The Vampire Slayer Diaries

Dirty Girls

"So you're really going to leave?"

Walking through a cemetery patrolling with Buffy and Spike. Buffy and I were walking side by side while Spike trailed behind us, carrying our bags for us.

I was on my lunch break, so I had my scrub shirt still on but had jeans underneath and chewing on a piece of jerky since it was my lunch break.

I sighed finishing my snack and looked over at her.

"Yeah..." I told her honestly nodding. "Assuming we survive the battle."

"But where would you go?" She asked looking at me.

"We have houses all over the world." I told her shrugging grabbing another piece and bit into it. "It wouldn't be hard to pick."

"What about Nick?" She asked again making me sigh. "You wouldn't separate him and Dawn, aren't you still searching for a way for them to be together or are you against them still?"

I sighed again.

"I'm not against them Buffy." I told her calmly. "I would never do that to my brother, I promised him I would find something and I'm working on it but there's nothing about this in Anna's journal or any of them, there's never been a human mate in the family before... it's going to be very different for them."

Buffy stared at me.

"Dawn's his mate there's nothing we can do about that and I'm happy it went the way they wanted but... I worry for them." I told her shaking my head. "Dawn's human and Nick isn't...completely. His aging is going to stop when he's eighteen just like mine did, it's part of who we are. Dawn will grow older while he has to stand by and watch... not to mention the things she'll have to give up like having children or a normal life... she's going to be dragged into my world and there are rules on my side of the tracks, lots of them and she has to follow them, she has to keep that temper of hers in check at all times especially around higher ups like Calum...Sometimes she'll spend more time in the dark than the light and it's not always pretty."

She frowned.

"I worry for Nick too." I said frowning thinking of my brother. "She's his mate, she's the one who's supposed to walk beside him, but he will never be able to really claim her, she'll be considered his human companion not his mate... he can never mark her or give into his impulses or do things that normal mates can..."

I paused and shook my head clear at the thought. Buffy gave me a soft look glancing between Spike and I.

"It's something they will have to figure out on their own when there's not a war going on but if Nick chooses to stay behind or leave or whatever, it's all up to him. Mama signed papers for him to be emancipated once he turned sixteen like she did me and Gramma did for Roman."

She raised an eyebrow.

"But he's only sixteen."

"My family is different than others." I added shrugging. "We're born into this life not bitten, we never know what will happen so we have things set in place just in case... like I do with Olivia."

"Really?"

"I had too." I told her nodding. "Someone walked out on me, leaving me alone with a child I had to protect on my own."

"I didn't do it on purpose." Spike said speaking up for the first time. I looked back at him seeing the gentle look on his face. I smiled at him and looked back at Buffy.

"Rome, Kass and I've talked about it"

Buffy smirked at me gently, Spike went back to silent mode.

"It's not just about Olivia either...Sophia and Freya are part of this family too and if anything happens to Rome or Kassie or us.. if things go the other way." I said nodding in my mate's direction. "We know the girls will be fine... and I know Nick will take care of my child, he'll raise her like we were, he can teach her things the rest of you can't and he'll make sure Roman and Kassie's children are taken care of too... This family protects their own."