A/N:Sorry about the delay! Life intervened but it's getting back on track…hopefully, anyway.

This is just a little chapter to tie up loose ends. I'm marking it as complete at the end….but that doesn't really mean anything. I feel that it will be left in a wonderful place. A place that, if I choose to in the future, I will be able to pick up and go on with it. =) Huge thanks to everyone that's read and reviewed! I greatly appreciate it!

Chapter Eleven

(Eric)

"Mr. Northman, are you listening to me?"

I nodded my head. "I've heard every single word you've said, Ms. Flanagan."

"Well, your disposition would seem to differ, if you don't mind me saying so."

"I do mind." I stated, flatly.

"I've been told by my closest confidants that just over a year ago you were entertaining the Slayer. Here, in your very office."

"Yes, what of it?"

"Mr. Northman, need I remind you that she is a vampire killer?"

I stood up and started to pace around my office.

"No, you do not. However, what I do with my life is none of your concern."

"As the public face and voice for our race, your life is my concern. Especially when you are roaming about with the likes of her. Have you any idea how many vampires her kind has killed over the last thousand years?"

"I'm well aware of it. Why exactly are you here, Ms. Flanagan?"

"As you know, one of my personal assistants went missing last year. A very trusted assistant."

"Yes, I recall. But what does that have to do with me?"

"As I previously stated, I was told that you were entertaining the Slayer last year. It's funny that one of my staff would go missing right around the time that she was here, is it not?"

"Funny? No, I've seen funnier. I've definitely seen funnier." I smiled.

"Mr. Northman! This is not a time for making jokes!"

"You've yet to tell me why you are here."

"Mr. Northman, please do not take me for an idiot. I know that you keep in contact with the Slayer."

"Says who?"

"I've had my eye on your establishment for quite some time. About six months after the Slayer left, you went running off for a few days. Where to?"

"Am I not allowed to take a vacation?"

"I have sources that saw you in the former town of Sunnydale. In California. Which just so happens to be where the Slayer was based."

"What can I say? After a thousand years of being so…pale and white, I thought I should get a tan."

"Mr. Northman!"

"Besides, Sunnydale is no longer a part of California, thanks to the giant earthquake that ruptured and sunk the town."

"Which was undoubtedly caused by the Slayer."

"Well now that's just assuming. And you know what they say about assuming, don't you Ms. Flanagan?"

"Mr. Northman, I don't doubt that you've noticed the odd things going on."

"Odd things?" I questioned. "We are the odd things."

"Ever since that… 'earthquake'…well, there's definitely been something going on. Infact, as I was driving here, I saw a young girl, no older than fourteen years old—"

"You didn't eat her, did you? That's jailbait." I smirked.

"She was a little bit busy fighting off three vampires."

I opened my mouth to respond but I was quickly hushed by the sounds of yelling, fighting and metal crushing throughout the bar.

"What is going on out there?" Nan asked, standing up.

I grinned wide. "It sounds like my girlfriend is here for a visit. And it sounds like your staff isn't doing so well."

The door to my office burst open and there she stood. Like a strong, beautiful, blonde Goddess.

Her hair was longer than the last time I had seen her, over the summer. She had just a little bit of fringe that fell slightly above her green, green eyes. She was wearing an aqua colored top, dark, tight jeans, a three-quarter sleeve black leather jacket and black spiked boots.

She held a red and silver axe in her hands. Well, not just an axe. It was fashioned with a wooden stake at the end. I recognized it immediately. The true weapon of the Slayer.

"Hello, love. Miss me?" she smiled.

"Nice axe." I commented.

She smirked, twirled it about in her hands and shrugged. "Yeah, it's alright."

Nan kept exchanging looks between Buffy and myself, finally settling on me.

"Mr. Northman, do you realize that you are committing treason to your Queen by being in legion with the Slayer?"

"Wellllll….not exactly 'treason'." I said, walking over and joining Buffy at the door.

"This is the very definition of treason!" Nan exclaimed.

"It would be, yes, however, Sophie-Anne knows of our… 'alliance'." Buffy said.

I nodded. "It's true. She does know. Also, Buffy and I have a blood bond. She is mine. Therefore she is my responsibility to punish. Not my Queen's. Not yours. Mine."

"And have you punished her for her vampire killing deeds?" Nan asked, folding her arms.

I turned to Buffy. I picked up her hand and slapped it. "Bad Buffy! Bad!"

Buffy managed to keep a straight face, barely, letting only a few tiny laughs escape.

Nan glowered at me, apparently not accepting my punishment.

"I've always heard that your punishments to be much more cruel."

"Regardless of what you've heard and assumed about me, Ms. Flanagan, I've punished my human. Now, let's get back to the prior conversation. You never did mention why you were here." I said.

"I'm pretty sure I know." Buffy said.

Nan turned her attention towards Buffy. "Please, enlighten me then, vampire killer." she spat.

Buffy walked towards Nan.

"You clearly felt the change in the air. All the power that's been unleashed. All that…goodness. You know what I did. What happened in Sunnydale. How you know, well that's a mystery to me, but you know. And, between you and me, girl-to-girl, I know your little secret too."

My head shot up. "Secret? What secret is that?"

Buffy folded her arms, axe still in hand. "You see, I've been doing a little research of my own. Not lately as I obviously had bigger things going on, but it seems that our dear friend Reverend Newlin was just a little teeny tiny pawn. Am I right, Ms. Flanagan?"

She didn't answer which to me automatically confirmed that Buffy was telling the truth.

"We did some digging, I beat up some people for info and well, you'd be surprised on how many vampires are willing to turn their backs on you when they are at my mercy." Buffy added with a steep glare.

"What are you getting at?" I asked, curiously.

"Ms. Flanagan here was behind it all. Every last bit of it. She must've glamoured Newlin into kidnapping Hadley. She put it into his and Sophie-Anne's heads about Dawn and everything."

"Which would eventually send you the Fellowship of the Sun…" I started.

"Mmhmm. She was hoping, or well, I think that she was hoping anyway, that I would get there too late, not only causing Dawn's death, but Hadley's as well. Efficiently ending Newlin's life by using me and ending my life when Sophie-Anne would find out about Hadley being dead."

"…Killing two birds with one stone. The Fellowship of the Sun would have lost it's leader and the Slayer would be dead." I continued.

Buffy smiled and nodded her head.

Nan swallowed and let her hands fall to her sides. "You're smarter than they say, vampire killer."

"Actually, it's just Buffy. You should probably know that by now, considering all those anti-vampire killing ads you run about me and my girls."

I turned my head incredulously. "What?"

"Eric, you seriously need to get a television. You're missing so so much." Buffy said. "Little Miss Vampire President here has been running anti-vampire killing ads for the last year. Ever since…"

"Ever since you slaughtered a good and trusted staff member of mine." Nan growled.

Buffy raised her eyebrow. "Well maybe you should tell your staff to stop wandering through the cemetery at night, waving broken tombstones around. Which in itself is not very respectful. You destroyed someone's final resting place. You know, I don't really have a lot of experience with ghosts much, only ever really faced one…maybe two, but I'm pretty sure that's grounds for being haunted. Oh, and maybe next time you try to kill me, you should use more than one weak little vamp."

"You've died before." Nan responded.

"Yeah. Three times to be exact. Well, four if you count the parallel world. But no one really seems to."

Nan grinned the perfect evil bad guy-er, lady-grin. "Well, as you said, next time I'll try harder. I think it's time I go. Thank you for your time, Mr. Northman."

She shoved past us, through the door.

After she was gone, Buffy walked out of the door frame and sat on my desk. I shut the door and walked over to her.

"So, the true weapon of the Slayer?" I asked.

"Yep. The Scythe of the Slayer. Forged thousands—"

I broke her sentence off by grabbing her and kissing her. After a minute, she dropped the scythe to floor and latched her arms around my neck. I slid my hands down her back and picked her up. She responded by wrapping her legs tightly around my waist and kissing me back deeper. I shoved her into the wall, my hands ripping through her clothes. She pushed against me and we toppled to the floor.

(The next night)

I awoke in my bed and noticed immediately that I wasn't alone. Quickly remembering the events from the night before, I let a grin play across my lips.

"Good evening, love." I said to Buffy.

She turned and faced me. "Actually, it's more like morning for me too."

"You slept all day?" I asked.

"Defeating the grand daddy of all evil takes a lot out of a girl."

"Clearly not too much." I grinned, staring her naked form.

She blushed slightly and sat up. "Well, now that you're awake and can walk outside without bursting into a melt-y flame-y mess, let's go get my stuff so we can move it in."

"I still have that job opening for a dancer." I grinned.

She laughed loudly. "Yeah. No. Probably not. Good try though."