Buffy stopped, letting out a deep breath. She didn't think she was doing this right, yet she still wanted to try, in the event that somewhere, by some chance, the spirit of the woman buried beneath her feet could hear her, could know what she'd come to mean to her.
Buffy's hand came out to stroke the stone, tracing the words that had embedded themselves in her consciousness, made her long for things she'd once thought she could never have.
Beloved wife.
Beloved mother.
"I hope your life was a happy one," Buffy said softy, caressing the stone now. "Mine is, and I think… Well, I think you had something to do with that."
Buffy dropped her hand, though her eyes remained fixated on the words. "The first time I visited your grave, I was filled with so much longing when I saw it, wanting things I didn't think I could ever have. You're dead now, so maybe you would've thought I was the lucky one, but all the years I lived seemed so empty in the face of someone who had known love. You'd had a husband and a family, and me? What did I really have to show for all my time in the world?"
A wave of emotion washed over her, and Buffy's eyes shone with tears. "You made me realize just how much I wanted something else. Even with everyone I inspired, I never felt like I really left a mark. What did I matter to anyone? But you… You were already gone, your time here only a mere fraction of my centuries, and yet you had done what I thought I could never do. You were someone's wife, someone's mother. You were loved, and you had loved in return."
"But things are different for me now." Buffy held up her left hand, the diamonds now adorning it glinting in the late-afternoon sun. "I'm a wife, too. Spike and I got married as soon as we could, and I couldn't be happier with him. And well…" She brought her hand down, letting it trail over her distended belly. "I'm going to be a mother soon as well. The doctors tell me it's a girl, and I want to name her after you. Spike says that's okay, so I think that's what we're going to do."
She reached into her jeans' pocket and pulled out the rose she had tucked into it. "I just wanted to tell you thank you, even if you probably don't know you did anything at all. But you were, in part at least, my inspiration. You gave me the courage to trade everything for love, to take a chance and follow my heart, and it was the best decision I ever made."
Buffy knelt down and placed the rose in front of the grave. "May you rest in peace, Joyce Summers."
After a moment, she got to her feet again, giving the grave one last look before she turned and walked back to the cemetery gates where Spike was waiting for her.
"Did you do what you needed to, luv?" Spike asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist as best he could with her pregnancy and leaned forward to kiss her forehead.
"Yes, I did," Buffy replied, smiling at the feel of his touch. She always felt so much comfort in his embrace.
"Are you ready to go home, then?" he questioned, pulling back from her, though his hands continued to rest on her hips, as if her were reluctant to break the physical contact.
"Yeah." Buffy paused for a moment, then looked up at him, her head tilted slightly. "But would it be okay if we made a quick stop on the way?"
"Of course, kitten. What ever you want," Spike replied. "Where do you want to go?"
"I want to get some ice cream," Buffy replied, smiling shyly and ducking her head. "I'm having another craving."
Spike chuckled as he slid his hands down to take hold of hers and then gave them and gentle squeeze. "Ice cream it is then, baby. Come on."
Their fingers intertwined, Spike and Buffy walked away from the cemetery together.
"Two well-assorted travellers use
The highway, Eros and the muse.
From the twins is nothing hidden,
To the pair is naught forbidden;
Hand in hand the comrades go
Every nook of nature through:
Each for the other they were born,
Each can other best adorn."
—Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Love and Thought,” May-Day and Other Pieces
That, folks, is the end. There will be no sequel, even if you beg me. This was always just going to be a rather short fic to satisfy an idea that popped in my head and wouldn't go away one night when I was trying to sleep. But, as the epilogue suggests, they did live happily ever after.
Thank you so much to everyone who has read and supported this story, and especially those of you who have taken the time to review. Your kind words and encouragement were like Ben and Jerry's Phish Food for my muse. *wink* I was amazed to see how many people not only enjoyed this story, but were genuinely touched by it. Nothing is more satisfying for a writer than to see her words strike a chord in someone else. So thanks to all of you who shared your thoughts and emotions with me.
Some people have asked if I will be starting a new fic now, and the answer is yes. I have one already set up to start posting next Tuesday (entitled Darkening of the Light, if you look for it), and I'll start another one once I finish up my other WIP, Been Here Too Few Years. I've had a tendency in the past to have more stories going than I can actually keep up with, but my plan for the future is to have two stories at a time (I like to switch between stories when I get blocked, so I always have something to work on) and to try to post the chapters regularly, as I did with this one and have been doing as of late with Been Here Too Few Years. I hope you enjoy the stories I have planned for the future!
Okay, so I've been sort of rambling in an attempt to make this chapter 1,000 words, but I think I've got it now, so I'll just say one more time, thanks to all of you for reading!