FIC: Three's Company 5/5 "R" W/T/B

["amberbensonfan" <AmberBensonFan@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

DISCLAIMER IN PART 1

Xander was silent as well, but his body began to steadily increase 
with the shakes as he fought valiantly to hold back the hurt and 
anger he felt. His eyes misted over as tears threatened to fall for 
his friend and he too wished he was there to get some shots in on the 
vampires who had done this.

Buffy observed each one of her friends, reading clearly what they 
were feeling, and she knew she was protected and loved. These were 
not superficial emotions or pity. Her friends felt her pain, felt 
her rage, felt her humiliation, though not to the fullest extent she 
did. She'd always known they'd do anything for her and they've 
proven that time and again each time they stood by her to fight an 
apocalypse, each time she screwed up, and now, they'd take her hurt 
and carry it with them too and transfer it to love to help her heal.  
To say these were friends was a vast understatement. Each person who 
sat at the table was a part of her soul and the two women on either 
side of her held the largest parts.

It was a long and tiring day, emotions were always draining and once 
Xander and Anya confirmed that they, with the aid of Spike, would 
take over patrolling again, Buffy called it a day and went home with 
her lovers.  

"Um, are you hungry?" Willow asked Buffy.

"No, no thanks. I think I'm just going to go upstairs and rest," The 
recovery was a long way from complete, but Buffy was on the right 
path. She just needed to rest, get her strength up, and then she'd 
be able to start a fresh day tomorrow. What she'd do the next day 
was yet to be seen, though. For now, she climbed the stairs as 
though the weight of the world had just been lifted from her 
shoulders, but she still slumped, so used to carrying its weight.

Buffy threw herself onto the bed and buried her face into the 
pillows. She fought with all her strength to keep the tears from 
flooding through her while at the Magic Box. She knew it was silly, 
but she still didn't want her friends to see her break down and now 
that she was alone she could let it all out.

Her eyes slowly closed and her sobs gradually subsided and sleep 
finally took her.

"Buffy," a gentle voice called to her through the dream mist.

"Who's there?" Buffy called out, her guard up, ready for anything.

"Buffy," the voice called again, this time closer.

Buffy spun around trying to pin point the voice. It seemed like it 
was all around her and closing in, but she still couldn't make out 
any form. The mist was too thick, gray and obscuring, she blinked a 
few times and rubbed her eyes hoping to clear her vision, but it did 
little to help.

"Buffy," the voice called, this time seemingly right next to her ear.

Buffy spun on her heels, ready for anything, anything but the sight 
of her mother smiling down at her.

"M-mom?" Buffy asked, not sure if the vision before her was real or 
illusion.

"Yes, Buffy."

"But, but it can't be you. You, you," Buffy broke down and cried, 
dropping herself into the waiting arms of her mother, not caring if 
the figure was real or not.

"Shhh, Buffy, it's okay. I've been watching you, you know. I'm so 
very proud of you. The way you've helped Dawn grow up so much and 
how you're going to be a mother soon. Oh, Buffy, I know you'll make 
a great mother and I'm so happy that you've finally found love, 
especially with Willow and Tara. They are both beautiful and 
wonderful women."

"Oh, mom," Buffy cried not able to really speak her mind.

"Shhh, I know," her mother comforted her. "I've also seen you take 
your hits. I've watched with dread as you sacrificed yourself when 
Glory came around, I've seen you fend off the darkest creatures, and 
I was there when you were attacked by those fiends. I'm so sorry 
that I was never there for you, never truly knew what you went 
through each night, and that I couldn't stop those demons from 
hurting you the way they did. I've made mistakes and I'm sorry," 
Joyce confessed.

"No, mom, you did the only thing you could. It's not like there's a 
handbook for parents of slayers, you know," Buffy tried to defend her 
mother against herself.

"No, Buffy, there isn't. But I could have done things better. Now, 
now that I get to watch you each night as you leave the safety of the 
house and fight any number of demons, my heart fills with pride, but 
also with fear. I know that you can't just stop being the slayer, 
but I need you to do me a favor?"

"Anything, mom, anything," Buffy agreed through her tears, desperate 
to never let go over her mother.

"I need you to realize that you now have a beautiful daughter coming 
soon and she will need all her mothers. I need you to share the 
slaying. Team up with Spike. I know you never really liked him, but 
he's been so helpful to you, especially when you don't see him. I've 
watched him too and though you may not always see him, he is 
constantly there protecting you and the others. I need to know that 
you'll be safe. That my granddaughter will have a protector. Don't 
let that stubborn `Summers' pride get in the way, be safe Buffy," 
Joyce ended.

Her mother slowly began to pull away, fading into the mist and Buffy 
jumped to her feet and raced after her mother. "Don't go! Mom!  
Please don't leave me again!" Buffy pushed her way through the fog 
and the further in she went, the thicker it became until it seemed 
like she had to literally cut through it. A knife mysteriously 
appeared in her hand and without a second thought she stabbed it 
through the fog and pulled down hard making a long tear through the 
fabric of her dream and a blinding light filled her eyes forcing her 
to keep them shut. By faith alone Buffy stepped through the tear and 
into the light.

"Buffy," the voice called to her. "Buffy, wake up," Willow pushed, 
gently rocking the slayer's body.

"Mom!" Buffy called out jumping out of bed startling Willow and Tara.

"Well, I guess we know who she was dreaming about," Willow offered to 
Tara.  

"Honey," Tara called to Buffy, her hand out stretched, beckoning the 
slayer to her side. "Want to talk about your dream?"

The slayer simply turned a weak smile on her face. "What about Joy?  
Short for Joyce and because she is such a joy to our lives?" Buffy 
asked completely off the topic.

It took her lovers a second to realize she was referring to the name 
of their daughter and then the witches shared a look, broad smiles on 
their faces. "It's perfect," they responded in unison.

"I, um, I have to go see someone. I should be back before," Buffy 
turned and looked at the clock which showed it was 6:00 and she 
looked out the window, still not getting her full barring. "Um, what 
the hell time is it?"

"Six," Tara offered.

"In the morning or night?" Buffy asked, roughly rubbing her eyes 
hoping to jump-start her sluggish system.

"Morning." Tara provided.

"Oh, okay. I'm going to see someone, I'll be back before breakfast."

Buffy seemed rather insistent and the witches didn't know if they 
should try to object to her going out or if they should press her to 
find out who this mystery person was she was going to see. They 
watched as Buffy made her way around the room collecting her jacket 
and some basic protection ? holy water, stakes, and cross.  

"Um, sure, ah, where are you going?" Tara asked.

"I'm sorry, hon, I can't really say, but I'll try to explain 
everything later, okay?" Buffy reached over and gave Tara a loving 
kiss on the lips and repeated the gesture with Willow.

It was the first real contact they had with Buffy in what seemed like 
an eternity and the witches didn't know if that was necessarily a 
good or a bad thing. Before they could really decide Buffy was 
already out the door and rushing down the steps and out of the house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy's senses were alert, more so than before. She focused on 
everything around her, the slightest sound made her jump, even though 
she knew that if there were any vampires out at the moment they'd be 
rushing for cover and wouldn't be interested in picking a fight.  
Still, she couldn't get herself to relax as she cautiously made her 
way through the cemetery, early morning mist swirling around her 
body, her sneakers getting damp from the dew that would quickly dry 
up once the sun rose a little higher and the traditional California 
heat set in.

She stopped at the musoleum and studied the door before knocking.  
She wasn't sure if she really wanted to do this, but knew that if her 
mother made it a point to come to her in her dreams it was 
important. A gloved hand peaked out from behind the door and a 
seemingly disembodied voice called out, "What do you want?" Buffy 
welcomed herself into Spike's crypt, which was followed by some 
British-type curses. "Alright, luv, what's going on? Since when do 
you knock?" Spike closed the door behind the slayer and tossed the 
glove off to the side.

"I had a dream," Buffy simply stated, almost expected the bleached 
blonde vampire to know exactly what that meant.

Normally he would have taken things down a familiar path, closing in 
on the slayer, pressing up against her with a lustful sneer, even 
though he knew she was already with Willow and Tara, but he knew not 
to cross that line. Not after what happened. Not only was it out of 
basic respect for her, but also because he valued his unlife.  
Instead, he simply asked, "Okay, and?"

"It was my mother," Buffy added as she slumped onto the couch Spike 
had set up. He decided to keep his distance and remained standing, 
leaning up against one of the pillars. "She told me a lot of things, 
but she asked me one favor. She asked me not to patrol alone 
anymore. She had seen what happened and now with the baby on the way 
she doesn't want anything to happen to me again. She named you, 
specifically, to turn to. She said that even when I don't see you, 
you're always there watching, protecting." Buffy looked up into the 
eyes of the dead man in front of her. She didn't need to say it. He 
didn't need to hear it. They both knew that Buffy was thanking him 
and even though she always gave him a hard time, she truly did 
appreciate the way he watched over her family.

"Right," Spike said, pushing off the pillar and went to grab a 
medical bag of blood. "Whatever you need, luv." Spike stated simply 
as he bit into the bag and began to sip the liquid.

"I'd like to try a patrol tonight," Buffy added.

"I'll meet you at your house at sun down," was all Spike needed to 
say. He knew that for Buffy to come to him was a major step and he 
didn't want to push her by playing their normal games. Games where 
he'd normally force her to actually ask for her request outright. A 
line had been crossed and they knew it and it was time to put the 
pettiness aside. That morning, just as the sun crested over the 
distant mountains, a new partnership was formed. A little bit of the 
slayer returned, and a mother smiled down on her daughter.  

Buffy made her way back to her home where she found her lovers and 
sister at the table looking at her expectantly. She knew they 
deserved an explanation and decided to get some food into her 
rumbling stomach first. She'd only had a small lunch and then 
skipped dinner the day before and she was starving. "Breakfast first 
and then I'll spill," Buffy stated simply though her tone was a 
little lighter than it had been in recent memory.

Her family didn't need to hear anything further and knew better than 
to push. Everyone got to their feet and went into the kitchen ready 
to make the slayer anything she wanted. Eggs, pancakes and cereal 
were set out on the table and everyone dug in heartily. Midway 
through, Buffy decided to spill the beans.

"I had a dream," Buffy started and all eyes went to her, "about 
mom." Buffy watched Dawn closely knowing she'd taken it really hard 
when Joyce passed away. "She said that she's been watching, she 
knows what's been going on and she's happy and proud." This seemed 
to please Dawn, knowing their mother was there, even if they couldn't 
see her. "She's very proud of how much you've grown, Dawn," Buffy 
added. She watched as Dawn's eyes teared up. She'd given her mom a 
hard time, she knew, but was so glad to hear her mother's words 
coming from Buffy's mouth and it only solidified Dawn's resolve to 
try as hard as she could to be the best sister and aunt she could 
be. Buffy looked to Willow and Tara next. "She also said she's very 
happy that I'm finally settled down and that you two were the best 
thing to happen to me. That you're both great, wonderful women. She 
knows about the baby and is looking forward to watching her 
granddaughter grow up." Tara was the first to let the tears fall but 
Willow was quick to follow. "She also said that she's been watching 
me and doesn't want to see me hurt again. She asked me to do her one 
favor," Buffy had to stop for a second to bite back the tears that 
threatened to fall. Just talking about her lost mother was tough and 
she realized that she never really had the time to thoroughly mourn 
her. "She asked me to team up with Spike whenever I patrol.  
Apparently he's been keeping an eye on us no matter how many times 
I've told him to go to hell. No matter how often I've beat him up, 
he'd still wait in the shadows to make sure no one was hurt. She 
wants him to watch over me on patrols because she doesn't want to see 
her granddaughter lose a mother."

Tears were shed, hearts were lifted, fears were comforted. Joyce was 
watching, loving, and, in any way she could, protecting. A healing 
was beginning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next month passed in a flurry of action. Each day meant that the 
baby's birth date was closer on the horizon. They made sure the room 
was all set up, Willow was almost ready to finish her degree and was 
hitting the books harder than before to prepare for the finals and 
term papers that were just around the corner.  

Buffy had only just returned from her patrol that night. It took her 
a while to get used to being a teammate of Spike's but after a while 
he was actually pleasant company. As much as she loved her friends, 
there were just certain things that she could only tell Spike.

It was four in the morning by the time Buffy threw on her 
nightclothes and crawled into bed, but the sudden gasping cry from 
Tara had her up and back out of the bed in an instant. "Tara, what 
is it?"

"The baby," Tara gasped, her breathing going from deep and long in 
sleep to completely alert and rapid to help her through the pain.

"Willow!" Buffy jumped around the room, grabbing clothes, barely 
throwing them onto her body, while grabbing the suitcase that they 
set aside for just this purpose. Willow bounded out of bed and had 
just enough time to see the suitcase being thrown into her arms.

Unfortunately, in Buffy's enthusiasm, and her rush to get things 
ready, she had used near-half Slayer strength and Willow was promptly 
knocked to the floor with a thud. "Oh, shit! Sorry, honey! You 
okay?"

Willow, taking the hand held out to her, simply said, "For that: 
You're holding Tara's hand."

"Deal. Um, could you get Dawn," Buffy asked as she went to Tara's 
side and began to ease her out of the bed.

"Dawn! The baby's coming," Buffy could hear Willow calling out as 
she knocked on the door. Amazingly, Dawn was dressed and out the 
door faster than anyone else and even grabbed the keys to the jeep 
off the end table and had the car started.

Buffy and Willow helped Tara down the stairs, which, considering how 
narrow the stairs were, was rather comical and Tara couldn't help but 
let out a chuckle, saying, "Wide-load! Coming thr-OH!!" until a new 
wave of pain struck her.

Buffy broke the land speed record and if she could, she probably 
would have broken the sound barrier along the way, but they arrived 
at the hospital safely and they rushed Tara into the emergency room.  
As luck would have it, the nurse from a few months back was at the 
desk and she certainly remembered `those two dykes,' but she also 
remembered just how strong the blonde was and when Buffy shot her a 
look that said, `don't even try to stop me this time,' the nurse 
backed off.

"Dawn, can you give them Tara's information," Willow asked as she 
followed her lovers beyond the double doors, not really giving the 
teen a chance to answer.

Dawn walked up to the check in station with a smile. "Um, I'd like 
to check in Tara Maclay, I guess."

The nurse typed in the name given to her and saw the information come 
up on the screen. "Confirm the address please," the nurse said any 
pleasantry her voice would normally hold was certainly not there.

"1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale," Dawn offered.

"Insurance coverage still under Willow Rosenberg?" The nurse 
requested.

"Yep."

"That's fine. If you want to take a seat, the wait could be a 
while." As much as the nurse hated the other women she couldn't help 
but like the young girl. Maybe she didn't know the perversity of the 
other women with her.

Dawn smiled and left to the payphone. She dug into her pockets 
pulling out some coins and started to dial some numbers. It rang 
several times before she heard the other end pick up.

"What's wrong," came the groggy voice from the other end. Xander 
knew that if a call was coming in at this odd hour something was up.

"The baby's on the way," Dawn started but there was suddenly a lot of 
noise on the line. She could vaguely hear Xander calling to Anya to 
get up and figured that he was running around the room to get his 
stuff together. Dawn figured that's all she needed to know so hung 
up. She was going to ask him to call Giles before he came by but 
guess not. Besides, it would just make the watcher nervous until 
there was further news.  

She'd been sitting for about five minutes and started to wonder how 
long she'd have to wait when Xander came in dragging a practically 
still sleeping Anya. "Any news?" Xander asked, winded, as though he 
ran from his apartment to the hospital and not just the short trip 
from the parking lot to the ER door.

"Nope, they've only been in there about ten to fifteen minutes. The 
nurse said it could be a while though." Dawn filled them in on the 
little information she, herself, had.

Xander gave the nurse a passing glance and then did a double take as 
he recognized her as being the same one that gave Buffy and Willow a 
hard time during Tara's false alarm.

Hours passed and the friends were getting anxious, but their wait was 
just about over because a few minutes later Buffy came bursting 
through the door and skid to a halt in front of her friends. "It's a 
girl!" Buffy announced even though everyone knew the baby was going 
to be a girl.

Regardless, they surrounded her with hugs and praise. "What's the 
skinny?" Xander asked.

"6 pounds 7 ounces, 19 inches." Buffy provided further details. "I 
gotta, I gotta go, I'll be back. They'll bring you around the back 
when we're ready to go up," Buffy said as she headed back to the 
birthing room and her lovers.

As Buffy made her way to the bedside of her lover, she took one of 
her hands, while Willow took the other. "They said they're going to 
be bringing the baby upstairs in a few minutes so everyone can see 
her and give Tara a chance to relax," Willow informed Buffy.

Buffy looked down to Tara who was covered in sweat but smiling 
broadly. "You okay, sweetie?" Buffy asked, brushing aside some stray 
bits of hair that clung to Tara's face.

Tara nodded, "Hmmm. Just hurry back here when you're done."

"Do you need anything? Something to read? Ice chips?" Willow asked, 
doting over her lover.

"I'm good, honey, thanks. Go hang out with the gang for a bit and 
check on the baby. I'm just going to rest here a bit." Tara 
offered. She knew her lovers were anxious to share in the joy that 
was their baby with their friends and after hours of labor, all she 
really wanted to do was close her eyes for a few minutes.

"You sure?" Willow asked, hoping that she could go to her friends, 
but at the same time, not wanting to leave her lover. 

"I'm sure, go ahead. Just be sure to come back."

After some kisses, hugs, and praises Buffy and Willow went back out 
to the main lobby. Willow received similar treatment that Buffy got 
when she first came out with the announcement. They led them up the 
stairs to the next floor and the group made their way down the 
hallway and huddled around a window. Joy, the baby of Willow, Buffy, 
and Tara, was wheeled into the room and the nurses quickly set about 
to check the baby's temperature, take her footprints, fill out the 
paper work. The group looked on with an occasional "Oh" and "Ah."

"Would the parents like the prints on their shirts?" one of the 
nurses called through the glass separating them.

Willow and Buffy looked at each other and then to the nurse, 
nodding. The nurse walked them through the double doors and just as 
they inked Joy's feet to take the foot prints, the nurse gently 
guided Willow, then Buffy, pressing their stomachs to the tiny feet 
of their daughter, leaving the ink prints on each of their shirts.  
When the new mothers looked to the nurse she just shrugged, "It's 
some new thing that started a little while ago. The fathers usually 
get the baby's prints on their shirts as a momento."

The moms were escorted back out and everyone ogled over the prints on 
their shirts, Xander, being the only one who managed to sneak down to 
the gift shop and buy a camera, took some shots to further 
memorialize this rather historic moment.  

By noon the friends were allowed into the room to visit Tara who was 
quietly nursing Joy. Though excitement was practically buzzing in 
the air around them, everyone remained fairly calm and sedate so as 
not to startle the baby. Gifts, flowers, and balloons were abound, 
filling the room with sweet scents and well wishes.

"So, when can you break out of this joint?" Xander asked, referring 
to the hospital in terms of prison, which got polite chuckles from 
those in the room.

"Probably tomorrow," Tara answered, not really taking her eyes off 
the bundle of joy nestled in her arms.

"Did anyone call Giles?" Buffy asked.

"Oh, geez, no." Xander confessed.

"I went to ask Xander to call before he came, but I never got the 
chance," Dawn added and Xander looked rather sheepish, remembering 
how he just jumped into frantic mode when Dawn called.

"Well, visiting hours will be over soon, can someone call him once 
you guys get home? No sense in making an overseas call here," Buffy 
asked.

"Yeah, they'd charge you way too much," Anya piped in, her mind 
always on the dollars.

A nurse came in, which was their sign that it was time to leave. The 
mommies needed some time alone to finish the feeding and bonding time 
together and Joy and Tara needed some basic check ups to make sure 
all was well for their release tomorrow. Everyone got up, gave the 
new parents hugs and kisses and blew kisses to Joy, not wanting to 
disturb her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By early evening the next day Buffy, Willow, Tara, and Joy pulled up 
to the house. Dawn was anxiously waiting at the front door, holding 
it open so the girls could bring in all the gifts from the hospital 
and Tara could come in with the baby.

The gang was gathered around and in the far corner of the living room 
a tall figure stood waiting for a calm moment to come so he could 
step forward, but Buffy caught sight of him and lunged forward 
tossing the items in her arms to whomever was nearby. She threw 
herself into his arms, which wrapped around her in a firm 
hug. "Giles!" Buffy called out.

"How are you doing, Buffy?" he asked, a smile playing on his lips at 
the warm welcome he'd received.

"Great. How? When?" She couldn't really get the words out around 
her happiness.

"When Xander called me yesterday I decided to take the next flight 
out." Giles filled in, knowing exactly what his charge was trying to 
ask.

He unraveled himself from his slayer and made his way to Willow and 
Tara who remained by the front door. Willow followed Buffy's lead 
and threw herself into his arms, though not nearly as forceful as the 
slayer did. After hugging and whispering his best wishes and 
congratulations, Giles made his way to Tara who was beaming.

"Tara, dear, how are you feeling?" He asked, wrapping an arm around 
her waist in a half-hug so as not to get in the way of the baby 
sleeping peacefully in her arms.

"I'm great, Mr. Giles. Thanks so much for coming."  

"Oh, Tara, you can call me Giles, you know that. You're like a 
daughter to me," Giles turned to the group, "You're all like 
daughters and sons to me," he added until his eyes fell on Spike.  
They shared a look that silently conveyed that Spike was definitely 
not included in that statement. He brought his attention back to 
Tara and the baby and began to talk baby talk, lightly stroking the 
soft skin of Joy's cheek. "Tara, why don't you sit down," he offered 
knowing she must be exhausted.

She smiled and nodded and took a seat on the couch. Buffy ran 
upstairs and returned a second later with a bassinet. Tara laid the 
baby down and everyone huddled close by, but still kept their 
distance. Xander was snapping pictures almost every other second 
trying to capture every moment.

"I think Anya's going to kill Xander," Willow whispered to Buffy as 
the two of them stood slightly off to the side to allow their friends 
some time with the baby.

"Why?" Buffy asked raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Because with as many pictures as he's taking, when he gets them 
developed its going to cost a fortune."

No more needed to be explained. Anya's love for money was legendary 
within the Scooby gang and she'd go from loving to devilish in 3 
seconds flat when it meant giving any of that money over to someone 
else.

The rest of the night was spent hovering close to Tara and the baby 
though not in a suffocating way. Giles and Willow went to the 
kitchen to begin dinner when Dawn came in. "Will, why don't you go 
into the living room with everyone, I'll help out here," Dawn offered.

Willow smiled and gave the teen's shoulder a thankful squeeze as she 
left the room. Giles eyed her for a second and nodded so delicately 
that you'd have to really be paying attention to notice. The two of 
them prepared a large dinner for everyone and the family gathered 
around the table and enjoyed a lovely meal.

Everyone shared their dreams for the baby, each making vows to love 
and protect Joy until the end of time, each telling stories of days 
they'd share with her in the future, adventures they'd have, things 
each Scooby would teach the child, and advice they'd impart on her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two weeks later Buffy, Willow, Tara, and Joy were at the doctor's 
office for a standard check up and were happy that all was going 
well. As they pulled up to the house Buffy saw Dawn at the front 
door and she became suspicious.

Getting out of the car and making their way up the walkway, Buffy 
began to question her, "Dawn? What's going on?" Dawn wasn't doing 
anything out right alarming, but Buffy's spidey-senses were tingling 
that something was up.

"Nothing. Nothing, I swear," Dawn let out in a blur of words though 
she tried to stay calm.

Willow and Tara joined the slayer on the front steps and cautiously 
made their way into the house as Dawn backed up, giving them room.

"SURPRISE!" Everyone shouted startling the three mothers, Joy, 
however, remained oblivious and kept sleeping.

Everyone was there to welcome the baby and to congratulate the new 
mothers. Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Giles, Xander, Anya, friends of 
Willow and Tara from their Wicca group, and even Oz. Others they 
didn't know too well, but were considered friends, like Lorne and 
Gunn, and Cordelia's date were also in attendance. Even Spike was 
there, which would normally prove to be interesting at the very 
least ? having Angel and Spike in the same room ? but both men were 
on their absolute best behavior.

"We figured we'd combine parties, not exactly the best way to do it, 
but since some people are long distance, we thought it would be best, 
hope you don't mind," Dawn started to babble and Buffy had to look at 
her sister. Yep, Willow was definitely spreading her charms and she 
wondered if Joy would have the same endearing quality as she got 
older.

Buffy quirked an eyebrow at Dawn wondering what she was talking 
about, two parties in one, but noticed two cakes sitting on a table 
set up in the room; one for the baby and one for Willow's graduation 
from college which was only about a week away.

Yep, life was good, Buffy decided as she began to mingle among her 
friends. As the day wore on Willow and Oz were chatting happily, 
catching up on each other's lives since his last visit, Tara was 
chatting it up with everyone since she was the one with the baby, 
Giles and Wesley enjoyed themselves talking about stuffy book-worm 
topics, and even Spike and Angel engaged in civil conversation.

Buffy sat back from the group, observing and taking in everything.  
The love and camaraderie was thick in the house and Buffy was finally 
happy. A moment of sadness passed over her as she silently wished 
her mother could be here to share in everything, but a touch on her 
shoulder brought her out of her reverie. It was faint, almost like a 
gust of wind caressed her shoulder, and she turned to see a 
shimmering image of Joyce with a huge smile. No words were needed, 
Buffy knew, she knew that though Joyce was not there in body, she was 
there in spirit and Buffy felt the last slice of peace settle over 
her contentedly.

THE END
There is a sequel in progress called "Four's Family"