disclaimer on first part.
The next night was even worse, Buffy and Spike had finally split up and fought in different directions. Buffy was thankful it had happened that way, she finally got hold of a vamp that would talk, he spit the information out at her venomously, she thanked him as she staked him. She dusted off her hands and went to find Spike. Now she knew when and where Wishavos would be.
Spike had just finished up a couple of vamps when he saw Buffy approaching him, smiling brightly. "Ready to call it a night?" She asked cheerfully.
"If you are. Why are you so happy?"
"No special reason." She told him as they rode back to her house.
He held her tightly as she fell asleep. He had an uneasy feeling, but he couldn't explain why.
The rest of the week went by in a blur of vampire killings and going back to Buffy's for hours of the sweetest pleasure Spike had known. One afternoon a knock on the door interrupted them, Buffy got up nervously to answer the door, her fear showed on her face when she woke Spike.
"It's okay, Buffy, my blankets are on the couch who ever it is you can tell them I've gone to shower." He told her calmly as he got up and went towards the shower.
Buffy answered the door to find Giles standing there, anxiety all over his face. She led him into the living room, he noticed the blankets on the couch "Where is Spike?" He asked.
"Umm, in the shower." Buffy answered, "What's wrong, Giles?"
"I've narrowed down the date of Wishavos' arrival, it should be Saturday night." Giles told her glumly, "I was hoping for a little more time."
"It's okay, Giles. We'll deal with it." She told him never letting on that she had already known this information and more. She already had a plan worked out, she was going in alone.
Spike soon joined them his hair still damp from the shower. "Watcher, any news?" He asked as he sat next to Buffy.
"Oh, yes, Wishavos arrives Saturday. We just have to find his lair now." Giles filled Spike in.
"Well then Buffy and I will make our move Saturday, it shouldn't be too hard to find his lair." Spike said smiling at Buffy, she simply smiled back and nodded her head in agreement.
"I'll be going too, you'll need all of the help you can get." Giles said in a voice that brooked no argument.
"Okay, meet us here at dusk on Saturday. And we'll get this done." Buffy stood and excused herself, "Meanwhile, I need to shower I've got vamps to kill tonight."
As Buffy dissappeared up the staircase, Giles turned to Spike, "How is she?"
"She's fine, don't worry." Spike lied easily, he still had a horrbily disturbing feeling that something was wrong.
Giles said his goodbyes, Buffy and Spike ate a quick bite and patrolled, taking out as many vamps as they had the night before.
Friday came and when they arrived home early Saturday morning, he and Buffy fell into the bed laughing about some of the ridiculously easy kills they had made, "The vamps are definitely getting dumber." She had giggled, he had pushed her hair from her face and then kissed her soundly. "Buffy," He said seriously.
"Yes." She'd answered with a smile as her hand ran up and down his chest.
"I lo..."He started but she lay her finger over his lips to stop him.
She looked at him with damp eyes, "Don't say it, Spike. I know it, here." She said pointing to her chest. "But don't say it aloud, I can't deal with one more person loving me and losing me. You are supposed to just be in this for the fun, okay?" She asked in a small voice.
"Okay." He answered her by pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly. They made love for several hours before she fell asleep one arm across his waist. He looked at her small and vulnerable as she slept "But I do love you Buffy." He whispered softly to the room.
*********
Saturday
Buffy was restless and couldn't sleep she was up by noon. She walked around the house examining things as if she would never see them again. Spike watcherd her nervously. Despite everything he'd told her she was still certain that she was going to die. He tried to talk to her, but she was engrossed in a stack of picture albums. He listened to her talking to Caitlin and Riley on the phone and it nearly broke his undead heart. Riley was to bring her the signed divorced papers.
Around three o'clock she took Spike by the hand and led him upstairs. "Hold me for a little while, lets take a nap." She told him as they lie side by side on the bed. He held her close, until her eyes closed and her breathing became even then he too fell asleep.
Buffy waited until she was sure he was sleeping. She walked to the jewelry box and rummaged through it until she found what she was looking for. She opened the locket and smiled at the pictures of she and Riley and of Caitlin. She fastened the chain around her neck, took a final look at the still sleeping Spike and left the house.
It was still daylight so the warehouse was very easy to find. She snuck in easily hiding behind the barrels of diesel fuel, stacked everywhere. She cautiously peeked around the barrels in the direction of voices, there sat a very impsosing vampire on a makeshift throne. Several minions were around him serving his beck and call. Lit torches lined both sides of the floor leading to the throne.
Buffy carefully pulled her crossbow from the bag, she aimed and the bolt flew through the air aimed perfectly for his heart. Wishavos looked up in surprise but caught the bolt easily. "Slayer, I knew you would come." He said with a gruff laugh.
Buffy set off another bolt to his left, it hit one of the barrels causeing the diesel to leak down the floor beside Wishavos, "You're a little to the left on that one, Slayer." He stood up as Buffy sent another bolt to his right hitting another barrel. The smell of diesel was strong in the air as it puddled around Wishavos.
"Come meet your fate, little Slayer." He motioned for her, Buffy walked slowly towards him. "That's right, you can't resist it. It's time for you to go now and for my reign to begin."
He watched her with glee as she made the slow walk between the torches. When she was almost to him she turned and knocked the torch over by his throne, the diesel caught fire quickly. Wishavos screamed as the flames licked at him and soon engulfed him, his final screams echoed in her ears, "Ah, you may have got me Slayer, but there's no way out for you either."
He was right, minions ran everywhere ignoring her as the flames spread trapping everyone in the building. Buffy turned around coughing as the haevy dark smoke surrounded her, blocking her view and making her head cloudy, where was that door?
*****
Spike woke to find it had just turned dark, and to find himself alone. Buffy was nowhere to be found. She wouldn't have gone, she couldn't have gone alone! He called Giles as he got dressed. How did she know where to find Wishavos , did she know, or was she just wandering alone out there in the dark waiting for Wishavos to find her.
He flew out the door and headed to the warehouse district the vampire activity had tripled there lately. It didn't take long to find what he was looking for a large warehouse was on fire, black smoke billowing from the windows and doors. Firemen tried to hold him back as he made his way to the building.
"You can't go in there, it's going to blow up, there is fuel in there." A large firefighter grabbed his arm. He pulled away sharply and made a run for the nearest window, he broke through screaming "Buffy!"
Buffy was lightheaded and her throat was hurting, she thought she heard a voice, Spike. Yes, it was Spike. She yelled as loudly as she could, "Spike!"
Within moments he had her in his arms. Carrying her out of the warehouse to fresh air and safety outside. They were barely at a safe distance when the several explosions went off, the warehouse collapsed in a fiery heap.
"Spike." She said softly her arms around his neck. "Thank you."
"Slayer, don't you ever do that again, taking off by yourself like that." He kept miumbling and chastising her over and over again. holding her tightly against him. Just happy to have her alive and well in his arms.
"Buffy!" Another familiar voice, Buffy opened her eyes to see Riley and Giles running across the parking lot.
"Riley!" She exclaimed as Spike sat her down. She looked at Spike, confusion filled her hazel eyes. She looked from him to Riley.
Spike looked at her and whispered, "Go to him, Buffy. He loves you, you love him. You have Caitlin. Go." He watched as she gave him a grateful smile then walked towards Riley.
Riley pulled her close to him, lifting her off her feet. Showering kisses on the top of her head. "Buffy, I don't care about the slaying. I love you, please don't push me away. I don't care about the amount of time we have, I just want to spend every second of that time with you. Please, Buffy."
She cried now, tears of joy and tears of sadness mixed. "I love you too, Riley. How did you know?"
"I came early I had to talk to you about those stupid papers one more time, I went by Giles just as Spike had called him tonight. Buffy together we can fight whatever comes, no more of this going it alone."
"Okay, okay." She smiled at him as he scooped one arm under her legs and walked towards Spike. "Riley, the papers, you signed them?"
Riley grinned at her, "These papers" he held the blue foldered legal papers in one hand, he walked towards one of the small fires burning from the debris of the warehouse and dropped them into the fire watching for a second as the turned to ash. She lay her head against his broad shoulder and sighed.
Giles was talking to Spike as Riley approached him. "Spike, I have to thank you for saving my wife." He extended his hand to Spike who shook it briefly.
"You're welcome. I wasn't doing anything else tonight, so...." He said with a grin.
"I'm going to take her to pick up Caitlin at Joyce's then we are all going home." He smiled down at Buffy. "Thank you both." She said softly as she let her husband carry her to the car.
****
Giles and Spike watched the couple as they walked away. "Thank you,Spike."
"Well, like I told commando boy, I had nothing better to do."
"You may have fooled Riley, Spike. But not me, I've seen the look in your eyes before, in another vampires eyes. She seems to have that effect on people and vampires. What you did was a noble thing. Don't forget that." Giles patted Spike on the back and walked away leaving the vampire alone.
Epilogue:
50 years later.........
"You came." The dark haired man spoke to the blond with a small amount of surprise in his voice.
"Of course, I bloody came. It's what she wanted and you know as well as I do that neither of us could turn down her wish." The blond replied.
The two men walked to a freshly dug grave, still marked only with the metal marker that shone in int the moonlight.. It read Buffy Summers Finn. Both men placed a single flower on the grave.
"So what were you supposed to tell me?" Angel asked Spike as he leaned against a tree.
"She made me promise to give you this." He fished the handerkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to Angel, the pocket felt so empty now, he'd carried that cross around with anothe one,r for fifty years, he's already delivered Caitlin's earlier in the day.
Angel opened the handkerchief and sighed when he saw the silver cross. He smiled as he rewrapped it tucking it safely in his pocket.
"And she said to tell you not to brood over things that might have been or she would come haunt you." Spike smiled at his sire.
"I might like that." Angel answered softly.
"That's what I told her." Spike grinned again as he lit a cigarette.
Angel reached in his coat pocket and pulled out a yellowed, frayed envelope, he handed it to Spike. "This is for you. She gave it to me about a week after that Wishavos incident, I was to give it to you when she died."
Spike took the envelope as if it were a priceless treasure. He stared at it for a long moment, before Angel finally asked, "Are you going to open it?"
"Later, maybe later." He answered as he tucked it into the pocket that the necklaces had been in. A new treasure to take their place.
"Well, I'm going. Thanks for coming and bringing this to me," Angel told him as he patted his pocket. He turned and walked a few steps then turned around again, "Spike, I know you loved her. It's okay, she was easy to love."
Spike turned to reply, but Angel was already gone. He sat down on the ground in front of her grave and pulled out the envelope. He opened it gently and began to read.
Spike,
If you are reading this then I know Angel did what I asked, and I know that you
also honored my wish for him. I'm gone, but it's okay. I had a lovely life, I had
the love of three wonderful men. Yes, Spike, three wonderful men. Riley, who
you made me see that I needed and could have that normal life with, Angel, who
would always be my first and own a part of my heart and thirdly you, Spike.
For several weeks one summer you loved me and showed me things I needed to
know. Thank you, I'm not sure a mere thank you covers that, but it's the best I can
do. And I wanted you to know that, and despite my happiness with Riley and
Caitlin, a part of my heart belongs to you too.
Be happy, Spike.
Love,
Buffy
Spike folded the note and slipped it back into the envelope. He gently slid the envelope back into his pocket and patted it. He stood, stomped out his cigarette and left the cemetary a serene smile on his face. She was truly the closest to heaven that he had ever come.
The End