Facing the End
 

        Wesley scratched his eyebrow lightly as he watched the nurse force Taylor
to stand up. A look of pure agony cross her face and Wesley slammed his
hands against the window he was standing behind.  He smiled when everyone
else in the room looked at him and realized that was the reason they had
kept him behind glass.

Taylor looked over at him, biting her lip and holding herself up on the two
parallel bars. He shot her an encouraging smile, waiting for her to begin.
Wesley saw her sigh, then began to push herself along the bars, stepping
slowly.

Taylor had been doing this for nearly four months now and in the recent
weeks she had begun to get better. Then a doctor had suddenly worried about
an infection in her leg and had to operate. Since she had to stay off the
leg for a week she wasn't used to moving around and it hurt her to do so.
Wesley picked her up from the apartment she shared with Riley and his
friend every day she had an appointment and drove her to the hospital.
Then he would wait the long two hours and drive her home. Sometimes he
would take her out to eat after her sessions but usually she was too tired.

He turned his dark eyes back up to the room to see Taylor walking slowly on
her own, without the help of the bar. She was grinning broadly and turned
to see Wesley smiling proudly at her. She smiled back and Wesley found
himself thinking, *I love her.* He stopped himself and glanced down at his
shoes before he looked at Taylor again.

"I love her?" He murmured to himself slowly, testing each word carefully.
"I love her." He said it as more of a statement than a question this time.
Wesley smiled slowly and repeated it once more, "I love her."

"Tell her that." Someone said from behind him and Wesley whirled around to
see Buffy standing there. She grinned, "Hey Wes. How's everything going?"

"Uh . . . good, I suppose."

"Oh my God! Taylor's walking!" Buffy blurted out excitedly, suddenly
forgetting the statement Wesley had made only a few minutes ago. "This is
so great. She can walk on her own."

"Barely. It will take time before she'll be strong enough to walk without
becoming tired."

"Wesley, she's a slayer. She's naturally much stronger and I'm sure her
muscles can build themselves faster than normal people."

He nodded slowly. "You may be right. Hm, that's something I might look into
tonight."

"What's tonight?"

"Researching. Giles had something he needed to show me, some prophecy or
demon I suppose."

"Well, have fun." Buffy smiled at Taylor through the glass and waved as the
other slayer made her way back to her wheelchair. "I just thought I'd drop
by and see how Taylor was doing. Looks like she's doing pretty good so I'll
be going now." She paused and looked at Wesley. "Tell her." Then she smiled
and was gone.

Wesley bit his lip as he thought about it. *Should I tell her?* He asked
himself. *She has a right to know. But what if she doesn't feel the same
way? What if she doesn't say it back?* He shook his head. *No, too much of
a risk.*

Taylor stopped her wheelchair beside him. "Hey there."

"Hi." He stooped down and kissed her. "Ready to go?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Want to try walking to the car?" He smiled. "You looked great in there."

"Thanks, but the nurse said I should try to avoid walking on my own. What
if I fell?"

Wesley smiled. "Then I'd help you up and you'd try again. Don't tell me
you're scared of falling."

Taylor shook her head. "Not really. I'm just afraid of what the nurse would
do if she saw me walking on my own." Her blue eyes glittered as she glanced
around, then motioned for Wesley to lean closer. He put his head near hers
and she grinned. "Tell you what. We'll go to the car the normal way, but
once we get back to my apartment I'll walk in and to the elevator and down
the hall so Riley can see me walking."

Wesley nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me." He took the back of the
wheelchair and pushed her toward the exit. "Speaking of Riley, why hasn't
he been here to see you yet?"

"I don't think he's really comfortable seeing me try to walk again." Taylor
shrugged. "I think he still kind of blames himself. I kind of pushed the
blame onto him didn't I?"

"That was four months ago. If he's not over it by now, it's not your
fault."

She shook her head as Wesley helped her stand up and she got into the front
seat of the car. "You're right but sometimes," she sighed, "sometimes I'll
catch him staring at my legs or at the wheelchair and he looks really sad."

"He'll be really happy to see you walk Taylor." Wesley started the car and
pulled out onto the highway. "There's actually something that Buffy brought
up that I didn't think of. I have to check with Giles first and if I have
something I'll call you from his place. Okay?"

She nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

                                           *  *  *

        Riley drummed his fingers lightly on his desk as he marked the last of the
papers from the psychology class. His made a neat red mark on the paper and
flipped it over before pulling another from the pile.

"Hey Riley!"

He looked up to see Todd at the window, the other person he and Taylor were
sharing the apartment with. "You have to come see this."

Riley joined Todd at the window and looked down. "What?" He asked.

"Would you just look?"

Riley looked harder and suddenly he saw Taylor get out of Wesley's car
below them. He opened his mouth to ask Todd what was so exciting about
Taylor and Wesley when he saw for himself. She stepped out of the car on
her own. She leaned on Wesley for support as she righted herself then began
to walk toward the building. She still had a limp from the surgery in her
right leg and Wesley held her arm carefully in case she fell, but she was
walking on her own.

Riley watched in awe until they were inside the building then ran to the
door to wait for them. He waited until he heard the elevator chime and the
doors slid open. Taylor and Wesley stepped out of the elevator and she was
still walking by herself. Riley felt a smile stretch out over his face as
he ran to her.

She smiled up at him when he reached her and he hugged her tightly.

"I can't believe it." He murmured into her shoulder. "You're actually
walking."

"It's still tiring." She said when he let her go. "But I'm managing."

"I'll go get the chair." Todd volunteered, then ran down the stairs.

"Thanks for driving me." Taylor said, turning toward Wesley. She kissed him
quickly, missing his lips and hitting his chin then started toward the
apartment with Riley helping her along.

"I'll call." Wesley said. "Remember."

She smiled at him over her shoulder and nodded. "I will."

                                           *  *  *

        Wesley knocked lightly on Giles' front door before letting himself in. He
was surprised to find that he had begun to think of the former watcher as
his friend after the past few months he had spent in Sunnydale. In fact, it
was nothing at all like the time he had spent there while Buffy and the
others were still in high school.

"Giles?" He called, stepping into the front hall.

"In here."

He heard Giles' voice call from the living room and followed the sound to
find Giles buried in books, sitting on the couch. He glanced up when Wesley
came in.

"Wesley, come in. Sit," he looked around, "if you can find somewhere to sit
that's not covered in books."

Wesley perched carefully on the edge of a chair then looked at Giles
expectantly. "You had something you wanted to show me?" He asked.
Giles nodded. "Oh yes. Uh, where is it now?" He scanned the books quickly

until he found what he was looking for, then held it up for Wesley to see.
"Have you ever encountered one of these before?" He asked.

Wesley squinted at the picture. It was a demon wearing a large headdress.
The rest of the demon was covered in armour and heavy artillery.

He shook his head. "I've never seen anything like that before. Definitely
looks as if it relies on weaponry more than its own power."

Giles nodded slowly. "Buffy came up against one of these guys last night.
She said he was a tough fight but she killed him in the end. But before she
did, he said something that obviously worried her as much as it's worrying
me. He said, 'The end of days is near. Both slayers are doomed'." Giles
took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "According to Angel
a demon said something similar in Los Angeles when Buffy was there. He's
just as worried as I am."

Wesley frowned. "What does this mean? Have you been able to find anything?"

Giles shook his head. "Nothing more than the picture. It doesn't even have
a write up on it in here. Angel said he'd look around and see what he could
find." He shut the book and leaned back. "Now you said you had something to
ask me."

"Actually yes, I did." Wesley moved a book and tried to find a comfortable
place before speaking. "I was at the hospital with Taylor today when Buffy
came in and said something very interesting. Taylor was up and walking on
her own and I mentioned that it would take a very long time for her to
regain strength and build up her muscles. Then Buffy said that maybe it
wouldn't take as much time because she's a slayer. Would that be true?"

Giles thought for a moment then sighed. "I really don't know Wesley. It's a
good point she brought up and if Taylor's muscles do rebuild faster that
would be a great thing for all of us." He sighed again. "Why don't you try
calling the Council? Maybe they'll have something for us." He nodded toward
the phone. "Go ahead."

Wesley leaned over and picked up the phone that sat on the end table. He
dialled an eleven digit number, then waited to be put through to the
Council. "It's Wesley." He said when they picked up the phone. He listened
for a moment, then sighed. "Windham Pryce." There was a long pause and
Giles saw Wesley's face harden. "Just put me through to the council you
fool!" There was another long pause, then Wesley smiled again. "Yes. It's
Wesley Windham Pryce. I'm Taylor Finn's watcher and as I'm sure the Council
knows she was paralysed a few months ago." He paused again. "Yes, she's
doing much better actually. Now I was just wondering, would her muscles
regenerate faster than that of an average human?" He nodded. "All right
then, thank you."

Giles watched as he hung up the phone then turned to look at him. "Well?"
He asked.

Wesley smiled. "They said her muscles will be able to rebuild themselves
withing two weeks if she's using them. Isn't that great?"

Giles nodded. "It is. Are you going to call and tell her?"

                                           *  *  *

        Taylor was sighing over her psychology assignment when the phone rang
beside her.

"Hello?" She knew her voice sounded tired and ragged but she didn't care.
She was tired and ragged.

"Taylor?" Wesley's voice came over the line. "I have great news."

She brightened a little. "What is it?"

"I talked to the Watcher's Council today and they told me something very
interesting." He paused to take a breath. "Since you're a slayer, your leg
muscles will be able to rebuild themselves faster than that of a normal
person."

"What does that mean?" She asked, her heart beating a little faster.

"It means that within two weeks you should be able to walk on your own
again."

Taylor felt her jaw drop. "Wesley, are you serious? I'll really be able to
walk? In two weeks?"

"Yes, but only if you keep using your legs like you have been. Maybe you
should do a little yourself, outside of your physio therapy lessons."

"Definitely." She smiled. "Wesley this is great."

"Feel like celebrating?" She could hear the smile in his voice.

Taylor sighed. "I don't know. I mean, I want to but I'm so tired." She
glanced back at her paper. "And I have this essay to finish for psychology.
I don't think so Wesley. Not tonight."

"Tomorrow then. I'll take you out somewhere and you'll walk."

She smiled again. "I'll walk. Yeah, that sounds good."

"Good night Taylor."

"Good night."

                                           *  *  *

        "So she'll be able to walk again?" Willow asked as she and Buffy walked
through the campus that night. "Soon? That's so great. Wesley and Riley
must be ecstatic."

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, I think they both are. I talked to Riley earlier and
he sounded just like a little boy at Christmas." She paused. "After what
happened the first night Taylor was here, I'm glad things are turning
around for her. I mean, she and Wesley can have a normal relationship,
completely normal. And she can walk. That's just so great in itself."

"It is." Willow smiled. "Hey, we should have a party for her. A 'welcome
back to the walking' party. That'd be so much fun."

Buffy laughed. "Welcome back to the walking? Think she'd appreciate that?"

"Sure. Taylor's great. She's got a good sense of humour, I don't think
she'd mind."

Buffy shrugged. "If you and Xander want to plan this then go right ahead.
I'm still not sure she'd like it."

Willow waved her hand in the air. "I know she will. Don't you worry, it'll
be a great party."

Something jumped out in front of them and smiled. "Not if I have anything
to do with it."

Buffy kicked the demon in the stomach as Willow backed up to get a better
look. This one was even uglier than the one they had fought last night. He
had grey tentacles spiralling out from his black head and body, his eyes
were the colour of blood and Willow shuddered when he looked at her.
Buffy flipped him over onto the ground and tried to get her stake into his
body. He dodged the shot and rolled away, then kicked her in the side.

"Willow!" Buffy called and her friend started.

"Oh yeah, the knife." Willow crouched on the ground and pulled a knife out
of her bag, then threw it to Buffy.

The slayer plunged the knife into the demon's stomach, then stood up and
watched as he sank to the ground.

"You can't stop it slayer. The end of days will come no matter what you
do." Then he dropped to the ground and died.

Buffy frowned. "That's the third reference we've had to the end of days. I
don't like it Willow."

"Giles said he and Wesley were working on that. They're trying to find what
the end of days means, then they'll see if we can stop it."

"I don't like it at all." Buffy shook her head. "Especially with Taylor not
up to full strength. If she hears about this she'll want to get out and
fight, I know her."

"But she'd get herself killed."

Buffy nodded. "That's what I'm afraid of."

                                           *  *  *

        "Right. So you have the book Angel?" Giles spoke rapidly into the phone,
then waited for the vampire to answer.

"No, not with me. It's on its way to you right now." He said. "I sent it.
You should get a package tomorrow probably."

Giles nodded. "Right. Did you happen to read what it said?"

Angel faltered on the other line.

"Angel?"

"Yeah, yeah I read it." He sighed. "It's not good Giles. I can tell you
that much. The rest you'll have to read about. Take care of yourself." Then
the line went dead.

Giles hung up the phone and sighed. That phone call hadn't done much more
other than worry him. If Angel was worried about what was happening, he
should be too. Giles took a seat on his couch as he began to go through his
books once more. Maybe there would be something in there, something he
missed.

                                           *  *  *

        Buffy woke up the next morning to someone pounding at her door. She rubbed
her eyes, then groaned and got up.

"Who is it?"

"Giles." The voice answered, then the door opened and he walked inside.

Buffy flopped back down onto her bed and Willow put a pillow over her head.
"It's too early Giles. The sun's barely up."

"Get up." He said carefully. "Both of you. Get up, get dressed and make
your way to my house. Now." Then he turned and left the room, running down
the hall.

Buffy sat up and frowned at him, then shrugged and lay down again.

"Maybe we should listen to him." Willow said from her side of the room. "He
sounded pretty frantic."

The phone rang beside her and she picked it up. "Hello?" There was a pause.
"Oh hi Taylor. Yeah, actually Giles did just barrel into our room and
demand that we get up." Another pause. "Yeah, we're going. See you in a
bit." Willow hung up the phone and looked at Buffy. "He just did the same
thing to Taylor and Riley, Wesley, Xander and Anya. We should get going
Buffy, I'm worried."

                                           *  *  *

        Giles paced his living room as he waited for the others to join him. He
had burst into all their homes earlier that morning and demanded they come
to his house. He had received the book from Angel that morning and it
wasn't good, it wasn't good at all.

The door opened and Taylor walked in slowly and stiffly, followed by
Wesley. They both looked up at him expectantly and he shook his head,
indicating he wanted to wait for the others to come. Taylor shuffled slowly
over to the couch and Giles silently thought about how she looked much
better than she had the week before. Wesley smiled when he saw Giles
watching her and the former watcher returned the smile before going to his
door and peering out into the early day.

Finally he saw Xander and Anya walking slowly toward his door and he threw
it wide open, waving them toward him. They hurried their pace, although not
by much and walked through the door and into the living room.

Buffy and Willow came through only a minute after them and Buffy looked at
Giles expectantly.

"Well?" She asked. "What is it? What did you get us all out of bed for on a
Saturday morning?"

"This." He held the book out and they crowded around to look at the
picture. There were hoards of demons running across the two pages, chasing
two people that looked much too small to fight back.

Willow's forehead creased in concern. "Giles, what is this? What does it,"
she paused to collect her thoughts, then began again, "What's in the
picture?"

Giles picked up the book and scanned the passage before clearing his throat
and beginning to read. "The End of Days, no where to run and definitely no
where to hide. The slayer's will die at the hands of a demon that is too
terrible to be explained by words. His hands will break and ruin their
bodies and tear their flesh away from their bones. He'll crush their skulls
and eat their brains, draining their energy and making him more powerful."

Wesley's hand immediately found its place on Taylor's shoulder and squeezed
it gently. She glanced up at him, her blue eyes filled with worry, then
went back to listening to Giles.

"Once this demon has had his fill of slayer he'll track down every Watcher
that is, that was and that ever shall be and kill them. He'll drain their
power also, then move onto the world. It is called the End of Days and it
cannot be prevented. Once he comes, all will end."
Giles closed the book and looked up. "Well now, what do you propose that we
do?"

Buffy's mouth opened and closed helplessly, then she sighed and sunk down
to the couch.

Taylor closed her eyes and leaned back as Wesley's hands tightened on her
arms, his own eyes filled with fear and thoughts of his death.

Xander and Willow stared at each other in stricken silence as Anya looked
to the ground, feeling suddenly ashamed of what she had once been.

Buffy looked up again. "We fight it. We always do Giles, you know that. We
fight it and hopefully we stop it."

"But I can't walk." Taylor said, speaking for the first time since they had
arrived. "I won't be able to walk well for two weeks still. We don't have
that time."

Giles cleared his throat. "Actually, we do. We have exactly two weeks if
this prophecy is correct. We have until December eleventh and this will
happen. This mass of demons will pour into Sunnydale and you'll be forced
to fight them all until this 'all powerful one' comes. So to speak."

"And if he kills them, we'll be next?" Wesley asked. "They're the last hope
of the world? We can't even help?"

"Of course we can." Xander said. "We always help, we have to."

Buffy shook her head. "No, you guys can't fight this. This is our job."

"Buffy's right." Taylor said slowly. "If this is how I'm meant to die, then
I'm not having someone else try to fight for me and die in my place. It's
not fair."

"So we plan." Willow stated. "We plan and we work our asses off."

"That's the only way." Wesley agreed. "We have to plan."

Anya cleared her throat. "It's not actually the only way." She took the
book and pointed at something. "I didn't think you saw this part. It says
the date that this was to happen was December eleventh, 1987. That means at
one point someone did defeat this monster."

"What are you trying to say?" Buffy asked. "Do you know how they killed
him?"

Anya nodded. "I do."

Xander looked at her. "How would you know?"

Anya pointed to something in the picture and they turned to see a picture
of her demon form grasping at a slayer's head.

"I was there." She said.

"So?" Taylor looked at her. "How did they kill it?"

"They didn't." Anya pointed at the picture again to one of the girls whose
face you couldn't see. "Her Watcher did. And since Buffy doesn't have a
Watcher, I'm guessing this is your job Wesley. This is all up to you."

His breath caught in his throat. "What are you talking about? What could I
do?"

Anya sighed. "For some reason, I don't know why, there were two slayers at
this point. One of them refused to work for the Council and the other had a
young Watcher that was very much in love with her. When she died, he went
beserk and blew up the room the demon was in, killing himself in the
process."

Wesley's mouth hung open and he stared at Anya in shock.

"It stopped the demon for a while." She continued. "But apparently it
didn't stop him forever. I don't know if this prophecy is fated to repeat
itself again and again, but that's what you'll have to do. Someone will
have to blow this thing up. That's the only way that I know of."

"But at least there is a way." Willow said. "We have that much."

Buffy nodded. "You're right. We can pull this off, we did it with the
Mayor. We can do it again."

Giles nodded. "I hope you're right Buffy."

She turned the book over and looked at the cover. "I've never seen this
book before, where did you get it?"

Giles cleared his throat. "Uh, Angel sent it actually."

"Oh." She said slowly. "You've been talking with Angel."

"He's a huge help Buffy." He said, trying to save himself from her stoney
glare. "If he didn't find this . . ." he trailed off, letting her know what
could have happened.

She nodded. "I know, I'm sorry." She stood up. "Maybe we should begin
preparing, we only have two weeks."

Taylor struggled to stand beside her and Wesley grabbed her elbow
helpfully. "You're right. I need to keep walking, I need to walk by the
time this happens."

Wesley nodded. "I can walk you home then come pick up my car later. That
would give you some practice."

"Thanks." Taylor waved. "Bye guys. Call me when you want to start planning
for this."

Buffy nodded. "We will."

Taylor and Wesley walked out the door, then closed it behind them as Buffy
turned to look at the others. "I didn't want to make her stay now because
of everything else she has going on but I think that we should start now.
We need to get going."

"But shouldn't Taylor know about the plan?" Xander asked.

Buffy shook her head slowly. "I don't think so, not yet at least."

"Why not?" He cocked his head, looking confused.

"Because I'm not sure yet if we'll need Wesley to do what that Watcher did
twelve years ago."

                                           *  *  *

        Wesley paced his small apartment as he thought about what was going on.
They had spent the last week and a half planning what they were going to do
and training with Taylor. She was nearly as good as new and Wesley was sure
she would be able to hold her own when they had to fight this demon that
was almost sure to kill them all.

Despite all that was going on around him, Wesley was having his own battle
raging inside his head. He was having such a hard time deciding if he
should tell Taylor what he really felt about her. He wanted to tell her so
badly, he wanted to see if she felt the same way, if her heart swelled up
so much it hurt every time she saw him. He wanted to tell her before they
all died and he would never have the chance.

On the other hand, what if she said she didn't feel like that? What if it
was just a casual relationship to her? He'd be heartbroken and then what
use would he be when this demon tried to eat his girlfriend's brains?
Wesley honestly had no idea what to do. He was so confused and on top of
his own, personal dilemma, he had to worry about the demon that was coming
to end the world.

He sighed and walked to the door, prepared to make his way to Giles' house.
It was really the only place they had to make their plans. They used Buffy
and Willow's dorm on occasion and they had been at Taylor's once or twice
but she had refused to let them use her apartment anymore. She didn't want
Riley to know what was going on. She was afraid he would try to protect her
and die in the process.

Wesley looked around his apartment once more, before closing the door and
walking down the hall. He saw Taylor waiting there for him, smiling
happily, which she hadn't done in a long time and in that instant Wesley
made his decision. He didn't care if it was the right one, he had made it
and he would tell her.

                                           *  *  *

        "So now what?" Taylor asked. "We have three days and we're done planning,
right?"

Giles nodded. "I don't think there is anything else we can do. We have our
plan set out and that's all there is left."

Xander sighed. "I still feel kind of useless. Isn't there anything else
Willow and I can do?"

"No." Buffy looked at them. "I'm not risking your lives for this."

"But either way Buffy, we might die." Willow pointed out. "You're not going
to risk our lives and then what if you die? No one else will be able to
stop it, other than Wesley and what if he dies? We're going to die anyway."

"Don't talk like that." Taylor said. "No one's going to die." She tried to
look hopeful but she knew the confidence she was trying to shine wasn't
making its way very far.

Buffy nodded. "Whatever happens, happens."

Anya sighed. "I sure hope you guys know what you're doing. I mean, 'cause
last time this Watcher guy was absolutely crazy, I saw him. He was all
screaming about the demons from hell and people thought he was nuts." She
glanced at Wesley. "I just don't see you running around town in your
underwear shrieking at the top of your lungs."

Taylor choked on the drink she was sipping from and had to put it down.

Buffy chuckled. "God help us if Wesley does go mad. Hopefully, I'll be dead
by that point and won't be seeing more of the Watcher than I have to."

"Very funny." Wesley muttered.

"Go home, all of you." Giles said. "Just relax and have some fun before
this happens. We're prepared for this, so give yourself two days to not
think about anything at all."

*Too late.* Wesley thought, gazing at Taylor.

Buffy stood up and nodded. "You know, he's right. We should go home and
spend some time with the family before the world ends."

"Buffy, don't talk like that." Willow scolded as she shrugged her jacket
over her shoulder. "The way things look we'll be able to save the world and
have a great Christmas."

"Christmas is almost a month away Will." Xander pointed out. "And besides
that, you're Jewish."

She shrugged. "Okay, so some of us will go home and have a great Chanukah."

"Or some of us will come over to my humble abode and watch the Charlie
Brown Christmas on t.v." Xander said with a grin.

"Do I get to come?" Anya asked. "Willow said you do a Snoopy dance. I want
to see the Snoopy dance."

"You told her about the Snoopy dance?" Xander asked, his voice rising in
accusation.

Willow shrugged. "It seemed right for the moment. Besides, it was all I
could do to shut her up. She kept telling us she was imagining having sex
with you. After fourteen times, it's really enough to make me gag. Ask
Buffy."

The slayer nodded. "Sometimes she gets a little out of hand." They walked
out the door leaving Giles, Wesley and Taylor behind.

Giles sighed. "At least some of us will have some relaxation before this.
On the other hand,"

"You have different fingers." Taylor interrupted him.

Giles looked confused. "What?"

"On the other hand you have different fingers." She repeated. "It's a
saying for people who take life too seriously. Not that I think you're
taking this too seriously but you're telling us to go home and relax yet
you're not going to do the same yourself. There's no point in worrying
anymore, worrying won't help anything. Watch t.v., read a book, call an old
friend. Just do something other than worry." She stood up. "Think about
it."

Giles sunk onto his couch as he watched Wesley and Taylor leave and he
sighed. "She's right." He murmured. "I shouldn't be worrying anymore.
What's done is done and we can only hope we're ready."

He glanced around his home, then picked up the remote control off the
coffee table and switched on the television set. "Oh, a sitcom." He turned
up the volume. "She's right, this is much better than worrying."

                                           *  *  *

        Wesley stood with Taylor in the slowly darkening park and he sighed. He
wanted to tell her so badly, but he was so afraid.

*It's now or never Wes.* He coached himself silently. *In two days you
could both be dead.* He paused. *Or you could be running around Sunnydale
half naked.*

"Taylor?" He turned to her and she looked at him and smiled.

"What is it?" She asked, then waited for him to continue.

He took her hand in his and led her toward a bench in the park. The sun was
nearly gone now, casting them into complete darkness before the street
lights hummed to life. Wesley glanced at their long shadows in the orange
pool of light and he sighed again. As strange as the thought seemed, he
wondered if after the next night if he would ever see a street lamp come on
again.

"Taylor, I have something to tell you."

She nodded. "Go ahead."

He opened his mouth to speak and even before he got the words out, a
terrified look crossed Taylor's face and she got to her feet.

"I didn't even say anything." He said.

"Wesley get out of the way." She yelled and pushed him off the bench.
Wesley hit the ground hard and rolled a few times before he stopped and
looked up at where Taylor stood. She was facing off with a strange looking
demon, who had arms coming out of nearly every part of his body. He even
had arms coming off his head. Wesley shuddered involuntarily before he got
up and ran to her help.

"Stay back." She warned, not looking to see how close he was.

The demon hissed in Wesley's direction and Taylor took that opportunity to
punch it in the stomach. The demon hissed again and spun out of the way
before she could hit him again.

"Let me guess." Taylor said, fishing around aimlessly in her jacket pocket.
"You're here to tell me that the End of Days is near now and there is no
chance of stopping it."

The demon looked at her in surprise. "Well guess what? We already know."
She still had her hand in her pocket, searching for the knife she had
placed there.

"Other pocket." Wesley said quietly, trying to let her know without the
demon hearing.

"Don't do this now." She warned him quickly, still staring at the demon.

"You're right. You can't stop it." The demon said in a low, hissing voice.

Wesley took a few steps around her so that he was on her other side.

"The Mighty One will come and he will,"

"Eat my brains?" Taylor smiled sarcastically. "I already know. Geez, you
think he'd send his messengers on time."

Wesley reached out quickly and grabbed the knife out of her other pocket
just as the demon pounced on her. He threw it, hoping wildly for a miracle
that would help the knife reach its mark. He watched in nervous
anticipation as the knife whirled through the air and as the demon turned
to look at him. Finally, after it seemed too much time had gone by, the
knife stuck itself in the demon with a wet, slapping noise. The demon
staggered backward and looked at the knife embedded in his heart. He fell
to the ground and stared at Wesley with a fiery hatred until the light in
his eyes died and his head hit the ground.

Taylor's shoulders slumped as she relaxed and she made her way over to the
bench they had been sitting on.

"Nice aim." She said, smiling at him. "Thanks."

He nodded. "Any time."

The smile slid off her face. "Now what was it that you had to tell me?"

Wesley swallowed and shrugged. "I don't remember. I guess it couldn't have
been too important then."

Taylor frowned as he got up off the bench and began to walk away. "Guess
not." She murmured, before getting up and following him.

                                           *  *  *

        Xander sat on his bed in the basement and stared listlessly at the small
television set that had found a home down there with him. There was some
sort of game show on, although he had no idea who was winning or even how
someone could win. Giles had told them to go home and not worry but Xander
had absolutely no idea how any of them could take that advice. He knew that
everyone was probably in the same boat he was in other than Taylor and
Buffy. They were probably taking their anxiety out on the local demons and
vampires. Xander chuckled, he almost felt sorry for those guys, he was sure
the slayers were both in a pretty bad mood.

The next night could very well be their last on the earth and Giles didn't
want them to worry? He didn't understand how he could even suggest that. Of
course they were going to worry. What they were going to try to pull the
day after tomorrow was suicide. They might as well blow up the world
themselves.

He propped himself up on one elbow as he thought about calling Anya, then
decided against it. All she would want to do wasn't exactly what he had
planned for himself tonight. Maybe tomorrow night since they were all
probably going to die the next day. That would be an okay way to go. He
grinned, then picked up the phone and dialled Willow's number.

"You've reached Xander Harris' house of parties." He said when she picked
up the phone. "Please call back at another time, I'm busy at the moment
with the ladies."

Willow laughed. "Gimme a break Xander."

He heard Buffy in the background asking why Xander was calling and his face
fell. As much as he loved Buffy, he was craving a little best friend time
with Willow.

"Why are you calling?" Willow asked, echoing her friend's question.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to come over for a little ice cream and
man bashing tonight." He shrugged to himself. "I kinda  thought Buffy would
be out kicking some demon ass with Taylor. You don't have to come if you
don't want."

"No way, I want to come. She'll understand. Maybe she'll even go spend some
time with Riley."

"I don't want you walking around Sunnydale alone at night Will."

"I'll get Buffy to walk me." She answered. "I'll be there in a bit. I'll
bring the spoons." Then she hung up and Xander listened to the dial for a
few moments before he also hung up. He felt guilty not inviting Buffy along
but he really missed what he used to have with Willow. Everything that had
happened with them the year before and now that she was going to college
and he wasn't, they hadn't been as close as they used to. He really wanted
that back. He especially wanted it back before they all died.

                                           *  *  *

        After Buffy dropped Willow off at Xander's house, she found herself making
her way to Giles' apartment. As hard as they tried to pretend this wasn't
scaring them, they all knew it was. And they all knew that maybe this night
would be one of the last they would have to spend with each other. Which
was the reason Willow was over at Xander's and the reason Taylor was
sitting in her apartment with Riley and Wesley. Joyce Summers was still out
of town or Buffy would have gone to see her, so she was now standing on
Giles' front step, wondering what she was really doing there.

She raised her hand and knocked lightly, then waited for him to answer the
door. He came to the door still dressed in his clothes from that day but
now with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and his hair slightly
rumpled.

"Were you sleeping?" She asked, immediately feeling guilty.

He shook his head. "No, not sleeping. Just watching t.v." He moved out of
the way so she could step inside. "Come in and sit down. You can watch this
show with me, it's hilarious."

Buffy took off her shoes and coat and followed him into the living room.

They sat in silence for a few moments, both of them staring at this
'hilarious' show, both of them not laughing when something funny happened.

"Is this how you imagined you'd be spending one of your last nights?" Giles
asked. "Assuming that our plan totally fails, I mean."

Buffy smiled slowly. "Yeah, actually it is. I always assumed I'd be
spending my last nights with people I loved." She laughed. "I also kind of
imagined the others being here, but this is nice too. Everyone's in their
own little world of trying to be completely and totally happy and that
makes me happy."

Giles nodded. "I can see that."

"And I'm happy I'm here." She smiled at him. "I'm happy I get to spend this
night with you."

Giles sat up on his couch and looked at her. "I'm ecstatic you're here
Buffy. You're the closest thing I've ever had to a daughter and I'm so
proud of you."

Buffy got up from the chair and sat beside him on the couch. "You know
you're the closest thing I've ever had to a father and you know how proud I
am of you. You've been there for me when I really needed someone Giles, you
always have and I know you always will."

He placed an arm around her shoulders and she hugged him tightly and for
one moment Giles actually felt like he had a real family. Then he realized
that this was his family. These kids had become closer to him than any
family could ever be and that was really all he had wanted all his life.

                                           *  *  *

        The next day was beautiful and Taylor sighed pathetically as she stared
out the window. "Two weeks until Christmas and not a single snow flake."

Riley laughed from behind her. "Don't plan on seeing one either."

"But it's just not Christmas without snow." She complained, then turned to
where Wesley was standing. He had spent that night on their couch. "Am I
right?" She asked him.

He nodded. "Christmas without snow is just not as festive. You need snow,
especially on Christmas eve."

Riley just laughed and shook his head before he left the room.

"Tell you what." Wesley said. "If we survive tomorrow, I'll take you and
Riley somewhere cold and snowy for Christmas. He'll be able to get the full
Christmas experience."

Taylor laughed. "We grew up in Iowa. He knows what snow looks like but
after spending so much time here, I just don't think he appreciates it
anymore."

Wesley nodded. "We'll go there. If we survive, Iowa it is."

She smiled. "You can meet the family." Her eyes widened and she laughed
uncomfortably, realizing how that probably sounded to him.

"The family." He said slowly. "Taylor."

She looked up at him, blushing slightly.

"I love you." He took her hand and waited for her to say it back. When
there was a long pause of silence he looked up to see her staring at him
uncertainly.

"Did you hear me?" He asked, "I said,"

"I heard you." She interrupted him. "You don't have to repeat it."

"Why not?" Confusion and fright were filling his stomach. "What did I say
wrong?"

Taylor stood up and backed away from him. "I don't know Wesley. I just
don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything."

"When someone tells you they love you, usually you're supposed to say it
back."

"So say it."

She shook her head. "I can't."

Wesley's mouth hung open.

"Think you can fix that hinge on your jaw?" Taylor asked.

"What do you mean you can't?"

"I just can't. You understand, don't you?"

He stood up and started toward the door. "No, I don't understand. How am I
supposed to understand?"

"Wesley, I'm only twenty."

"I know that. I know I'm a lot older than you. Is that what this is about?"

She shook her head. "No, I don't even know why I said that. It has nothing
to do with what I'm feeling."

"And what are you feeling?"

She let out a shuddering sigh. "I don't know Wesley. I honestly don't
know."

"Fine." He opened the door. "Let me know when you figure it out." Then he
walked into the hall and slammed the door shut behind him.

                                           *  *  *

        "So we meet here at noon tomorrow." Giles said, pointing at the map he had
drawn on a small piece of paper. "By that time the demon should be here and
he should be chasing Taylor and Buffy." He looked up at both the girls.

Buffy was studying the paper he was pointing at and nodding slowly but
Taylor had her eyes turned angrily on Wesley. He sat on the other side of
the room with his arms crossed over his chest and her gaze was unwavering.
Giles guessed he knew she was staring but refused to look up.

"And then what?" Xander asked.

"You don't need to know that." Buffy said. "You don't even have to be
there."

Willow smiled. "You know we will be there no matter what you say."

Buffy nodded. "I know." She looked back at Giles. "So Taylor and I let this
guy chase us to that point and ka-bam? You'll blow him up?"

"That's the plan." He answered.

"It's a good plan." Anya said. "I think it'll work."

Buffy looked at her sceptically. "You do?"

Anya nodded. "Sure. It worked last time. The only difference is that Wesley
won't be crazy. And hopefully the two of you won't be killed."

Wesley chuckled slowly. "Won't be crazy huh?"

They looked at him in surprise and Taylor narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't
start." She said.

The others in the room exchanged worried and confused glances before Giles
stood up.

"That's it for now." He said. "Enjoy what's left of your day and night and
don't forget to show up tomorrow."

                                           *  *  *

        Xander caught up with Taylor outside and placed his hand on her arm. She
turned around with her mouth open, ready to say something mean when she saw
it was Xander. Her hard expression softened and she closed her mouth.

"Sorry, I thought you were Wesley."

Xander let go of her. "Which is what I want to talk to you about. What's
going on there? You two looked like you wanted to tear out each other's
throats."

She shrugged. "Maybe we do."

"Taylor, what's wrong?"

She sighed. "Promise you're not going to tell everyone?"

He nodded. "Scouts' honour. Then again, I was never a scout, so that might
not mean much."

She smiled at his joke, then frowned again. "This morning he told me," she
paused and swallowed hard, "he told me that he loves me."

"And that made you want to kill him?" Xander asked.

"It's not that." Taylor took a seat on the steps that lead down to the
terrace outside of Giles' door. "It's just that I couldn't say it back. I
thought I loved him but when it came down to it, I was just too confused."

"And that made him want to kill you?" He asked, even more confused.

"I don't know. I don't think he wants me to be confused."

Xander sat beside her. "So since you're a little confused about your
feelings you two want to kill each other?"

She shrugged. "I guess so."

Xander looked at her. "I think maybe you're both over reacting a little. I
think he needs to give you some time to figure out what's going on in your
heart. You're a very young woman, much younger than he is and I don't know
if he quite gets that."

Taylor smiled at him. "Yes, but Giles did tell me once that he said Wesley
had the emotional maturity of a blueberry scone." She chuckled. "I don't
think I've ever laughed as hard as I did when he told me that. But it's
true. Wesley isn't exactly the most experienced man out there. I realize
he's older than me and maybe he's had more relationships but that doesn't
mean he's told someone that he loved them before. I don't think he has."

"Maybe he hasn't." Xander agreed. "But maybe that's the reason he wants to
tell you and he wants you to say it back. He needs to hear it from someone
after not hearing it for so long."

Taylor placed her hands in her chin. "Maybe you're right. But I'm not sure
if I'm ready to say it to him yet."

Xander stood up and squeezed her shoulder lightly. "You have until noon
tomorrow to figure out if you are. That is, if we all die. If not, you have
as long as you want. Just don't let it all float away because you're
uncertain. Tell him what you told me."

Taylor smiled. "Thanks Xander. You've been a big help."

He grinned. "I aim to please. Speaking of which, you seen Anya?"

Taylor laughed and shook her head. "I think she might have gone home. You
two spending the night together?"

He nodded. "I'd like my last night on earth to be a pleasant one."

                                           *  *  *

        Wesley paced the interior of his small apartment as he thought about
Taylor and what he had done wrong. Had he really done anything wrong? He
had just told her what he felt.

He sighed. He had also demanded that she figure out what was going on, he
wouldn't her just be confused. That probably wasn't the best thing he could
have done to her. And it probably wouldn't make her figure things out any
faster. All he had done was make her feel bad and pressure her.

"Why did I do that?" He asked aloud, stopping his pacing and staring out
the window. He paused as someone approached the apartment building he lived
in and tried to see their face. He wasn't sure but the person standing at
the front door looked a lot like Taylor.

Wesley pressed his hands against the cool glass and stared directly at the
woman that was standing at the door. She looked up for a moment and he
caught a glimpse of her face. It was Taylor! He saw her sigh and then turn
away.

"No." He murmured. "She can't leave."

As if she heard him she turned back to the building and suddenly seemed to
make up her mind. She opened the front door and walked inside. Seconds
later, Wesley's buzzer made a quick noise and he pressed the button that
would open the door for her. He stood at the door, waiting for her to
arrive and when he heard the knock he flew forward and yanked the door
open.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, trying to slow his rapidly beating
heart.

"I did a lot of thinking today. And I talked to Xander."

Wesley moved aside to let her in. "You talked to Xander? So, did you just
come here to share a few sarcastic comments he gave to you?"

Taylor glanced up at him, startled. She had never heard Wesley talk like
that to anyone, especially not her.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"Thank you." She answered.

"So, why did you really come here?"

"Because I had something to say to you." She stepped inside and closed the
door behind her. "Talking to Xander helped a lot, he brought a lot of
things into perspective for me."

"He did?" Wesley looked surprised.

"Yeah, he did. And after I talked to him I thought about what you said to
me last night. I realized that maybe I wasn't being fair. It took a lot of
guts for you to say that and I knew that maybe you hadn't said that to
anyone before." She paused. "Have you?"

He shook his head slowly. "No, I never have."

"And I think I finally figured out what was wrong."

"And what was wrong?"

"It scared me." She answered simply. "I've never had someone tell me that
before and it really scared me. I thought maybe you were just lying to
tease me or something."

"I would never do that." Wesley said. "I really do love you Taylor."

"I love you too."

He glanced up. "What?"

"I said I love you Wesley. Xander helped me figure that much out."

He looked startled. "Xander helped you arrive at that? Are you sure we know
the same Xander?"

She grinned. "Yeah, it's pretty amazing, I know." She moved toward him.
"But it's true. And if things go the way this demon wants them to," she
paused to look at him, "that means we only have one night left together.
And I can't sit alone in my house knowing that we might die tomorrow."

"And what do you suggest we do?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Take a guess."

                                           *  *  *

        The sun poured through Buffy and Willow's dorm room the next morning at
eight o'clock. Buffy turned over and sighed before getting out of bed and
rustling around in her closet for something to wear. Today was the day.
Strangely enough, she wasn't at all nervous.

Willow murmured something from her bed and Buffy turned to see her friend's
forehead creased in concentration.

"Willow." She called across the room. "Wake up, you're dreaming." She
muttered something else and Buffy managed to catch Oz's name in the mix of
unintelligible words. She sighed and walked over to her friend's bed,
lightly shaking her shoulder.

"Will, wake up."

Willow rolled over and her eyes opened slowly, looking startled to see
Buffy leaning over you.

"I had the weirdest dream." She said. "I dreamed that we all died and we
went to this place that looked like a beautiful forest and Oz was there
with us."

"Please don't Willow." Buffy begged.

Her friend sat up. "I'm sorry. It was just my dream."

"It was a creepy dream."

Willow slowly nodded her agreement. "It was kind of nice at the time but
know that I think about it, it was creepy."

"I have to leave soon. I don't want Taylor to go out alone. We need to
fight this together, but I'll see you at noon."

"And hopefully we won't die ten minutes after we see each other." Willow
said.

"Hopefully." Buffy echoed the word.

                                           *  *  *

        Xander yawned widely and sat up in his bed. Anya was sleeping beside him
and he grinned at her before getting out of bed and getting dressed.

He turned around to see her staring at him with wide eyes.

"Where are you going?" She asked. "We still have almost four hours before
we have to die. That's lots of time."

Xander smiled. "Sorry Anya. I think I'm going to go see if Buffy and Taylor
need any help. You up to it?"

"No, I want to stay here." She pouted. "I want to stay here with you."

He shook his head. "I'm taking off. If you're not coming then I'll see you
later." He leaned down and kissed her lightly. "Bye."

She watched him walk up the stairs and close the door behind him. "Men are
stupid." She muttered.

                                           *  *  *

        Giles sat in his living room, silently wondering if what they had planned
was really good enough. Were they really strong enough to beat this demon?
He was supposed to be more horrible than the Master.

*Whom Buffy beat by herself.* He reminded himself.

He stood up and began to pace in the late morning. They only had three more
hours until they would all have to meet at their chosen place and hope
their plan to kill him would work. That was about all they had at that
moment, hope.

                                           *  *  *

        Taylor pulled her sweater over her head and turned to look at Wesley. He
was still sleeping and she felt bad leaving him without saying goodbye. But
she was scared that if she woke him, she wouldn't be able to leave again
and she and Buffy had to get this demon to chase them to their location.

She pulled on her black boots and pulled her jeans down over them before
making her way over to Wesley's bed and kissing him lightly on the
forehead, then she turned toward his alarm clock. She set it for ten a.m.
and left it beside Wesley's head.

They had a little under three hours before they were all supposed to meet
up at the place their bomb was planted. She wanted to make sure he'd be
there.

Taylor smiled at him, then turned and walked to the door, heading for the
place she was going to meet Buffy.

                                           *  *  *

        "Ready?" Buffy asked as Taylor approached her.

The other slayer nodded. "I'm ready, are you?"

Buffy also nodded. "So, now all we have to do is fight some demons for a
few hours until this guy shows up, then let him chase us to Giles' bomb."

"Sounds like fun." Taylor looked around. "What do we do now?"

Buffy shrugged. "I guess we wait."

                                            *  *  *

        Two hours later they were still waiting for any demon to show up. Taylor
and Buffy sat side by side on a park bench, occasionally one of them would
sigh but that was the only sound to be heard.

"I can't believe this." Taylor said. "All this talk and now, nothing!
Absolutely nothing! I'm a little surprised."

"Why's that?" Buffy asked.

Taylor shrugged. "This guy is supposed to tear our flesh off our bones and
eat our brains. I was expecting at least a little production."

"Hey girls, had any action?" Xander walked up to the bench and sat between
them.

Buffy glanced at him in surprise. "What do you think you're doing here?"

"Waiting to lure some brain eater right into the palm of my hand."

Taylor tapped him on the shoulder. "Xander, are you a slayer?"

"No."

She nodded. "Okay, are you a Watcher?"

He shook his head.

"So, then why do you think the demon would follow you?"

Xander opened his mouth to respond, then paused and closed it. "Hm, you
know, you're right. Maybe I should just go wait with Giles and the others."

Buffy patted him on the back. "I think that's a better plan Xand. Have fun
and try not to blow yourself up before we get there."

They watched him leave, then Buffy turned to Taylor. "What time is it?" She
asked.

"Twenty to twelve." She answered, after looking at her watch. "This is
really getting boring. I just wish he'd get here already."

"Your wish, ladies, is my command." A gravelly voice spoke from behind them
and they both jumped off the bench to stare at the demon that stood there.

Buffy shuddered. "Too terrible to be explained by words is right."

The demon loomed over them at a height of at least twelve feet. His long,
red body was layered with muscles from his cloven feet to the curled horns
on his head. His body was marked with small burns and indents, like he had
been tortured numerous times leaving the scars to remind him.

"I am the End of Days." He said in a voice Buffy found too charming to
belong to something that ugly. "I am truly sorry my young ones, but it is
time."

"Truly sorry?" Taylor asked, staring at him in disbelief. "You're truly
sorry?"

He nodded gravely. "To do this is not of my own free will and my own
wishes. This is my punishment for betraying the dark lord."

Buffy's mouth opened then closed. "You betrayed the dark lord?" They both
looked completely confused.

The demon sighed. "I can't harm a human. It's not in my blood and when he
found this out, he made this my job. Every twelve years I  am sent to earth
to kill the slayers and all the Watchers that I can find."

"So, why don't you just come along with us and let us blow you up?" Taylor
asked, trying to reason with him.

The demon smiled and shook his head. "I only wish it were that easy."

Suddenly his body jerked and his eyes rolled back into his head.

"I think we made the dark lord angry." Buffy said, staring up at the demon
as he twitched and fluttered his eyelids.

Suddenly he was staring at them again and this time the eyes weren't
apologetic and the smile was definitely not gentle. It was pure evil.

"The dark lord has filled me." The gravelly voice was back, replacing the
one Buffy had almost found soothing a moment ago. "He had made me realize
the error of my ways and now I must do my job."

"Buffy run!" Taylor yelled, then dodged a hand that came down on top of
her.

The demon roared with anger when he realized he had missed Taylor and he
tried to grab her before she could escape. She darted away and turned to
run in the direction Giles had told them to go. The demon snorted then
turned on Buffy who was also running in that direction. He chased them down
the street in broad daylight, people in buildings and cars were staring and
pointed.

"Why doesn't anyone go home?" Taylor puffed as she sprinted down the
sidewalk.

Buffy didn't answer her and they both continued running toward the
outskirts of town.

"There!" Buffy yelled finally and pointed at a large mansion at the end of
a winding road. When Giles had asked her where they should perform this
explosion she had immediately suggested Angel's old mansion. There was no
real reason, just to get rid of the memories.

The two slayers ran up to the house and inside where Wesley, Giles and the
others were waiting.

"Is he following you?" Giles asked and Taylor nodded as they all ran toward
the back of the house. The demon burst through the door, taking a few feet
of the wall off with his head as he came through.

"That's him?" Anya asked, turning around in the middle of her running.
"He's a lot bigger than I remembered."

"Go!" Buffy yelled, pushing against her and causing them both to stumble.

The demon reached down and grabbed Buffy's arm, wrapping his fist around
it. She yelped in pain as he pulled her off the ground and held her so she
was dangling two feet above the ground.

"Put her down." Taylor yelled and spun into a kick she delivered to his
leg. She realized that being less than half his height was useless for
fighting. He barely glanced down when she kicked him. Instead she turned
toward the others and grabbed the bag Giles held out of his hands. As she
thought, there were weapons inside and she grabbed the nearest thing she
could find. It turned out to be a mace. She swung it once over her head
then let it go and it flew into his stomach. The studded ball stuck to his
body and he howled in protest, dropping Buffy in his moment of pain.

"Get up, get up!" Giles said and reached over to help her.

"We have to get out of here now!" Taylor yelled, backing up slowly. The
others began to run again but Taylor continued to walk backward.

"Taylor, move!" Wesley screamed at her but she didn't hear him. He sighed
and ran back for her when the demon's hand shot up and smacked her against
a wall. She hit the hard surface, then fell to the ground unconscious.

Wesley looked toward the others. "Someone get her out of here!"

Xander ran back and grabbed her before the demon could do anymore  damage
as Wesley grabbed the detonator out of Giles' hands.

"Wesley what are you doing?" Giles asked.

"Get her out." He replied, then watched as they carried her away. Wesley
picked up the mace that had fallen to the ground and threw it at the demon
again.

"Oh, does that hurt?" He asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm when the
demon grunted and tried to rip the weapon out of his already bloody
stomach.

                                           *  *  *

        Taylor opened her eyes slowly to find herself staring up at five faces.
She sat up and found that they were outside.

"Where's Wesley?" She asked. "Did we blow up the demon?"

Giles opened his mouth to speak when the mansion behind him exploded in a
ball of flames.

"Where's Wesley?" Taylor asked again.

Buffy closed her eyes slowly then opened them again. "He was still in the
house."

Taylor got to her feet. "What? You left him in there?"

"We didn't leave him there." Xander said. "He refused to leave himself.
Maybe Anya was right, he did go crazy."

"But he killed the demon." Anya tried to point out helpfully.

"And himself." Taylor answered, then walked off to search the
perimeter of the house.

"Do you think she'll find him Giles?" Buffy asked.

Her former watcher shook his head. "I don't think he got out."

"Hey!" They heard Taylor's voice call around from the front of the house.
"Someone call an ambulance. He's still alive!"

As Giles rushed off to find a pay phone the others ran to where her voice
was coming from. They found Wesley about fifty yards from the front door
that had been blown off in the explosion. He was covered in soot and ash
and one of his arms looked severely burnt but he was alive.

"Wesley, what were you thinking?" Buffy scolded, kneeling down beside him
and Taylor.

"Of her." He said, staring into Taylor's eyes.

"What'd you do?" Xander asked, sounding impressed and inferior at the same
time.

"Ran out the door before I set off our bomb." He coughed. "I didn't get far
enough before it exploded obviously." He said, gesturing to his arm and how
far he had been thrown.

"Is the demon dead?" Buffy asked.

He nodded.

"How do you know?"

Wesley sat up, then peeled a chunk of slimy red skin of his sweater. "Trust
me, I know."

Taylor sat back with Wesley's head in her lap as they listened to the
wailing ambulance approaching. "At least that's over." She said.

Buffy laughed. "Taylor, the way things are with us, this is only the
beginning."

                                          The End