Epilogue

After the most confusing week of their lives, they were thrust right back to where they'd started, without any solid answers or reasons why things had happened the way they had. Willow had gotten in touch with Tara and once Tara arrived at Buffy and Faith's apartment, she sat down and told them all she knew, which was more than enough to have to hear in one sitting.

Tara said she'd noticed something different about all of them the night after the Bronze. Xander called it autopilot and she had to agree. Since she wasn't really part of their everyday lives, just part of it, she could only tell them so much about the last four years. As soon as they'd finished high school, Faith had found an apartment and it only took Buffy three weeks before she moved in with her. College came and the only ones who didn't go were Faith and Xander, both of them having started up their own contracting business together. Willow was still attending college part-time and Buffy had graduated with a degree in social services and was working at the high school as a counsellor.

For the most part, it was as if their life had taken a normal path. Destroying the vessel with the First hadn't erased all evil in the world as previously thought either, but it made it damn well near impossible for anyone or anything to open any of the Hellmouths in the world. Between Willow, Tara, and Dawn, they'd managed to permanently cloak all the Hellmouths, resulting in less active areas and hot spots. Kennedy was in Cleveland with Vi and Rona, and the rest of the younger slayers had been spread out over the world after they spent nearly a year training with Buffy, Faith, and the two Watchers, Diana and Anthony.

"What about Joyce?" Faith asked, knowing Buffy was too afraid to ask about her mother. "She's alive, right?"

"Yeah," Tara nodded. "Very alive and well and probably on her way over for her weekly Saturday lunch with you two."

"Really?" Buffy asked, trying to hide the big smile as it curled over her lips. "She's okay?"

"Yes, Buffy, she is okay."

"What about Dani," Willow asked Tara, wondering what happened to the former Neqa'el.

"You mean you don't know?"

"Well don't keep us in suspense here, T," Faith said. "What happened to her?"

"I'm surprised she isn't here right now actually," Tara replied. "I rarely see you and Dani apart," she said to Willow. "You two are together," she added and smiled at the oblivious look on all their faces. "I really can't tell you guys anymore than what I already have. I'm not a big part of your lives, I was actually surprised when Willow called and asked me to come here."

"You're not? Why not?" Willow asked.

"I don't know, Willow," Tara replied with a shrug. "It's just the way things are, you know? I've only been helping you try to catalogue Giles' vast library of books we got a few months ago."

While Tara explained to Willow just what they were doing with the library of books they acquired through Giles' estate, Buffy went to the kitchen to grab the last cup of coffee out of the coffee pot. She wanted nothing more than to have lived the last five years of their life instead of starting over with not a single memory of what had happened.

"Bet you're thinking that it shouldn't have been this way," Faith whispered as she joined her in the kitchen. "Can you believe any of this shit, B?"

"I don't know what I want to believe anymore, Faith."

"But hey, we're still together. Who knew we'd make it this long?"

"It's a very nice bonus," Buffy smiled at her. "Don't you wonder what happened to Spike?"

"Sure he's still around, there are a few things I wanna ask him like why Giles had a vial of your blood."

"When? When did Giles have a vial of my blood?"

"Before Dawn came back, Spike had a vial of what he claimed was your blood. Said he swiped it off Giles."

"Oh. Oh, what the hell?"

"That's what I'm sayin', B. Spike mighta been playing the "good" card and trying to help us out, but he sure as hell is hiding something from us."

"I think..." Buffy groaned as she felt the room begin to spin. "This is too much."

"It is, but what have we got to lose, B?"

"Everything?"

"How about nothing. This is what you wanted, wasn't it? A normal life and from the way Tara described it, that's exactly what we got now."

"But it's not fair," Buffy sighed. "We missed everything that matters."

"Did we? Would you rather forget everything we've been through in the last few weeks?"

"It would be nice to actually know what the hell kind of life we've got here," Buffy said through clenched teeth, trying to stay as calm as was possible at the moment. "I thought the last week was bad enough as it was and now we just lost five fucking years!"

"Look on the bright side," Faith shrugged, trying not to laugh at Buffy's obvious distress. "You didn't have to live through your senior year again. Thought that's what you wanted?"

"I did but I-crap. You know what, maybe it's not as bad as I'm making it out to be, right? I mean obviously life is of the good right now for all of us, right?"

"Not to mention when I was snooping around the bedroom earlier there's a drawer full of toys," Faith whispered, wiggling her eyebrows as Buffy's eyes went wide. "Autopilot us sure have a healthy sex life that I can tell ya."

"Oh god."

"What are you two whispering about?" Dawn asked, joining them in the kitchen and giving them both a look. "Guys?"

"Nothing," Buffy blurted out. "What are they talking about in there?"

"Tara is still explaining to Willow about the library of books. Boring stuff if you ask me. Now seriously, what are you two whispering about in here?"

"Stuff you should never have to hear," Buffy replied firmly. "How's Xander holding up?"

"I think he's still in shock, B," Faith said as the three of them looked over at Xander. "I mean being married with a baby and all, that's gotta be somethin' else to wake up to this morning."

Buffy sighed and stared at Xander, wondering just what was going through his mind and how he was dealing. On the outside, he looked pretty freaked out and she knew it was a least a hundred times worse on the inside. Buffy sat on the stool at the breakfast bar and groaned as she buried her face into her hands.

Why does everything have to be so damn complicated, she wondered and she looked over at her friends and then over at Dawn and Faith. "How are we going to figure out everything we need to know?" She asked them, both just shrugging in response. "We all have...jobs and lives and jobs! Faith, do you even know a thing about construction? Tara said you and Xander have your own company. What the hell do you know about running your own company and with Xander?"

"Pretty sure it's not impossible," she replied easily. "What about you with the job as a high school counsellor? Not a far cry from what you were doing before Sunnydale went-" Faith made a popping sound against her teeth and laughed. "Come on, B, we'll figure things out before Monday and we'll try not to wig anyone out that doesn't know what happened while we do."

"I vote doing some serious digging of the personal files, letters, diaries even," Dawn said and Buffy looked over at her, not amused. "What? I know you always kept a diary, hello, I used to read it all the time. I know I probably kept some myself too, not really diaries but more like journals, right? And I'm sure that Diana has stuff written down because that's her job as a Watcher to write the life of her slayer."

"Dawn, stop," Faith said as Buffy rubbed her temples when her head began to pound. "Just give it some time before we start jumping into shit. It's bad enough we just went through this a week ago."

"But we need to find some answers."

"And we will," Faith snapped at her. "Just leave it alone, Dawn. We'll get this figured out once everything becomes much less of a mindfuck, all right?"

"But-"

"No," Faith cut her off. "Just leave it alone. Just for now, okay?"

"I was going to ask you what you plan on telling Mom," Dawn muttered. "Obviously she'd notice something was different all these years, right?"

"Dawn," Buffy sighed as she looked over at her. "Please just leave it alone for now. It's too much."

"Well too bad, Buffy!" Dawn yelled. "Whether you want this or not, it's happening and we need to figure out why!"

"Because it was time," Danu said as she walked in the front door, casually closing it behind her. "It was time for it to happen. I should've told you when you killed the First's Champion that this would happen, that life would change and that you'd be taken back to the time where it all began all over again."

"Just with a helluva lot of changes, huh?" Faith asked and Danu nodded. "So, Danu, why don't you fill in all the missing gaps for us? That's the least you can do, isn't it?"

"It'll take time. Lots of time," she said quietly and motioned for Buffy, Faith, and Dawn to join her and the others in the living room. "Not everything will make sense, but I will try. It's been five years for me, but not for you. Any of you."

"Got plenty of time right now so let's get with the talking, huh?" Xander asked nervously and he looked around at the others. "Why do I get the feeling something funny is gonna happen here? Hey! No funny business! I don't think I can handle any more of this wonky time travel, missing memories, alternate universe stuff!"

"I can tell you," Danu started. "Or I can show you."

"Show us? Like take us back?" Faith asked and she nodded her head slowly. "What do you think, B? What have we got to lose?"

"Nothing?" Buffy shrugged and she turned to Danu and took a deep breath, knowing exactly what the others were feeling and thinking. "Show us."

The End