Title: Checkers
 
Author: Anne Rose
 
Email: anne3rose@yahoo.com
 
URL: http://annerose.cjb.net
http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=47579 
 
Rating: PG-13
 
Spoilers: Intervention and beyond
 
Summary: S/B, Follow-up to Intervention (the Buffybot episode).  What
happened after Buffy left Spike's crypt?
 
Archive: Yes.  I would be honored if you want to archive it.  Please
let me know where so I can visit it. 
 
Author's Note: Thanks to Caffey and Spiletta for ripping this story
apart and helping me fix several issues and confusing bits.  Thanks to
Hubby for initial plot help and Raven and Tamytha for catching even
more of my typos.  Thanks to the Buffy Dialog Database
(http://vrya.cstone.net/index.htm) and the Buffy Guide
(http://www.buffyguide.com/episodes.shtml) for help with research and
parts of episodes.  (c) August 15, 2002
 
Disclaimer:  Joss and Mutant Enemy, etc... own BtVS.  No infringement
intended.  Any resemblance to people living, dead, or undead, or to
real life events is all in your mind, is downright scary, and means you
seriously need to get a life.
 
~*~*~*~
 
Checkers
by Anne Rose
 
 
Part 5 - Epilogue
 
~*~*~
 
Only a few short weeks later, Dawn and Spike stood together at her
graveside, clinging to each other in desperation.  Buffy had come to
rely on him and he'd finally felt accepted into her circle of friends. 
And now Buffy was gone, and with her his whole world.
 
In the chaos of their flight from Glory and then the preparation for
the final showdown, there hadn't been much time for exploring their
feelings.  They had spent a great deal of time together, working with
one purpose, one goal, and one mind.  They had given it their all, and
in the end, it hadn't been enough.  He hadn't been enough.  And now it
was all gone.
 
Dawn sniffled again next to him.  Maybe not his whole world, he still
had Dawn.
 
"Ready to go home, Nibblet?" he asked her, gently rubbing her back.
 
"I can't do it, Spike."
 
"Do what, Pet?" he asked.
 
"How can I face everyone?  This is all my fault," she sobbed.
 
He pulled her closer and tried to calm her.  "It's not your fault.  It
was Glory's fault."  Spike reached down and lifted Dawn's chin up so he
could look at her.  "If we all tear ourselves apart with guilt, she
wins."
 
Dawn gulped and nodded slowly.  She was so trusting, and she was
depending on him.  "We can't let her win then," Dawn replied.
 
"No, we can't," Spike agreed.  As he said it, the words he'd meant for
Dawn sunk in, just a little.  Just before they turned to walk home, he
picked up a rose, touched it to his lips, and laid it on the
gravestone.  "I hope you're happy where you are, Buffy."
 
~*~*~
 
The End