Terapsina: They had diapers back then. I think the British term for them is nappies. But Angel said that he knew how to change a diaper, an old fashioned one that was clothe and a safety pin. That's what they used for diapers, clothe. That's what I meant. Thanks for catching the comment though, I forgot to type nappies.

A/N This is the last chapter in Jump in Time and it's a long one. Wow, it's taken me awhile to get here. I hope that you have all enjoyed the story immensely. The sequel shall be arriving sometime in the next year. This is the first story that I've finished since I've been on the site. That's kind of sad; two years here and only one story done. Anyway, please enjoy the last installment and keep an eye out for the sequel.

England 1879

"Aurora, look at the birds! We're almost to your grandmother's house."

"Yay!"

"Duchess, why don't you sing to her?"

"That's a great idea!"

"Yes, dear."

"Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother's house we go."

"That always sounds like part of a song."

"It is part of a song. I just can't remember the rest of it."

"That's too bad, love."

"Yeah, oh well. Are you excited about visiting your grandmother, Aurora?"

"Yeah!"

The carriage that carried the small family on the country road came to a slow halt nearby a very shady grove of oak trees. There was an enclosed gazebo barely inside the grove. William looked out the window and recognized it as the edge of Mr. Liam's country estate.

"It's beautiful, but why did we stop?"

William looked across the carriage at his darling wife and smiled. She did not yet know of his romantic plans for the day ahead.

"You only managed a quick glimpse of the grove last year. I asked Mr. Liam if I could show you the inside of the gazebo on our way to the country house. He was very considerate to allow us permission."

"Is Mr. Liam one of your Academy friends?"

"No, Duchess. I met Mr. Liam at the Museum of Natural History about a month before I met you."

"Oh, well it was nice of your friend to let us look in at his gazebo."

"Yes, Rora will you mind staying nearby the carriage with Mr. Gable?"

Mr. Gable was the driver and terribly fond of Aurora. She was about the same age as his son Thomas. William knew that he could trust Gable with his daughter. After all, he and Dawn were only going to be gone for a few minutes.

"No, Papa. Will I get to play?" Rora had a mischievous smirk on her otherwise innocent face. Dawn leaned down to give her daughter a whispered warning.

"Don't play any tricks on Mr. Gable or you won't get any cookies when we get to Grandmother's house."

Rora's eyes went wide at the thought of no cookies. She knew her mother would follow through on that threat. She quickly nodded her head.

"That's my girl."

William chuckled at his girls and extended his right arm to his Duchess. Dawn took his arm and stepped out of the carriage carefully. They started walking towards the gazebo when Darla came out of it. Dawn didn't recognize her as she had never actually seen her.

"Ah, Mrs. Liam. How are you today?"

"I'm quite alright Mr. Pratt. But the gazebo is simply a mess. One of the windows was smashed by a tree branch during a storm over the spring. Both my husband and I would prefer it if you visited after we'd gotten it cleaned up."

"That sounds reasonable. You wouldn't mind taking a trip out here a little later on would you, Duchess?"

"Not at all, Dear."

Dawn was distracted. There was something about Mrs. Liam that just seemed off. The predatory look in her eyes didn't help to alleviate Dawn's nerves either.

"Would it be alright if I talked to Mrs. Pratt privately?"

"I don't see any problem with that, do you love?"

William asked Dawn. Dawn quickly tried to think of a reasonable claim to not be alone with Mrs. Liam. However, Dawn's natural curiosity won out over caution as it often does. William let go of his wife's arm somewhat reluctantly.

"It'll be fine, but just for a few moments."

"I'll check out the damage at the gazebo while you visit."

"That is awfully nice of you, Mr. Pratt."

"I'm just being neighborly, Mrs. Liam."

Dawn and Mrs. Liam walked a few yards away from William and the gazebo in silence before Mrs. Liam spoke. During that time, Dawn noticed how closely Mrs. Liam stuck to the shadows and how pale the blonde beauty was.

"Mrs. Pratt, isn't it a bit odd to be traveling while in the family way?"

"Well, Mrs. Liam it's a family tradition for us to spend the summer in the country. I wouldn't want to disturb that tradition just because I'm pregnant."

"Ah, is this your first child?" The more they talked the more at ease Dawn was. She knew that Mrs. Liam was either a vampire or burned very easily from the way she'd been behaving. Even pregnant Dawn could still fight well with ease so she didn't feel any necessary danger.

"No, this is our second child. Our daughter Aurora is by the carriage."

"Oh, how old is she?"

"Aurora is a little over a year old. Do you have any children?"

"Yes, my husband and I have a daughter."

"Oh, how old is she?"

"Drusilla is nine years old. She loves this grove a great deal."

"Was she sad to see the gazebo?"

"Oh, yes. Dru cried when she saw the damage. She's such a delicate child."

"Do you only have the one child?"

"Yes, I've been talking to my husband about having another for a few years now. I'm not sure if he wants to try again or not."

"Why aren't you sure?"

"I had complications with Drusilla's birth. Both she and I barely made it through."

Dawn put a hand on Mrs. Liam's arm in an effort to comfort her for what was clearly a painful memory. From the way Mrs. Liam spoke Dawn could tell how much she loved her daughter.

"I can see that he'd be reluctant to lose you." Mrs. Liam looked at Dawn through eyes that were beginning to glass over. She gave Dawn a watery smile.

"You have no idea how sweet you are, do you?"

"Probably not."

"Please call me Darla, Mrs. Pratt. You seem to be my friend already."

"Only if you'll call me Dawn, I'm so glad that I've made a friend so soon." The two women had walked to the end of the road and turned around to walk back towards the gazebo. Both were smiling now.

"Of course, Dawn. I do hope that you'll come to visit me for tea once in a while."

"That sounds lovely. I hope that you'll have another child. You seem to love your daughter Drusilla a great deal."

"Yes, I do love her quite a bit. Thank you for the hope."

"It's no problem. I hope for a lot of things."

The two new friends made their way towards the gazebo in a comfortable silence. The two wives appeared to be bosom buddies despite having only just met a mere five minutes ago. William was just walking out of the gazebo in time to look at the two of them together. He smiled and chuckled at the sight. William raised his arm to wave at them just before Darla gasped.

"Is everything alright, Darla?"

"Oh, yes. I just had the oddest sensation."

"Perhaps your doctor would have an explanation for it?"

Dawn winked at her. Darla could see that Dawn was smiling and hinting that maybe she was with child and didn't know it. Darla was amazed at how hopeful and good this girl was. Not to mention how easy it was to become fond of her. No wonder Angelus had wanted to turn her. Given her husband's protectiveness, it was also no wonder that Angelus had failed. Darla had felt Mr. Pratt's eyes on her several times during their short walk.

Dawn bid farewell to Darla with the promise to come for tea one day soon. William then escorted his beloved wife back towards the carriage. Aurora was ecstatic to see her parents even though it had only been fifteen minutes.

"Mummy, Papa!" Rora ran to her father's legs and held her hands up to him. William picked up his daughter and lifted her into the carriage before helping his wife into it as well. Then they continued on their way to the country manor. Within ten minutes the carriage was pulling up to their mile long tree lined driveway.

"Oh, I always love the view of the house from this angle. One day I'll have to sit out here by the gate and paint our family estate."

"Perhaps you'll do that tomorrow, Duchess." William spoke his breath tickling Dawn's ear. Dawn shivered with delight and grabbed her husband's hand.

"Maybe, William, maybe." She then led him inside the house after picking up their daughter. Things had been going well for this small family for quite some time, a little too well in fact. Dawn was right about not having much time left she just didn't know how little time she actually had.

Anne Pratt welcomed her family to the country house at the door and quickly shooed them all in. Rora immediately reached for her grandmother once they were inside. Dawn laughed and handed her daughter over to her mother in law. William kept a hand on the small of Dawn's back to make sure she didn't fall.

Later that night

Upstairs when everyone was getting ready to go to bed a candle that was left unattended and forgotten caught fire to the nearby curtains. The smoke alerted the occupants of the house that there was a fire. William woke up to the smell of smoke. He rolled over and shook his wife's shoulder to wake her up. Dawn opened her eyes sleepily blinking a few times before snapping open entirely the moment the smell of smoke alerted her to the danger of fire.

"I'll get Aurora, you get your mother." Dawn's statement booked no argument her husband nodded. For once in his life William did not stop to question her decision. He didn't know that that choice would haunt him for the rest of his existence.

The fire consumed the hall and the stairs as William raced back into the country manor. William had already gotten his mother out of the house but he didn't know if Dawn or Aurora had made it downstairs yet. He saw them in a moment. They were at the top of the stairs. Dawn was in her nightgown holding Aurora on her hip. The toddler was terrified and was clutching her mother with a death grip.

"Do you think you can make the jump?" William shouted up at her trying to figure out a way to get his family safely down.

"Me yes, the children no." Dawn called down to him from a tear streaked face atop her precarious perch on the landing.

"I'll catch Aurora and then I'll come back and catch you."

Dawn heard crackling behind her. It was a sound recognizable to her as not being the result of the fire. She glanced over her shoulder and her eyes widened at the sight of a portal opening behind her. Dawn heard her husband gasp and cough as he saw the portal as well. She looked back at him to see shock cover his face.

"Jump down, I'll catch you!" William knew what that portal meant and he was going to try his damndest not to lose the two most important people in his life.

Dawn prepared to do so when she felt the pull of the portal and she knew from experience that she didn't have a chance. That didn't stop her from trying though. She jumped forward and then was pulled backward into the portal. Dawn screamed her husband's name before she disappeared into the portal with her daughter and the landing she'd been standing on collapsed into the fire.

William shouted the names of his wife and child into the blaze but soon left the burning building to collapse on the ground near his mother. When his coughing fit subsided William began to sob into the cool grass. As far as he was concerned his life had ended the moment his family had disappeared in that portal.

Sunnydale, Present Day

Dawn fell into the Summers' living room never losing her grip on her daughter. She looked up into her sister's excited face. To say that Dawn was upset was a bit of a giant understatement. Aurora was just plain scared of everything that was going on. Dawn got up and picked up Aurora once more. Aurora turned her head to look through the crowd of people when she saw a familiar figure emerge from the basement.

"Papa!" Spike's head shot up in recognition. Two sets of blue eyes met.