Fic: Three’s The Charm – Epilogue

And finally the end. I’m off to bed. Goodnight, everyone!

– Mommanerd

 Epilogue

The grass was wet with dew, meaning that morning was close. She must have fallen asleep out here, waiting for Riley. She couldn’t believe that she’d fallen asleep on the ground, in a graveyard of all places. It was creepy.

A movement to her left told her that she wasn’t alone.

“Spike?” She walked over to nudge him with her foot. “Spike, wake up. What are you doing?”

“Wha…?”

She sighed and reached down to haul him back to his feet. “You fell asleep out here. So did I.”

He was finally alert enough to take it in. “I don’t remember,” he said.

“Me either,” she said.

“We were fighting,” he said. “You had a stake.”

“Yeah, that’s the last thing I remember too.” Her stake was gone now. She didn’t see it anywhere. Something else was gone too.

“Almost sunup,” he noted. “Better get moving.”

“Uh, Spike,” she called after him. He stopped and turned toward her, looking somehow different from before. “Where’s your shirt?”

He looked down. “Dunno. Don’t remember losing it.”

He left, and Buffy looked around some more. No stake, no shirt, and no bracelet either. Dawn was going to be so mad.

***

Neither of us triumphed this time, Calypso. I shall best you with our next champions.

You’ll need to choose wisely, Artemis. My lovers have been resourceful.

As have my warriors. They all keep falling in love. It makes me wonder if Aphrodite is interfering in our games again.

One of these millennia, you will finally come to the truth that love is a more powerful thing than war.

You dream, Calypso, as always. I’ll leave you to those dreams now, until next time.

Yes, Artemis was right, dreams were powerful. With that in mind, Calypso waited a few weeks, and when no one was looking she made a visit to a certain crypt down on Earth, and bestowed the gift of a dream on her champion. He’d earned it, after all.

Fini

Originally posted at http://seasonal-spuffy.livejournal.com/147196.html