Author's Note: A cute story. Very short. Some good lines.

I was considering cutting it, to be honest, because it's not very action-packed. But the ending is essential for the narrative continuity of the season.

Next story: our season finale. "Line Hopper."

Enjoy!

The tall, lanky woman in the brown sweater sat on the park bench, brushing away a strand of her short blond hair from her eyes. She had intelligent blue eyes. Eyes that seemed too old for her face. They were gentle, with a motherly sort of caring inside of them, as they gazed out on the little blond girl who was running and playing with some other children, not far off.

Buffy sat down, beside her. "Cute kid."

The woman started, violently, at Buffy's voice. Snapped her head around, then hurried to get up, mumbling only a small, "Sorry."

Buffy reached out and caught her by the hand. "Hey, it's okay," she said, quietly. "I know. A mother always does."

The woman went very still. Looking down at Buffy.

Then she gave in, and sat down beside her. Slumping over in her seat.

"This isn't actually supposed to happen, you know," the woman said. "This whole us-meeting-out-of-order, mixed-up timelines thing." She shook her head. "I don't know why it keeps happening to me. It's definitely not intentional."

"Don't worry — your father did it all the time," Buffy dismissed. "I get how to deal with these kinds of situations. I'm good with the time travel."

"You won't tell my younger self…?"

Buffy made a zipping motion across her lips. "My lips are sealed. No timeline mix-ups, Seo. Promise."

Seo — the Sixth Seo — smiled. Then turned back to watch the little girl.

Buffy did, too.

Listening to the laughter and happy cries of children playing. As their merriment echoed through the air.

"What's her name?" Buffy asked.

"Chiara Sompters." Seo raised up her hand. "And… no. Before you ask, she's not mine. Not biologically." She paused. Looking out at the little girl, her love shining through her face. "She's human. One of Aunt Dawn's decedents. She was in trouble and I…"

"…rescued her?" Buffy guessed. Then put all the pieces together. "Oh. I get it. Eron Halstor's 'Lost Sompters Heir'." Laughed. "So you did take her!"

Seo glanced over at Buffy. "I told you. I don't go looking for temporal mismatches. They just seem to find me. You've got no idea how many times I'll run into an effect before finding out I was its cause in the first place."

"How old was Chiara when you saved her?"

"Two," said Seo, leaning back on the bench. "Just two years old. Too young to 'be acquired' and get the implant, which meant Halstor didn't kill her when he got the others. And she smart enough to hide from Halstor's troops, who'd come in to finish the job."

Buffy nodded, slowly. "And… you decided to take her in and raise her."

"It's not what Father would have done," Seo replied. "But…" She shrugged. "I was all she had. It just felt… natural."

No, it wasn't something the Doctor would have done.

But it was something Buffy would have done. And something Buffy was proud of Seo for doing, herself.

"I took Chiara out of time," Seo continued. "Settled down in her past, where Halstor couldn't reach her. We live in the States, a little later in the 21st century, in a nice house with a picket fence and a good school system. She's starting kindergarten this fall…" She paused. Frowned. "Or… that fall. The one in the future, I mean. When we get back to it."

"So… you're a mom," said Buffy. "Congrats."

"Yeah," said Seo. She looked over at Buffy, with a smirk. "Guess that makes you Grandma, now."

Buffy buried her face in her hands. "I'm so not old enough to be 'Grandma', Seo," she said. "I'm 29, not sixty! I look younger than you do right now, with you all other-regenerationy." She peaked up at Seo. "How old are you, now, anyways?"

"Thirty one," said Seo, without missing a beat.

Buffy shot her a pointed look.

"I lost track," Seo admitted. "I don't know. It gets confusing when you travel through time. Jenny keeps telling me I could figure it out if I put my mind to it, but I've stopped caring. I usually just say I'm as old as I look in human years."

Buffy looked her up and down. "You look older than 31."

Seo crossed her arms. "Thanks, Mom," she said, pointedly. "You're looking great, too."

Buffy cringed.

"Mick says I look 31," said Seo. "And as long as he loves me, that's all that counts."

"You've got a boyfriend!"

"I've got all kinds of stuff," Seo replied. "Car. Space ship. Trans-dimensional ironing board that doubles as a broadsword in a tight spot." She frowned. "I've even got a mortgage! Now there's something I never thought I'd say."

"Ironing board that doubles as a sword?" Buffy said.

Seo shook her head. "Don't ask."

They sat, together, in silence. Looking out on the children playing. Seo's blonde little girl glancing over at them, and waving exuberantly, before getting back to the game.

Seo waved back.

"She's beautiful," Buffy said.

"She's perfect," Seo agreed, pride washing over her. She faltered. "I mean, except when she isn't, and starts poking monsters on the nose to see if it annoys them, or starts darting towards crashed space ships because she knows she shouldn't go there. But I'm working on that." She leaned over, elbows on her knees. "Humans grow so quickly. Every day, it's something different, with her. She's always testing the boundaries. Always learning, analyzing, figuring things out."

"Sounds like someone else I know…" Buffy muttered.

"But she's still my wonderful little Chiara," Seo said. "And I love her more than anything. Always will." She hesitated. Then, in a low voice, added, "She inspires me, you know. When I'm locked up by an evil villain and the universe is about to end… I know I can't let it. Can't give up. Not ever. Because ending the universe means ending her. And I won't harm my little girl."

Buffy put an arm around Seo's shoulders. "I know the feeling."

Seo was quiet for a long time.

Her face bent into a long, somber expression.

She pulled away from Buffy, suddenly. Stood up. "We've gotta go."

"Seo…"

"Mom, I'm sorry, but you don't… you can't know…" Seo threaded her hands through her short hair. Then turned back to Buffy. "It works both ways. Love of a parent for a child, and a child for her parent."

Buffy didn't get it.

"It's December," said Seo. "Coming up to Christmas. And… you haven't had a single headache yet."

Buffy blinked. "I… got over the headache thing," she said. "I'm not—"

"Christmas, 2009," said Seo. Turning away. "I remember what happened. What's coming for you. I don't… want to live through that again. It'd hurt, too much."

Buffy stood up. "Seo, what…?"

Seo wrapped Buffy up in a tight hug. Then pulled away, tears in her eyes. "Goodbye, Mom. I'm so sorry."

Then she spun around, wiping tears from her eyes. Gathered herself together, and took her little Chiara by the hand. Leading the child away, back to their own time and place in history.

Buffy just stood, a long moment.

Staring.

As she heard something almost whispering across the wind…

I'm coming for you, Buffy Anne Summers.

That evening, the headaches came back.

But far, far worse.

As if something were reaching out and grabbing at her, from the inside. Making her every cell sear with fire and pain, as she tried to cope.

Buffy was sick.

But this time, someone was targeting her, specifically. On purpose.

And Buffy already knew who.

"Got to get ready," Buffy decided. "Got to go back." She went to the realtors, to snatch up the first house on the market. The soonest she could close escrow on. "Back… to Sunnydale."