TITLE: Reunions.

AUTHOR: Kelly Rowe

EMAIL: angels_bath_towel@hotmail.com

RATING: PG

DISCLAIMER: Buffy, Angel and all other characters (except those I make up) are the absolute property of Joss Whedon, Fox, Mutant Enemy, UPN and Warner Bros (If I owned them, the events of Buffy season 4 or most of season 3 wouldn't have occurred).

SUMMARY: The Scooby gang reunites.

SPOILERS: Long Ago Series and the previous fics in this series.

TIMELINE: Future.

DISTRIBUTION: You want you can have it; just tell me where you put it.

The next day Hope, Rick, Chyna and Spike sat in the darkened living room of the Summers' house staring at the old Scooby gang. Hope wasn't sure how much help they'd be to her situation for two reasons. One they were old, not old like her parents where they could take care of themselves in a fight but regular old. And two she could still remember the first time that she met them and they hadn't impressed her then.

Finally Spike got sick of sitting around doing nothing. "Hey Peaches" he yelled out, "Why is the mouldy squad here?"

"Stuff it, Chiphead" Xander called out, the annoyance showing in both his speech and facial expressions.

Buffy decided to start the meeting before they all started to fight. "Attention" Buffy tried to say but didn't get through the bickering. She tried again, "ATTENTION!"

Everyone in the room turned all their attention to Buffy and Spike muttered in Hope's ear, "About bloody time."

"I know you're all wondering what's going on and why I called you all here..."

"No crap Fluffy" Spike interrupted.

Buffy ignored him, "... It's about the Dumas Scrolls."

"The what?" Willow and Xander asked in unison.

Buffy sighed, "The Dumas Scrolls. They are scrolls... that may be in book form... they are visions of the future written by Dumas a very long time ago."

"Like prophecies?" Joyce asked worriedly. She didn't want anything to happen to either Buffy or Hope... or Angel.

"No" Giles answered, "These are almost true accounts of the future. Harder to thwart."

Xander cleared his throat, "How does this effect us?"

"Bloody hell" Spike said, "You're an idiot. They talk about the opening of the Hellmouth."

"Oh no" Willow whispered. She was so used to the peace and quiet, no one had tried to open the Hellmouth for twenty years.

Angel was pissed off at fate, "Hope is also mentioned."

"Oh God."

Buffy saw the look that flashed across Giles' face as he uttered that. "What?" she asked Giles.

Giles pushed his glasses further up his nose, "It's just... Angel's blood is... was able to open a portal to Hell or some hell dimension. Then Hope's..."

Hope paled, "My blood could be used to re-open the Hellmouth."

Dev was in a foul mood. Melina was on his back demanding the translation of the Dumas Scrolls and he knew that he couldn't keep stalling her forever. The worst thing of all was that he was trapped in the lair with absolutely no chance to leave.

Melina approached and he pretended to look hard at work. "Devlin... you haven't fed" she chided him.

"I told you" he replied, "I will not feed from Humans." He turned his attention back to the scrolls.

Melina put her hand beneath his chin and made him look at her. "They're already dead..."

"It doesn't matter" he objected, "They're still Human."

"Fine" she huffed. Melina tossed a packet of pig's blood onto the table. "There are times when I wonder if I'm really your sire?"

After she'd walked away Dev whispered, "There isn't a moment that passes that I wish you weren't." He then ripped open the packet and fed for the first time in days.

Spike was upset and those idiot Scooby's weren't helping his mood. All they were doing was blaming each other over this mess, not even trying to figure out a plan to save Hope or to stop the opening of the Hellmouth. It made him sick, but worst of all it hurt Hope, it hurt her that no one seemed to care enough to try and help her. Spike knew that he could lose her, even if she was only a friend for the rest of her life, she was at least still in his unlife, but dead... she'd be gone forever. He let his emotions pour out, causing blood stained tears to flow freely down his face.

"Spike?"

At the sound of her voice he looked up, forgetting everything but her. "What's wrong?" he asked her concerned.

"Same old" she replied as she sat down next to him. "Those aren't for me, are they?" she asked pointing out his tears.

"Nah" Spike replied wiping away the evidence. "I have an allergic reaction to Peaches aftershave."

Hope smiled weakly, "I wish mine were."

Spike immediately put his arms around her in a gesture of comfort. Hope leaned into him allowing herself to be comforted, to feel for just one moment that there was a chance for her. Neither of them noticed the figure standing at the top of the stairs, who simply looked and then walked away.

THE END