Disclaimer: I didn't own anything when I began and I own nothing now I'm finished!
A/N: And here we have the final chapter! Will save my effusive thanks for the end but remember I love you all! Oh in case anyone forgot the song is Anywhere by Evanescence. Sorry this is out late but my server was down.
Chapter 29: Half way to anywhere
"Buffy?" Willow called as she wandered down the stairs of the Summers home. "Buffy are you here?"
*That's odd* thought Willow, she was sure she'd heard Buffy come in from the back porch at some time during the night. If she weren't here why would the CD player still be running? Buffy was always saying money was too tight to leave appliances running unnecessarily. With a puzzled frown firmly in place Willow headed into the lounge just as the song coming gently out of the speakers began to repeat. Willow turned the volume up so she could make out the words. This didn't sound like the kind of thing Buffy normally listened to…
Dear my love, haven't you wanted to be with me
And dear my love, haven't you longed to be free
I can't keep pretending that I don't even know you
And at sweet night, you are my own
Take my hand
We're leaving here tonight
There's no need to tell anyone
They'd only hold us down
So by the morning light
We'll be half way to anywhere
Where love is more than just your name
Willow knew she needn't mumble the few Latin words under her breath as she was doing. She knew there was no one around to hear – Xander and Giles were probably still at Giles's trying to figure out where Spike went, just like she knew without doing the spell exactly what had happened a few hours ago. Yet she couldn't take her eyes off the ghostly figures that wandered hurriedly around the room in front of her now, mere replays of actions that had already taken place…
I have dreamt of a place for you and I
No one knows who we are there
All I want is to give my life only to you
I've dreamt so long I cannot dream anymore
Let's run away, I'll take you there
Hand in hand, Buffy and Spike entered the house, Dawn skipping ahead of them after calling out an invitation for the vampire. Buffy looked around as they made their way to the lounge, taking note of all the changes that had taken place since she had first moved here six years ago. There were more pictures on the walls along with a lot more dents. There was different furniture…and she could no longer smell her mother's perfume when she walked into a room. She couldn't smell it anywhere in the house anymore. Now the house was filled with new scents – Tara, Willow, even a little Spike…but it wasn't the home it had once been. Now it was just a place where she would lay her head, not even that when she had stayed with Spike. She let out a humourless chuckle at that. She felt more at home in a dark musty crypt than she did in her own house! She felt Spike squeeze her hand gently and turned towards him and saw the understanding smile on his face. He always knew what she was thinking.
"Erm, guys?" Dawn asked quietly, interrupting Buffy's reverie. "If we're leaving should we pack some stuff?"
"Only what you can't stand to leave behind." Spike replied equally as quietly. "We haven't got time to pack properly."
"What about my clothes?" Dawn pouted. Didn't he know how important the proper wardrobe was to a girl her age?
Spike shook his head. "You can get new clothes bit. Besides there are sleeping Scooby's all over this house. Do you really think you can get everything without waking them up?"
Dawn conceded his point reluctantly and headed down to the basement to see if any of their clothes were still down there from last time they had done the laundry – probably considering how lazy Buffy was! Once she was out of sight Spike gently pulled Buffy into his arms. "You sure about this luv?" he whispered against her hair. Buffy nodded.
"I don't want to. I mean all my friends are here, all my memories. " She sighed sadly. "But what choice do we have? I'm sick of hiding and pretending I'm something I'm not. I want to be somewhere I'm not the slayer, where no one expects anything of me." She leaned back slightly and looked into his eyes, her own wet with unshed tears. "I'm tired of dreaming about what it would be like to just be with you Spike. I just want to make it real!"
Spike pulled her
back against him and placed a gently kiss to the top of her head. "We will
baby." She promised her quietly. "We'll make it real."
We're leaving here tonight
There's no need to tell anyone
They'd only hold us down
So by the mornings light
We'll be half way to anywhere
Where no one needs a reason
Spike carefully crept up the stairs, leaving Buffy and Dawn to pack the last of their things – photo's of their mother, clothes from the basement and so on. They were going to collect his meagre possessions from his crypt of their way out of town. Right now though, he was on a mission. With a preternatural stealth he entered Buffy's room and saw the whelp and Demon girl asleep in the bed. He looked at them as they slept, her on one side of the bed, him on the other. It struck him as strange at that moment how distant the couple looked while they were asleep. Whenever he and Buffy had shared a bed, if he awoke they always seemed to be holding on to each other. He wondered if it was just a Spike and Buffy thing or whether that was the way it was really meant to be when you loved someone. He stared at them for at least five minutes, trying to puzzle some kind of answer before he remembered he had come in here with a purpose – A plush pink purpose that was staring at him from the shelf above Buffy's dresser!
Forget this life
Come with me
Don't look back you're safe now
Unlock your heart
Drop your guard
No one's left to stop you
"You two ready?" Spike asked as he held the front door open for his two girls. Dawn took one last look around before nodding and heading outside. Buffy however was fiddling with something on the CD player. He had a sudden feeling of déjà vu as he watched her place the CD in the tray but he brushed it aside. "What's that pet?" he asked as he walked behind her and put his arms around his waist.
"Just a message for the Scooby's." She told him, turning the volume right down before setting the machine to repeat the same song. "I just figured I should tell them something y'know?" As Spike listened to the words of the song has had to agree with the slayer. It explained their actions far more eloquently than either of them would have been able to write.
"You still sure Buffy?" Spike asked one last time, wanting her to be certain before they did something she might regret later. The loving kiss he received and Buffy's taking his hand to lead him outside was his answer…
Forget this life
Come with me
Don't look back you're safe now
Unlock your heart
Drop your guard
No one's left to stop you now
Watching the scene draw to a close Willow let out a choking sob and sank to the floor as the last words tumbled from the speakers. Numbly, she reached out for the phone lying next to the nearest speaker. Placed there as if her need for it had been anticipated, which it probably had been. Willow didn't contemplate the thought too deeply however, there were more important things to do. She had to call Xander and Giles since they weren't back yet. They had to be told. Buffy was gone, and she wasn't coming back.
Half an hour later, Xander, Giles and Willow sat in the living room of the Summers house. Each of them reacting in different ways. Xander's response had been to rage and shout, levelling every crime he could think of at Spike's feet - from corrupting young minds and forcing Dawn into helping him, to actual kidnapping. Willow was once again in tears, blaming herself for not being understanding, for not being a good enough friend and respecting Buffy's choices. Giles however had been unusually quiet and contemplative.
"Why did she have to leave?" Willow sobbed. "If it meant that much to her I would have tried to understand…I didn't know…"
"She didn't leave!" Xander spat, "That monster forced her!"
"But I saw it Xander!" Willow insisted. "She went with him willingly!"
"No!" Xander yelled, standing up. "Buffy would never…"
"That's enough!" Giles spoke for the first time, quietly but with enough authority for Xander and Willow turn to him in surprise. "Buffy has made her own choices." He continued. "And I think it is fair to say that had we acted differently this wouldn't have happened."
"So what are you saying?" Xander cried, incredulous "We just let them go? We have to go after them!"
"No." Giles told him firmly. "What we have to do is hope that Buffy finds it in her heart to forgive us and comes back in her own time."
"And what are we supposed to do if she doesn't?" Xander continued.
Willow sighed, not lifting her gaze from the CD in her hands, the words still spinning through her head. "We hope that Spike makes her happy." She whispered sadly, knowing that they had missed their chance to make amends…
We're leaving here tonight
There's no need to tell anyone
They'd only hold us down
So by the morning light
We'll be half way to anywhere
Where love is more than just your name
"So where are we going then?" Buffy asked from her position resting against Spike as he steered the Desoto along the highway, Dawn sleeping peacefully in the back seat.
"I was thinking we head to LA for a while." He replied. "Just like old times!"
Buffy chuckled as she remembered their first stay in LA. It had been scary then as well – just relying on each other. They had both been so miserable, so tired of living, yet they had pulled through together. They had done it once and they could do it again.
"Then where?" She asked after a moments thought. "I know you're not gonna want to stay in 'Angel's city' too long!"
Now it was Spike's turn to laugh. "Anywhere you want Ducks!" he told her happily. "We're already half way there!"
THE END
A/N: Sob, I've finished! (And yes the last line did have to be that cheesy – I couldn't resist!) What am I going to do now?!?! Well first I'm going to thank everyone who has read and reviewed this story while I've been writing it and all those who might stumble across it in the future. There are too many of you for me to thank individually but please know that I appreciate every singe last one of you – if it weren't for you this never would have been finished and I wouldn't be planning several other stories right now. Please let me know what you thought of the whole thing now its finished. Love you all and thank you again! xxx