Chapter 33

 

 

 

 

Angel sat perched precariously on the edge of the cot. If Buffy had a nightmare and lashed out, or even turned over he was going to fall flat on his ass. And he could care less.

 

Sitting on a chair next to his sleeping mate would have been safer but he’d tried that and he’d been to far away. So he’d moved to the edge of her cot. To pass the time as she slept he alternated between stroking her hair and just staring at her.

 

“How’d you finally get them to lay down?” he heard Damon’s amused voice and glancing over his shoulder found his fellow Warrior standing in the doorway.

 

“I didn’t… Jade did something to force them to sleep,” Angel murmured his eyes traveling the room. Both Oz and Dru were stretched out on cots on the other side of Buffy. Both asleep as well.

 

“She’ll be pissed when she wakes up.”

 

“Yeah… but they all needed to rest, they were so tired that they could barely stand…” Angel shrugged.

 

“Won’t matter… she likes having the allusion of choice,” Damon murmured as he walked up behind him. “Wesley said to tell her that it’s done.”

 

Angel turned slightly so that his eyes met the other Warriors. “Spike’s human?”

 

“Yeah… Wes said they haven’t told him anything about Dru yet… Don’t know why, from what Wes said he’s not real pleased.”

 

“I can imagine,” Angel smirked as his eyes fell on Dru’s still form. His once mad childe was now human. His ensouled grandchilde was now human.

 

Was there any vampire in his direct line that was still of the undead?

 

“You should probably try to wake them up,” Damon suggested. “Everything should be packed up and we should be ready to move out within the hour.”

 

“Right,” Angel frowned down at Buffy sleeping. “Any suggestions on how to do that?”

 

“If it’s the same spell that Jade normally uses just touch her shoulder lightly and say ‘wake up’.”

 

“Touch her shoulder and tell her to wake up,” he murmured under his breath as he did exactly that.

 

“…you might want to move…” Damon started as Buffy sat straight up with a gasp, eyes open wide in alarm, arms punching out defensively her rapid fire movements caused Angel to do exactly what he feared.

 

Fall on his ass on the floor.

 

“What?” Buffy began her eyes flitting around the room finally falling on Angel who was moving to his feet. “Why are you on the floor?” she asked absently, peering over the side of the cot, she waved her hand as she checked the other cots. A sigh of relief escaped her as she saw both Dru (who was just waking) and Oz (who Damon was in the process of waking) both still there.

 

“You moved,” Angel stated simply as he once more sat on the edge of her cot. “How do you feel?”

 

“Where’s Jade?” Buffy asked with narrowed eyes.

 

“She only did what was necessary… you needed to rest.”

 

“My choice, not hers. If I’d wanted to sleep I would have, didn’t need Jade knocking me upside with head with a psychic two by four,” the former Slayer grumbled angrily.

 

“I know… I know,” he said softly drawing her into his arms. “But don’t you feel better?”

 

 

**************************************************************************************

 

 

The observation room was silent save for Spike’s under-his-breath mumblings. All present ignored him, although Dawn wondered for the millionth time why Wesley just hadn’t told the new human that Dru was also human.

 

It would have saved a lot of aggravation, as well as a lot of eye-rolling.

 

But while Spike was ranting on and on about his newfound humanity Wesley and Giles had done some freaky, weird Watcher thing where they looked at each other and were able to have a total conversation without saying one single word.

 

Spike was not going to be told that Dru was alive, and human, until the group arrived.

 

Although Dawn was tempted to tell him just to get him to shut up. He’d already threatened to go out as soon as he was released from the compound and have himself revamped so that he could subsequently be staked and join Dru in the hereafter.

 

Brendan stood off to the side, eyes on the currently empty room below them, listening intently to whatever was being said on the other end of the earphone that he was pressing on.

 

With a grin he turned to those that were manning the various computer equipment, a varied mixture of his team and members of Charlie team.

 

From where she was standing Dawn could see a shimmer reflecting off the glass and leaned forward just slightly, fingers pressed to the glass as she stared at the solidifying forms of the Warriors below. Eyes scanning frantically for her sisters’ familiar blonde head, or for Angel and Connor’s dark ones.

 

She spotted Angel’s first, his height making him an easy figure to identify even with his back to her. Then she noticed the blonde that was standing before him, his hands resting lightly on her shoulders he pulled her back against his chest as a cheer exploded from the room below.

 

“Dru?” she heard Spike’s whispered disbelief even through the loud cries and her eyes followed his path and saw the dark-haired former vampiress standing off to one side of Buffy. Oz standing beside her, Dawn noticed with mild confusion that Dru had what looked like a death grip on both Buffy and Oz’s hands.

 

“Port successful, unlock main doors,” Brendan murmured softly as he watched Spike fly from the room, the small group that had remained behind right behind him.

 

 

**************************************************************************************

 

 

She was alive, alive… the words rambled through Spike’s mind as he took the stairs two at a time, behind him he could hear the hard footsteps of the others. Knew that niblet and the cheerleader were right behind him.

 

The door to the transport room was just opening when he reached it, and with a rough hand he pushed it the rest of the way open.

 

Bursting through the room, gasping for air he silently decided that his New Years resolution when it rolled around would be to give up smoking… and then all thought and movement stopped. He barely felt Cordelia shove past him in her haste to get to the whelp and his heart leapt into his throat as he got his first, good sight of his lost mate.

 

She looked tired, bruises marring the once smooth skin of beautiful face. He noticed, but didn’t question that fact that she was all but clinging to the Slayer and the Wolf.

 

There would be time for questions much, much later.

 

He knew the second that she noticed his presence. A wide smile crossing her face and with a last squeeze to her new friends hands she slowly walked towards him.

 

An impish look in her eyes that he hadn’t seen in so many years. Normally it predated doing something totally predatory and evil that would have had Angelus screaming at them about being foolish and stupid.

 

When her hand reached up to cup his cheek he forgot all those others present in the room, his gaze focused only on the woman before him. The heat from her skin almost searing through him with its intensity, he ignored the slight trembling of the hand touching him.

 

Ignored the look of fear in her eyes as she wondered if he would reject her now that they were human. Like he had rejected her once before for the non-existent love of a Slayer.

 

“Dru,” he murmured his own hands coming out to touch her cheeks, fingertips trailing a path over her lips, her eyes. “Oh gods luv I thought you were dead,” he cried before pulling her into his arms he clutched her to him fiercely. Burying his face in the crook of her neck, tears falling from his eyes as he silently sobbed.

 

Dru crooned quietly to him, her own hands rubbing small circles on her back even as she fought to contain the laugh that was just itching to burst through.

 

She could feel the remnants of his fear at having thought her dead and knew that her bursting into laughter would not be taken the way that it was meant.

 

It was happiness at being one with her sweet Spike once more. Happiness at having her family once more intact.

 

With daddy and Spike, with her new mummy firmly in place and a new brother in the form of a werewolf.

 

She was finally home.

 

 

**************************************************************************************

 

 

Cordy shoved, with absolutely no sense of remorse, past the stone wall that was Spike. She could see Xander over his shoulder, could see him smiling at some little brown-haired, mousy girl that was dressed all in black a knife tapping in her hand.

 

Vividly she could recall Xander’s fascination back in high school with all things Slayer and she’d be damned if she’d stand aside and watch him begin another fascination with all things Warrior. He was hers, all hers and she was never giving him up again.

 

Well unless she caught him in bed with Willow this time instead of just necking, but out of the corner of her eye she could see Willow sobbing as she raced into Oz’s waiting arms so she figured that chances of that actually happening again were slim to none.

 

When he turned he caught her eye and Cordy’s eyes quickly scanned his still gaunt frame looking for any injuries that she could blame on Buffy, when she found none her eyes once more his and she returned his tentative smile.

 

“Hey Cor…look, didn’t die…” he murmured softly, the girl that he’d been talking to squeezed his arm gently and moved away. Cordy glaring at her retreating form before once more returning her gaze to Xander.

 

“Humph… New friend?”

 

Xander stared at her in confusion before glancing over to where his companion was laughing with Jade and Wesley.

 

“She’s a witch,” he shrugged turning back to the brunette with now narrowed angry eyes.

 

“A witch…” Cordy snorted. “Slayer’s, Witches, Mummy Girls… don’t you like anything normal?”

 

An expression of understanding crossed his face right before he reached out to touch her face, hand moving to stroke down her hair, he tugged on a strand gently before he pulled her into his arms. “I like you and you don’t have to be jealous of Sarah…”

 

“Sarah? How the hell do you know her name?”

 

Xander grinned as he buried his face in her hair. Closing his eyes as he felt her arms come up to encircle him tightly.

 

He’d missed her so much in the time that he’d been held prisoner, hell he’d missed her for years and it was only those few short months before he’d ‘died’ that he’d realized that it was her that he was missing.

 

Then for the year that he’d been held in Senville Prison Camp without even the hope of being rescued he’d made due with the dreams. Made due with sneaking into hers, hoping against hope that he wouldn’t dive into one only to find her dreaming about Angel. More times than not though she’d been dreaming of him, and it had been easy to replace her dream Xander with his.

 

And she’d never even noticed the difference. Because both were telling her, showing her the same things.

 

That he loved her, that he would always love her despite the fact that she had tried to move on with Angel, despite the fact that she had the most acerbic personality of anyone that he’d ever met.

 

“I missed you,” he murmured softly. “I missed you so much.”

 

 

**************************************************************************************

 

 

Giles held himself back, watching the reunions of those he considered family with teary eyes. He knew, and he hated it, that reunions like these... happy ones… would be few and far between.

 

War was a messy, horrible affair and realistically he knew that half the young Warriors in the room with them would not live to see the peace that they fought for achieved.

 

There was always hope, there had to be in order for them to continue fighting, but how much of what they told these children was in fact false hope?

 

Moving up alongside Wesley, who also stood a distance away, they both watched a sobbing Dawn cling to her sister. Buffy’s arms wrapped tightly around the younger girl, rocking her gently.

 

Angel’s arms wrapped around both girls as Connor stood beside them. One of his hands resting lightly along his mothers back.

 

Glancing over at the younger Watcher Giles was semi-surprised to see the look of extreme satisfaction on his face.

 

“It’s hard to prepare them for the worst when you are in fact hoping for the best,” Wesley said simply never looking away from the foursome.

 

Around them Warriors that were not involved within the reunions were pulling equipment to the side to be cleaned and readied for the next mission.

 

But their eyes, like the two Watchers, did not stray very long from those in the middle of the room.

 

“Times like these will be few and far between once the real battles begin,” Wesley continued. “Somehow I don’t think we’re all that prepared for the reality that the End of Days is going to force on us.”

 

“Are we ever?”

 

Wesley turned his eyes upon him and Giles was shocked to see the weariness warring with the happiness at having Buffy returned within the other mans eyes.

 

“No.”

 

“How many of them do you think are going to survive Wesley… and be honest.”

 

Wesley stood still for a moment, his eyes flickering among the occupants of the room. Everyone person within this room he considered his family, his friends. The thought that they might not survive through the End of Days to the freedom on the other side of it… but he was also a realist and he knew that regardless of what TV and films showed that War was messy and ugly and people close to you died.

 

“Half, maybe even less than that,” he murmured quietly.

 

“And are you prepared to deal with the aftermath of that?”

 

“I’ll have to be, won’t I Mr. Giles.”

 

Giles stared down at him for a moment and when Wesley refused to meet his eyes he sighed and moved away. Wesley for his part stayed focused on his team.

 

His family.

 

From Angel’s and Xander’s corresponding dreams it had been made painfully clear that unless something unforeseen happened that the majority of his team would survive the End of Days.

 

But they hadn’t had dreams that had included everyone. In fact there had been some glaring omissions as the two men had told their tales.

 

And Wesley knew that he would do whatever was in his power to make sure that those that Angel and Xander had not dreamed about survived.

 

He had no other choice.

 

 

 

 

The End – To be continued in Indaran Warriors: The Aftermath of War