<see Part 1 for disclaimers>

Afterlife

Red Moon Series, Book 9

Frau Hunter Ash

www.hunterash.com

Part 4

Summary: Giles and Dawn are back but what have they been through and how will it affect them and everyone around them?

Rating: R

# # #

Joyce Giles picked up the phone before the first ring had finished. "Hello?" she asked softly, peering out of the front window cautiously.

The house was dark and Joyce was sitting by the sofa, peeking out at the demons on the street, racing their motorcycles and destroying anything they could.

"Joyce Mom, are you alright?" Willow's voice asked anxiously.

"So far, the demons are racing instead of attacking and ransacking the houses right now," Joyce whispered. "I think they're getting ready to leave, one of them came up on a motorcycle and started shouting at the others. What's going on? Where are you? Is everyone safe?"

"Some of us at the hospital, everyone else is running the last of the demons out of town," Willow answered.

"Hospital? Who's hurt?" Joyce demanded.

"Buffy was hurt in the fight but she'll be okay," Willow said quickly. "Are the demons still there?"

"No, they're driving away now," Joyce said, standing up slowly. "What is going on? We've never had this much demon activity in Sunnydale."

"I can explain when you get here, want me to have Xander come over and drive you?" Willow asked.

"No, I can drive," Joyce said, still looking out the window. "I'll take the long way around, the roads look crowded with wrecked cars. I'll be there as soon as I can."

# # #

Joyce was relieved when she dashed into the Emergency Room to find most of her "kids" there: Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya and… Dawn? She blinked again, staring across the crowded waiting room at the small group.

Dawn, as if sensing someone staring at her, looked up and squealed, dashing across the room to hug Joyce.

The older woman wrapped her arms around the teenager. "Dawn? It's really you?"

Dawn nodded, beginning to cry. She pulled back slightly.

"He's alive, Mom," Dawn said softly. "He's alive and here."

Joyce felt her head spinning and wasn't quite aware of Xander suddenly being beside her and guiding Joyce to a chair. "R-Rupert? Alive?"

Dawn knelt in front of Joyce, holding her hands. "Uh huh," she nodded. "We didn't die, he protected us through the gate and Willow and Ethan got us back."

"Buffy? Where's Buffy?" Joyce asked, suddenly anxious.

"She'll be okay," Tara said quickly. "It's just t-taking a long time t-tonight because of all the emergencies. S-she'll be out in a little bit."

"And Rupert?" Joyce asked, almost afraid to hear as she held Dawn's hands tightly. She noticed little things were different about the teenager. She was in better shape, with defined muscles and her face was a little… harder somehow.

"The usual knock on the head," Xander smiled, wrapping an arm around Anya. Joyce noted that he had a bandage on one arm and Anya had a black eye forming. Willow looked exhausted and Tara had scratches on her neck and a ripped shirt.

"They said he could leave in the morning," Anya added.

"Where is he? I need to see him," Joyce asked, standing up.

"Buffy's with him, she won't leave until you get there," Willow smiled, leaning her head on Tara's shoulder.

"I'll take you up, Mom," Dawn said, jumping up.

"God, I thought… you were…" Joyce said softly, suddenly hugging her. "Where were you?" she asked as they started to walk out of the waiting room. Joyce was vaguely aware of the others remaining behind.

Dawn looked down at her shoes as they walked. "It was a bad place, Joyce Mom. Demons were taking over the world and humans were losing the battle. Almost every day and night we had to fight. Dad taught me how to fight."

"Fighting demons?" Joyce asked as the elevator rose, fortunately with no one else inside with them.

Dawn nodded. "It was kinda hard, like the future in Terminator movies. Dad kept us going and kept me safe."

"Is he alright?" Joyce asked softly, following Dawn down a hallway after leaving the elevator.

"He was hurt over there, Mom," Dawn said, not quite meeting Joyce's gaze. "He was hurt bad for awhile but he recovered. Tonight, he went down on a motorcycle and scraped his leg and was knocked out by a demon."

"How bad?" Joyce demanded but Dawn shook her head and opened a hospital room door. "Buffy? It's us."

Joyce walked around the curtained area, not surprised to see her daughter in the hospital but she felt her heart skip a beat when she saw Giles lying on the bed, Buffy holding his hand. He appeared to be asleep, with an IV and sensors connected to his body.

Buffy stood up and moved away from the bedside as Joyce approached her husband.

Joyce noted the eye patch and the bruise on Giles' jaw, otherwise he looked as she had last seen him. No, stronger somehow.

"Rupert?"

"They gave him something to sleep," Buffy said softly. "They want him to sleep tonight in case it’s a concussion again."

"How?" Joyce asked, stroking his hair, the other hand holding one of his.

"Ethan was doing magic and found that Giles and Dawn were alive but in another dimension," Buffy explained. "He came to us and they did a ritual and got them back."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Joyce looked at her daughter with a frown.

"We didn't know if it would work or not," Buffy said softly. "We didn't want to get your hopes up."

"Was it dangerous? Is that why the demons showed up?"

"A little bit," Buffy admitted reluctantly. "The demons were attracted by the energy."

Giles opened his eye and blinked. "J-Joyce? not a dream?"

"No, Ru," Joyce said softly, smiling at him. "You're both home. Dawn is safe, you're safe."

"Thank God," Giles mumbled and closed his good eye, slipping back into sleep.

"I'm staying here tonight," Joyce said firmly. "You'll take care of Dawn?"

"We're on it, Mom," Buffy nodded, wincing a little when she stood up. "I hate demons."

# # #

Tara hesitated outside Dawn's room, opening the half opened door slightly. "Can I come in?"

Dawn was sitting on her bed, cross legged and looking very awake, despite the late hour. Xander and Anya were asleep downstairs on a futon and Buffy and Willow were snuggling in their room. Both agreeing that Tara should check on Dawn.

Dawn looked up with a smile. "Yeah, come on in. Nothing's changed here."

"Joyce couldn't stand to put your stuff away," Tara nodded, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "We, we moved back in to keep her c-company."

"How long were we gone?" Dawn asked softly.

"Four months," Tara said, reaching out to hold Dawn's hand. "F-for you?"

"A year," Dawn said slowly, her eyes unfocused and dazed. "A year. I thought we'd never get back but Dad wouldn't give up."

“What happened?” Tara asked gently.

“Dad protected me when we went through the gate,” Dawn smiled sadly. “Said he didn’t know if he could or not, he doesn’t use magic much but he did it. He was so sick when we hit the other world. I kept him hidden for three days until I found other humans. Took him a week to get up and around again. I thought we had died and went to Hell. Dad kept saying it wasn’t hell, we wouldn’t be together if it was.”

Dawn looked up at Tara. “He said if it was Hell he’d be stuck somewhere with Xander.”

Tara giggled and Dawn nodded. “That always made me laugh too. He said we’d make it back somehow. He started working magic again, a little at a time. He couldn’t reach anyone here so he started sending nightmares to Ethan.”

“It worked, Ethan got w-worried enough to do a magic scan and f-found you two,” Tara sighed. “Dawnie, I’m sorry, we never… we thought that n-no one could survive the portal.”

“We knew that,” Dawn said calmly, sounding far older than her years. “You guys risked trying to bring us back.”

“You know how to fight now,” Tara said after a few moments.

“Yeah,” Dawn nodded and leaned against her headboard. “Dad taught me and others to fight back against the demons and vampires. I became pretty good. Had to, you know? The entire world was being taken over by demons and vampires. They were rounding up humans and putting us in camps to keep around as slaves, food and sex toys. Dad and I taught them how to fight back and storm the fences. It began to spread and humans were making a small come back.”

“What happened to Giles’ eye?”

Dawn looked down at her hands. “I… I shouldn’t say if he doesn’t want to. He kinda has nightmares about it still.”

Tara reached out and squeezed Dawn’s hands again. “It’s okay. We’ve got l-lots of time now and you don’t have to fight anymore.”

Dawn frowned, looking around. “It seems unreal here. Like this is the dream and the reality is the demons and vampires. Guess that’s kinda what Buffy feels like.”

“In a way,” Tara said slowly, thoughtfully. “She has a home to go to, and people who love and support her. Sounds like you had to keep running.”

“Yeah, but I had Dad,” Dawn smiled. “He’s alright, right? You guys wouldn’t keep bad stuff from me now, would you?”

“No, Buffy says Joyce Mom is with him and he’s sleeping,” Tara smiled. “He’ll be home in the morning. Do you… want me to stay with you? D-do the big sister thing?”

Dawn nodded shyly. “It’s… I’m scared. How are we supposed to be normal again?”

“I’m not sure any of us ever w-were here,” Tara said softly, moving to lean against the headboard as Dawn snuggled down under the covers. “Want me to t-talk?”

“Please,” Dawn mumbled.

“Well, Buffy and Joyce Mom had the hardest time after you two jumped,” Tara began. “That’s why we moved back here. So we had to move everything again and put some stuff in storage. You should have seen Willow and Buffy trying to figure out what would go where. I kinda held back and let them figure things like that out.”

Tara continued talking for the next ten minutes until she was sure Dawn was asleep.

# # #

Buffy and Willow found Tara making strange shaped pancakes the next morning and Dawn waiting impatiently. The teenager smiled and quickly hugged Buffy and Willow. Buffy noticed that Dawn seemed jumpy, the girl kept looking around and her muscles were tense, as if she was ready to fight or fly.

“When does Dad get here?” she asked anxiously as Willow walked up and hugged Tara from behind.

“A couple of hours, takes forever to check out of the hospital,” Buffy smiled. “Don’t worry, I already called and talked with Mom. He slept well and had a good appetite this morning.”

Dawn seemed to relax slightly.

Buffy cocked her head. “Maybe sooner, that’s Mom’s car,” she grinned and started to dash towards the front door. Dawn squealed and rushed past the Slayer as Buffy laughed and grabbed her, pulling Dawn back playfully as they wrestled to see who could open the door first.

Dawn flung the door open and nearly knocked Giles down when she dived into his arms, hugging him tightly. “Dad!”

Giles chuckled and hugged her back, looking at Buffy and grinning. “Hello, Dawn. You alright? Demons didn’t bash you too bad, did they?”

“Not a scratch,” Dawn said proudly.

Buffy held back, noting the happy smile on her mom’s face, even if Joyce did look tired. Her mom looked relieved and relaxed. The Slayer’s eyes told her that Giles was… he reminded her of a Slayer at night. Cautious, alert, and ready to fight.

“You alright, Buffy?” Giles asked as the Summers-Giles family moved inside the house. He hugged her affectionately and she felt him beginning to relax. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Joyce moved him to his favorite chair and made him sit. “I’ll make some tea, Ru.”

Giles looked up with a smile when Tara and Willow bounded in, followed by Xander and Anya from the den. “Whoa! One at a time!” he laughed as they crowded into to hug, to touch, as if to reassure themselves he was alive and with them.

Giles stood up and hugged each of them and waited until everyone was done and sat back down. Joyce, smiling, brought out a tray of tea and cups and then went back and returned with a six pack of sodas for the younger members of the house.

“Thank you, all of you,” Giles said softly. “God, it’s been… forever since I had tea.”

“What happened, Giles?” Xander asked anxiously, sitting on the floor, holding Anya’s hand. “We thought you… you said no body could survive going through the portal.”

“I used what little magic I had to shield us,” Giles sighed. “I didn’t know if it would work or not.”

Buffy glanced around and saw the same thoughts on everyone’s face, why had he jumped with Dawn in the first place? It made a little more sense if he was trying to save her life and the world at the same time.

“I must say, you look rather dashing with the eyepatch,” Anya commented, bringing up the subject everyone was curious about but reluctant to approach. “Like something out of a romance novel or something.”

Giles smiled and chuckled softly. “Thank you, Anya. We were caught in a vicious fight with some demons and vampires. One was about to strike at Dawn with a sword. I got inbetween them and took a slash across the arm.”

Giles hesitated and Joyce took his hand. The Watcher leaned into her touch.

“Dad couldn’t raise his arm against the next blow,” Dawn continued in a soft voice. “We barely got him out of there.”

“Giles, I don’t want to bring up bad or weird stuff but… you kinda look stronger and… younger?” Xander stammered.

Giles opened his eye and nodded. “Had to work magic sometimes to protect us. Side effect of some of it, a sorcerer’s secret, it slows or even reverses the aging process. You probably would never guess that bastard Rack’s true age was 150.”

Willow and Tara stared and then shook their heads.

“Then where’s the balance? If guys like him can go on for decades, where’s the balance with the good guys?” Xander demanded, frowning as they all pondered the question.

“Uh, Giles, does that mean you weren’t on the right side of things?” Willow asked softly.

“I was a sorcerer, not a witch,” Giles said slowly. “There are differences in the types of magic and energy that each uses. And to answer you, Xander, I was on whatever side would keep me and Dawn alive. If that meant killing a Renfield, I did it without hesitation.”

“Renfield?” Tara asked.

“Traitor human,” Dawn responded, sitting on the floor with her head on Giles’ knee. “They served vampires and demons. Some were pets, some were servants, others were sex toys. They were hoping to be turned rather than just killed. They’d betray any fighter to gain Brownie points.”

Joyce, sitting on the arm of the chair, noticed Giles leaning his head against her.

“Okay, that’s enough for now, everyone. Giles and Dawn have been through a lot and the doctor said he’d probably want to sleep a lot over the next few days. Tuesday we see an eye specialist.”

“What did you tell them about the injury and not seeking help immediately?” Willow asked as Dawn stood up, always staying near Giles.

“That I was on an archaeological dig in Siberia and was accidentally hit with the sharp side of a shovel,” Giles smirked. “Americans believe that no one has decent medicine in the world so they believe I didn’t find adequate attention until I got home.”

“Sometimes, Rupert, it sounds like you don’t like Americans and you went and married one,” Joyce teased, helping him to his feet.

“Madness that I am forever grateful for,” he said softly, kissing her gently.

“Okay, on mushy alert, we’re leaving!” Buffy declared. “Anya wanted everyone to help inventory the shop this weekend.”

“Why don’t we have everyone over for dinner tonight or do you want it quiet?” Joyce asked Giles.

“I’d like to see everyone,” he said, his voice soft.

“I’ll call Brad and Theresa then. Everyone be back here at 7pm. The shop is closed for inventory so you can leave early,” Joyce ordered and Buffy playfully saluted as the Scooby Gang made their way out the door.

“I… I’m going to go with them,” Dawn said quickly and looked to her father, her expression unsure. “I’m not tired and… it’s safe, especially in the day time.”

“Dawn, after where we’ve been, Sunnydale will seem tame,” Giles said wearily. “Go, enjoy, try and get accustomed to this world again.”

“Come on, husband,” Joyce said firmly, “I want to work on bringing you back mentally and emotionally.”

# # #

Willow watched Dawn working with Anya and Xander, closely. She noticed that as dark began approaching the teenager became more and more restless and nervous, constantly looking at the door. She walked over and knelt in front of Dawn as the girl checked off items on a list from a shelf of books.

“You okay?” Willow asked softly.

“Yeah, just really, really weird being here,” Dawn said, trying to smile. “It’s kind like a dream. It was so long ago and yet… nothing’s changed. Not much anyway.”

“I can’t even imagine but we’re here for you and Giles,” Willow smiled. “Anytime you need real world reassurances, we’ll go down to the Espresso Pump for mochas.”

Dawn’s eyes widened and her smile turned into a grin. “Totally cool! I missed those so much. Could we do that now?”

“Yeah,” Willow grinned and stood up, offering her hand to Dawn.

“Hey, where’s Tara and Buffy?” Dawn asked, looking around.

Willow began blushing and looked down at her feet.

“What are you sensing?” Dawn asked quietly, grinning.

“They’re making out in the back room,” Willow whispered back. “They got distracted.”

Dawn giggled and saw Anya glancing around, as if sensing people were missing out on the work, therefore taking up time in which the shop would be closed, a closed shop meant no money coming in. Dawn quickly grabbed Anya’s arm. “Grab Xander and we’ll go get some mochas. Leave Buffy and Tara inventory in the back. We’ll close up when we get back, sound cool?”

Anya pondered for a moment and then nodded. “Caffeine means people can work longer. We will bring caffeine back to Buffy and Tara since they’re working so hard.”

Willow managed to keep from laughing as Dawn giggled.

“You’re evil!” Willow whispered as they unlocked the front door, following Anya and Xander.

“And what are Tara and my sister doing right now?” Dawn countered. “Come on.”

# # #

Tara had come up behind Buffy as the Slayer finished replacing a box on a high shelf, Tara wrapping her arms around the Slayer and nuzzling her neck.

Buffy smiled and placed her arms over Tara’s melting into the embrace and baring her neck for her wife, practically purring with pleasure.

“I like that,” she said softly.

Tara nodded and hummed softly as she bite Buffy’s neck, her hands moving under the Slayer’s shirt and the other working at Buffy’s jeans button.

Buffy started to squeak and turn around but Tara held her firmly. “Shhh,” Tara whispered. “You want the others to come in, my love?”

Buffy moaned when Tara’s hand found her breasts and nipples, tweaking and hardening them. She felt her hips jerking in response when fingers went to her sex, stroking her.

“Tara! This…” Buffy panted.

“Shhh,” Tara whispered again and Buffy could feel Tara’s smile and a sense of being impish.

Buffy whimpered, biting her lip as Tara unzipped her jeans for better access to her Slayer.

Tara growled. As usual, the night before the full moon was one of heightened arousal and sense for all three women, Willow in particular. Tara knew it was going to be a long night with her wives.

Buffy bucked against her fingers and Tara bit down harder. The Slayer reached out and grabbed the shelves for support as her knees went weak. “Tara!” she whispered, almost desperately.

“Shhh, let it build, baby,” Tara urged, opening her shields. She felt Buffy dropping hers and welcoming Tara’s energy to merge with hers. Both crying out at the intensity now bouncing between them.

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