Echoes
by Rainne
Part Five
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"It's beautiful," Tara gasped as the sun came up over the tiny henge. "Oh, Giles, look!"
He stood behind her quietly, watching as the first rays of the dawn struck the golden basin at the foot of the altar. He stepped forward then, into the circle, and felt the hairs on his arms raise as he came into the range of the spells. "Oh, my."
She followed him, gasping as well at the sensation. "It sounds like bees," she commented.
"Indeed," he agreed. It did. It was a sort of subaudible hum, felt more than heard, but it was indeed reminiscent of bees. He walked over to the altar, examining the grooves. "Now, what do you imagine -"
"Blood," she interrupted him, her eyes fixed on the altar. "They sacrificed the victims... the blood went into the little depression, then through the grooves and into the basin."
"How do you know?" he asked, intrigued.
"I can feel it. Giles... this is an evil place."
He urged her to step out of the circle, then focused his own energies on the wards. He began to slowly pick apart the spells that had been placed on the circle and came out of it gasping half an hour later. "My God!" he exclaimed. "They were worshiping vampires!"
"What?" Faith exclaimed from behind them. "Are you serious?"
Giles turned to face the two daywalkers, who had come from the camp just as he spoke. "Quite serious," he told her. "The spells make it very clear that whoever set them was worshipping vampires. The spells are meant to attract them." He eyeballed her. "I'm surprised you hadn't felt the pull."
"She probably didn't realize it, since she was made here," Dakota mused. "I noticed it as soon as I arrived, but there were other things to do and I eventually put it out of my mind."
"Can the spells be removed?" Faith inquired. "I'm not sure having a navigational vampire beacon on Academy grounds is such a hot idea."
"No, it's not," Dakota agreed.
Giles and Tara exchanged a glance. "Are you capable?" he asked.
She squared her shoulders and nodded. "I can do it."
He turned back to the vampires. "I'm going to need some supplies."
---
Siobhan hadn't moved in over three hours except for her fingers working at her beads and her lips, which continued to form the words of the Ave Maria and the Pater Noster long after her voice had given out. Ebony and Janna, unable to take the stress, had gone out on patrol together the moment the sun went down. Dawn was acting as liaison between the birthing room and the waiting room, where a growing crowd of students and acquaintances waited in tense silence. Xander's cell phone rang every half hour as Maria and Virginia, on assignment in Vancouver, called for updates.
---
Giles and Tara sat cross-legged, facing one another across the golden basin. Inside the basin, a mixture of herbs burned sweetly. Tara called the quarters down and Giles invoked the deities.
"Come now a cleansing wind," Tara intoned. "Come now the wind and cleanse this place, drive the evil from it that it may once again be pure." At her words, a powerful wind blew through the circle, blowing leaves about and ruffling her and Giles's clothing.
"Come now a cleansing fire," Giles commanded. "Come now the fire and purify this place, drive the evil from it that it may once again be new." As he finished speaking, a bolt of lightning fell from the clear sky, striking the altar dead center and leaving a strong scent of ozone in the air.
"Come now a cleansing water," Tara cried, taking up the spell. "Come now the water and wash this place, drive the evil from it that it may once again be sacred." A gentle rainfall began and then abruptly ended, leaving the altar, the menhirs and the casters slightly damp.
"Come now a cleansing earth," Giles entreated. "Come now the earth and sanctify this place, drive the evil from it that it may once again be whole." As soon as the words left his mouth, a veritable herd of butterflies poured out of the surrounding woods. The butterflies flittered throughout the circle, filling the air, and then just as suddenly returned to the forest from whence they had come.
Tara and Giles stood now and joined hands over the basin. "Come now a cleansing spirit," they both cried out in unison. "Come now the spirit and heal this place, drive the evil from it that it may once again be a place of Light. So mote it be!"
For a brief moment, all was silence. Then suddenly their joined hands were surrounded in a nimbus of silver light which grew to encompass the entire circle. There was the sound of a bell tolling and then, with a blinding flash, the light was gone. A moment later, the normal sounds of the surrounding forest resumed.
Faith and Dakota looked at each other. Dakota spoke first, but fervently enough for both of them. "Holy crap."
---
"It's time," the nurse said.
"Wait!" Willow panted. She turned frantic eyes on Buffy. "I love you. Buffy, I love you so much."
Buffy leaned down and kissed Willow hard. "I love you, too, Wills." She stroked the witch's damp hair back from her sweaty brow. "I'll see you when you wake up."
The nurse injected something into the IV and, moments later, Willow was unconscious. The medical personnel burst into action. Buffy refused to leave her place at Willow's side, but she did move further up toward the head of the bed as the Caesarian was performed. She didn't know what was going on, but she did know that everything she heard terrified her.
Her eyes darted from person to person as comments were tossed back and forth, orders given and stats announced. The doctor spared a moment to tell her that the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck, and then he was working again. but mere moments later, she heard a healthy shriek and the doctor lifted a squalling, furious, beautiful baby girl up in his hands. He invited Buffy to cut the cord, but she declined, wide-eyed and nervous. The nurse took the baby, cleaned her and checked her Apgar signs, then wrapped her in a blanket and brought her to Buffy.
The Slayer's hands were shaking as she took her daughter into her arms. The unfocused eyes that stared solemnly and unblinkingly up at her were a vibrant green. She ran her hand over the downy cap of golden auburn hair. "Hey, Bobbie," she whispered to the new life in her arms. "I love you."
One of the monitors suddenly went crazy, shrieking an alarm, and the medical people jumped back into action. Buffy was bodily removed from the room with orders from the doctor to take the baby to the waiting room, show her off, get a Coke, whatever, but get out of the way.
Numb with fear, Buffy carried the baby down the hall to the waiting room. Siobhan's voice stopped when Buffy entered the room. The blonde Slayer stood in the doorway for a moment, staring around at the crowd of faces, and then suddenly focused on Xander and Dawn. "It's a girl," she whispered.
There was dead silence for a long moment. Then Xander choked out the question. "Willow?"
Buffy's face was dead white. "I don't know. They made me leave. They wouldn't tell me."
Siobhan's beads began to click again. "Pater noster, qui es in coelis..."
After a moment, the somber group crowded together to see the new baby and to lend their strength to Buffy.
---
It was a merry group that launched its canoes, heading back downriver toward the Academy. The girls shouted back and forth at each other joyfully, enjoying themselves in the aftermath of a successful mission. They stopped twice to swim and once to eat, and arrived back at the manor shortly after moonrise.
There was a night game of baseball in progress on the south lawn as the travelers began to straggle up to the manor. The shortstop, spying them, called a time out and raced across the lawn. "Mr. Giles! Mr. Giles!"
Giles glanced up at the dark-haired figure barrelling up to him. "Yes?"
"Mr. Giles," she told him breathlessly. "Call came in for you this morning early. Miss Willow, sir. The baby."
"Oh, no... oh, God, no... not early labor." Giles's face paled. He turned to Dakota, who was standing next to him. "I've got to get back there now."
Dakota sprinted for her office.
The earliest flight they could get didn't leave Heathrow for four hours, and there was only one seat available on it. Tara told Giles to go. "I'll be fine here," she told him, and he didn't press her, promising to call as soon as he knew something.
Dakota drove Giles to the airport and waited with him until his flight was called. They took turns as they waited calling every number they had, but no one was at home or answering cell phones. Just before Giles finally boarded his flight, Dakota grabbed his hand. "Giles."
"Yes, Dakota?"
"I... we... we've never talked about this kind of thing, but... will you let me pray for you?"
His eyes grew damp. "Yes, Dakota," he whispered. "I would like that."
She took both his hands in hers, closed her eyes, and went searching for a God she hadn't even thought of since becoming a vampire. It only took a few seconds for her to find Him, and she took a deep breath. Then, in a shaking voice, she began to pray fervently for Giles's safety, Willow's life, and the baby's health. It only took a few minutes, and then she reached up and kissed him gently on the cheek. "Go with God, my friend," she said quietly.
He laid a gentle hand on her cheek. "Thank you," he said sincerely, before turning and boarding his flight.
Faith met Dakota in the entry hall when she got back from London. Her eyes were haunted. Dakota heard the ringing silence in halls that usually echoed with life and laughter and felt the cold hand of fear grip her heart. "Faith...?"
"Kotie, baby..." Faith led Dakota to a bench and made her sit down. Then she knelt, facing her lover. "We just had a call from Anya about ten minutes ago."
"Anya?"
"Xander's fiancee."
Dakota swallowed hard and braced herself. "What did she say?"
"It's a girl," Faith said. "Roberta Dawn. Nine pounds, four ounces; twenty-one inches long. She... she's perfectly healthy and will probably be at home by the time Giles gets there."
Dakota felt the blood drain from her face. She could barely hear her own voice as she forced the words out. "And... Willow?"
The expression on Faith's face was all the answer Dakota needed. She crumpled into her lover's arms and began to weep.