Title: A Life Worth Living

Author: Kate R.

Disclaimer: Not mine and they never will be.

Series/Sequel: to Hurt in the You Can't Change Who You Are, Wesley/Barnabas Collins universe.

Pairings: Wes/Barnabas Mentions of Giles/Ethan, Xander/Spike and Dawn/Faith in some parts mainly the prologue

Summary: Wesley learns to live again, and Giles learns Wesley is alive and where he is.


A Life Worth Living
by Kate R.


Prologue: Speaking With The Dead

"Alright," Xander growled as he walked into the dinning room. "Giles, how do we go about contacting the ghost of Deadboy? He's trying to tell us something but there's so much interference all we get is skipped words and a flickering image."

"I'll get the ingredients together. We'll need all of us to make contact. Dawn, you will have to be our doorway, can you do that?"

"What else is being Key-Girl good for? Sure, I'm your doorway," she said.

Giles nodded and he and Ethan laid out their ingredients.

It took only an hour before the circle was drawn and the ingredients ready. Dawn stepped into the center of the circle and waited.

"Spirits of the dead, we call thee," Giles intoned. "Let our beloved dead speak to us. Let them deliver their messages to us. Angel, Speak!"

"Speak!" each person in turn spoke until they got to Spike.

"Angelus, my Sire. I implore you, Speak."

Bright blue light grew from the circle surrounding Dawn and then, they were there and those living stared at those who had died.

"Hi, guys," Buffy's spirit said. "You spoke in plural so we're all here."

"Oh," Giles said. "Sorry. Uhm, you all had a message for us?"

"Yeah," Angel said moving so he was by Buffy's side. Joyce was there too as were the rest of AI and Tara.

"Wesley is in Collins Port Maine," Angel told them. "Spike, I was NOT Haunting you. I was trying to tell you where he was. It took me a year to get him there and 6 months to make him realize there was someone there who loved him and would hold on to him. In the end I had to go into his dreams to make him let go of his grief and guilt. Oh, thank you all so much for making him feel welcome."

"Angel," Buffy chided. Angel sighed.

"Sorry, not your fault. I just hurt seeing him like that and trying to deal with it alone. Anyway, I wanted to tell you where he was. He needs you all. Wes…well, he's hurting still even though he's finally begun to heal, he needs you all. I've told you where he is. What you all do with the information is up to you. Buffy wants to say something to you guys now."

Angel vanished back to the others and Buffy and Joyce stood there.

"We love you Dawn," Buffy said. "Mom and I love you and we are so glad you are living. Faith, thanks for taking care of them all for me. Ethan...Ethan, pay up. You DO have a heart in there."

Ethan barked laughter as he inclined his head in acknowledgement of the fact that she had been right. He DID have a heart. And he'd proved it when he helped them. "I will give Dawn twenty dollars, is that acceptable?"

"Yes, it is," Buffy, said. She moved forward and gave them each a ghost touch. Hugging Dawn and Giles tightly. We have to go now," she said. "But we're always here watching over you all. Always."

"Remember Collins Port, Maine," Angel added as they faded and the group who had lived through the last battle on the Hellmouth Minus one, stared at each other. Ethan moved first. He dismissed the circle, took a twenty out of his wallet and gave it to Dawn.

Then they all looked at Giles.

"Go pack," he said softly. "Everyone go pack."

Everyone scattered and Giles looked at the two pictures eh had of their two groups that Ethan had magically fused into one.

"We'll get to him, my friends," Giles said. "My vow."



Chapter 1: Moving Day

Collin Port, Maine: the Next morning

He woke up to someone knocking on his door. Looking t his alarm clock, he grumbled unintelligibly for a moment before he struggled out of bed. Who the hell would be knocking on his door butt early on a Saturday morning? This was the only day he slept in. Was it too much to ask for a few extra hours of sleep this day of all days? Finally he got to the door and opened it staring in shock at the two men on the other side waiting with coffee and empty boxes.

"Sorry about the hour, Wesley," Joe Haskell said. "But the Family wants you moved up to the mansions today before sunset so we're here early
to get you moved. No, you don't get a vote in this. Elizabeth worries about you being alone here and Barnabas is worried as well. Of course he's also in love, which is one thing I never thought would happen again but anyway the thing is, the family wants you moved up to the house today, you'll have rooms in both houses according to Elizabeth but we have to get you moved so get dressed and start packing up you clothes and anything you don't want us touching."

Wesley grumbled good-naturedly but went into his bedroom to get dressed and pack his clothes. He didn't have many and he had the worst feeling > that was going to change. Somehow he had ended up with another vampire that had a tendency to want to take care of his people. Which Wesley now was apparently. Of course Wesley was something else to him too and they were going slowly but Wesley had also learned never argue with Mrs. Collins-Stoddard. It was a losing battle from the start.

He sighed and packed his clothes and the two wooden chests that were where he kept his spell casting things and his mementoes of his family. Then, he took the one thing of Angel's he'd brought: One of his long coats. It was warm and it was something Wesley could hold on to but lately he had realized he was not wearing it as much s he used to and he understood. Angel had been right when he spoke to him in the dream, it was time to let go and move on. Time to find a new life and new love and Wesley had found that in the arms of the man who had carried him through the worst of the depression.

Carefully, Wesley finally folded the coat and put it in the box with the other things. Then, he walked out to where Joe and Willie were packing his few dishes and such.

"Joe," Wesley said as he finally found the courage to let someone else in. "Could you help me with these? You and Willie both? These are just some mementoes of my friends and I can't carry them both and the weapons."

"Sure Wes," Joe said. Wesley chuckled as Joe took one box and Willie the other and Wesley carried his weapons chest out. They loaded those things in the truck first and Joe put them in so nothing would be set on top of them. He knew Wesley trusted them to care for his memories.

"So, anything else besides the books I saw?" Joe asked.

Wesley shook his head. "No," he said. "I've not been really living for the past few years so I'm afraid I'm a bit Spartan."

"The family is going to change that," Joe said. He had found himself adopted the same way after Daphne died. He and Barnabas had resolved that. Joe understood it had not been Barnabas' intent to harm anyone but there was nothing he could do about the hunger then. Now, he and Joe were fairly good friends. So good, in fact/ that Barnabas trusted him with Wesley.

"Ready for a new family?" Willie asked as they got into the truck to drive up to Collinwood. Wesley gave a shrug as he kick started his bike and prepared to follow them out.

"Here we go," he said to himself as he gunned the engine and followed the truck.

Up to the New House at Collinwood they went, driving through the sill quiet town, as it was quite early and up to the new house first to tell Liz he was there and besides, waking Barnabas during the day was not a good thing so Wesley would stay at the New House today.

"Hello, Wesley," Elizabeth said once he had removed his helmet. "Welcome to Collinwood. Welcome home."

"Home," Wesley mused a he looked at the two mansions. It felt... right.

"Thank you Elizabeth," he said. "Thank you so much.


END PART 1

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