Chapter 21 & Epilogue
Twenty minutes later Buffy and Spike sat across from each on the floor and Buffy watched anxiously as Willow completed a second circle of salt around them. “So what are the circles for exactly?”
“Protection.”
Spike’s brows came together. “And what exactly are you protecting us from then?”
Willow looked up as she twisted the lid back on to the jar of salt. “It’s not so much for you guys as for the rest of us.” At their confused look she continued “This is a really powerful magic we’re dealing with here, binding souls…” she shrugged “I just don’t want things to get all wiggy and bind anyone else to you.”
Buffy’s eyes widened. “That’s possible?”
“I don’t think so, but…”
Giles answered at the same time. “It doesn’t seem likely. As you know the circumstances here are quite unusual…but in any case the circles should serve to separate the two of you and any magic within from those of us outside.”
“Okay, so we sit inside the circles and then…” Buffy looked at Willow “… you’ll chant something or…”
“Nope. I’m not a player in this sweetie. You’ve got all the power here. You’ll drink the tea I made you, it’ll just give you more like authority in your voice-kind of like a “and that’s my final answer” thing and do the blood bit and…”
“What blood bit?” Spike interrupted.
“The exchange of blood; I think the physical connection of your essences helps cement the metaphysical bond. So you’ll have to bite him. You know drain his blood feed him yours.”
Spike’s jaw dropped. “What?”
Willow laughed. “Just kidding. Well about the biting part; you can just cut your palms and place them together.”
Spike shook his head. “Not funny Red.”
She laughed again and Buffy joined her. Spike glared. Buffy grinned. “It was a little funny.”
Spike shook his head again but his lips twitched with the beginnings of a smile. “You lot are warped.”
Giles sighed deeply but made no comment.
“All right so I drink the stuff, we do the blood brothers bit and I announce that I’m keeping my claim thingy and that’s it?”
“Yeah…I’ll um focus on strengthening the protection around the house so you don’t get interrupted, but that seems unlikely at this point.”
“But that guy didn’t even bother to tell me I had to finalize the claim; that has to mean something right?”
“I don’t think so. I don’t really think that there is much anyone could do. You have the highest claim, if you don’t denounce it….” She shrugged.
“I agree.” Giles nodded. “If they were going to do something to try and prevent you from maintaining the claim they probably would have done so before now.”
“So he was just being a jerk?” Buffy asked with a note of disbelief.
Willow nodded. “It was probably just a half-hearted final attempt. You said it seemed like he was voted down, like he didn’t think you should get the soul.”
Buffy nodded in agreement. “Okay.” She looked at Spike. “Are you ready?” At his nod she turned back to Willow. “Let’s do it.”
Willow reached into her bag and pulled out a small silver dagger. She handed it to Spike and then handed the special tea to Buffy. Meeting her eye, she reached out with her mind. ‘You are sure about this.’
‘Positive. I love him Will.’
Willow smiled as her eyes misted. With a final nod she stood back up and stepped away from the circle.
Buffy held the mug with both hands and drank a few mouthfuls while Spike fiddled with the dagger. When he looked up to meet her eyes she nodded and he slid the blade across his left palm freeing a slim line of blood. She placed the mug on the floor, reached for the blade and mimicked his action. Buffy raised both hands, palms out, to meet his and when their fingers were entwined and their blood was mingling she spoke the words that would join them forever. “I love you. Your soul is mine and mine is yours. I maintain the claim; eternal.”
Spike trembled slightly at her words and took a ragged breath before leaning in to kiss her deeply. “Is that it?” He asked quietly once she had pulled away.
She nodded once while studying his face. “Are you okay? You seem…”
“I’m fine. I feel…good, stronger maybe.” He nodded.
Willow laughed softly and they both turned to look at her. “I’m thinking you’re going to have to change the speech a little.”
Buffy frowned. “What speech…Willow?”
“The one where you welcome the new slayer to the sisterhood.”
Buffy’s eyes widened and she turned back to a rather terrified looking Spike. “You’re a slayer.”
Epilogue- Seven Weeks Later
Dawn pushed Xander out of the way as she rushed to peek out the window. “Are they here yet?”
Xander chuckled. “You’re the one with the front row view Dawnie; you tell me?”
Dawn turned back to Xander with a pout. “Shouldn’t they be here by now? Their plane landed forever ago. We should have gone to the airport.” Dawn stalked over to a nearby couch and dropped herself into it.
Xander shook his head. He had mixed feelings about seeing the now former vampire and once again lover of his best friend again, but he would be thrilled when they arrived and took emotional-roller-coaster- Dawn off his hands for a bit. “You could have gone to the airport; you said you didn’t want to.”
Dawn pretended to ignore him. That had been a couple of hours ago when she was still feeling all hurt and ignored. Now she was mostly feeling like she missed her sister and the man she’d once considered her best friend. Which, of course, wasn’t to say that she wasn’t still upset about being abandoned for the past few months. “Do you think he looks different?”
Xander shrugged. “The potentials all looked the same after they came into power, so…I guess he’ll be the same.”
Dawn nodded, considering.
“What I don’t get…” Xander started while sitting down next to Dawn, “is how he ends up a slayer.”
“No, that makes sense.”
Xander raised his eyebrows.
“Well it’s like Willow said: Spike’s soul wasn’t the only thing connected to Buffy’s soul.”
“Right, she’s got like a mainline into the whole slayer magic pool.”
“Exactly, so when she connected their souls he got connected to the magic too.”
“Except he’s still all Y chromosome having, so…”
“It doesn’t matter.” Dawn shook her head. “The magic has only been in girls because that is the way the original spell was set.” Dawn was on a roll, in full lecture mode. “Remember how we started to find out that a lot of the new slayers were at least distantly related. The slayer magic was passed down in families from mother to daughter. It’s not that men can’t be connected to the slayer magic it just only got passed to females, and there are actually tons of women connected to the power. Only most wouldn’t be able to control it and so they don’t become potentials. Because being a potential means that on some basic level your soul has the capacity to manage being a slayer.” Dawn grinned at him. “’Course we know it doesn’t always work out that way, some of the girls may have started out with the potential to be a good slayer but it got sort of…lost…along the way, like if they were abused or something.”
Xander nodded. “So Spike…”
“Had to have the potential to get the power. Even with his connection to Buffy, if his soul couldn’t control the magic then he couldn’t have gotten the power; that’s how it works. And it makes sense that his soul could handle a little bit of demon magic since he had already been controlling a whole demon.”
Xander nodded slowly. “I still think the whole thing is nuts.”
“Well, yeah, but…” Dawn shrugged and they both laughed. Dawn popped up from the couch and went to the window again. “I just wish they’d move here instead of staying in London. It’s taken them weeks to even visit.”
“London is keeping them busy, plenty of stuff to slay and I guess they…”
“Want privacy so they can screw like bunnies.”
“Dawn!”
“Oh come on; you know it’s true.” Finally spotting Giles’ car in the drive, she turned to him and grinned. “They’re here. Come on.” She grabbed his hand and letting out a little squeal on her way pulled him towards the door.
The End.