I hope you enjoy this last chapter. It both wraps up the current story and includes an epilogue. I apologize in advance if the Ori are not portrayed exactly as you imagined. It's been a LONG time since I've viewed that season! If you've ever watched Angel, then you might be familiar with the man and woman I bring into this chapter that are the PTB conduits on Earth (or something). If you don't know, you won't lose anything.

BTW, I'm not sure exactly when same sex marriage was legal, so let's not worry about the time frame as I don't particularly care about minute details like that as this IS fanfiction.

Chapter 20: The Reunion

*****Celestis*****

Willow was there on the planet channeling her magic, and then she was gone.

"Where did she go?" Cameron asked.

"She must've teleported to wherever Tara is," Buffy said.

"Leave it to Red to not save us any baddies," Spike said.

"We need to check the area—she could've gone to their location on this planet," Cameron said.

What they didn't know was that Willow wasn't exactly on the planet. She'd locked onto to where Tara was.

Tara looked up in surprise when she saw a person in her room. "Willow!" she cried from the bed she was sitting in.

"Baby," Willow said. She moved quickly to embrace Tara and sensed something wrong.

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again," Tara said, crying. "They are so strong."

"Not as strong as I am," Willow said. She pulled back the cover and looked at Tara in shock. "What did they do to you?"

"They impregnated me," Tara said, tears falling.

"They raped you?" Willow gasped, her white hair turning black.

"Not exactly—there wasn't a person—not that I could see," Tara explained. "I don't really understand what they did."

"You look much more pregnant than two months," Willow said. "It's only been two months, Tara."

"I know. They did something—I don't know what they did," Tara said. "But I can see the baby inside—it's mine, a daughter."

"Can you walk?" Willow asked. Tara nodded and got out of the bed.

Willow's first priority was to get her to safety, so she held her hand and teleported her back to their friends.

Cameron jumped when the two women appeared. "Damn it! Do you have to do that? It's freaky!" he complained.

Everyone surrounded the women, hugging Tara. However, they couldn't hide their shock at her pregnant state.

"Oh God!" Xander said in dismay.

"What did they do?" Buffy asked.

"They raped her," Willow said in a cold voice.

Buffy and Xander took in the black eyes and blackening hair Willow was sporting—only the tips of her hair was still red. "Will, you need to take a breath," Xander said in a soft voice.

"Willow, dark magic won't make things better," Buffy said.

"The Ori violated Tara, and I'm going to make them pay," Willow said in a voice that sent chills down Cameron's back.

He started to say something when Willow winked out of existence, causing him to groan. "Damn it! She did it again!"

"This isn't good," Daniel said.

"No, it's not," Buffy said.

"Let's get Tara back on the ship," Samantha said.

Tara was worried about Willow, but she was relieved to be back with her friends, who she considered family. Buffy and Daniel helped her onto the ship.

"I wonder what Willow's doing to those Ori," Cameron said.

"Probably something painful," Xander said. "I just hope she can come back from it."

Willow stood in front of a flame and could sense countless beings out in the abyss. A man with funky eyes stood in front of her, holding a staff.

"You dare to violate the sanctity of the Ori! You have stolen our vessel! Where is she?" the man said.

"How dare you!" Willow said, her hair going entirely black. "Are you the one who raped my Tara?"

"She is blessed to carry the seed of the holy Ori," he said.

Willow was done talking and blasted him with her magic, knocking him back.

"You will pay for that!" he said, standing up.

"No, I won't," she said. She pulled his staff to her and absorbed its energy. "Now that was a rush." She hit him again with another blast of power—this time he didn't get up right away.

The Ori, however, weren't going to allow her actions to go unpunished. The flame burned bright and grew, forming the outline of a person. A voice like thunder came from its fiery mouth.

"You have the audacity to violate the sanctity of the Ori! You will die!" it said.

Willow created a shield just in time as its fire hit her shield. She was using all her magic to hold off the heat, but she started to feel the warmth. Sweat began forming on her forehead as she dug deep, keeping the shield strong. However, she knew that she couldn't keep up the shield much longer. Since she wasn't on Earth, she couldn't draw energy and sustain the shield from the Ori's onslaught.

Just when she thought she was going to be burned alive, it stopped. Surprised, she cautiously looked over the shield and was in for a shock.

Joyce Summers stood there, glowing. She held out her hand and began to quench the flame somehow.

"Stop," Joyce ordered. "You will not kill her."

"You dare to interfere? It is forbidden!" the flaming mouth spoke.

"What I do or do not do is not under your prevue," Joyce said. "What you are is perverse. What you did to Tara a blasphemous act. If you do not stop your encroachment on this galaxy, you will regret it. Tara and her child are not yours. Willow is very powerful. Imagine how powerful she would be if she ascends. I will make sure that she destroys you utterly. If you attempt to influence Tara's unborn child, we will destroy you."

"We do not believe you have this power," the Ori said.

Suddenly, an attractive man and woman that Willow didn't recognize appeared.

"We will give them that power," the new woman said.

The Priori that Willow had knocked out rose to his feet. The Ori spoke through him and said, "You are not allowed to be here!"

"Our Champion, Buffy Summers, life is intwined with the two witches. They fight with her, so they, too, are ours," the woman said. "If you attempt to harm them in any way or proceed to take the child—we will destroy you."

"The child is ours!" the Priori and the flaming man said at the same time.

The man finally spoke. "No. She is ours—our oracles have foreseen this," he said. "She will grow up to be a great champion of Earth."

Willow was reeling from how many surprises she'd had the last few minutes. First, there was Joyce, and then the Powers That Be showing up, and now this about the baby. This was not how she saw this going. Her anger began to fade as Joyce reached out and took her hand.

"I can feel you!" Willow said in surprise.

"Let us go from this place," Joyce said.

Then the two of them winked away, leaving the Ori and the Powers behind.

Buffy was standing guard in front of the ship with Spike and Cameron while her father and Xander were inside the ship with Tara. Ronon, Sam, and Vala were searching the nearby woods when they saw a bright light near the ship and moved to see what was causing it.

Cameron's shout of "Damn it!" caused Buffy to turn. When she saw who was with Willow, she gasped. "Mom!"

Joyce held open her arms as Buffy ran toward her. However, Buffy remember what had happened when Dawn had tried to touch her ascended mother, and she stopped. "I can't believe you're here," she said, gazing at her mother.

"I had to help," Joyce said. "It was time."

"She stopped the Ori from burning me to a crisp," Willow said, her hair now back to normal.

"Dad!" Buffy called out. Cameron moved to the door of the ship and called out for Daniel, who soon appeared.

"Joyce," he said. He moved to stand in front of her, trying to restrain himself from reaching out as he assumed that she was not corporeal.

Joyce, however, stepped forward to hug him. "I love you, Daniel," she said. Before he could respond, she was gone.

Daniel felt a stab of loss and didn't understand why she left so suddenly.

It was time, though, to head back to Earth.

*****Earth*****

When they made it back to Earth, Willow took Tara to be checked out by Dr. Frasier. Buffy and Ronon waited to find out how she was while Daniel reported to Jack and Landry what had went down.

"Are you okay, Danny?" Jack asked him after he was done. They were walking out of Landry's office.

"No," Daniel said. "I don't understand. I was able to touch Joyce, but then she disappeared without saying goodbye."

"I'm sure you'll see her again," Jack told him.

"I hope so," Daniel said.

They went to see how Tara was doing.

"I feel fine," Tara was saying as they walked into the medical bay.

"Baby, you're pregnant," Willow said.

"Yes, Willow. I know," Tara said with a smile, but she rolled her eyes. "I'm pregnant, not dying."

"But what about the accelerated growth?" Willow asked.

"We will have to monitor her, but I see no signs of distress," Dr. Frasier told them. "Your blood pressure if fine. You seem to be at thirty-two weeks."

"How is that possible?" Jack asked. "She was just gone two months."

"I don't know," Dr. Frasier said. "It's not anything I've ever observed. We will closely monitor her, but I see no reason to think that the baby won't be perfectly healthy."

"Maybe since you're not there with the Ori, they won't work anymore of their voodoo on you," Xander said.

"Let's hope," Buffy said.

Tara was just glad to be back and with her friends and lover. She put her hands on her stomach, grateful that her baby was okay.

Later, when she and Willow were in bed, she asked Willow, "How do you feel about all this, Will?"

"What do you mean?" Willow asked.

"I'm pregnant with a baby, and we don't exactly know who the father is," Tara said.

"Do you think that matters to me?" Willow asked. "I love you. This will be our baby, and the Powers told me she was going to grow up to be a great champion."

"Really?" Tara asked, her eyes lighting up. "I didn't know how it was ever going to happen since I wasn't attracted to men, but I always wanted to be a mother."

"You were born to be a mother," Willow agreed. "I'm the one that was raised by scientist who used me to try out their theories on child rearing on. I have no idea how to be a mom."

"We'll learn together," Tara said. "I'd like for us to get married, though."

Willow's eyes widened. "Really? You want to be marry me?" she asked.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and if we're going to raise a baby together, I'd like to make it more permanent," Tara said. "Even if the ceremony is just for us and our friends."

"I'd have to invite my parents," Willow said.

"I won't invite any of my family," she said.

Willow grinned and kissed her. "Let's start planning this wedding," she said.

"Should we tell everyone?" Tara asked.

"Tomorrow," Willow said. "Tonight, I need you to just be here with me."

The next morning, Xander went outside to get the paper and saw a woman on the lawn. Alarmed, he rushed out to check on her and saw bare skin and sandy blonde hair. Her face was hidden, but he was uncomfortable approaching a naked woman who might be ill alone.

He ran back inside and called for Buffy and Daniel—Buffy was the lightest sleeper and came to the top of the stairs, glaring down at him.

"What's with the screaming, Xander? It's not even nine o'clock!" Buffy complained.

"There's a naked woman on the lawn. I'm going to get a blanket, but I thought another woman should be the one to check on her," Xander said.

Buffy went outside and saw the woman, so she moved toward her and knelt door. The woman stirred and turned. Buffy eyes widened as she realized that the woman was her mother.

"Mom?" she said.

"Is she alive?" Xander asked as he approached with the blanket.

"It's my mother," Buffy said, reaching for the blanket.

Excited at the news, Xander's quickly turned around.

"Mom?" Buffy asked.

Joyce opened her eyes and sat up, the blanket around her shoulders.

"Buffy?" she said.

Buffy's eyes filled with tears as she hugged her mother.

"What's going on?" Daniel asked from the doorway.

"It's Joyce," Xander said. "She's come back to us." Carefully, he turned around and saw that Buffy had covered up her mother.

Daniel moved toward her, his eyes taking in her form. When her eyes locked with his, he smiled.

The woman he loved was home. Daniel was finally going to get his happy ending.

*****Epilogue*****

It was graduation time for Xander. It had taken him five years, but he did get his bachelor's in business with a minor in woodworking—much to Jack's annoyance. To get paid as a full consultant, SGC only needed him to earn a degree, and he pointed that out to Jack whenever he yelled, "For crying out loud!"

He spent two years working correspondence courses and getting his general education requirements and somehow had gotten into Colorado College, a private four-year college that offered classes in woodworking. Jack thought it was a total waste of his time, and he just didn't see how much woodworking relaxed him. Teal'c got it, however. Currently, he was helping Teal'c make a cradle for his son's new baby, and Teal'c was enjoying it.

He looked at his family from the stage. Anya was there, sitting next to Val, who'd become her best friend. Having a friend who really got her had settled something inside Anya. Her insecurities about her place in Xander's world had disappeared. She'd made a place at SGC in Daniel's department, but she still ran her own business. They'd bought their own house three years ago—his compromise as everyone in their life was married and reproducing. He hadn't been ready yet.

Tonight, however, he planned on finally proposing. It was time as he was ready to try his hand at fatherhood like all his friends. Xander didn't know this, but Anya had a secret of her own that she planned on sharing that night.

Buffy and Ronon's three-year-old twin sons, Danny and Johnny, who he affectionately called Holy and Terror, were wearing matching bow tie suits that Giles must have ordered for them. They had Ronon's coloring but Buffy's green eyes. Xander chuckled as he saw Ronon and Buffy's hands firmly on both boys as the two could never be trusted when in public or near their cousins.

Giles and Faith were both there helping keep an eye on all the little tikes as Tara and Willow's daughter Emma was five and possessed Tara's looks, but she somehow had a hot temper when provoked. The twins loved provoking her, and they took particular pleasure in getting her to use her magical powers to punish them. Not only did they find it exciting, but Emma always got in trouble, which they quickly figured out. Emma loved the boys, but she wasn't about to be their victim.

Although Emma's pregnancy had happened too soon, the rest of her developed had gone back to normal. She did possess magical powers that were advanced, but the Ori had never tried to take her—so far.

Somehow, Faith had more luck than anyone but Buffy and Ronon getting the boys to listen and behave—much to Willow's annoyance. Although Faith's five years were up, and she was no longer legally bound to the hellmouth in Sunnydale, she was committed to staying. Giles, however, was retiring as an active Watcher. Instead, he was going to work for the SGC as he and Dr. Lam had been dating the past two years.

As they began calling names, Xander moved closer. Soon, he heard his name being called, and he walked across the stage to get his diploma. It was nice to actually finish one of these ceremonies without the guest speaker turning into a giant snake and trying to eat the graduates. Buffy had graduated a year before, and Tara and Willow the year before her. However, this time he got to wear the robes and have the party afterward.

He heard cheers and whistles and grinned out at his friends, who were busy snapping pictures. Willow was crying proud tears while Jack beamed at him. Vala was the whistler—he grinned at her. How she had fallen for Spike was mystifying to Xander, but he found her very similar to Anya and had a soft spot for her. The two of them had become valued members of SGC, and Xander was going to be an official member of her team and Spike's team. The past few years, he'd mostly went on training missions with SG-1 or the V team. However, he wasn't a full-time member as he hadn't wanted to rush things. He'd been spending more time remodeling the large house he'd bought for him and Anya. The three-year project was finally done, and he was ready to focus on SGC more.

Dixon had retired three years ago, and their old Sunnydale comrade-in-arms, Graham Miller was the new team leader. He'd been recruited four years earlier as word had gotten back to him that Buffy and company were working for the government in Colorado. He had just known that Buffy's connection to Daniel couldn't have been the only reason for all of them to pull out of the hellmouth.

Graham, of course, had been right. He and Xander had become great friends since he'd joined SGC. Currently, he was sitting next to Dixon and clapping for Xander.

Xander took his seat and waited for another name to be called.

"Dawn Marie Summers." He stood up and cheered with Dawn's parents and friends. The little smart ass had graduated high school a year early and finished her degree in three years. Of course, she was following in her father's footsteps and would go on to get a graduate degree in linguistics.

He glanced back at Joyce and Daniel, who were beaming with joy. Teal'c was holding their three-year-old son Jackie up, so he could see over the standing friends and family. It had been vastly amusing to Xander and horrifying to Buffy when her mother had confessed that she was pregnant a month after Buffy and Ronon's pregnancy announcement. Jackie had to be physically restrained whenever he was in close proximity to the twins as the three of them were a wrecking ball if allowed to roam free. Although Jackie wasn't as high energy as the twins, they brought out his mischievous side.

Xander grinned—he loved that little guy. He was earnest and curious like Daniel but much more sweet-natured than the twins. However, he also had Daniel's ability to fall into trouble, which the twins loved the most about him. He was always the leader, pushed by the twin's natural boldness. Jackie came up with some ingenious plans—much to his parents' horror and his namesake's glee. The adults worried what the trio would get into when they were older.

Buffy clapped loudly and so did the twins—they adored their Uncle Xander.

After getting Tara and her mother back, Buffy's life had become exactly like she'd hoped for. After spending a few weeks visiting with her mother on Earth and attending her parents' wedding, she and Ronon had gone back to Atlantis, throwing themselves into the battle with the Wraith. Then a year passed, and she and Ronon were married on the beach in California—Buffy's wedding dream. They honeymooned on Catalina Island. When she'd become pregnant with the twins, she and Ronon moved back to Earth until they were born. After they were six months old, however, they moved back to Atlantis, a place they both considered home.

Nearly a year ago, Tara had become an elementary teacher and convinced Willow to move to Atlantis, so she could teach the twins along with Teyla's children and several others. Buffy had been ecstatic as it was great having her best friend so close to her, watching their children grow up together. Currently, Willow was trying to persuade Buffy to have another baby because she had finally convinced Rodney to donate his sperm, so she could carry her and Tara's next baby. She wanted to give Emma a brother, and Rodney agreed that their combined DNA would create an incredible scientific mind.

It had taken Rodney a full year before he stopped reacting to the incredible feats Buffy managed or the very real existence magic had in his world.

Willow had discovered that some of Teyla's people—including Teyla herself—had a natural affinity for magic, and she had begun teaching the people. After several years, magic was a part of Rodney's daily world.

The Scoobies had grown up, explored words, fallen in love, and become parents.

However, they were still fighters—Champions—and would continue the fight.

Wherever it might be.

*****The End*****

Well, that's a wrap. I hope you enjoyed the final chapter. Thanks so much for sticking with this story even though it took me too long to write it. I appreciate your tolerance. Take a minute to give me one last review.