The Longest Night
by Casandra
Christmas' of the Future/Conclusion
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The Longest Night Conclusion
The spirit nodded his cloaked head slowly in the affirmative as I instinctively started to back away. The guide walked solemnly into the foyer, coming towards me in long, heavy strides. I watched him for a brief moment and then went to turn around and race back into the living room. Before I even had a chance to take one step a bony hand grabbed my shoulder and spun me around with such force that for a moment I lost my balance. When I regained my equilibrium I realized I was no longer standing in my living room, I was in a graveyard. I spend quite a lot of time in cemeteries, it comes along with the territory of being a vampire slayer. But never once has it scared me the way it is right this moment. I can feel the chill go straight down to my bones, because I know there is only one reason I've been brought to a graveyard. My entire heart fills with dread as the one question I'm afraid to ask crosses my lips.
"Who?"
The guide abruptly points a bony finger towards a couple standing under a tree, one lone headstone resting in front of them. I slowly walk towards them, fear eating away at my soul with each heavy step, but my curiosity getting the best of me. As I approach them the man turns away from the grave to comfort the distraught woman standing beside him. When he turns I finally see who the couple is.
"Oh God."
Xander was pulling a very distraught Anya into a tight embrace, trying desperately to comfort her. I slowly creep up close enough so I can see who's name is carved into the marker. I know seeing Xander so sad could mean only one of three things. The person buried beneath our feet is either Willow, Giles or me. The thing that puzzles me the most though is Anya. While we all did get along, and I've always suspected she had a bit of a crush on Giles, our deaths shouldn't have made her as inconsolable as she appeared to be. As I approached the headstone though, it suddenly hit me. It's not me, it's not Giles, and it's not Willow. I cast my eyes wearily down to read the letters etched into the gray marble:
Jesse Alexander Harris
July 13th, 2002 - October 18th, 2008
May Your Young Spirit Soar Forever
"No, Oh God no, not Xander's son!" I felt the tears slide freely down my cheek as I turned back and watched Anya grasping tightly onto Xander, holding onto his shirt like it was the only tether left to keep her from falling into that deep dark pit of despair. I couldn't bear to watch Anya anymore so I turned to look at Xander. I shuddered when I saw the look his eyes carried. The light in his gentle brown eyes that used to twinkle with every joke or witty comeback was now gone. His gaze was hard now, hollow, and it chilled me down to my very core to think that this was the same Xander that I know. Whatever happened to their son, it changed Xander, hardened him, I can tell just by looking in his eyes. Before I can ponder why I'm being shown this image, I hear a sweet gentle voice carry through the cemetery, reaching my ears as well as Xander and Anya. I would know that voice anywhere, but there's something different about it, almost singsong, and if I didn't know better, a tad bit sinister. I turn around to follow the direction of the sound and come face to face with my best friend. But it's not Willow, not really. I can see that her normally gorgeous emerald eyes are now a murky olive green, and I can see the slightest bit of fang poking out from her bottom lip. If I hadn't known the truth from looking in her eyes, I would have been able to figure it out from one look at her clothes. She's wearing a pair of skin tight black leather pants and a red leather halter top to match. And the black leather jacket she's wearing looks suspiciously like mine. Willow, my best friend, my shoulder to cry on, and I'm beginning to realize, so much more, is a vampire. Oh god, how could this have happened? Why did I let it happen?
"Oh look, you're having a little party. Now why wasn't I invited?" Willow pouted a bit as she moved closer to Xander and Anya, each step confident and predatorial. She slowly circled around them, glancing behind to look at the gravestone we stood in front of. "Oh I'm hurt Xander, really, you know how much I loved my little buddy Jesse. In fact, I think he was my favorite, his blood tasted just like honey, smooth and sweet." Oh God! Oh please God no! Not Willow, Will couldn't have done this, please, please don't let it be true!
"SHUT UP! How dare you! You kill my innocent 6 year old son just to hurt me and then you have the nerve to come here?" Xander was beyond furious, his face was turning almost purple with rage. I saw him push Anya out of the way and draw a stake from behind his back. "I don't care if we were best friends our whole lives, my friend's gone now, and I'm going to make you pay for my son!"
"You'll never be able to do it Xander, just like Buffy couldn't." That singsong lilt she had to her voice chilled me right down to my soul. Xander was right, this isn't our best friend anymore, it's a demon.
"Buffy's weak, she never could bear to hurt you, even after you turned. This is all her fault anyway!" My fault? How did Willow becoming a vampire end up my fault?
"My fault? How do you figure that Xander?"
I spin around to see myself standing behind Anya, my hand grasped firmly around her throat. Oh God, Willow must have turned me! I see Xander out of the corner of my eye, moving slowly toward my vampiric self and Anya. He looks just as stunned as I feel.
"She turned you Buffy?" It wasn't really a question, I know he already knew the answer. I think he just wanted to keep me talking, I couldn't kill Anya if I was paying attention to him.
"Gee Xander, what gave it away? Could it be the fact that I'm about two seconds away from draining your wife dry? Besides, Willow told you I couldn't kill her, she never said she couldn't kill me." Xander made a move towards them, but he stopped when vampire me yanked up on Anya's throat, causing her to squeak in pain. "Don't take another step Xand. Now, I want to know why you think this little sitch we're in is my fault. Explain to me and I just might let your little honey here go." As much as I hated watching this scene play itself out before me, I couldn't help but be curious. I really wanted to know how Willow and I becoming vamps was my fault.
"You know exactly why. If you hadn't let Willow take off to LA she never would have been turned. You were so caught up in your own damn stuff, that you forgot all about the person who loved you most in this world. You were a selfish little bitch Buffy, and because of it we're all paying the price!" I had never seen Xander so angry before, I thought for sure steam was going to start coming out his ears.
"Me? Did you ever think that if you had tried to make it work with Cordelia that this wouldn't have happened. After all, she is the one that gave Angel his little jolly that started this whole suckfest!" Oh my God, Cordy and Angel? The reality of what must have happened struck me like a drowning tidal wave. When Willow left she must have gone to LA and joined up with Angel and his little demon hunting posse. Apparently Angel and Cordy hooked up and he once again lost his soul. Huh, I guess I wasn't that special after all. "It's kinda ironic don't you think Xander? I mean you were always jealous of Angel, and now it's like he's my grandfather." So Angel is Willow's sire? I guess Cordy must be a vamp then too.
"It is your fault Buffy! My son is dead because you wouldn't get your head out of the damn sand and see what was really going on with Will. You were too busy boinking Spike! If Willow hadn't run away to Los Angeles, she never would have been turned, my son would still be alive. We all would be." Xander started sobbing as he watched my vampiric self lick the side of Anya's throat.
"Yeah well Xander, we can't change the past can we? Cheers Will." I spun around from the sight of myself sinking fangs into Anya's throat just in time to see Willow grab Xander by the back of the neck.
"NO!" That was the last thing I heard before I saw Willow sink her own fangs into the flesh of Xander's neck.
"Take me back! I've seen enough! Make it stop!" I was becoming frantic. I sprinted back to the cloaked spirit and began tugging on his robe, desperate to escape this horrible nightmare. The spirit simply stood there, not saying a word, not moving a muscle. Finally I had had enough. "Who the hell are you anyway!?" I reached up and ripped the hood back to reveal the identity of the final spirit. "Oh my god, Ethan Rayne?" Ford had said it would be someone I didn't trust, but that was a huge understatement. I despise Ethan. I backed away from him as he started bellowing with sinister laughter. I closed my eyes and started shaking my head, furiously trying to escape the vision, the horrible awful future.
When I opened my eyes again I was back in my chair, Willow's blanket wrapped firmly around me. Then it hit me, everything came flooding back. Willow. She's leaving me, God, I have to stop her! She can't go, I can't let her go, I need her here with me. I........I love her. I know with overwhelming certainty now why I was taken on my little trip through time tonight. All of it, everything I've seen has been to bring me to Willow. My destiny has been right in front of me all these years, I've just been too blind and too afraid to believe it. But I do now, I know what I want, who I want, and I'll be damned if I let her go without a fight. I just hope I'm not too late.
I shoot up out of my chair and race up the stairs towards her room, taking two at a time. I burst through the door and find it is just the way I'd seen it in my vision, empty. I race back down the stairs and grab my leather jacket, the same one Will was sporting in that awful glimpse of my future. I fling open the door with such force that I rip it from it's hinges. Ok, she's going to LA, but how? Plane? Train? Bus? Three places to look and god knows how much of a jump she already has on me, she could already be long gone. But then I remember the bus terminal is the only thing running at this time of night, especially on Christmas Eve. I jump into Mom's Jeep, overwhelmingly grateful that I finally passed my driver's test. I must have gone through every stop sign and red light, because I make it to the bus station in no time flat. Rushing into the terminal I feel a huge knot form in my stomach, I hope with every ounce of my being that I'm not too late. But then I see her, silky red hair framing her gorgeous face. She's bent down over her laptop, typing away furiously at something. The anxiety and fear of losing her starts to wash away from me, at least until I realize I haven't convinced her to stay yet.
"Willow!" She turns around to look at me and even from the distance I am I can see her quietly starting to panic. I quickly close the space between us and sit down next to her and she puts away her computer. "Will, what are you doing?"
"Buffy, how did you know I was here?" Uh-oh, she's trying to dodge the question, not a good thing. Besides, how I am supposed to explain that one to her?
"That doesn't matter. I want to know what you're doing here."
"I'm leaving Buffy. I can't stand the thought that I might hurt you. I'm no good to anyone like this. God, I almost killed Dawnie, why would you even want me around?!" Tears started to leak their way down her cheek and it took every ounce of my self control not to wipe them away.
"Will, I know things have been bad lately, but we'll get through. We'll get through it like we've gotten through everything else, together." Something told me I'd have to do better than that if I was going to convince her to stay.
"No Buffy, not this time. I can't risk the chance I might hurt you. I'd die before I'd let that happen." Uh-oh, she's wearing her resolve face, not good, this is really going to be a uphill battle for sure.
"Now boarding, Greyhound number 55 to Los Angeles, gate 3"
"That's my bus Buffy." Willow stood up to leave as I gaped in shock. She turned around and pulled me into a strong hug. "Take care of yourself, please be careful." She pulled away from me and started to walk away, before stopping and turning back around to look at me. "I love you." And then she headed back toward the terminal.
"Will, please don't go!" I rushed after her and grasped her arm, spinning her around to face me. I could see the tears sparkling in her bright emerald eyes, mirroring the ones that I knew were beginning to fall down my own face.
"Buffy, let go, please, I'm going to miss my bus."
"Don't leave me Will, please." I'm not sure if it was anymore than a whisper, but I know she heard me, because I could see the protest forming. So I did the only thing I could think of to stop the words from passing her lips, I covered them with my own. I heard her squeak in surprise but then I felt her hand cup my cheek returning the kiss. After a few long moments I pulled away to catch my breath. I looked up to see confusion dancing across her shimmering green eyes.
"You.........you kissed me? Why did you kiss me?"
"I love you Will, please don't go. I need you, please don't leave." I reached up and gently stroked a delicate cheek and gently smiled when she leaned into the caress. "We'll get through this Willow, but we'll do it together. I never want to be separated from you again. Will you please stay?" I could hear my own voice filled with trepidation. I was so scared that it had been too little, too late. So I was surprised when she didn't answer me verbally, but instead put her arms around my neck and pulled me in for another loving kiss. I don't know how long we stood there melding our mouths together and holding onto each other for dear life. But I couldn't have cared less, I've never been as happy as I am right now, with Willow's arms wrapped around me and her lips pressed against mine in a gentle loving kiss. I sighed heavily though when I felt her begin to pull away.
"Buffy, look, we're under the mistletoe." I followed her gaze to see that we were indeed standing under a bunch of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling.
"Well it wouldn't be the first time." I leaned in and gently snatched a quick kiss from her slightly swollen lips before grasping her hand and ushering her towards the exit. "Come on, let's go home, I think Santa has a little surprise for you!" She laughed gently and started to follow me out of the bus station. I felt her lean into me as we walked out and whisper in my ear.
"Merry Christmas Buffy"
"Merry Christmas Will, the best Christmas ever."
The End