The last of the party goers were stumbling towards the door.  The band and their roadies had already toted their instruments, amplifiers, and electrical gadgets outside and were loading up their van.  The aftermath was bad � the two tables of snacks and foods looked like a dog had gone through, sampling this and that.  Stuff was spilled and sprawled everywhere, including the floor.  Empty beer bottles, wine bottles, and various containers of stronger spirits littered the tables, the floor, the stage, and just about every other surface you could think of.

A massive Plotz demon lay prone on his back on the floor in front of the stage, passed out, snoring, wheezing, and sputtering.  Lorin wasn�t going to worry about him.  He�d find his way out in the morning, a little worse for wear.  And Lorin wasn�t going to worry about cleaning up either.  Except for the bar, which he was polishing with a bar towel as he reminisced.  Caritas had been the scene of so many great times.  Lorin used to tend bar here, and he�d enjoyed it.  He recalled the look on Willow�s face when the zombies invaded the place, dropping zombie parts everywhere.  And then the time Buffy Summers drank too much and fell asleep behind the bar.  Then there was Darla�s arrival on the scene here one night, and Lorne falling horned head over heels for her. 

Lorin washed a margarita glass then wiped it clean as he thought about Buffy leaving with Angel tonight.  Darla and Lorne.  And of course Spike and Kat.  There�d been a time when the ladies had appreciated the unhorned green guy.  Those days seemed to have passed.  But it was ok.  Lorin was comfortable within his green skin. 

After the last of the party goers had left, Lorin left a key on the forehead of the Plotz demon, turned off the lights, and left for night.  With his hands jammed into the pockets of his coat, he whistled a happy tune as he walked those lonely streets back to his apartment on Madison Avenue.

THE END

Lorne had convinced the band to play �At Last�.  It was a song written in the Big Band era of 1941 and made famous by Etta James.  The band members wouldn�t know it though except for the fact that Beyonce had re-recorded it for a movie sound track a couple of years ago.  The all-girl band�s rendition of it was edgy and fast.  Nothing like the original, but hopefully Darla would recognize it. 

�Sanctuary spells?�  They were dancing close, Darla was in his arms, so everything seemed A-ok to Lorne.  �I don�t know, lover.  I imagine they�re working as well as they ever work.�  Which wasn�t saying much.   

Kat stared at two silver keys in disbelief. It was an extravagant gift. �Spike you didn�t have to,� her gaze met his. It wasn�t necessary. She didn�t care for flashy things. He didn�t need to buy her fancy things to impress her. She loved him. Instead she chose to look at the present another way. It was a gift of freedom. She no longer had to ask for rides to places. There were no restrictions on where she could go because she had her own transportation now.  In that sense the gift outshined the small box that awaited him inside the club. It included a magical charm to protect him when he was away from magic, sunlight, and things that could make their time together run short. There was also the time traveling experiment that she had arranged with Willow to bring the Ramones to the club to play the last song of the evening.

She bit her lip smiling at him feeling like the luckiest girl in the world to have such an amazing man in her life. There was nothing the two of them would do for each other. The music from the club was filling the air. The party was almost over. The first band was on their last set.  They would have to get back in soon for him to see his surprise. She leaned in pulling him close for an impassioned kiss the kind that had a tendency of making people forget the world around them becoming totally engrossed in each other.

Somewhere along the line, maybe when the ace-brilliant kid who had been violating his daughter tried to follow Katie back inside, Spike�s face had morphed.  But Kat had been able to coax the monster back into its cage just in the nick of time.  Spike really might have yanked the kid�s bollocks out through his mouth. 

Kat read the young girl�s mind nothing more had transpired than a heated lip lock. They had caught them before that had gotten carried away. Tempers were flaring. She had her arms wrapped around Spike to keep him from jumping, but she wasn�t sure how long she could hold him back. �Soul having not killing humans anymore remember?� this kid may have just become the exception. There were no protections out here to stop him from ripping the kid apart. She told Katie to go inside and stay there. They could deal with her once they calmed down. The boy started to head in the door after her. Apparently he wasn�t a bright bulb. Kat stepped in front of him, �nuh uh not you. You better go that way unless you want me to let my husband make good on his threats.� Or the kid was flame retardant for that matter. He kept trying to mess around with her daughter she was going to toast him. She motioned for him to hit the streets a flicker of flame danced across her finger tips. The boy was scared to death he turned to run stumbling over things as he made his escape.

Spike�s blood was still boiling. �Katie�s with my mother,� she could sense the two were together. They could commence with the ground and restrictions later. She couldn�t get into trouble with Anna.  The anger was fading. The over protective father side of him was kinda cute consider he use to be a big bad vampire. She wrapped her arms back around him. As her hand slid underneath his jacket it brushed something hidden away in his pocket, �what is that?�

Katie was mortified by her dad�s behavior. For a brief second she felt brave standing in front of the boy. She thought about telling him she wasn�t a little girl anymore.  He couldn�t talk to her like that. The vein popping in his fore head and the tone of his made her change her mind. She was going to be grounded to her room for months. At least she wouldn�t get into any more trouble in there.

A reprieve from her mother allowed her to go back inside the club. She knew sentencing would be discussed later. She headed back in with her head down until she noticed Anna at the bar with a drink in hand. �Grandma!!� she rushed over hugging her hoping that she could help her calm her father and get out of serious trouble.  

As Kat was dragging him towards the rear door of the club, Spike spied Drusilla and the Immortal.  He thrust two fingers into the air and stuck his tongue out at Dru.  But then there was Buffy and Angel.  Kissing.  Not just kissing, but like wrapped around each other, groping, desperate.  Spike scowled, �Oh bloody hell.  Big trouble brewin there.� 

Then they were out the door, confronting his daughter in a lip lock with some kid, his teenage daughter, no less.  Tongues were at work there, slithering and sliding like snakes.  This was too much.

�KATIE!!!!!!  YOU TURN THAT BOY LOOSE RIGHT NOW SO I CAN RIP HIS PRIVATE PARTS OUT THROUGH HIS MOUTH!!!!�  This was intolerable.  The girl was going to be grounded �till she was 40.           

The crowd was growing in volume. The club was getting loud. People were beginning to want their attention. She wasn�t ready to share her husband�s time. As the song came to an end Kat slid her hand into his leading him through the club. They could sneak out the back door enjoy the privacy cloaked in night underneath the stars. The music from the building wouldn�t be overwhelming.  At least this was the plan. She pushed the back door open to find Kaitlyn. The girl hadn�t been at the party all night. Instead she was pinned against the wall in a lip lock with a bus boy from the club. The pair separated instantly when the door banged shut. The blonde stared at her parents with wide eyes trying to think of an explanation. She started stammering claiming she was helping him.

Faith finished her drink. It was already going to her head. She looked over at Dean. He was still very uncomfortable being surrounded by demons. She wasn�t sure why he had hung around. There was no reason to stay. �You wanna get out of here,� she placed the glass on the counter. She normally had a high tolerance for alcohol, but she hadn�t eaten all day. The instance she stood up the room began to spin. She put an arm around Dean for stability.

Angel was on his second pigs blood/alcohol drink and wasn�t feeling even a tiny bit inebriated.  Damned vampire constitution.  But it was good that so many people had made the effort for Kat and Spike.  Those two looked so happy out there on the dance floor. Spike.  How had he gotten so lucky?  He was always besting Angel somehow.  Hadn�t Spike done more damage to the gypsies than Angel?  Yeah, Angel killed the girl, but from he�d heard, Spike had slaughtered most of her family.  Didn�t Spike deserve to be cursed as much or more than Angel? 

Angel pushed those thoughts aside.  He knew they were unproductive, and would just spiral his funk further into the toilet.  Life isn�t fair.  The same with death.  He�d rolled the dice and come up short is all.  Speak of coming up short, there was Drusilla on the arm of the Immortal - another guy who always seemed to get the best of Angel.  His presence was like a kick in the gut, and Drusilla must know that.