and Buffy both. As ya were supposed to be together, that's yer reward."
Giles listened with increasing hope as Barnabus elaborated. "Buffy's sacrifice has been rewarded. Faith never met the magician so ya were never killed. The timeline's been restored to how it shoulda been. There's gonna be bad stuff, heartache and pain, but yer gonna be together."
"Then I'm...?"
"Alive? Yeah. Yer alive and ya can be with Buffy. Welcome to yer reward."
For a moment the words refused to penetrate Giles' stunned mind. Gradually they seeped through and he could think again. With some bemusement he realised the Barnabus was right. He could feel the sofa beneath him, he was breathing air and he could feel his heat beating. He was alive.
"Congratulations," Barnabus said, smiling. "Yer the first person TPTB have ever returned from the dead. Ya must have done good to deserve it."
"Th-thank you," he stuttered. "Where's Buffy?"
Barnabus frowned briefly before smiling again. "Her stabbing was destined. It was only her attacker that was up for debate. She's in the hospital."
Giles stood and walked to the door quickly. He half-opened it, but a thought occurred to him and he turned back. "Can she remember?"
"Yes. She doesn't remember what happened in the new timeline but she does remember everything that ya went through before. If ya think carefully, though, the memories of the new timeline are in yer mind. Use 'em carefully."
The former Watcher nodded his understanding and walked out.
***
Buffy lay in her hospital bed, propped up with several pillows. The monitors around her beeped continuously and one hand was still attached to a drip. Considering that a few hours ago she had nearly died from a stab-wound to the heart, she was looking very well. She was pale but a nurse had brushed her golden hair for her and washed her face so she no longer felt like a creature from the deep. However, there was a listless depression about her that was utterly unlike her usual cheerful brightness and anyone who knew her would immediately pick up on it. The reason for that was easy to find; she missed Giles.
It was like a deep pain, lancing through her heart each time she took a breath. And the worst part was that the pain would never go. She would never see him again and she was alone. Unnoticed, a hot tear slid down her cheek.
A knock at the door drew her out of her spiralling depression and she forced herself smile as the door opened.
Willow stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She looked at her pale friend, and the tear streaks on her cheeks, and immediately rushed over to take her hand.
"Buff? What's wrong?" she asked, concerned. "Are you in pain?"
"No, nothing that drugs can cure," Buffy said wanly. "Just feeling sorry for myself I guess."
"I suppose that's natural. You've never been stabbed before." Willow smiled at her.
Buffy's answering smile was weak. "Yeah. I miss moving around, I miss home, and most of all I miss Giles."
"His timing sure does suck," Willow agreed. "You've been stabbed and he's not here to pace and worry about it."
"I doubt he could help it. It's not like he can just get on a plane and come back to see me."
The redheaded witch's expression changed from one of gentle concern to complete outrage. "Of course he could! If he'd left a contact address or a telephone number he could be on the next plane here, no problem."
Buffy frowned. "Will, I don't think they have aeroplanes there. Or telephones for that matter."
Willow cocked her head. "In England? I know they're sometimes behind on technology, but I think they have telephones."
For a moment Buffy was too shocked to respond. She kept replaying her last moment with Giles, the tender kiss and the pain of separation, and trying to reconcile it with Willow's words.
"E-England?" Buffy said slowly. "He's in England?"
"Well, yeah. Unless he told you something else. He went to England last week, just after Riley left. You said he had to sort some things out. You don't remember, do you?"
"I-I don't know. I have...different...memories about it. He's really in England?"
Willow nodded. "Yeah. Why? Did you need something from him?"
A knock interrupted her and Willow walked over to the door, pulling it open and peeking through the crack. She gave a little squeak and opened it wide, pulling someone inside.
"Speak of the devil," she announced.
Giles allowed himself to be tugged into the room, his eyes too busy drinking in the welcome sight of Buffy to pay attention to anything else. She looked pale, there were monitors beeping around her and drips attached to her arms, but the brilliant smile that was slowly spreading across her face was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
"Hi," she whispered, so quietly that only someone who was straining every fibre in his body could hear it.
However, nothing about her could escape Giles' attention and he heard. The sound passed through him like a wave of joy and he finally believed.
"Hi," he said quietly. "I came as soon...as soon as I could."
Buffy smiled faintly, but this time the smile was one filled with happiness rather than pain. "I know."
Willow stood between them, wringing her hands and looking from one face to the other. Buffy and Giles said nothing, content for now just to look, but the redhead felt like a trespasser on something precious and private.
"I'll just, uh, leave now...shall I? O-Ok, I'll go. This is me going. Bye!" She looked back at them but they did not appear to have heard her. As she walked through the door she quietly muttered, "There's definitely something going on that I don't know about. Uh-huh, that's definitely not the normal Slayer/Watcher stuff. They'll tell me, won't they?"
In the hospital room Buffy and Giles had not moved at all, and had in fact forgotten that Willow was even there. Neither of them could believe that they were there and they were half afraid that if they moved it would all fade away and they would wake up alone again. Buffy was the first to move and all she did was shift slightly on her pillows, wincing as the movement pulled at her stitches. Immediately Giles was at her side.
"Buffy? Are you all right?" he asked, hesitantly putting out a hand.
"Yeah, just stiff," she replied. "I'm fine."
He stayed as he was, hand awkwardly outstretched, and she looked at him curiously.
"Are you going to sit down?" she asked.
"I'm afraid to," he confessed. "You might disappear again."
"Not going to happen," Buffy reassured him.
To prove her point she reached out and took his hand, a soft smile appearing as she felt the warm flesh beneath her fingers.
"God, that feels so good," she breathed.
Tugging gently, she pulled him down to sit on the bed next to her, smiling as she felt the warmth from his body against her leg.
"I've missed you," she said, smiling. "I can't believe you're here. What happened? How...why...is this real?"
Giles turned her hand over and began lightly tracing her palm with the tip of a finger, caressing her wrist with his other hand. He lifted it to his hand and placed a kiss in the centre of her palm, smiling as she closed her eyes, and then gently kissed each delicate finger in turn.
"Does that feel real?" he asked.
"Yeah," she breathed. "But...how?"
He enclosed her small hand in his larger ones, needing to keep that contact as he spoke. "We're being rewarded. Barnabus persuaded The Powers That Be that our reward should start early. Originally, if Faith hadn't killed me, we were going to die together and then go on to eternity together."
"But Faith stopped that."
He nodded. "Faith's interference changed that. I died before my time and we were separated. There was nowhere for me to go because you weren't with me to go there. So I went back to you to save your life."
"But if you'd stayed away, I would have died and we could have been together. Why did you come back?"
"I didn't know that we were supposed to be together," he explained. "I didn't want you to die when you didn't need to. The world would have suffered and I couldn't live with that."
"But how are you here now? You're alive, but you shouldn't be. And everything's changed." Buffy smiled self-deprecatingly. "I don't understand, which I admit isn't strange but still..."
"Our sacrifice has been rewarded. The Powers That Be agreed to allow us to start our reward here, before we die, so they had to change a few things. Faith never met the magician who killed me so I didn't die. All the changes you see are the result of that change."
"Faith turned herself in, you know," Buffy said. "She's trying to make amends for what she did."
"Your choice didn't just save me, love, it saved other people too."
"Adam's dead and Riley's gone."
"I know."
Buffy looked at him curiously. "How?"
"Barnabus gave me the memories of what happened in this timeline. He thought they might be useful in the future."
"Oh." The Slayer looked down at the hands resting lightly on her stomach. "Do you still...are...I still love you. Nothing's changed. Do you...?"
"I could never stop loving you," he reassured her, lifting her hand to his lips again. "I meant what I said before, every word. I love you and I'll always be here for you. I couldn't leave you if I tried."
"This is destiny."
"In a sense, I suppose it is. But it's a destiny I don't want to deny."
Buffy smiled up at him. "That's good, because I couldn't go on without you now. Nothing's ever going to take me away from you - I won't let it - so you're stuck with me. We've been through too much, and it hurt too much last time for me to ever let you go. Promise me you'll never leave?"
The question hung in the air between them and Buffy knew that if he promised he would never break that. Promises meant too much to this man to break one, especially one this important. Giles looked deep into her eyes and reached out to stroke her cheek. Her eyelids fluttered close as she leaned into his caress and then opened again to fix him with their beautiful blue gaze. Nothing was hidden in that look; he could see her love, her trust in him, the pain she had been through and the hope she held for the future. But it was the love in them that shone through everything else, love tinged with passion, and that was something he could never deny her.
"Are you sure you know what you're asking?" he asked slowly, needing to hear the words from her.
For a moment she was silent, looking down at their joined hands, and then she looked back at him with determination shining from her face. "Yes. I'm asking you to be with me forever. I suppose...I think I'm asking you to marry me. That's about as forever as you can get, right? And it's what I want. I never want to lose you. I want to wake up next to you each morning and go to sleep each night in your arms. I want to share in your life and make love to you. I never want to be apart from you. You're a part of me, maybe the most important part, and marriage makes us two halves of one thing. That's what I want. That's what I'm asking for."
Giles kept his eyes locked with hers as he answered her. "Then I promise. I will never leave you and I'll always be here. Always. And as soon as your mother has stopped trying to kill me, I'll marry you. I...I never thought I could ever ask that of you."
"You didn't have to. I did. And I'm the Slayer - I'll protect you from mom."
Giles raised an eyebrow. "Love, you were stabbed a few hours ago. Even with Slayer healing, you won't be fighting battles for a while."
"You'll have to fight them for me then, for a while."
He leaned over and planted a soft kiss on her lips. "I'll fight them with you, love, always."
"I'm counting on that 'always'."
Carefully, trying not to jolt her, he hugged her to him and kissed her again. This time her arms wrapped around his neck and held him to her. Softly, Giles laid her back against her pillows and placed another kiss on her trembling lips.
"I never thought I'd see you again, love, so I'm never letting you go again."
She smiled at him. "We'll hold onto each other."
"Forever."
*finis*