Epilogue
Dayton Intl. Speedway-One year later
Spike watched as the cars sped around the track, sunglasses perched on his nose. His car was in the lead and about two laps away from taking the checkered flag. Life was good, in his opinion.
The last year had been hectic for the group. Three pregnancies followed by three babies was a big adjustment to make for all involved, even the Harrises, who out of the three young couples were the experts.
Cordelia had given birth two weeks shy of Jazz’s birthday, making the little girl none too happy. Her parents had to promise that they would never throw their parties together, thereby keeping the specialness separate for the two. Cordy’d had an eight pound little girl, who they named Belle, for the heroine in Jazz’s favorite movie.
Dawn had left for New York over the summer, with Connor in tow. The two were inseparable, making the adults smile. It hadn’t been that long ago when it had been them, so young and in love. She had come back when Buffy had her baby, the changes she had gone through in New York making her more mature. The two sisters talked nightly, even if only to say hi, just so they were always in touch.
Mark had cut the tour short when Willow couldn’t tour anymore, postponing the dates until after she had the baby. The record company had a fit, but he’d stood firm. Since their only option was to cut him from the label, and from their point of view that would have been bad business, they gave in. They’d had a boy, right after Labor Day. He looked just like his father, with a reddish tint to his hair. They called him Johnny.
Giles and Anya made it official in a small civil ceremony surrounded by the young group of friends. Buffy had sold them the gallery, after clearing it with Dawn, and they were now getting ready to open up their second.
Finally, a couple of weeks after Willow, Buffy called Spike home from the garage. Her water had broken, and it was time. He’d rushed around like an idiot for a few minutes, until she finally screamed at him to stop. Then, they had managed to get her to the hospital, the pain enticing Buffy to tell Spike he was never allowed to touch her again. By the time it was over, Spike was willing to write it in blood that he would never do this to her again. However, after the final push, and the first harsh wail, Buffy was ready to do it again. Especially after the nurse laid the tiny bundle on her chest. She was a beautiful little girl with her father’s eyes and her mother’s nose. After much deliberation, they named her Rosemary Joyce, the choice bringing tears to Giles’ eyes.
Now, he was watching his car pull into victory lane, his wife by his side, and his daughter balanced in her arms. Spike couldn’t think of a much more perfect moment than this. Xander and the rest of the crew were heading over to the car to congratulate the driver and do the required photo stuff. Spike turned to Buffy, smiling at the picture she made holding the little blonde girl with the gold curls framing her face.
“Ready, pet?”
“Always,” she answered, smiling bright. Rose demanded to go to her father as soon as he was within her tiny arms’ reach. He swung her into his arms, scolding her when she tried to pull out the earplugs.
“Ah, ah. Don’t want my girl to go deaf, do we?” The baby just gave her father a one toothed grin, and batted at his finger. He chuckled and fell into step next to his wife.
“You made a good choice,” Buffy commented, nodding her head towards the car.
“I told you I did. You weren’t real sure.” Buffy had to smile. No, she hadn’t been sure. In fact, once she had met the person taking over, she’d adamantly opposed. Now, she realized she was just being silly, and actually liked the black clad figure climbing on top of the roof. With long dark hair blowing in the wind, and a wide smile splitting her pretty features, Faith Scott looked every inch a champion.
There had been grumblings around the circuit when Spike had decided to go with a woman. She’d shut them all up in her first race. She wasn’t afraid to play with the boys, and she let it be known that if they got in her way, she’d make sure they got out of it.
“Come on, luv. Let’s go share the spoils,” Spike said, walking into the throng of people, his daughter laughing the whole way. She thought briefly of how she’d almost thrown away this life. Then, with a smile of her own, Buffy followed her family into Victory Lane.
~*THE END*~
A/N: Thank you all for the wonderful support you have given me on this story. I hope that I did the ending justice. Lisa