Chapter 1 pt 3

Buffy sat back against the headboard after hanging up with Willow and sighed. She marked one thing off her checklist, only to suddenly come up with at least five more things that had to be done before the move home. Erin stirred in her sleep next to Buffy, but settled quickly back into sleep again. Buffy sighed in relief. Moving always unsettled the three-year old, and an exhausted, cranky daughter would make Buffy's life even more complicated. The last thing she needed was for Erin to miss her nap.

A soft knock was followed by Giles poking his graying head through the door between their hotel rooms. When she motioned for him to enter, Giles quietly slipped into the room, casting a cautious glance at the sleeping child before setting a steaming mug on the night stand next to Buffy. "I had room service bring up a chocolate for you when they brought my tea," he murmured in response to her questioning glance. Buffy smiled gratefully, cradling the hot mug for a slow sip, and sighing in pleasure as the warmth spread through her. "I've made arrangements for our things to be shipped back to Sunnydale," Giles continued. "Except for the books and weapons, of course."

"Of course," Buffy responded dryly, taking another sip of her hot chocolate. She relaxed back on the bed, balancing her pad and mug gingerly, fighting a yawn as Giles continued.

"There's not much Buffy, you know that. There's a great deal that will need to be purchased if you really intend to live in that monstrous place." At the annoyed glance Buffy shot him, he shook his head in concern and disbelief. "Are you sure you want to live in Angel's mansion? I would have thought you'd have horrible memories of that place."

"I'm sure," Buffy insisted quietly, not wanting to get into that argument. "I think it's time we made some good memories in that place. Besides," Buffy smiled slightly, "the mansion's about the only place in Sunnydale with enough room for us. We can train in the basement, lock up the weapons securely, even finally put all those books on shelves in one place again. You don't have to stay there Giles; I really would understand. Besides, it's about time you got some semblance of your own life back, including your own apartment. Not that you aren't welcome to stay, but I'm not the only one with bad memories about that place. Still, I've decided; Erin and I are definitely moving in."

"Besides, it's already been protected against the sun." Giles' dry comment shocked Buffy, catching her mid yawn. He chuckled quietly at her reaction before rising to take her list away. "We'll argue about it later Buffy. For now, why don't you take a nap as well? You've barely gotten eight hours of sleep the last three days what with taking care of Erin during the day, the battle, clean up patrol, and moving. You'll need as much energy as you can get to organize this move and take care of Erin. I'll work on the list," Giles assured her.

Buffy let out a little whine, and tried to go for a killer pout, but was interrupted by another yawn. "OK, OK. I get the hint," she chuckled, sinking back into the pillows next to her daughter. "But be sure to wake us up by four. If Erin doesn't burn off more energy before dinner..." Buffy let her sentence trail off and shuddered, allowing Giles to fill in the blank on his own. Giles simply nodded in agreement, and covered her bare feet with Erin's discarded security blanket, turning off the light as he returned to his room.

Buffy gave a deep sigh and curled up next to her baby, drifting swiftly off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~ (Buffy's Dream)

Buffy was running through the woods in Sunnydale, near the fraternity where she and Cordelia had nearly been fed to a snake demon. Buffy couldn't remember where she was going, or what she was doing, but she knew she had to get there quickly. Her heart felt as though it were trying to pound it's way out of her chest, and her breaths were coming in great, heaving gasps. Buffy was all too aware of the aching tiredness coursing through her body as she pushed herself to the limits and beyond, knowing all the while that it still wasn't enough. Her heart despaired as Buffy hit a wall; both physically and metaphysically unable to go any farther. Buffy sank to her knees, using the last of her flagging energy to pound futilely on the invisible barrier before her, screaming for help until blackness overcame her.

The sun was almost too bright, the day too perfect as Buffy found herself walking towards a small crowd in one of Sunnydale's cemeteries. Her nerves were strung to the breaking point as the looked at her family and friends clustered around a new grave. She moved forward to hear what they were saying, afraid of what she would learn, but unable to stop herself.

"I can't believe she lied to us for so long. Especially after she read me the riot act," Xander was saying, staring pointedly at Erin, who had one of her arms wrapped around Giles's leg.

"Does it really matter now Xander? It's over, we can't talk this out, try to let it go." Willow asked plaintively, holding a small urn closely. "Who's going to look after her now that Angel's gone too?" she asked sadly. Buffy choked on a sob at Willow's words, her heart leaping into her throat as Willow tipped the urn to allow the fine ash it contained to drift onto the newly turned earth of the grave. Oz moved to start rolling new turf over the grave, sealing the ash next to the ground before it could blow away, as Willow turned away to study Erin.

"I'll take her, of course," Joyce Summers said, reaching for the child's hand, pointedly ignoring what Oz was doing, and frowning at Willow for her actions. "After all, she is my granddaughter."

"It might be best for her to stay with me," Giles said, his expression stony, as he looked past them all to the grave. "She'll need to start training soon. I'm sure that given..." Here, Giles paused, swallowing a wave of pain that had formed as a lump in his throat. "I'm sure that given Buffy's astounding skill and record that there is very little chance Erin will avoid being called for her generation."

Buffy's mind froze in fear, then scrambled to find *any* other explanation for Giles words than the obvious one - that Erin would also be called as a Slayer. Her desperate thoughts were shocked out of their horrified loop by her mother's explosion of temper.

"No!" Joyce exclaimed, her grip tightening on Erin's shoulder. "It's bad enough that you took Buffy, but I'll be *damned* before I let you take her baby too!"

Buffy's eyes widened; as she watched with horrified fascination, the argument between her mother and her Watcher escalated, to a point where they had forgotten all about the little girl. Buffy's heart ached with love and sympathy as she saw a hurting and bewildered Erin watch Joyce and Giles scream at each other, tears welling in both Buffy's and Erin's eyes. The Slayer was nearly numb with shock and pain when Erin pulled away from both adults; her little face streaked with tears. Buffy wrenched desperately at the unseen bonds that wrapped around her, as she reached out desperately, needing to hold and comfort her baby. Erin rushed towards the part of the grave that Oz had not yet covered and started digging into the ash and dirt, screaming "Mommy!" Buffy's eyes filled with tears, and she reached out, struggling to breathe against the choking grief as her heart filled with terror at the sight of Erin trying to follow her into the grave, still crying for her ...

~~~~~~~

"Mommy!"

"No!"

Both cries echoed briefly in the hotel room as Buffy bolted upright in bed, heart racing. Erin was next to her, sobbing her eyes out and reaching for Buffy, her small hands clutching the air desperately. Giles crashed through the connecting door as Buffy grabbed her daughter up, cradling the small body against her shoulder. "Shhh Baby," she whispered, trying to calm her own breathing, "Mommy's here. I'm right here. It's OK Little One," Buffy gently rocked her little girl, soothing the child's shaking body despite the slight tremor in her own.

Buffy could see the concern in Giles' eyes as watched them, but she shook her head to stop him when he stepped forward, opening his mouth to offer help. She was well aware that Giles could ease Erin's fears, but Buffy desperately needed Erin's presence to ease her own. Her heart still pounding in reaction, Buffy quickly glanced at her watch, and relieved that there was still more than half an hour left of Erin's nap she settled back down with the calming child. Buffy needed some quality cuddles with her baby to calm herself. Another shudder rippled through the Slayer's body as she fought against the images of Erin crying for her that lingered in her mind, hating and fearing the implications they held for Erin's future. Buffy breathed deeply, concentrating on the steady beat of Erin's heart as she remembered her dream, her arms wrapped securely around Erin's body.

"Try to get back to sleep," Giles murmured quietly, knowing instinctively that she wasn't ready to discuss the dream yet. He moved slowly back towards his room, concern evident in his blue eyes. "I'll remember to wake Erin at four, but I think you should probably rest a bit longer. You'll need all the sleep you can get in the near future." Buffy could hear the loaded statement behind his words, and reluctantly nodded her agreement. Both Watcher and Slayer were uncomfortably aware that Buffy tended to have nightmares in cycles, going weeks with hardly any only to spend days upon days of restless nights fighting with horrors past, present, and future in her sleep.

As the last thought passed through Buffy's mind, she once more focused her attention on the small body in her arms. Though her hands were still clutching at her mother's blouse, Erin had slipped back into a peaceful sleep. Buffy eased Erin back onto the bed, careful not to wake her as she gently eased one side of Erin's T-shirt aside. Buffy carefully studied the unblemished skin on Erin's left shoulder and upper chest, her hand absently going to her own shoulder, rubbing at the nearly invisible scar that marked where her own birth mark had been. Buffy sighed in relief as once again, she found no mark to signal that Erin would one day be called to follow in her mother's footsteps as the Slayer. Buffy breathed deeply, savoring the reassuring sent of Erin's shampoo and baby powder as her heart rate finally slowed to normal. The Slayer wrapped her arms protectively around the warm little body next to her, drifting slowly back towards dreamland.