High School Sweethearts and Second Chances spn/btvs ch 34

[hezio2]

Title: High School Sweethearts and Second Chances (SPN/Btvs)
Author: Noturbaby
Fandoms: Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Rating: PG-13 - R
Warnings: None (eventual het sex between teens)
Pairings: Dean & Buffy Willow & Oz Most BtVS characters make an appearance.
Summary: Adds the Winchesters to Seasons 2 and 3 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy's a junior and Dean's a senior at Sunnydale High. At first, Dean doesn't know Buffy's a Slayer. Story deals with dating when part of life is fighting the supernatural.


This is based on Graduation part 2. The final episode of Season 3 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. None of the characters belong to me. I mean no infringement.

Seeing an unconscious Buffy trapped under Angel, sent Dean into a rage he didn't know he had. Red colored Dean's entire field of vision as he rushed Angel, tackling him off of Buffy. Angel's guilt over drinking from Buffy was so strong, he could hardly defend himself.

Xander rushed to Buffy, found the bite on her neck and looked for other injuries. With his ear to her mouth, he tried to listen for her breath. He put his fingers on her neck to check for a pulse.

Dean only stopped pummeling Angel when he decided to find a weapon to end the monster that took Buffy from him.

"Dean, stop!" Xander yelled, hoping to get Dean's attention in time.

However, Dean had found Faith's knife and was stalking towards Angel. Seeing the intent in Dean's eyes, Angel finally began to defend himself.

"Dean! She still has a pulse. We gotta get her to a hospital," Xander picked up Buffy and began to walk out. Xander knew the pulse was weak, but there was hope as long as she still had one.

Dean broke from his rage when he saw Xander moving Buffy, then he turned to Angel. "You, you say you love her, but you do this!" He grabbed Angel by the front of his shirt, holding him inches from his face. With Faith's blade pressed against Angel's neck, Dean spoke menacingly. "Leave Sunnydale. Now. Or so help me, if you don't, if you're still here when I get back, I will send you back to hell." Dean shoved him and followed Xander.

Angel just stared after him for a minute, "She'll -"

"Ya know, I don't care what she'll do to me. Leave, now." Dean threw the broken table leg at Angel as if it were a stake. At the last second, Angel deflected it.

As they raced to the hospital, Xander sat in the back of the Impala with Buffy. "She's gonna be okay man, she has to be."

"Dammit, this is my fault," Dean said hitting the steering wheel. "What was she thinking'?"

"Dean, how is this your fault? Buffy just.."

"If I had killed that sonuvabitch when he first came back, she wouldn't have killed Faith and she wouldn't be dying right now."

Xander hoped to reassure his friend. "She's gonna make it, Dean. And if you had done that, she'd have hated you."

"Maybe, but it beats her dying. I can handle her hating me, but I can't - ," he took a deep breath to get control of himself. "She can't die."

As they handed Buffy over to the emergency room doctors, Xander overheard a nurse say there was another young woman that had been brought in with a severe stab wound. Again, hoping to give Dean some sort of comfort, Xander told him what he had heard. "I think it might be Faith. Maybe, Buffy didn't kill her. Maybe it's gonna be okay."

Dean nodded at Xander as he collapsed into a chair. He handed Xander his phone. "Call Giles and Willow. They should know what happened."

When he took the phone, Xander noticed how red and swollen Dean's hands were. "You might wanna get some ice on those."

"Huh?" Dean looked confused until Xander indicated his hands. "Yeah, uh, no. I'm fine." He got up and began to pace the hall. "Where the fuck's the doctor? What's taking so long?"

Xander had never seen panic in Dean's eyes before. "Dean, I'm sure they're doing everything they…"

"Yeah, I know," Dean cut him off as he sat down again. "Ya know, I tried. I did. I knew she liked the guy, so I tried to help. Even though I hate him. Even though everything in me was telling me he's a fuckin' monster, I try to help, for her, ya know?" Xander nodded. "Look what it got me. I fuckin' allow this bastard to kill Buffy."

"Dean," Xander began to caution.

"I shoulda killed him. I shoulda just…" Dean's tirade was cut short by the doctor's arrival.

"Uh, so are you the two that brought in the girl with…."

"Is she going to be okay?" Xander interrupted, praying the good news would help calm Dean.

"Yes. She lost a lot of blood, but the transfusion seems to be working, she appears to be doing alright," the doctor looked at the chart. "She hasn't regained consciousness, yet." Xander turned to Dean and saw the stress starting to leech from his features. "We're going to need more information," the doctor went on.

Xander waved the phone. "Yeah, I'm on it. I got some calls to make." The doctor nodded and walked away.

Xander began to dial while Dean stood again. "Stay here. I'm gonna go check out if that girl you heard about is Faith."

Dean stood outside the room and listened as a doctor spoke to the Mayor. "The bones are set, and the damage to the kidneys is repairable. But the head trauma, its… well its simply too severe. You know, it's a wonder she's alive at all, with the blood loss. - I… I'm sorry, sir, there is almost no chance at all that she is ever going to regain consciousness." The doctor reassuringly put a hand on the Mayor's arm, before he left. Dean looked into the room to see Faith laying in a hospital bed. She looked badly bruised and was wearing an oxygen tube, an IV, and several monitoring devices. The Mayor reached down and gently brushed her hair from her forehead and stroked her cheek. "This was to be your day," the Mayor whispered. Then he stood back from her, "Well, no matter, I will end the whore that did this to you. I will erase all of them from the face of the earth."

Before he knew it, Dean was in the room. "It's your fault she's here," he accused. "You took a frightened girl and turned her into a monster."

They Mayor faced Dean and backhanded him across the face, sending him across the room to the floor. "No! You and that damned Buffy did this." He pointed at Faith. "She was a rising star. Buffy tried to destroy her, but couldn't. Faith's much stronger than any of you thought."

Dean looked up at the Mayor, "I didn't do this to her. And Buffy didn't either." He pushed himself up against the wall. "You gave her the poison, you gave her the chance to shoot Angel. You forced Buffy's hand. You destroyed what was good in Faith and -"

Dean was unable to finish his sentence when the Mayor's hand wrapped around his throat. Fortunately, at that moment a nurse walked in to check on Faith. "Oh my god! Sir, no!" she yelled as she tried to pull him off. The mayor didn't budge. The nurse turned her head toward the door and yelled, "Security!" as she continued to try to pry the Mayor's hands from Dean's throat.

The Mayor lifted Dean by the throat, and threw him towards the far wall. Dean shook his head trying to stay conscious. The Mayor glared in Dean's direction. "Well, I'd get set for some weeping if I were you. I'd get set for a world of hurt. Misery loves company, young man, and I'll be looking to share mine with you and your whore."

A security guard arrived on the scene and stopped, unsure what to do. The Mayor looked around. "Okay, folks. Show's not over but there will be a short intermission." He glared over at Dean, "Don't wanna miss the second act. All kinds of excitement."

Dean pushed himself up. "I'll be there," Dean promised with a hoarse voice.

Buffy's room, Giles, Oz, and Willow have joined Xander. "How is she?" Willow asked quietly. Xander took a deep breath, "She's gonna be okay. She's sleeping."

Oz examined Xander for a moment, before he asked, "So what happened? Did Faith do this?"

Xander shook his head, "No, Faith's out of the picture. Buffy put her in a coma."

Willow gasped, "Oh my god, is Angel dead?"

Xander shook his head, "Not yet. I mean, not anymore than he was before."

The group exchanged confused looks. Frustrated with how to explain what happened, Xander blurted out, "Buffy cured him, Angel, he, uh, fed on her."

No one spoke for a minute, they cast their eyes on Buffy. "Oh my god," Willow murmured.

Oz looked from Buffy to Xander, "Uh, I'm afraid to ask but, where's Dean?"

Giles' eyes widened as he realized the true depth of the question.

Xander cleared his throat. "He, uh, went to see Faith. She's here in the hospital somewhere."

"Oh god," Willow whispered. "Is he okay? Did he see what happened?"

Xander looked at Willow and nodded, "Yeah, and no, he's definitely not okay." Xander sighed heavily. "He came close to killing Angel. I was only able to stop him when I found that Buffy was alive."

Giles left the friends in the room and went in the hall to gather himself and get some air. He found Dean sitting in a chair, staring at Buffy's room. Noticing the red marks on the man's face and neck, he asked, "Dean, are you alright? What happened?"

Dean looked dazed, "The Mayor," he replied, "tossed me around a bit." He didn't move his eyes from Buffy's room. "She okay?"

Giles sighed, "She will be. She needs rest."

Dean nodded and looked at the floor. "Mr. Giles, can I ask you something?"

"Yes, of course."

"Why would she do that? Why would she let him do that to her?"

Giles heard the pain in Dean's voice. "I don't know, Dean. I do know that Buffy takes her job as slayer seriously. She does whatever she has to, to assure the rest of us live."

Dean's shake of his head stopped Giles. "Angel is a monster. He's what we fight. Why-"

Giles blew out a breath. "Angel has a soul. He's not like the other demons you've seen. He tries to help-"

"He almost killed her."

"Yes," Giles agreed with a heavy sigh.

Dean looked slightly relieved that Giles wasn't going to argue the point. Then he looked at the floor again. "I lost it when I saw them. I nearly killed him."

Giles smirked, but kept it from Dean. "It's good you didn't. I wouldn't want her sacrifice to be for naught."

Dean looked at him and shrugged. "I did threaten him, told him I'd kill him if he didn't leave town."

Giles put a hand on Dean's shoulder. "Well, that was magnanimous of you, giving him a chance. I don't think anyone could expect more." Dean shrugged. "Why don't you go see her?"

Dean shook his head, "I promised her mom I'd look out for her, keep her safe." He slumped down in his seat with a sigh.

"Dean, you mustn't blame yourself for what happened," Giles chided gently.

Dean looked at him doubtfully. "If I'da killed him when he first came back -"

Giles sighed, "Dean, you can't change the past." He looked at Dean's skeptical expression. "Why don't you go in and see her?"

Dean nodded as they both rose and walked into Buffy's room. "Dean!" Willow gasped pulling him into a tight hug. Dean was stiff in her hold for a minute before he slowly relaxed and allowed himself to hug her back. When she released him, she noticed the red marks on his face and neck. "Dean, what happened?" she gasped.

Dean wrinkled his brow. "Hm?" he looked at her not understanding her question, until she touched his cheek. "Oh, the Mayor felt like sharing the love." He waved off their concerned looks. "He was with Faith when I went to see her." Seeing their next question, he went on. "She's in a coma. The doctor doesn't think it looks good," he looked at Buffy, "Course, he doesn't know he's dealing with a slayer so," he shrugged and the others nodded. "Xander, did the doctor tell you when she's supposed to wake up?"

"No, uh, he didn't know," Xander said quietly as he looked at Buffy. "He said that she lost a lot of blood and that most people don't, um, survive the way she is."

Dean swallowed and looked at the floor. "It's a good thing you were there to save her." He glanced over to meet Xander's eyes. "Thanks, man."

Xander was dumbfounded. "I didn't do anything, Dean. You got her to the hospital."

Dean shook his head. "No, I was letting her die, while I tried to kill Angel." Willow gasped and Oz's mouth fell open. "You, you checked on her. So, uh, without you, she'd be dead."

"Dean-" Xander began, but Dean cut him off.

"It's late. We all got a lot to do tomorrow. Especially if Buffy can't help us," without taking his eyes off Buffy, Dean turned slightly to Xander, "I should take you home."

Oz looked at Dean. "You should stay. I can take Xander home."

"Yeah, Oz is right, stay. I'll catch a ride with him," Xander quickly agreed.

Willow pushed a chair up next to Buffy's bed, then took Dean by the arm, and seated him. "Dean, she's gonna want you here when she wakes up."

After the others left, Giles stepped forward. "Dean, you mustn't blame yourself for any of this." Dean didn't acknowledge him. He just kept his eyes on Buffy. "Try to get some rest. We are going to need you tomorrow," Giles finished before he, too, left.

Dean stood, took one of Buffy's hands in his, and kissed her softly. He touched his forehead to hers then whispered, "I love you. I am so sorry I let this happen."

Keeping her hand in his, Dean sat back down and leaned his head against Buffy's bed to rest.

While she recovered, Buffy dreamed of killing the Mayor. In her dream, Faith was by her side, smiling and fighting, with her and not against her. "Miss this, B. We were an awesome team," Faith said grinning as she staked a vampire.

Buffy smiled at her, "Yeah, we were. I'm sorry. I wasn't-." She stopped speaking as she looked at Faith. Buffy watched herself slice into Faith again.

"Damn, B. Ya gonna keep doing that?" Faith asked, her eyes rolling into her head as she collapsed.

"Faith?" Buffy cried as she watched the slayer die. "No!"

Then, Dean was next to her in the dream. "It's okay, Princess. You just gotta use that." He pointed at the knife in Buffy's hand then he pointed at the Mayor. "He's coming now. He's really pissed. Hates you. Hates me. Wants us dead."

Suddenly, Faith was next to her again. "You can do it, B. Just don't do it alone. You can't always do it alone."

In the dream, Buffy turned to Faith, "Is this your dream or mine?"

Faith laughed, "I don't know." She looked around and Buffy followed her line of sight. Soon images in the dream became clearer. Buffy saw other students firing weapons at demons. Xander, Willow, and Oz were leading the attack.

Then she saw Sam reading a book. He looked at her and smiled. "Buffy, there. Go there," Sam said as he pointed toward the doors of the school. Standing by the door, Willow waved to her.

In her dream, Buffy opened the doors and found herself in the library. Giles and Dean were there. Giles was smiling at her, as was Dean, but he also played with his lighter. "There you are," Giles said. "We've been waiting. Are you ready?"

Buffy nodded and looked around as she was suddenly transported to the roof of the school. Again, she saw everyone she cared about, fighting the Mayor and his band of demons. Then, Faith was next to her. "Where's Angel?" Buffy asked.

Faith shrugged, "You don't need Angel."

Buffy looked around, nodding in agreement, "I don't need Angel."

Faith put a hand on Buffy's shoulder. "You can do this," Faith said in Buffy's ear. When Buffy turned to her, Faith fell backwards off the building. Buffy screamed as she looked over the building's edge. But, to her surprise, Faith was standing unharmed on the ground, waving at her. Faith turned to fight the demons that were closing in on her.

Buffy shifted in her sleep and the movement woke Dean. He rubbed his face and watched her. He gently kissed the hand he was holding. "Baby, please be okay," he whispered.

"Dean?" Buffy's voice was a hoarse whisper.

Dean looked over her, "Buffy? Baby? You awake?"

Buffy's eyes fluttered open, she quickly took in her surroundings and the fact that Dean was holding her hand. "You're here? I didn't dream it?"

Dean's relief at hearing her voice caused him to smile. "You dreaming about me again?" he whispered. "Are these the dirty kind of dreams? You feel like sharing?"

Buffy coughed a laugh. "Only you could think of sex when I'm in a hospital bed."

Dean grinned, happy that she was awake and obviously okay. "You're the one thinking about sex. I was talking about dirt, ya know, mud, slime," he teased.

Buffy laughed again, "Sure you were." She took her hand from him to push herself up in the bed. She stared at him a moment before she looked down. "God, Dean, I really screwed up." Tears began to form, and she sucked in a breath. "I killed Faith. And Angel, I can't even tell you," she stopped herself and looked away from him. "Oh god, Dean. You must hate me."

"Shh, baby, no. I could never hate you," Dean sat on the bed next to her and took her hands. "Faith's not dead, just in a coma." He attempted to meet her eyes, but Buffy continued to avoid his. "And Angel, well, uh, he's gonna be fine," Dean confirmed. He touched her face, trying to force him to look at him, but Buffy closed her eyes and a few more tears fell. Dean gently wiped them away with his thumbs. "Buffy, you're probably gonna be really mad at me," he took a breath before he continued, "but I kinda lost it when I saw what Angel did to you. I -"

Buffy's eyes flew open toward him in panic, "Dean, I forced him to. He didn't want to."

Dean looked away from her for a second. "I made him leave Sunnydale." Dean shrugged and got off the bed. "I threatened him, anyway. And I get it if that makes you mad, but -"

Buffy smiled at him and wiped her tears away, "I'm not mad. I don't need Angel. I just couldn't let him die if there was a way to save him." She held her hands out toward him.

Dean looked into her eyes, then ignoring her hands, he cupped her face and kissed her as he sat on her bed again.

Buffy's hands went to his neck, holding him closer. After several minutes, Dean drew back, "You should get some rest."

Buffy held his arms tightly, "Don't even think of leaving." She moved over in the bed. "You are staying right here, where I can keep my arms around you all night."

Dean climbed into her bed, and laid back as Buffy rested her head on his chest and curled up against him. He kissed the top of her head. "I love you, but you've got to stop scaring me like this."

Buffy smiled up at him, "I love you, too. And I promise I'll try."

The following morning, Buffy and Dean snuck out of the hospital and met John and Bobby at a diner. John filled in Buffy as to the plan they had developed to defeat the Mayor. Buffy nodded along as she ate. And ate. And ate.

She was unaware of the amused looks the older men were giving her as they watched her. "So, you're shaying, we jusht gotta get 'im in th' libr'y?" Buffy asked with a mouthful of food.

John nodded, "It's furthest from the graduation stands and we filled it with explosives."

Buffy waved the waitress down, then looked at Dean, "Can I get some more bacon?"

Dean grinned, "Sure, whatever you want, Princess."

Buffy smiled at the waitress, "Another order of bacon, please. Ooh and some more waffles, too."

The waitress's eyes bulged and she looked at the men, but they only shrugged. The waitress nodded, "Comin' right up."

Dean looked at the shocked faces of his father and Bobby and had to cover his mouth to stop from laughing.

Buffy drank down her glass of orange juice. "Okay, I know how to get him in the library."

Dean looked at her in surprise. None of them had figured out how to get the Mayor away from all the students, who were basically trapped there, destined to become the Mayor's ascension feast. "How?"

"Faith told me to play on his human weakness," Buffy replied. John's eyes widened in surprise. "Faith told you? Was that before or after you put her into a coma?" Buffy moved back to allow the waitress to clear her plate before placing her new one before her. "After," Buffy said with a quick nod as she tucked into her second plate of food.

"Oh." John nodded, then looked confused over at Dean. "His weakness."

Buffy nodded, "Right."

Bobby leaned forward, "Which is…?" Buffy knit her brow, "I don't know. Is there something that he's afraid of?"

The group paused as they thought. Then Dean said, "Faith."

Buffy glanced over at him and asked "Faith?" Dean nodded and looked at the others. "At the hospital he was seriously crazed, and not just in a homicidal 'I want to be a demon way.' Faith's his weakness."

Buffy narrowed her eyes, "Faith. I can work with that."

Buffy wasn't the only one preparing for graduation. Across town, the Mayor spoke to his minions. "The transformation should begin at exactly 3:28. I'll just be finishing my speech - you know, it's too bad you fellows have to miss that, because I think it speaks to everyone of us. I mean, heck, I've been working on it for a hundred years. It better be good," he laughed. "They'll try to run, of course, and this is when I'll need you boys in flanking position."
One of the vampires spoke up, "But Sir, the sun!"
Mayor grinned, "Not a problem." He pointed to the television that played behind them. On it, the newscaster announced that an eclipse would happen that very afternoon. The Mayor pointed at a map. "You come up through the sewers here. The important thing is containment. I'll need to feed. It's crucial in the first few minutes to sustain the change. What does that mean?" He looked around at each vampire and shook his finger at them in warning. "No snacking. I see blood on your lips, it's a visit to the wood shed for you boys. Kill. Don't feed."

In the Sunnydale High School cafeteria, Cordelia was pointing students to tables that were loaded with various weapons. Some she directed to stakes, some to crossbows, other were directed to see Xander. As she worked, Xander and Dean handed a very select group of students rifles. Dean noticed that although Xander seemed to be very capable of explaining the proper rifle technique to the group, he often had his eyes on Cordelia.

When the rifle group dispersed, Xander leaned over to Dean. "When this is all over, if we survive, I think I'm going to work things out with Cordelia."

Dean looked at Xander in shock, "Seriously? Wow, that's, uh, cool. Why the change in attitude?"

Xander was suddenly a bit bashful, but admitted, "We kissed yesterday, and I think we both felt something."

Dean shook his head and spoke before he thought. "Dude, I hate to break it to you, but you're not the only one she kissed yesterday." Xander was stunned. "Yeah, she pinned me to the wall with her tongue, too. She even laid one on Wesley."

"What!" Buffy asked from behind Dean.

"Wesley?" Xander said in disgust and shock.

Dean spun around to face Buffy. "Buffy, it's, she, I, shit." He walked up to her. "Buffy, you know I only love -"

"Oh, I know," Buffy said glaring at Cordelia. "You and me are good. But Slutterella better hope she doesn't need me to save her ass, cuz I might forget how."

Dean smirked, "You're hot when you're all jealous and angry."

Buffy raised a brow at him. "You are so gonna hafta make that," she point toward Cordelia, "up to me."

"Yes, ma'am," Dean grinned then leaned forward to kiss her.

Buffy stopped his forward progression with a hand to his chest. "Not now."

Dean moved her hand aside and nodded, then pulled her into a kiss, eventually forcing her to bend back. He didn't break the kiss when some of the other students started to whistle and holler at them. He didn't break the kiss when Giles walked by clearing his throat. He didn't break the kiss until heard Buffy moan very quietly. Then he stood her back up. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "That," he smirked, "just the coming attractions."

Buffy blushed, "Better be." She cleared her throat. "Okay, I've got to get one more thing. I'll meet you here at three?"

Dean nodded. "You need help?"

"No, I got it." Buffy gave him a reassuring squeeze on his arm and a swift kiss on his cheek.

As Buffy walked out of the cafeteria, she passed Cordelia. "Touch my boyfriend again, and I'll snap you in half." Cordelia's eyes nearly bugged out of her head.

Buffy silently entered Angel's place. She looked around and noticed the destruction. She remembered causing some of it. She wondered how much Dean had caused. "Angel?" she whispered. She looked around more carefully. A few things seemed to be missing. She finally found what she had come for, Faith's knife. After retrieving it from the far corner, she saw an envelope with her name on it. She studied it for a minute, then tossed it on the floor. She smiled and thought 'a clean break means a clean break.'

Everyone assembled for the graduation ceremony. Principal Snyder stood at the podium. "Congratulations to the class of 1999. You all proved more or less adequate. This is a time of celebration, so: sit still and be quiet. Please welcome our distinguished guest speaker: Richard Wilkins the 3rd." He turned to the Mayor with a sycophantic smile and clapped. The Mayor shook Snyder's hand and stepped up to the podium. He smiled, took out some cue cards cleared his throat and surveyed the students: "Well. What a day this is! - Special day. Today is our centennial the one hundreds anniversary of the founding of Sunnydale, and I know what that means to all you kids: not - a darn thing. Because today something much more important happens: today you all graduate from high school. Today all the pain, all the work, all the excitement is finally over. And what's a hundred years of history compared to that? You know what kids? …"
Buffy groaned from her seat, "Oh my God. He's going to do the entire speech."
"Man, just ascend already," John complained from his seat in the stands
The Mayor continued, "Today is about change. Graduation doesn't just mean your circumstances change, it means you do. You ascend… to a higher level. Nothing will ever be the same. Nothing." He looked up, as does everyone to see the sun being totally blocked. The Mayor flinched in pain, then swallowed and continued his speech, "And so as we look back on… on the events that brought us to this day."

Suddenly the Mayor screamed in pain. The adults in the audience looked at each other uneasily. "It has begun. My destiny," The Mayor smiled. "It's a little sooner then I expected I had this whole section on civic pride…" He shuffled the cue cards. "But I guess we'll just skip to the big finish!"

Buffy and Willow looked at each other as the Mayor started to grimace and stretch and grow. His suit split around him and Snyder leaned back in his seat looking taken aback. The Mayor suddenly transformed into a big snake-like demon with clawed mandibles surrounding its mouth. It kept growing, stretching higher as the faculty abandon their seats. The students got up but stayed in place staring up at the Mayor, who seemed to stretch up above the roof of the school.

A group of vampires comes up the steps behind the students.

"Now!" Buffy shouted in command. All the students take off their gowns revealing crosses, axes, and other assorted weaponry.

"Flame units!" John shouted and several students pointed flame throwers at the Mayor and started flaming him. The Mayor swayed above the students screaming. Buffy nodded at Xander.

Xander nodded in return then shouted, "First wave!" A group of students including Willow aimed cross bows loaded with lance points at the Mayor. "Fire!"

Mayor screamed and swayed then lunged down and swallowed Principal Synder. Buffy stared in shock.

More vampires arrived at the rear of the stands, but these are quickly dispatched by Bobby and another group of students.

Dean grinned and tossed Buffy Faith's knife. "Ready, babe?"

Buffy grinned back and nodded. Then she turned to the Mayor. "Hey! You remember this?" She held Faith's knife in her right hand. "I took it from Faith. Stuck it in her gut. Just slid in her like she was butter."

The Mayor gnashed his teeth and growled. Buffy tossed knife to Dean. "You want to get it back from me, Dick?" Dean sneered.

Then Buffy and Dean turned and ran into the school with the Mayor in pursuit. Buffy opened the door and ran in. Buffy and Dean split up. Buffy headed toward the library. The Mayor barrelled down the door and some of the surrounding wall as he pursued her. Buffy kept running towards the library while the Mayor tore through the school like a freight train. Buffy ran into the library, vaulted a banister looking back at the Mayor. The Mayor looked around the library and noticed the barrels of diesel fuel and bags of fertilizer stacked everywhere. Buffy kept running and jumped out of a window. Buffy crouched down next to Dean, who pushed down the plunger to detonate the explosives. Dean tackled Buffy to shield her from the debris that began to rain down on them. Soon, there is nothing left of the library, let alone the Mayor.

Eventually police cars and fire trucks parked in front of the school. The air was still dark and smokey.

Giles met Dean and Buffy in the front of the burning school. "How are you?" he asked.

Buffy sighed, "Tired." Dean had his arms around her waist and he hugged her a bit tighter.

Giles nodded, "I'd imagine so. Quite a couple of days."

"My brain hasn't processed everything yet," Buffy acknowledged. "It's not really functioning at the higher levels; it's pretty much, "fire bad, tree pretty". Anything more complex…" she shrugged and Dean chuckled.

"Understandable," Giles said with a slight smile. "Well, when it starts working again, congratulate it on a good campaign. You did very well."

Buffy smiled at him, "Thanks."

Dean felt a slight pang of jealousy as he saw how easily Giles was able to compliment Buffy and express his pride in his slayer.

"I uh, I ferreted this out of the wreckage for you. You may not have any interest, but…" Giles stammered as he handed her her diploma. "I'd say you've earned it." Buffy smiled gratefully. "There is a certain irony in the way things turned out. A synchronicity that almost borders on predestination, one might say."

Buffy looked blankly at him. "Fire bad. Tree pretty." Dean laughed.

Giles chuckled a bit also, "Right. Sorry. I'd best check on Wesley, see if he's still whimpering."

As he walked off, John came up to them. "Dean!" he nearly shouted and pulled his son into a quick hug. Upon being released, Dean looked at his father as if the man had grown two heads. "Thank god, kid. When I couldn't find you at the back of the school, I thought something had gone wrong."

Dean shook his head, "Nah, all according to the plan."

Bobby walked up with Xander. "Hey, kid. Those were some fireworks."

"You know me," Dean smiled. "Pyro at heart." Xander and Bobby laughed.

"Well thank god you're all alright," Bobby continued.

"Yeah, it would put a damper on the graduation party my parents planned if something bad had happened here, today," Xander joked as Willow and Oz walked up. "That most fun you can have without having any fun."

"Buffy, Dean, are you guys okay?" Willow asked.

"Yeah. I'm okay. I just... I could use a little sleep," Buffy said as she leaned her head against Dean's shoulder. "If somebody could just wake me up when it's time to go to college, that'd be great."

Oz grinned, "Guys. Take a moment to deal with this. We survived."

Dean huffed a breath. "It was a hell of a battle."

Oz shook his head, "Not that battle. High school."

They all think about it. Dean shook his head, "You graduate this time, Oz?" Oz gave him a look and smirked. "Yeah, 'GED', I got mine." Dean laughed.

Willow smiled "How about the part where we kicked some demon ass. I didn't hate that."

"You guys want to take off? I think we've done pretty much all we can." John asked. Bobby agreed and he and John left.

Cordelia walked over to them, about to say something, but Buffy stopped her with a glare. "Cord, Wesley is over by the ambulances. Why don't you go check on his whiny ass," Xander said with a touch of scorn. Cordelia looked them over briefly, but then turned and walked off towards Wesley.

Xander grinned, "You know what the best part of high school was?"

Buffy made a face. "When we blew it up?"

"When the Mayor ate Snyder?" Dean teased.

Xander laughed. "Yeah! That ruled. But you know the thing that made graduation so special…"

Willow nodded, "Was that the school blew up?"

Xander beamed, "Exactly!"

"I begin to find you troubling," Buffy joked.

Dean, however took Xander's side, "Oh, come on, you know you're all thinking it."

Buffy shrugged, "Well…"

Willow smiled, "I was. Pretty much."

Oz agreed, "Uh huh."

Buffy laughed, "Yeah."

A week later, Dean was with Buffy on her front porch. His hands were on her hips, her arms were around his neck. "Sixty-four days," he said and kissed her.

"Sixty-four days," she replied and kissed him again.

Dean pressed himself against her and backed her into the wall as they deepened the kiss. Buffy moaned sadly and broke from the kiss, but kept Dean close. "Guh, I'm not gonna make it sixty-four days," She whined.

Dean took a step back. "Yeah, you will." He brushed his hand through her hair. "You'll be in L.A. having an awesome time with Hank. Shopping and shit." He lifted her chin, "You won't even remember to think about me." Buffy gasped, about to protest. "I, on the other hand, get to spend sixty-four days with my dad barking orders at me and Sammy whining." He kissed her again. "All I'm gonna do is think about what I'm gonna do to you when I see you again."

Buffy felt herself get warm. "Sixty-four days, Dean."

Dean let go of her and hopped off the porch. "I'll pick you up at Hank's," he said spinning his keys in his hands.

"Love you," Buffy called after him.

Dean turned back to her smiling, "You, too, babe."