"What?" Buffy said, her jaw fell open in an agape expression as her body stiffened in her husband's embrace, her mind unsure whether her ears had heard correctly.

"Moria is the new slayer," repeated Cordelia softly, hating the surrounding silence filled with shock and fear at the battle that was yet to come.

Buffy closed her eyes and shook her head and denied incessantly, "She can't be the new slayer! I won't allow it!" and upon turning her head to look at the young Watcher she yelled, "No!"

"I know what you must be feeling right now-" Cordelia tried to begin, but she was met by lachrymose eyes and a sharp, angered tongue.

"You have no idea what I'm feeling right now!" Buffy stormed pulling herself away from Xander's hold, "None whatsoever!"

"You must understand that the world -" started Giles, trying to calm his former protégé.

"Screw the world, I don't care!" she said as hot tears spilled from her eyes, "I have had enough of prophecies and duty and loyalty. You told me, Giles, you told me it was all over, that I didn't have to deal with the demons and the witches and the vampires, but I'm still dealing, damn it! Why do I still have to deal with it?"

"You are not taking my daughter into the hell that Buffy had to go through," Xander said coldly to Cordelia, "You aren't even going to put her through the hell the rest of us had to go through. For God's sake, Cordelia, haven't we all been through enough?"

"I'm sorry that I had to come here after all years to bring you into this...again," the Watcher fumed, "You must know that I don't do this purposely?"

"Of course, we know that, Cordelia," Xander said with a sigh, "And I'm sorry I yelled at you, but you have to understand we've been pushed to the limit with all of this Hellmouth crap."

"I know," said Cordelia nodding, and she glanced over at Buffy, who was sitting silently on the couch, "Buffy, you must understand that this how it is, and I can't do anything to stop it. All I can do is train Moira to fight and to survive...to live."

"Even if you train and even if she's the best slayer this world has ever seen, there's still that chance that she'll -" Buffy stopped and sighed, and hesitated, but continued, "Cordelia, I don't want my little girl to die."

"Nor do I," she responded as she sat down beside her, "And I'm not going to let her die, none of us are."