“Morning Slayer!” He greeted her roughly, his voice harsh from sleep and too many cigarettes.

“No time for niceties Spike, get up, and get the potentials ready!”

Buffy marched up the stairs and slammed the basement door open. She found Giles sitting in the kitchen, his spectacles resting haphazardly on the top of his head as he stared into a steaming mug of tea.

“Good morning Buffy!” he said without looking round.

“Phone Robin!” She told him firmly, “Today we fight!”

An hour later, the potentials were gathered in the living room, each one had been told their fate for the day. Today was the day, possibly the last day that they would ever spend together. Looking around the group, each girl was filled with a mortal dread but also an overwhelming feeling of unity and strength, for the first time, they felt connected and, most importantly, ready!

Buffy stood before them, her face locked in a determined expression. Slowly she met the gaze of each potential slayer, she knew that what she had to tell them would be hard to believe and was expecting to do a lot of convincing.

Buffy allowed her gaze to fall on the Scoobies, her friends, the people who had been with her from the very start. Giles smiled warmly at her, despite all they had been through and his querying and clashing with her ideas, she knew that he would support her. Over the years, he had learned to trust her instincts.

Next to him, Xander sat in the chair. He looked forlornly at her. In their recent battles and skirmishes with the First, he had sustained many more injuries than any of the others; the most recent had been the loss of an eye. She tried to smile weakly but found she couldn’t. The pain and loss in his face was too much and she swallowed back tears.

Finally, Willow. Tara stood at her side, their fingers intertwined in an eternal bond of love, friendship and respect. Buffy understood that she had done the right thing, they may have faced some hard times since Tara’s return but she knew it was worth it.

Willow looked back at her with fear clearly etched on her face, next to her; Tara felt her fear and squeezed her hand instinctively. Buffy saw this almost invisible exchange and smiled warmly before turning back to face the rest of the group.