Hey everyone, I'm sorry to tell you all that this is the final chapter, this story is now finished. This is the longest story I've ever written, thanks to all the support I've been getting here and over on Elysian Fields which is where I upload my writing as well.

Apologies for the slowness of this, I updated on Elysian Fields and then just completely forgot to update here, I'm sorry guys. I tend post more writing on Elysian Fields these days due a lot of tomfoolery that goes on here on . It's nothing to do with y'all as you've been very supportive and I appreciate all of the feedback.

Anyways I hope you enjoy this final update to Touched. If you're interested in more of my work, I have some other fics on Elysian field that will be exclusive to that forum. Some of them require membership to read but I'll leave that to you.

Enjoy.

When Buffy woke up, she found herself lying fully on top of Spike, the duvet they had acquired during a break from their lovemaking half covering them, leaving their upper body and legs bare. She was pleasantly sore, something that her Slayer healing would not usually allow. But they had been very thorough last night. Buffy gazed into the dying embers of the fire, realising it was still in the early hours of the morning since it was still dark outside. She sighed contentedly, rubbing her cheek on Spike's cool, ivory pec.

Despite Xander's interruption, she and Spike had spent the entire night making love. They had taken small breaks in between to talk and refresh themselves, but had found great difficulty trying to sate their desire for each other. They had only stopped when they were too tired to continue, which had taken a great deal of time.

She glanced around the room, seeing their scattered clothes, and the empty bottle of wine with two glasses they had drunk during their breaks from sex, and during the sex. It was freeing how…relaxed she was with Spike, especially to do things she had never considered before. She smiled to herself, closing her eyes intending to fall back to sleep when she felt Spike's fingers begin to run through her rumpled hair. Her lips curled into a little grin, her hand instinctively finding his to lace her fingers with his.

"You can stop pretending now." She breathed, propping her chin on his chest with a teasing grin. His eyes opened, a smile on his face as he gazed at her. They just beamed idly at each other. "How long were you awake?"

"Pretty much the second you woke up." He answered, his voice husky with sleep. She chuckled dryly at the sound, dropping her forehead to his chest and nuzzling his skin.

"What time is it?" She asked into his skin. He furrowed his brow, glancing towards the window. After a moment, he turned back to her with a slight shrug.

"Sun isn't up yet. I'd say about two o'clock. Maybe three." He mused. She tilted her head curiously with a frowning smile, causing him to arch a brow. "What?"

"Is that a vampire thing? Being able to tell the time like that?" She inquired. "I guess I should probably know that since I hunt vampires most nights but…" she trailed off as he thought about the answer.

"I don't know. Maybe. I've always been able to do it, probably just good guesses." He mused. She smiled. "How you feeling?" He inquired. Buffy hummed, dropping a kiss to his nipple before sighing contently again.

"Wonderful." She whispered, turning her eyes up to him as she gave him a happy grin. "I love you." He answered with a grin of his own, brushing his lips over her crown.

"Love you too." She giggled, shuffling up his body so her face was above his.

"C'mere." She commanded breathlessly. He leant in and pressed his mouth to hers. They kissed lazily, Buffy trailing her fingers over his cheek as he took a gentle grip of her hair. This carried on for a few moments before Buffy had to pull away for breath. She gave him a confused, but happy grin as he gazed up at her, his face bright and his eyes glowing. "What?" She asked.

"What, what?" he parroted back.

"What's with that face?" She giggled. He shrugged, smiling wistfully.

"Just…happy." She bit her bottom lip, leaning down to catch his mouth again. She broke the kiss again, rubbing her cheek against his crown. "Last night was the best night of my life." She stopped her nuzzling to gaze down at him okay. His expression and his voice were completely sincere.

The night before had been the best night of his life.

"I suppose all of the sex has something to do with that?" She asked cheekily, rolling off him to lay on her side, gazing at him. He shifted so he was propped on his elbow, rubbing his other hand up her arm.

"Not really." Her brow creased, watching him curiously and he sighed. "Don't get me wrong, the sex…hmmmm, mind blowing." She blushed, drawing that lip between her teeth again as he went on. "But that's not what made it so special." He paused and she watched, waiting for his next words. "It was the minutes in between…and after, where I just held you and watched you sleep. Lying with you," he continued petting her skin, speaking in a soft and open voice, "seeing you smile, holding you in my arms and watching to you sleep. That made it the best night of my life." Buffy's eyes watered at that, caught completely off guard by the sincerity of his words. She tugged him so he was rolling on top of her. She slid her arms up and around his neck, happy tears sliding down her cheeks.

"Spike…" she breathed, wrapping herself around him in a warm and loving embrace. Spike said nothing, returning the embrace as he cupped the back of her head. Buffy dropped her lips to his shoulder, sniffling as she gave herself over to the feeling of completion that he had given her. "I don't know what to say." She said after a minute of trying to fight the right words. None had come to mind.

None seemed adequate enough to expression her feelings.

"Then don't say anything." He answered. "Just be here…with me." She pulled back to gaze into his eyes, those wonderful eyes that told her so much. She gave a soggy but blissful smile.

Before drawing his lips back to hers.

…

"There you are! I was starting to wonder when you'd join us." Dawn grouched jokingly as Buffy and Spike came through the front door of the house. She had everything sitting in the living room, ready to pack into the car. "Long night?" She inquired, cheekily.

"You could say that." Buffy answered, sharing a sly glance with Spike. Her vampire chuckled and headed into the kitchen, greeting Tara who had just come downstairs. "All set?" She asked. Dawn nodded.

"Yeah. Mina and Alucard have already left," she held up a small pad of paper that no doubt held directions to their destination, "we should probably just give this to Tara. If I read it, I'll probably get us lost. You definitely will."

"Hey!" Dawn ducked under a playful swat from her sister before looking around the living room. She gave a wistful sigh, Buffy watching her closely.

"I can't believe we're doing this." Dawn mused. Buffy tilted her head, approaching her sister.

"Doing what?" Dawn turned to her, shrugging helplessly.

"Actually leaving. Making a real fresh start." She ducked her head, nibbling her lip as she spoke. "I know we talked about it, I know we said that this," she waved her hand around to indicate the house, "isn't home with mom anymore. But…we're actually going to do it." She glanced down, taking a shaky breath. "I can't believe it." She repeated. Buffy smiled, putting her hands on her sister's shoulders.

"Believe it, Dawnie." She answered. "We're going to do this. We're going to find a new home and we're going to make it work." She looked around this house again, before smiling at Dawn again. "It's not going to be easy, it's going to be scary and we'll probably make some mistakes. But," she rubbed her hands down her sister's arms, "we'll make it work. We'll be okay." Dawn nodded before wrapping her sister in a hug.

They stood for a moment, enjoying the comfort of each other's embrace before pulling back.

"Yeah, we will." Dawn beamed elatedly. "We'll make it work. Because this time," she glanced into the kitchen where Spike and Tara were talking, "we're not going to do it alone." Buffy nodded, gazing at Spike for a few moments, until Dawn nudged her in the ribs. "Stop the puppy eyes." She teased, ducking another playful swat after receiving one of her sister's eye rolls. Buffy shook her head in amusement, before turning back to Spike and Tara.

"You guys ready?" they both turned to her and nodded before moving to start carrying the bags to the car.

It did not take long for them to get everything packed into the trunk, even though Spike and Buffy stopped to bicker briefly. Tara and Dawn had simply rolled their eyes before climbing into the back of the car. Spike climbed into the front and closed the door, before starting the car. He glanced in the rear view mirror, making sure they were prepped whilst they waited for Buffy.

Buffy went back into the house, having a quick but thorough examination of each room to make sure everything they could take was packed. She stopped in the foyer after checking the upstairs and glanced around a final time. She allowed all of the memories that this house held, the good and the bad, wash over her for a few moments before taking a deep breath.

It was time to move on.

She stepped out onto the porch and quietly closed the front door with a click. She then slid the key into the lock and slowly turned it until that too clicked into place. Giving the house that had once been her home a final parting glance, she pocketed the key and headed to the car.

"All set?" Spike asked as she slid into the passenger seat.

"Yeah." She replied with a nod as she pulled the seatbelt on and adjusted her purse on the floor between her legs. Spike started the car and turned the vehicle onto road. "You got Alucard's directions, Tara?"

"Yup." The witch replied, pulling the paper pocket of her jacket.

"Okay." Buffy took a breath, reaching down into her purse. "There's one stop we need to make before we go though." She glanced at him meaningfully and he nodded. He knew what she had in mind.

"Sure."

…

Giles looked up from his work when the door to the Magic Shop opened. His lips curled into a warm smile when he saw Buffy step through. He put down his pen, folding the page of the book he was studying and closing it. He rose out his chair as Buffy drew nearer.

"Good evening, Buffy." He greeted. She returned his smile. His eyes were drawn to her hands, held together in front of her. They were holding three envelopes. He pushed that from his mind for the moment.

"Hey, Giles." She nodded to the book on the table. "What're you doing?" He glanced back with a rueful smile.

"Just minor research, nothing important." He answered turning back to her. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, well…sort of." She answered, ducking her head. Giles frowned, stepping closer and tilted his head in concern.

"Buffy?" She raised her head, taking a deep breath.

"Okay, this is a lot harder than I thought it'd be." She muttered. Giles waited as she fidgeted in front of him.

"Are you sure nothing's wrong?" He pressed.

"Yes! No…damn it." She groaned before taking another deep breath. "Okay, I'm just going to say it."

"Buffy…"

"I'm leaving, Giles." She blurted out, cutting him off. He stopped speaking, mouth half-open and his eyes a little rounder as he gazed at her. "Well, not just me. Dawn, Tara and Spike are leaving too. We're going together." She exhaled shakily. He nodded slowly, his mind still processing the information.

"I see. When?" He asked simply.

"Tonight. We finished packing this morning." She explained quietly. He gave another nod.

"When will you back?" She bit her lip.

"Maybe never." She mumbled, gazing up at him through her hair. Giles felt a weight settle in his gut, as well as a hollow feeling of sadness grip his heart at those words.

Buffy was leaving.

He had seen her growing more and more distant each time he had seen her since her resurrection. Not from him, and not from her friends, but from the place she was in. from the life she had been those meetings had been centred on their conflict with the First, he had seen a distinct sense of restlessness within her. It was in her eyes; there had been that sense that she needed to do her duty, one last time, and then she would find her place in the world.

Evidently that place was not here.

"I see," he said quietly, he adjusted his glasses and licked his lips, "I suppose it'd be too late to ask 'are you sure?'" he quipped good-naturedly.

"Yeah, just a bit." She chuckled. "I just wanted to say goodbye." She finished. He sighed, lowering his head. His mouth curled into a smile, a proud smile before he raised his head again.

"You've always made me so proud, Buffy." He said. She ducked her head, flushing a little at his words. "You always kept going, no matter what the world threw at you, you kept going. You've done than I ever expected of you." He smiled, placing his hands on her shoulders and kissing her forehead. "You deserve a fresh start, away from this." He mused.

"I'll still be a Slayer, I just won't be doing it here." Buffy replied. He nodded with a smile and she went. "There is something else. Two things actually." She held up the three envelopes, presenting them to him. "I'm not good with…saying things so, I tried to write them instead. There's one for you, one for Xander and one more for Willow." She shook her head, sighing sadly. "I was hoping I'd be able to mend fences before leaving but…right now I can't."

"I understand." Giles answered, taking them from her. "I'll make sure they get them."

"Thanks." She took a breath, reaching into her pocket. "And the last thing is this." She raised her hand again and Giles's eyes widened as he looked at her palm. It was the key to her house. "It didn't feel like home, not after mom died." She whispered, gazing at the key herself. "But, I don't want to sell it, don't want to see what mom worked so hard to make a home go to waste." She raised her eyes to his. "So I'm asking you to take care of the house…" she took a deep breath. "Please, take care of her." She finished.

Giles could do nothing, nothing except nod slowly. Buffy slid the keys into his hands, gently folding his fingers over them and for a moment, she gazed at him. This man who had first been her mentor, then her friend before, finally, her father. The father she had never really had. She reached up and touched his cheek tenderly, giving a watery smile.

"I'll miss you." He placed his palm over her hand, giving his own strangely wet smile back.

"I'll miss you too." He answered. She stepped back, knowing if she stayed any longer she would have second thoughts. She turned and headed to the door, pulling it open and moving to step out. She paused for a moment, biting her lip before looking over her shoulder at him.

"Goodbye, Giles." She whispered before passing through the door and into her future. Giles watched and listened as the engine of a car grumbled to life, before rumbling away into the night. He looked at his hand, his fingers opening to reveal the keys to his surrogate daughter's former home. He sniffed, a lone tear slipping down his cheek. Partly out of sadness, mostly out of joy.

Joy that she was finally moving towards making her own way.

"Goodbye, Buffy."

…

Two nights later.

"This must be it." Spike mused as he parked the car outside what appeared to be a bar. Buffy peered out of the window, gazing up at the impressive building before them. It was not an imposing building, but it was clearly meant to stand out. As most bars would, she supposed. But it was the sign that caught her attention.

Night's Calling.

She liked it. The play on words: 'Night' meaning Alucard, the vampire, and 'Calling' meaning Mina, the Slayer. She smiled at the words. She climbed out the car, stretching and rolling her muscles as everyone else followed suit. Dawn came up next to her, and the sisters simply gazed at the building for a moment.

"Ready?" Dawn asked.

"When you are." Buffy replied. Dawn nodded and the older sister took the lead, the other three following into step behind her as she approached main door and opened it.

Now, most people would expect a bar to be full of people. Especially a bar in L.A. But not this one, no this one looked more like home than it did a bar. The bar itself, whilst still brimming with glasses and bottles of drink, was clearly meant mainly for show. Though there were signs of occasional use as well as a number of sofas lining the room. They could make out a couple of offices in the back, no doubt where Alucard and Mina did their work. There was also a flight of stairs to the side, and one chanced a glance up said stairs they would see a living area. It looked comfortable and accommodating, a television having been set up in front of a collection of three sofas. There was also another room, no doubt the bedroom with joint bathroom.

Buffy gazed around in amazement, as Dawn quickly threw herself onto one of the sofas. Tara stood next to Buffy as Spike went to the bar. Typical, Buffy thought fondly. Tara touched her arm, getting her attention.

"What do you think?" She inquired. Buffy grinned.

"Looking good so far." She answered. Tara nodded as they heard the sounds of footsteps on the stairs. Everyone looked over to see Mina coming down to the greet them. She favoured them all with a welcoming smile, leaning on the bannister as she looked over them.

"And here we all are, welcome to Night's Calling." She offered. She sent her cheeky smile in Spike's direction as he leant against the bar with a bottle of Bourbon. "Couldn't resist, eh?" He shrugged pouring himself a glass.

"You expecting an apology?"

"Not at all." She returned.

"Well then." He took the glass, raised it to her and promptly downed it. She laughed, turning to Buffy.

"Alucard's on the roof, he wanted to speak to you himself while I talk to the others." Buffy nodded, heading past her and up the stairs as Mina directed Tara and Spike over to the sofas so she could begin explaining what their new job would entail.

Finding the way to the roof was not hard. Buffy reached the living area and spotted another flight of stairs that no doubt led to her destination. She ascended them quickly, and pushed open the door. She was immediately enveloped by the cool evening air, the sounds of the hustle and bustle of the City of Angels and, on top of that, she could sense the numerous supernatural entities living within it. It was a strange sensation, feeling the rush of life but at the same time comforting.

She spotted Alucard, who was stood with his hands clasped behind his back as he looked over the city. His city. She moved towards him, and he turned to her as she came up next to him.

"Good evening, Buffy." He welcomed with that half-bow of his.

"Good evening, Alucard." She returned with a smile.

"Safe journey?" He asked.

"For the most part, had to deal with a small vampire pack on the way in but that was about it." He chuckled.

"Ah, it begins." She laughed before folding her arms and joining him in looking over Los Angeles. She could see that they were very close to Venice Beach, she could just make out the shimmer of the water in the distance. "How are you feeling?" Alucard ventured. She shrugged.

"Honestly? Nervous." She answered. "I've never really done anything like this before. And with you saying I'm going to be in charge…"

"You won't be at first. Think of it as a…probationary period." He offered. "I will be showing how we conduct our business for the first two weeks of your time here and then, you will be taking over." He gave her a reassuring smile. "Mina and I will be here should you need anything; we won't be leaving you alone." She nodded, feeling less anxious.

"Okay. Anything I should know?" She pressed.

"We have a contact in the Los Angeles police force who will coming to meet you tomorrow. Her name is Detective Kate Lockley. She has experience with supernatural crime and often consults us on such cases." He smiled fondly. "She does good work and has been very helpful."

"Okay." Buffy nodded before a thought struck. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why Los Angeles?" He turned to her curiously and she went on. "I mean why'd you choose to live here when you could go anywhere?" Alucard's lip curled in amusement before returning his gaze to the city.

"The City of Angels." He answered. She laughed.

"I'm being serious."

"So am I." Buffy stared at him in in amazement as he continued. "It did not get its name by accident." He said, cryptically.

"You mean…" she stammered, eyes wide and mouth open in shock, "you mean angels, real angels live here."

"Indeed, both pure and fallen angels reside here." He smiled, watching as the lights twinkled in the distance. "Many of the largest cities in the world: New York, Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam, Moscow, Paris and so on are filled with life." He glanced back at Buffy. "And such places are beacons to anything remotely supernatural, divine or otherwise. Angels are drawn here so they can experience life as a mortal, as well as aid those in need."

"Have I…have I met one then?"

"Most likely." He answered. "You have to know what to look for to notice them. So don't be alarmed that you did not recognise an angel when you saw one. Besides," he arched a playful brow, "they don't mind. They prefer it that way."

"And demons?" Buffy questioned.

"They are drawn by the same thing as angels; life. But their motives are far more sinister." He turned back to look over the buildings that housed the numerous lives of L.A. "And it is up to us to make sure those motives go unfulfilled…"

"And so they learn the hard way that this isn't their city," she looked at him tellingly, "it's yours." He smiled once again, turning a much more meaningful gaze to her.

"No, this city is not mine anymore. It's yours now." He emphasised that, watching as the impact of his words sank to Buffy. She swallowed nervously and he nodded. She blew out a deep breath, before turning to regard her new kingdom.

Her garden of souls.

…

Giles was startled by a knock on the front door Buffy's former home. He frowned, moving away from his place by the fire. He had not been meaning to spend the night, but had got caught up in cleaning and make sure everything was well kept that he had remained. He moved to the front door and opened it.

He stiffened noticeably at the sight of who was at the front door.

"Angel." He muttered.

"Giles?" Angel blinked in confusion. "What…what're you doing here? Where's Buffy?"

"I believe I could ask the same of you." Giles muttered tiredly, stepping away from the door and heading back into the living room. Angel followed, bewildered.

"I heard that the First Evil was doing something at the Hellmouth." He explained. "I came to help…"

"I'm afraid you're a bit late for that." The Watcher cut him off, sitting back down in the arm chair. Angel dropped onto the sofa as Giles resumed his notes. "The First has already been dealt with."

"What? How?" Angel exclaimed.

"It doesn't matter, it's done and it won't be coming back."

"Okay, but where's Buffy? Why're you in her house?" Giles paused, debating how much he should Angel. He knew that this man cared for Buffy, in some way or another, but it was not the same selfless kind of affection that Spike had. He knew that, given the chance, Angel would chase her down and try to talk her into coming back.

"Buffy has left Sunnydale. I'm watching the house for her." He answered honestly.

"Okay, so when's she coming back?" Angel pushed on.

"She isn't." He gaped at the Watcher, completely caught off guard by that.

"What? What about the Hellmouth?!" He demanded.

"With the First gone, it's no longer a concern," Giles answered smoothly, "there's no reason for her to remain to guard something that no longer needs guarding."

"But it's her duty!" Angel exclaimed. "She can't just…"

"If it means that much to you then you should stay and watch over it." Giles cut him off. "Buffy decided that she need to move on, and she didn't tell me where she went." That was a lie, she had told him where she was going but Angel did not need to know that. She left me a number and that was it."

"Then call her! She shouldn't…"

"Angel!" He stopped talking, watching Giles incredulously. "Buffy has to live her life, she wanted and needed to move on and felt as though she being held back from doing so by remaining here," she had said as much in her letter to him. She had expressed a great many things to him within that letter, but none as great as that. "And I'm not about to try and keep her where she doesn't want to be."

"But…I don't understand, she's the Slayer."

"Yes, she is and she always will be," Giles answered quietly. "she's just being one elsewhere…"

"And where would that be?" Giles just gave a secretive smile, answering so mysteriously that Angel could only blink perplexed.

"Where the angels go to play."

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