Disclaimer: I own nothing. It all belongs to Joss Whedon and ME.


A Not So Gorgeous Mistake

by kari mouke


Chapter 1





Spike was sitting on the back porch of the Summer’s home. The end of the world had come, but Angel, ever the champion, had ridden in on his not so white horse and saved the day. His reward? He Shanshued. Angel was human. So, here Spike sat, contemplating life and unlife.

Spike and Buffy had grown close over the last few months. She’d even told him she loved him, but that was before the great humanizing of Spike’s grand-sire. Now, he didn’t know where he stood, or even if he should attempt to stand. Willow had come to him earlier with a plan. Angel’s sacrifice hadn’t just turned him into a member of the oxygen rich club, but it had also sealed the Sunnydale Hellmouth. Hence, Willows’ current cunning plan.

She wanted to reward both Buffy and Angel with their happy ever after. She wanted to wipe their memories and replace them with others. Make them the oh-so-happy couple and place them smack dab in the middle of some suburban wasteland.

Spike had asked the over eager witch if she’d discussed this great plan with Buffy, but Willow had sagely informed him that Buffy would never put her own needs above everyone else’s. The only way to do this was to just do it.

Even Dawn had agreed. She was planning on moving toEngland with Giles andWillow to rebuild the watcher’s council. All of Angel’s people were behind the plan. The only two beings to not fully embrace it were Spike, and oddly enough, Xander. But everyone dismissed Xander’s objections as an expression of his pure hatred for Angel. It had been decided that Xander’s opinion didn’t count. Spike figured the only reason they even cared about his, was because they were worried he would try to find a way to interfere with the spellWillow was about to perform.

Well, they could rest easy. Spike had made up his mind. He took a last hit off his cigarette and stood. He crushed the fading embers under his boot. Now, it was time to go crush his heart.

He walked into the kitchen with his black duster swirling behind him. He looked at the witch and the watcher sitting at the table. “Do it. I won’t stop you. I don’t like it. I hate it, but I want her happy. Truly madly happy, with three kids, the house. All of it. She deserves that. But I’m out. I’m leaving all of you and this crap behind me. I don’t want you lot contacting me for anything. Got it? That goes for apocalypses too. Handle it yourselves.” He turned and left, not waiting for their response.

He went upstairs to Buffy’s room and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” a voice called from inside the room.

Spike walked in and shut the door behind him. She was sprawled out on the bed in her jammies. She’d been writing in her diary, something she hadn’t done for a long time. Spike figured she was probably writing about Angel and his big moment.

He looked down on the ground, unable to meet her eyes. He wanted one more moment from her, before it all ended. “I was wondering… I know it’s not the end of the world or anything, but maybe it would be alright if I held you tonight? Not askin’ for anything more. I just want to hold you.”

Buffy felt a tendril of fear uncurl inside of her. “Is everything okay?”

“It’s fine. I’m just needy tonight is all.” Spike still had his eyes averted.

Buffy though she knew where this might be coming form. He was feeling insecure about Angel’s Shanshu. “That would be nice, Spike.” She patted the spot beside her. “Come sit.”

Spike finally looked up from the carpet. Buffy’s breath caught in her throat as she looked into his eyes. They were filled with such intense love and longing, all directed at her. She prayed that there would never be another day in her life where she wouldn’t see such a wonder. She opened her arms up to him.

Spike saw Buffy open her arms and he moved into her embrace, fully clothed. This time he let her hold him. He needed it. Buffy leaned over Spike and turned off the lamp. She kissed the top of Spike’s head as it lay nestled against her breast. “I love you, William.”

“I love you too, baby,” Spike whispered back. He was doing his damnedest not to cry. Why was he agreeing to this again? Oh, that’s right, for her happiness.

Buffy drifted off to sleep, secure in the arms of the man she loved. Tomorrow, she would have to work on convincing him she didn’t want Angel in any form; vampire or human.

Spike didn’t sleep a wink. He spent the entire night memorizing everything about her. The way she breathed. The way she smelled. The way her heart sounded beneath his ear. The softness of her skin. He knew without a doubt, that he would never have another truly happy moment ever again.

Just before the sun came up, he slipped out of her arms and gave her one last kiss. Then he headed out the door, right past the Scoobies who were frantically working the spell. He took his bike to a warehouse. He pulled open the warehouse door and looked in on an old friend. His only friend now. His Desoto.

As he drove out of town, going further and further from the source of his happiness, he could feel bits of himself being torn away. He was a crumbling man. About the time he hitLos Angeles he had another thought as to why he was doing this again. Oh, that’s right, Buffy’s happiness. He never noticed the tiny addition sewn into the lining of his jacket. Just a small persuasion spell. Nothing big. Nothing big at all.



Chapter 2



She woke up with a startled gasp, reaching out immediately for the comforting feel of his body. Her hand came into contact with a hard chest. Thunk. She heard a deep chuckle and rolled over to see a pair of deep, dark brown eyes staring at her with a twinkling smile. That wasn’t right. His eyes were supposed to be blue.

Liam saw the tiny little frown that erupted on his wife’s face as she peered at him. He reached over and pulled her in for a snuggle. “What’s wrong Beth? Have a nightmare baby?”

Beth shook off the weird sense of wrongness that was laying over her like a smothering blanket. This was Liam, her husband. She knew this. He was the only man she had ever loved, and he had always had brown eyes. She loved those eyes. They were the first things she’d noticed about him. They met in college. They’d been drawn to one another, two human beings all alone in the world. She’d been raised in the foster care system, and he’d lost his parents right after high school. Neither one of them had any siblings or extended family, so they’d created their own little family. It was just the two of them. They were each other’s whole world. He was a graphic artist and she was a martial arts instructor. They were happy. They’d bought this house only a year ago, but had quickly become part of the neighborhood around them. They had friends. They were happy.

“Yeah, I guess it was just a nightmare,” she said sheepishly. She snuggled down in his familiar arms and relaxed. This was right. This was where she belonged. She was happy.

Liam gave his wife a friendly swat on the thigh. “We’ve gotta get up, Beth. You’ve got an 8:00 class and I’ve got an early meeting with a new client.” He got up and padded on bare feet to the bathroom.

Beth just laid there. She figured she had a few minutes while he showered. The sounds of him moving around in the bathroom were comforting. She thought about the weird feeling she’d had when she woke up. The desperate search for something, someone, who wasn’t there. Liam was right; it was probably the remnants of a dream. She heard the shower turn off and decided to get up. She pushed the image of bright blue eyes filled with intense love, far into the back of her mind. It was just a dream. It was nothing.

Days passed. Weeks went by. Months came and went. Each and every morning, Beth was faced with that ‘nothing’. She always awoke with a gasp. Always searched for someone who wasn’t there. She’d taken to waking up before Liam, so she could get into the shower as quickly as possible. She would slide to the floor of the shower and hope the sound of the water covered her sobs. She knew she was losing it, but she just couldn’t understand why. Why had she awoken one morning with this need? With a constant feeling of melancholy pounding at her heart and mind? She’d never been like this before. She’d always been upbeat and happy. She hadn’t even let the stresses of the foster care system get her down. So, why now?

Liam lay in bed trying to figure out what to do about his wife. He heard her several times a week, in the shower crying. The water only muffled so much. Plus, before the crying jags she’d never gotten up until the very last minute. His little lady loved to sleep in. There was something seriously wrong with her.

He’d tried to get her to talk to him about it, but she always made some kind of joke and changed the subject. He was afraid it had something to do with her childhood. Some secret horror that she’d suffered and filed away, that was just now pushing its way to the surface. He wanted her to talk to him, but if she continued to refuse, he’d have to get her to go to a therapist.

Hours later, Beth was running her youth class through their techniques. She loved teaching kids; they were funny, friendly, and filled with energy. She knew Liam was anxious to start a family. He’d mentioned it a lot recently. She kept telling him soon. It was the only response she could give him. Whenever she thought about a baby of her own, she found herself looking down into a tiny pink blanket at a pair of eyes as blue as the sky at twilight in the summer. Never brown. Something deep inside of her warned her that she did not want to have Liam’s baby.

What kind of wife was she not to want to have the child of the man she was married to? For that matter, what kind of wife was she not to even want to have sex with her husband? Oh, she did it. She never refused him, but not once since she had awakened so desperately all those months ago, had she been able to make love to him. It wasn’t possible. Beth had come to the solid realization that she was not in love with her husband. She did love him. She loved him like a brother or a dear friend, but not as a woman loves a man. Not like that at all. No, her heart firmly belonged to the man with the child in his eyes. The one that haunted her dreams.

“Mrs. O’Conner?” A tiny voice interrupted Beth’s thoughts.

“Yes, McKenzie?” Beth looked down at the freckled face of one of her favorite students.

“Since class is almost over, could we watch Thom and Jose spar?” The little girl pointed to the couple who had just taken their stances on the matt across from them. They came in every day to fight one another. They’d been together for twelve years and they made kung fu look like an art form. They weren’t fighting at all, they were dancing.

“Sure,” Beth said and turned to the class. “Okay, you’re done for the day. Get your shoes and then you can watch Thom and Jose until your folks come.”

Beth smiled as they eagerly ran to the locker rooms. She took a seat on the floor to watch the show with the kids. Thom and Jose were simply amazing. They moved with a strange combination of grace and ferocity.

As Beth sat watching, she could feel something move under skin. There was a rippling, like a big fish swimming in dark waters. She felt her muscles twitch in response. She had to hold herself still as she felt something push against the surface. It was as if there was a low hum of power gathering inside of her, just waiting to come out. She got this way sometimes. If she wasn’t careful, it would get worse, until she found herself pacing and wringing her hands. It was all part of the ‘Beth is obviously a nut’ package.

She arrived home to see a car parked in their driveway. It was a new yellow Mustang. Liam drove a black vintageShelby. It was always parked in the garage. Beth pulled her white Volks Wagon Beatle up next to the Mustang, and tried to access her poor memory banks. Think. Think. Who was this? Yellow Mustang. She knew this one… Then it hit her. Clients. Liam’s new client drove a yellow Mustang. He was the head of some kid’s football league thingy. He wanted Liam to design their web site, t-shirts, business cards, the works. It was a sizeable account and she’d forgotten all about it. She was late getting home tonight because she’d felt the need to take a long hard run after watching Thom and Jose. Oops.

She got out of the car and headed to the front door, working on plastering a bright smile on her face. She opened the door and saw Liam sitting at the dining room table with a polished looking couple. The man was in his mid forties, but the woman didn’t look a day over twenty-five.

“There’s Beth,” Liam said as he came to a stand.

“Sit, please,” Beth walked over to them smiling big, big, big. “I am so sorry that I’m late. One of the kid’s parents had a family emergency, and I had to sit with them until pick-up.”

The man laughed. “I’ve run into that problem myself a few hundred times.”

They all gave an appreciative little chuckle. Beth took a seat next to her husband. Dinner was fairly easy to get through. The man’s name was Dan, and he could carry the conversation for the entire table with ease. The woman’s name was Carlee. Two e’s. That’s right. Two. Carlee didn’t work. Dan had two kids from a previous marriage and it was Carlee’s job to pick them up after school. Apparently, this was a generous commitment on her part; one that the ex-wife repeatedly failed to appreciate properly.

After dinner the men excused themselves to Liam’s office to look at some presentations. Carlee looked at Beth with a conspiratory grin. She reached into her yellow handbag, the one that matched her yellow pumps, and her yellow car, and pulled out a video tape. “Beaches,” Carlee sing-songed. “I know you must be dying for a little bit of girl time, just like me. If it’s not sports with Dan, than it’s something with Stephen Segal.” Carlee rolled her eyes.

Beth laughed as she took the tape from Carlee. She actually felt a little sorry for the young woman. How often was she put in these sorts of positions, that she felt the need to carry entertainment in her purse?

“I’ve never seen this before.” Beth said as she slipped the tape into the VCR and turned on the TV.

“What?” Carlee was astonished. “You have to be like the only woman on the planet who hasn’t seen Beaches. It’s right up there with Steel Magnolias and Terms of Endearment on the chick flick hall of fame!”

“I’ve seen those,” Beth defended herself and her femininity. Why had she never even heard of Beaches before? She knew who the actors were. Funny.

Dan and Liam were deep into a discussion about college football coaches, when they heard a scream come from the living room. “Stop it! Stop it!” It was Beth.

The two men came running into the room to see Beth on the couch with her hands covering her ears. Liam straddled his wife, and pulled her hands away.

“Make it stop!” She screamed.

“What, Beth?” Liam asked. “Make what stop?”

“The song. Make the song stop. Make it stop!” She cried hysterically.

Dan walked over to the VCR and pushed eject. He tossed the tape to his wife. He almost couldn’t blame Beth, he hated that damned movie.

“It’s over now, Beth. It’s over sweetheart,” Liam pulled her into his arms and rocked her.

“We should go,” Dan said taking Carlee by the arm. “Call me in the morning, Liam. Everything looked great, really.”

Liam gave Dan and Carlee an apologetic look as they let themselves out the front door. He hoped he hadn’t just lost an account. He continued rocking Beth as she calmed down. He would contact a therapist in the morning. This couldn’t go on any longer.



Chapter 3



“Beth, you agreed to come here,” Doctor Sephu reminded her gently. “Why don’t you at least try and explain to me what has happened?”

Beth knew she had to start talking. For one thing, this was costing them a fortune. She sighed. “I really don’t know.” She picked at a loose thread on her pant leg. “Things have been feeling kind of weird for a while now, but then I was watching the movie, and it started off okay. Sad, but okay, and then that song started and it hurt.”

“What hurt, Beth?”

“The song.”

“Wind Beneath My Wings? That hurt you?” The doctor clarified.

“Yes. It hurt my heart.” Beth let out a little sob, knowing how lame that sounded, but not really caring. “It hurt it so much.”

“I know it’s a strong song, Beth. That it can illicit feelings from a person, feelings that perhaps they have difficulty expressing.”

Beth had a sudden image of crushing the doctor’s head. She shook it off. Sometimes, lately, she had violent little images, just one more thing to add to her feeling all kinds of funky. “I suppose.”

“Can you try and tell me what those feelings were, Beth?”

“I just wanted it to stop. To stop hurting.”

Dr. Sephu was writing furiously in her yellow notebook. “The song talks about how a person is lifted up by another person. Do you have a person who lifts you up, Beth?”

Instantly, Beth thought of the man with the blue eyes. She had name for him now – William. What would the good doctor say to that Beth wondered? “I suppose Liam lifts me up,” she said quietly, knowing that it was what the doctor was waiting to hear.

“If Liam lifts you up, why does that song hurt you? Are you afraid he’s going to leave you?” Dr. Sephu asked, sure she was on to the reason for Beth’s visit.

Beth had never thought of that. It made her feel panicked and relieved all at once. She looked at the Doctor and shook her head. “No, it’s not that. It doesn’t have anything to do with him.”

“Then what does it have to do with?”

“Me. It has to do with me,” explained Beth. “There’s something wrong with me. That’s why I’m here.”

“What makes you think that there is something wrong with you?”

“Because I don’t feel right. Nothing feels right to me.” Beth looked at the doctor expectantly. “Do you ever get that feeling? Like everything around you is a dream and you need to wake up? Like none of this is real?” Beth gave a little chuckle. “I suppose I’ve watched the Matrix one too many times, huh?”

Dr. Sephu laughed and continued writing. “Remember, Beth, there isn’t anything you can say to me that is wrong. Everything helps to lead us to a solution.” Her pen stilled and she looked up at Beth. “Now, what in particular feels wrong about your life?”

Beth gave a harsh laugh. “More like what doesn’t feel wrong.”

“Okay,” Dr. Sephu restated her question. “What feels right about your life?”

Beth thought about it for a minute. “My work feels right. Martial art fits me.”

“Nothing else fits you?”

“No, nothing.”

“How about your husband, Beth? Does Liam fit you?”

“Liam fits me as a friend, as family, but he doesn’t fit as a lover.” Beth said very quietly.

“So, you don’t like to make love to Liam?”

Beth laughed again. “I can’t make love to him. I don’t love him like that.”

“Did you ever love him that way?”

Beth looked deeply into Dr. Sephu’s eyes. “That’s the thing. I have a memory of always loving him, but I don’t have the feeling. How can I have memories without feelings? What’s wrong with me?”

Liam waited anxiously in the waiting room. He’d wanted to go in with Beth, but the doctor had insisted it would be better if she talked with Beth alone the first session. She said after a few sessions they could work on group counseling, but first she needed to get to know Beth. He’d talked with Dan that morning and told him all about Beth being raised in the foster care system. Dan was very understanding. He thought Liam was a ‘hell of a man for taking on a woman like that’. He promised to keep the account with Liam’s company. Now, that he had work straightened out, he just needed to get his wife on track.

Buffy walked out of the office and into the waiting room. She didn’t feel she could look Liam in the eyes. The things she’d told Dr. Sephu made her feel like she had somehow betrayed Liam’s trust. Taking a deep calming breath, she squared her shoulders and walked over to her husband. “Hi,” she said softly.

“Oh, Beth, you’re done.” Liam got up and took her hands in his. “How was it?”

“It was okay.” Beth said as she gently tugged him towards the door.

“Do you think she can help?”

Beth looked into Liam’s eyes and said as honestly as she could. “I don’t know. I really don’t know.”

“Well, it’s new. Let’s give it some time.” Liam walked them both into the elevator and pushed the button for the garage.



********

Some time turned into months of therapy. Dr. Sephu came to the conclusion that Beth was paranoid and mildly delusional. She prescribed medication. Beth couldn’t work anymore. She didn’t feel right taking care of other people’s children when she was drugged and screwed up. She couldn’t drive anymore either with the way the medication slowed down her reflexes. Luckily, Liam’s business was doing better than ever. The couple’s counseling hadn’t opened up any doors, except that Dr. Sephu determined that Liam was just fine. The problem definitely lay entirely on Beth.

Day after day she waited for Liam to come home. She had his dinner ready. She gave him incredible blow jobs. She even went out with him to the movies. They hung out with friends. No one, but Dan and Carlee, had any idea that something was wrong in the O’Conner household. They knew that Beth was staying home now, and she seemed a slightly less animated than she had before. But other than that, they thought everything was normal.

This normal life was slowly killing Beth. The medicine didn’t make the images of love-filled eyes go away. It didn’t make her feel more comfortable in her own skin. If anything, it made that primal something that swam below the surface all the more agitated, like it was being pissed off somehow.

She felt it all the time now, that humming power. Before it had taken something to awaken it, like seeing a great sparring match. Now, it was a near constant companion. Beth knew that there was something inside of her, just biding its time.

After Liam would leave for work, she would slip out of the house and walk into the woods. She’d walk around for hours. When Liam asked her why she didn’t answer the phone, she always said she was sleeping. He would never understand her need to connect with nature. Hell, she didn’t understand it either. Sometimes she thought, if he ever got tired of her, she would just walk into the woods and stay. She knew somehow that she would be welcome there.

Tonight they were heading to one of Dan’s football games. Dan was enthused about showing Liam how great the uniforms and the banner looked in action. The game was inCleveland, which was a two hour drive from where Liam and Beth lived. They were both looking forward to the excuse to get out of the house, and Beth made sure to look her very best. She was wearing low slung jeans and a bright yellow and white jersey. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and put on Liam’s favorite cherry flavored lip gloss.

“Don’t you look luscious,” Liam purred into her ear as he kissed her neck.

“Thank you,” Beth replied with a smile, finding herself in a much chipper mood than usual. “You look pretty good yourself.”

Liam tugged on his shirt sleeve. “Well, I try.”

“And five minutes later when you get your breath back, you try again.” Beth said with a chuckle.

Liam looked at her oddly, then gave a little laugh as he realized what she was saying. “You know it, baby.”

Beth had to drop her head to hide a trembling chin. There it was again. That feeling of everything being wrong. She’d just told a personal joke, an inside joke she thought the two of them shared from one of his favorite shows, Blackadder. But, now she knew that wasn’t right. None of it was right. It wasn’t a show Liam watched. It wasn’t their little joke. It was all wrong. These intimacies belonged to someone else. They were William’s. How delusional was she, that she actually had created such an extensive mythology for her imaginary lover?

Liam hadn’t noticed the change in Beth’s mood. Frankly, to him everything had been going great. He liked her not working. She always had dinner ready. She was enthusiastic in bed. Life was good. The medication seemed to be working, and Dr. Sephu had assured him that issues like Beth’s were not uncommon for people with her background. He just had to be patient and understanding. Not a problem. He loved his wife. He was willing to work through this with her.

They drove intoCleveland and hit rush hour traffic. Beth changed the CD for the third time. When she and Liam had gotten together, they’d shared musical tastes, but in the past year and half, Beth’s tastes had changed drastically. Before they’d enjoyed listening to classic rock stations, which Liam still did. Beth just pretended. When she was alone she surfed the Internet for music. She loved the old punk rock bands and new ones like the Distillers. They touched something inside of her, that secret William part. Nut or not, she liked surrounding herself with things that reminded her of him. Dr. Sephu would tell her she was feeding her delusions, but Dr. Sephu never needed to know, neither did Liam. She put in a Barry Manilow CD, cringing with wry amusement as she listened to her husband sing ‘Mandy’.

They finally arrived at the game and met up with Carlee. Dan was on the field. Beth had to admit that the uniforms and t-shirts looked fantastic. Liam was a brilliant artist and marketing strategist. They took their seats and watched the game with interest. Beth actually really liked football. She liked any contact sports, finding them completely facinating.

During the half time show, a work truck with the league’s newly designed logo pulled onto the field. It had a back end filled with bouncing cheerleaders from ages four to eleven. They were chanting and waving their pom poms as the truck came to sit in the middle of the field. The mascot jumped out of the passenger seat and made his way to stand in front of the truck. Each girl used his shoulders to propel themselves to the ground below and immediately they started moving into formation. It was clever and cute. Beth watched with a smile on her face. Liam had gone to look for Dan to tell him how great everything looked.

After the girls had formed a V and started to stomp into a pyramid, the truck began to pull away. The mascot, a bright yellow bird that looked suspiciously like Big Bird to Beth, did a round off and then moved into a back flip. It would have been impressive if he’d been able to see the truck beyond the confines of his mask, as it was he landed right into the truck’s pathway. He went down, with the truck backing right over him. Everyone in the stands screamed. The driver of the truck got out to see what was happening. When he saw the young man’s leg penned beneath the truck, he immediately turned to get back in and move it, but found he couldn’t get into the cab. The truck was suspended in the air. Confused, he turned his attention back to the penned mascot. He pulled the young man free and then the truck was lowered to the ground. The driver looked up to see what had moved the truck, and he felt a shock run straight to his heart. It was a young woman. A little bitty thing. She looked down at the moaning mascot and at the shocked face of the driver. He was the only one who had gotten a good look at her. She put her finger to her lips in a shushing motion, an odd smile playing on her face. The man just looked at her blankly and nodded.

Beth hadn’t thought; she’d just moved. She’d felt the power underneath her skin break through. She’d had the truck raised with barely any effort at all. After she’d put it down, she’d turned to the fallen bird and saw the expression of shock on the driver’s face. She couldn’t muster up that feeling herself, for once something felt right. Maybe she wasn’t nuts. Maybe there really was something deeply wrong with the world around her and it wasn’t her at all.

Chapter 4



“Are you okay?” Liam asked her for the fourth time. He and Dan had rushed onto the field as soon as they heard the screaming. Liam had been surprised to see Beth bending down next to the young man in a bird costume, checking him for injuries like she was a pro. He knew she didn’t have any significant medical background, yet she was barking orders like she knew exactly what she was doing. Someone attempted to take the huge mask off the injured mascot, and Liam watched as Beth laid into the unfortunate person about the fact that removing it could cause extensive damage. The EMTs arrived shortly thereafter and took the boy off in an ambulance. Everything seemed okay except for his leg, but the ambulance personnel had strapped their patient onto a backboard, completely immobilizing him due to the nature of the injury. Beth hadn’t seemed shook up at the time, but ever since they’d gotten back in the car, she’d been deathly quiet.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just distracted.” Beth was pouring over what had happened in her mind. She stared down at her hands, the same ones she’d used to lift up a truck like it was made out of cardboard. It was there; the power. It rested under her skin. It was who she was. She’d been living a lie, she had proof of that now. She looked at Liam out of the corner of her eye. She wondered if he was a part of it. Was he keeping her prisoner? No, that wasn’t right. She just didn’t get evil vibes off of him. One thing was for sure, Beth had some experimenting to do when Liam went to work in the morning. They were getting on the freeway to leaveCleveland and head home. Beth gave a troubled sigh. She didn’t know why but she liked it here. From the moment they’d entered the city limits, she’d felt a kind of pull. A familiar something that reminded her of the low buzz under her flesh. Maybe if she stopped taking her pills, and oh how she was going to be doing that, she could drive back here in a couple of days. Check things out. Try and find that source of power.

She was deep in thought and didn’t see the car in front of them slam on its brakes. One moment they were riding along, the next she felt the car swerve sharply to the right.

Liam hadn’t seen the brake lights until the last second. In a desperate attempt not to hit the car in front of them, he veered hard to the right. The car went sailing over the embankment. Then everything went black.

Beth could feel the cold steel underneath her. It wasn’t comfortable. She wanted her nice warm bed, and the loving arms of William wrapped around her. She didn’t want to be wherever she was. Where was she anyway? The last thing she remembered was getting on the freeway after the football game. She gingerly opened her eyes and looked around. What the fuck? She was in the morgue. She was lying on a steel table completely naked. She looked around and spotted Liam. He was in much the same state as she was, except paler. She kept waiting for him to open up his smiling brown eyes and look at her. When he didn’t she decided to get up and shake him. This wasn’t death. Somehow she equated death and Liam much differently then this.

She sat up with ease and slipped off the table. She padded over to him. With one touch she realized that he was indeed dead. She felt her heart pinch. He couldn’t be dead. He wasn’t supposed to die. She felt tears slip down her face as she leaned her head down on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry.” She cried. “So very sorry, Liam. This isn’t right. None of this is right.”

Beth felt a movement come from behind her. She waited patiently with her head lying deceptively still on Liam’s chest. She felt the barest movement of air and she whirled. She had two naked teenagers hanging off the ground. Each one gripped firmly by the throat. She gave them a wicked smile. “Hello.”

They made a choking sound. “Oh, that’s right you can’t talk with my hands crushing your vocal cords.” She put the teenagers down and watched as their faces morphed into a demon visage. Beth felt something inside of her blossom. The pain of Liam’s death pushed immediately aside by the magnificent sight in front of her. She moved to touch the hissing snarling creatures. One of them tried to snap at her fingers, but some kind of invisible barrier came up to stop him. Beth laughed. “Naughty, naughty. What are you?”

“They’re vampires.” A male voice sounded behind Beth.

“Are they really?” Beth asked entranced. She didn’t take her eyes off the creatures. She didn’t dare. A delighted smile spread over Buffy’s face, because for the first time since Beth had awakened all those months ago feeling wrong, something felt right. “I think they belong to me.”

“Could be, but I doubt it. You must be a fledgling yourself.” The voice walked into her line of sight. It was a morgue attendant. He was dressed in hospital scrubs and had a name badge that read Larven.

“I’m a what?”

“A fledgling. A baby vampire.” Larven explained. “You just woke up. It happens all the time here. Cleveland is located over a Hellmouth. We get walking corpses on a nightly basis. Some Hellmouths get slayers. Not us. We’ve never had a single one. Demons run pretty wild around here. That’s why we put up a violence barrier inside the morgue. It only works on vamps and zombies, however.”

“Why is that?” Beth asked still looking at the two creatures in front of her with awe.

“Because a few of us personnel aren’t exactly human and we don’t want any mojo worked on us.” Larven shook his head and Beth was delighted to see blue spikes pop out all over his face. “I’m half Braken demon.”

“Cool.” Beth liked it here. Everything made since in an instinctual kind of way, just as everything hadn’t during the previous eighteen months.

“Thanks,” Larven said. “I’m sorry I have to stake you. I really kind of like you.” He gave her naked body an appreciative once over.

“Stake me?” Beth asked him curiously.

Larven pulled out a wooden stake. “Yeah, unfortunately it’s hospital procedure. It’s in my contract.”

Beth heard the vampires hiss in fear, but she ignored them. She watched in fascination as Larven raised the stake and plunged it towards her heart. She caught it easily in one hand. She took it from him and gave it a twirl.

“Okay, so you aren’t a vamp then.” Larven backed up cautiously. He had no idea what arose from the dead other than a vampire or a zombie. The violence barrier wasn’t going to work on her and he worried that she was about to use his own stake against him.

“I’d like my clothes back please.” Beth said to him politely, having no intentions of causing the man harm. Well, not as long as he did what she asked.

“Sure, okay.” Larven backed up and went over to a set of cubbies that ran along one wall. Everything in the cubbies was bagged and carefully labeled. Humans were freakishly particular about getting the belongings of their dead back. He knew exactly which cubby belonged to the dead girl. He’d undressed her himself. He pulled the bag out and threw it at her. She caught it unerringly.

“Thanks,” Beth said. “Could you also get the bags of my friends here?”

“You mean the two vamps?”

“Yeah, I’m keeping them.” Beth began to get dressed. She didn’t look to see that Larven was doing what she asked, she kind of just figured he was. She didn’t know why, but she had a feeling people often did what she said. After she was clothed she walked back to Liam. She felt the tears start behind her eyes again. She leaned down and kissed him one last time. “I’m sorry, Liam. I promise you I’ll figure things out. I’ll be okay. And I won’t ever forget you. I did love you.”

She straightened up and walked over to Larven who was chatting with the two vamped teenagers. He’d gotten them each a cup of blood as they waited for Beth to say her goodbyes. Ick. Buffy didn’t even want to know where the blood had come from. “How will you explain our disappearances?”

Larven gave a little laugh. “Oh, don’t you worry about that. We have a whole system in place. With all of the vamps and zombies we have to put down, we’re pretty used to dealing with missing bodies. Your loved ones will never even know. Trust me.”

“We don’t have any loved ones.” Beth looked back at Liam. “Take care of him for me? I’m his wife. I’d like him to be cremated if you could. I’ll come back for the ashes sometime soon. I want to take them toIreland. I think he would have liked that.” She said with a choked sob.

Larven laid a comforting hand on her arm. “It’s okay. I’ll take care of everything. I’ll put him in the crematorium tonight. List all four of you as vamp risers. No one will ever know.”

“Thank you.” Beth walked out the door with her two young vampire companions. When they hit the street outside, she turned to them. “What are your names?”

“I’m Kyle and this is my sister Timber.” The male said. He realized that this strange girl was acting as their sire, and since their real sire hadn’t bothered to collect them, he thought they might as well go along with it. Besides, something in her was just pulling him to her.

“Well, Kyle and Timber. We need a place to sleep, blood, and a couple of souls for you two.” Beth started walking.

“Wait a minute, what do you mean souls?” Kyle asked nervously. He may not have been a vamp for very long, but his demon knew enough to rebel against the thought of a soul.

“Oh, don’t worry, it won’t hurt a bit.” Beth gave him a pat on the back. She walked up to a telephone booth and flipped open the pages. She knew what she wanted. She let her finger do the walking. Bingo. She looked at Kyle. “You got any change?”

Kyle and Timber had been attacked by a big vampire on the way to the mall. They had about fifty-six dollars between them. He dug in his pockets and pulled out a handful of coins. He handed them to his surrogate sire.

“Thank you,” Beth took the change and dialed a number.

“Madame Yeska’s House of Knowledge,” a richly accented female voice came across the phone line.

“Yes, hello. We need a ride.” Beth said with confidence.

“Then perhaps you should call a cab?” The accent was dropped.

“I don’t have a lot of money. I need you to do a soul restoration.” Beth explained.

“I don’t do soul restorations.” The gypsy said flatly. Man, she was always getting the kooks.

“I think you do. Besides, I have your address. I can find you and simply let my two children eat you. If you’d prefer to go that way.” The strange thing was, Beth wasn’t sure it was a threat. She felt oddly detached from the human world. Like dying and coming back from the dead had put her on a level outside of ordinary humans.

“Fine, where are you?” Madame Yeska said in exasperation. “Though, I’m warning you, if you try anything I’ll curse your nipples with my dying breath, and death curses are very powerful.”

“We won’t try anything as long as you deal fairly with us. I’m rather attached to my nipples.” Beth replied.

“Fair? Jeesh! How fair is it going to be for me after you already said you don’t have a lot of money? Tell me how that’s fair?” Madame Yeska grumbled as she got a pen and paper out to write down the address Beth was giving her. Fair. When was life ever fair? Freakin’ demons thought they could always tell everyone what to do. They acted like they ran this town, wait they actually did run this town, hence her getting out of her nice cozy chair to pick up some wacko vampires. She bitched nonstop on the way, but not once did she consider actually refusing the request. After all, she didn’t want to be stuck inside of her house after dark for the rest of her life.





Chapter 5



Madame Yeska drove a pickup truck. Luckily, it was a king cab. Beth took the front seat and Kyle and Timber got in the back. “Thanks for picking us up. We’re in a bit of a spot;” Beth told the pretty older woman sitting in the driver’s seat.

“You’re welcome, I’m sure. Like I had a choice. Pick you up or wait to get eaten.” Madame Yeska drove away from the hospital parking lot. “You got names?”

“That’s Kyle and Timber in the back. They’re mine. They need souls.” Beth replied. She thought a minute about her own name. Beth O’Conner was dead. She’d died right along side her husband, Liam. “I’m Joan. Joan Williams.” And so she was.

“Nice to meet you Joan, not.” Madame Yeska drove them well outside of the city limits and into a trailer park. She pulled her big red truck with its oversized tires into a covered car port. “Get out. This it. Home sweet home. Come on in.”

Kyle, Timber, and Joan followed the dark haired woman into a doublewide trailer with a front porch that was covered in blue/green indoor outdoor carpet. Joan thought it probably had once tried to look like grass. They walked into the trailer itself and were shocked to find it stylishly decorated. It looked like something out of a model home. Yeska saw them looking around with their mouths hanging open.

“What? Just ‘cause I live in a trailer park, I can’t have good taste?” She took a seat in a leather lazy boy and propped her feat up on a matching ottoman. Joan, Kyle, and Timber sat down on a dark green sofa with gold colored pillows.

“So, what makes you think I can restore their souls?” Yeska asked Joan.

“I don’t know really. I thought souls and immediately Gypsies came to mind.” Joan couldn’t explain it any more clearly than that.

“Okay, I can see that. I’m not a charlatan, you know. I’m the real thing. I read tarot cards, palms, auroras, that kind of thing. But I’m not a witch, I don’t know any spells. I honestly don’t see how I can help you.” Yeska said truthfully.

Joan thought about it for a minute. “I’m guessing that most of the trailers around us are filled with your clan, right? Gypsies aren’t known for being solitary.”

Yeska nodded carefully. “I don’t know of anyone who has that kind of power.”

“Could you just ask? Pretty soon my kids are going to get hungry.” Joan said meaningfully.

Yeska looked at the nodding faces of the two teenage vampires. Joan was right. Fledglings weren’t known for their self control. “Okay, I’ll ask.” Yeska got up and dialed a number. “Uncle? It’s me, Yeska. I need a favor. I got two vamps here who want souls. Do you have any idea how they can get them?” She was quiet for a moment, listening. “Really? Yeah, they’re in my living room now. Okay.” Yeska hung the phone up and turned towards her guests. “My uncle knows something. He’s coming over now.”

Joan wasn’t worried. She knew instinctually that she could protect herself and her vampires against a couple of Gypsies, no matter how powerful. She was finally feeling in control of things and she liked it.

“Can I get you all something to drink?” Yeska asked politely.

“I’d love some water.” Joan turned to look at Kyle and Timber who just shook their heads. Joan stood up. “I’ll get the water myself if you don’t mind. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I don’t trust you.” Joan went into the kitchen area and opened several cabinets until she found the glasses. She helped herself to water right out of the tap. It tasted wonderful. “Man, there is nothing like being dead to make you thirsty.”

Yeska was sitting back in the big leather chair. Her eyebrows went up at the exclamation in the kitchen and she looked questioningly at the two seated vamps.

“We don’t know,” Timber said quietly. She knew her brother was having trouble controlling his demon. She could feel him shaking with the need to kill. She didn’t know why, but she found her own demon rather easy to control.

Joan walked into the living room and sat her water down on the counter. She took one look at Kyle and knew he was about to loose it. “Kyle, come here. She offered him her wrist. She took the stake out of the waistband of her jeans and made a motion towards his heart. Kyle nodded quickly to tell her he understood. He bent over the offered wrist and accepted her blood. He took only three pulls before pulling away. He looked up at Joan with a strange emotion in his eyes. “That was incredible. I feel like I could fly.”

Joan laughed. “Take a seat.” She looked at Timber who at the smell of Joan’s rich blood was just now having trouble keeping the bumpies down. “You too, come on.” Timber got up and repeated what Kyle had done. She gave Joan that same look of adoration. Just as the three of them resumed their seats on the comfy couch, the door opened and a tall man with long dark hair entered.

Yeska arose from her chair. “Uncle, come in. I’ll get you a drink.” She walked into the kitchen. “Joan is the human and the vampires are Kyle and Timber.”

The man took the seat his niece had vacated and turned to study them. “So, you want souls? Why?”

“Because Joan wants us to have them,” Kyle answered.

The newcomer looked at Joan. “Why?”

“I don’t know. I just know that I want to keep them and I don’t think I could do that if they didn’t have souls.” Joan answered him.

The man nodded. “That is wise. Were they your family before they were turned?”

Joan shook her head no.

“Pity, that would make it easier.” He reached up and accepted the drink Yeska offered him. “Thank you.”

“This is my Uncle, Ravio. He is very powerful.” Yeska said as she took a seat on the floor at his feet.

Ravio ran his hand through his niece’s hair absently. “The soul restoration can be done. It is a curse. The problem with curses is that they need power behind them. If you were these children’s relative you could use the power of your grief over their murder, but since you are not, I don’t know if this will work.”

“I have strong emotion, Ravio. I have an anger that pulses in my veins. I think that I can put the right amount of power behind this curse to work.” Joan informed him confidently.

“I won’t stop you from trying, but I have to warn you, if you are not strong enough, you could loose your soul instead of restoring theirs. Are you willing to take such a risk?” Ravio asked her solemnly.

“Yes,” Joan didn’t hesitate to answer. She had nothing and no one. The two vampires sitting beside her felt closer to her than anything had in nearly a year and half. They had color and texture. Her memories had none of that. They were flat. She needed so much more than just flat memories and a year and a half of pain. In short, she had nothing to loose. What is a soul when you have no place in the world?

“Okay then. Yeska, get me a mortal and pestle.” Ravio got up from his sitting position and walked over to the couch. He took out a large silver dagger and handed it to Joan. “You will cut the skin over their hearts and drip it into the bowl. Then you will do the same to your own. Once the blood has mingled, you will empty this pouch,” he took a small cellophane pouch out of his pocket and handed it to Joan, “into the bowl and mix it together until the powder dissolves. Then you will say these words.” He handed her a yellowed piece of paper that was secured in a protective sleeve.

Joan read over the words carefully. “Wait a second? What’s with the clause thingy at the end? If they have one moment of true happiness they loose their souls? That’s just stupid.”

Ravio bristled. “Well, originally this curse was designed as a form of revenge. It was for a vampire who had killed a beloved daughter of an old tribe. They wanted him to never have a moment of happiness again.”

“Did he know about the clause?” Joan asked.

“No, why?” Ravio was trying not to become irritated with this silly American girl.

“Because it seems to me all you did was make it so that the soulless version had a way of entering the world again. It’s lame when you think about it.” Joan couldn’t believe how ridiculous that was. “I’m so not using that part.”

“You can’t not use a part of the curse. It’s been handed down my family for generations. It’s sacred!” Ravio yelled.

“It’s lame. I’m not using that part.” Joan reached out and took the mortar and pestle from Yeska. She quickly lifted her vampires’ shirts and made the proper cuts. Then she repeated the action over her own heart. She dropped in the powder and mixed. Then she recited the words, leaving out the perfect happiness part. A light shown throughout the room as Joan chanted. It swirled around her and the vampires. She put every sorrow she had ever felt behind her words and worked on shoving the light into Kyle and Timber. Soon, both vamps threw their heads back and gasped. Joan looked into their eyes and knew; it worked, they had souls. She walked into the kitchen and rinsed out the mortar and pestle with soap and water. Somehow she didn’t think it would be a good idea to let these people have a sample of their blood. She walked back into the room and handed them Kyle and Timber’s fifty-six dollars. “Thanks.”

Joan walked out of the room with Kyle and Timber following close behind her. Now that that was taken care of she needed to find them shelter. They were also going to need blood. It looked like Joan needed to find a job.

Inside the trailer Yeska turned toward her uncle, “What was she? I’ve never felt anything quite like her before.”

Ravio was still irked at the alteration of his family’s curse. “A pain in the ass?” He shrugged his shoulders. “I know what you are asking. Many years ago, I met a slayer inNew York City. It was back when I first came to this country, before I brought your father over. This Joan felt like that slayer, only more primal, more potent. It isn’t something I can put my finger on.”

“Is she evil?” Yeska looked to her uncle for understanding.

“Not so much. She is somewhat like us. She’s clan loyal. Only, she doesn’t know what her clan is. It’s why she ensouled the two vampires. She’s putting together a family. Right now she is at her most dangerous; she is like a young mother bear. It would be best if we stay away from her.”

Yeska nodded to her uncle. Staying away from Joan Williams was a pleasant prospect.



Chapter 6



“Joan, what are we going to do about finding shelter before the sun comes up?” Kyle asked his sire tentatively. The last 24 hours had been the most bizarre of his life. First he was killed by some freak in an alley. Then he woke up in the morgue fairly sure of what he was and what he wanted. Then he gets a soul shoved in him and now he didn’t know who or what he was. The only thing that made any sense was Joan. She was their whole world. They certainly couldn’t go back to that cramped apartment they’d called home for the last three years. Their mom barely even noticed they existed. She was always caught up in whatever new boyfriend she’d managed to snag. They never had been anything more than an inconvenience and a welfare check to her. Kyle was now seventeen and he had been working as a dishwasher in a local restaurant for over two years. He was the one who really took care of Timber. He bought her clothes and food. It was actually nice to think that Joan might be willing to care for them. He’d been waiting a long time for a real mother.

“Well, Kyle, my plan is to find a couple of vamps and follow them back to their lair. Then make them strip and stake them.” Joan filled her newly adopted children in on the upcoming festivities.

“Why do they need to be naked before you stake them?” Timber wanted to know. She was only fifteen and a half. She’d never seen a naked man before. “Do you think we could follow a couple of females?”

Joan laughed. “First, we stake them naked because vamps turn into dust when they’re staked in the heart,and we might just need any money they have on them. Second, we’ll follow whatever gender we run into first. The sun will be up soon. I’m thinking maybe we should have hit Yeska or Ravio up for a ride back into the city limits.”

“How do you know so much about vampires?” Kyle wanted to know.

“I have no idea, Kyle. Things just keep coming to me.” Joan replied. She spotted three vampires dragging a lifeless body down a set of basement steps. She turned to her kids. “Listen, I want you two to pretend that you’ve captured me. Drag me over and offer to share if they’ll let you crash with them.”

“Okay.” Kyle was nervous but he had faith in Joan. He and Timber each grabbed one of Joan’s arms as they made their way over to the vampire threesome.

“Excuse me?” Kyle spoke up.

The three vamps turned and hissed. “What?”

“My sister and I were wondering if we could crash at your place tonight? We’re willing to share our meal.” He offered.

They dropped the body they were dragging letting it thump its way to the bottom of the stairs. “Well, we like half of your deal. How about we kill you two and take your food.”

Joan jumped to a fighting stance and whipped out her stake. She pushed Kyle and Timber behind her. “How about some heavy indigestion? The food is feeling feisty tonight.” Joan staked the biggest one first and then started in on the other two. Her body moved like it had done this a million times before.

Kyle and Timber watched in fascination. Joan was amazing. She had all three vampires staked in seconds.

“Shit.” Joan said irritably. “I forgot to make them strip.”

“Maybe there’s money on the corpse.” Timber said helpfully as she pointed to the body at the bottom of the stairs.

Joan’s spirits brightened. “Yeah, let’s look.” She hopped down the stairs and searched the pockets of the dead guy. She found a wallet and a set of keys. The wallet was sadly empty, but the keys had a lovely little peace sign dangling from it, and so did the door in front of them. Joan turned to her kids with a smile. “I think we just found ourselves a place to live.” She looked down at the body. “You two get inside. I’ll take care of Bernie here.”

Kyle took the keys from Joan and started working them until he found the one to open the door. He ushered his sister inside, wondering what Joan was going to do with the dead body.

Joan carried the lifeless body to the nearest dumpster and buried it underneath the refuse. She knew that this guy was going to turn. She figured she could stake him when he showed up at the door. As she closed the dumpster lid and made her way back to the apartment, never once did she think about what would happen to any humans who encountered the displaced vampire on his trip home. Joan’s only thoughts were for herself and her two kids. She had a family to think of now. She had plans to make.

The feeling of power she’d when she attacked those vamps was still singing in her veins. This was what she’d been born to do, she was sure of it. She also knew she wanted more. Cleveland was on a Hellmouth. That had to mean a lot of power. Joan wanted that power. She never wanted to feel as helpless as she had for the last eighteen months ever again.

She let herself into the apartment and looked around. The place was a total dump. Kyle and Timber were curled up on the couch. She looked at them with a smile. They were hers now. She would care for them and protect them. She walked around and made sure that no stray rays of sunlight would peek in. Then she took a seat on the filthy floor and fell into a deep sleep. Her last thought was of William. She wished he was there to share this with her. Somehow, she thought he would appreciate it.

Chapter 7



Spike was in a drunken stupor. He was always in a drunken stupor. It dulled the pain. Right now, however, there was a great deal of pain. Some asshole was talkin’ in his head. “Shut the fuck up already,” Spike moaned.

“Spike it’s me,Willow. I have to tell you something. Wake up.”

Spike’s head instantly cleared. The witch would only dare to contact him if it had something to do with Buffy. “Okay, Red, what is it?” He said aloud even though he knew she could hear his thoughts.

“I’m sorry, Spike, Buffy’s dead. I thought you should know. She and Angel were in a car accident. Giles found out through Council connections this morning. They both died on impact.” Willow let her words lay softly in his head.

“Get the fuck out of my head and stay out. I mean it, I never want to hear from you again. Ever. You killed her.” Spike’s head jolted backwards asWillow quickly left his mind. He rolled onto his stomach and promptly emptied the alcohol he had so faithfully placed in it hours before. He’d cry, but he didn’t have any tears left. He’d been crying for months. He was just a drunken shell of a man. An empty vessel. A dead guy with a soul. He wondered, if he had the soul removed, would it go to heaven? Would it find Buffy? He wanted to be with Buffy. It’s all he ever wanted. Even if it was only a part of him.

He got up with a purpose. He was going to lose his sou,l and he knew just the place to do it. He stumbled into the bathroom of the cheap motel room he’d been in for the last few weeks and turned the shower on. He cleaned himself up and put on a somewhat descent set of clothes. He picked up his leather jacket lovingly. He was going to have to pawn this thing. He needed some dosh to get in the door.

He walked out of the motel room and down to the local pawnbrokers. He got a measly twenty-five dollars for his coat. Oh, well. As he walked farther and farther away from the pawn shop he could feel something lifting. It was like a fog that had settled over his brain was slowly dissipating. He turned around and went back to the pawn shop. He walked over and grabbed his coat from off of the manager. He flipped it open and examined it carefully. There on the hem, was an incision he’d never seen before. He used his thumbnail to gently pry it open. A few crumbles of dried herbs tumbled out. A spell. The witch had put a fucking spell on him.

Spike was pissed. With a renewed sense of purpose he walked out of the pawn shop. The owner had never uttered a single protestation, Spike figured it might have something to do with the fact that he’d been in game face as soon as he’d walked back through the doors. He made his way to a local demon bar and headed straight into the back room. The cover charge at the door was twenty dollars. That left him with a fiver, which was just fine. All he needed was a beer. They didn’t play for money at this poker table. They played for much higher stakes. Personally, Spike felt like betting a soul tonight.

He walked out of the bar an hour later feeling like a new man. No one in the bar had ever seen someone so happy upon losing before. The dark haired vampire was practically giddy as he pushed himself away from the table, wished them all a good night, and left the room. It was weird. Spike whistled his way back to the motel. He caught site of a drunken cowboy heading out to his truck. Perfect. A midnight snack and transportation.

Within minutes the old blue Chevy was turned towardCalifornia and the dead body of its previous owner was nothing more than a squishy speed bump in a liquor store parking lot.

Willow may be inEngland with Dawn and Giles, but Spike figured he could find Angel’s old crew still milling aroundLos Angeles. It was a shame the cheerleader had died. He would have enjoyed draining her slowly for every slight she’d ever made against Spike’s girl. The drive fromTexas toCalifornia would give him plenty of time to plan every one of their deaths in agonizing (well, for them anyway) detail. The only ones he was willing to leave alive were Xander and his demon bird. Xander hadn’t wanted to do the spell on Buffy, and Anya hadn’t cared either way. He’d let them live, but the others were going to die in horrible, painful ways for what they did to him and to Buffy. Even for what they did to Angel.





Chapter 8





Joan was the first to wake up. She decided to do some investigating. She started by looking through the former occupant’s stinky bedroom. She found a lot of school books under the bed, but no computer. She moved on to the kitchen. There she found drawers stuffed full of receipts and bills. Apparently, the dead guy had been a student, dropped out, and now worked as day crew for some construction company. Joan seriously doubted he had any money to speak of. Rent was apparently paid up, which went on the plus side list. If she figured correctly they had another three weeks until they needed an income. She looked around at the disgusting squalor and decided the first thing they needed to do was clean.

Joan looked at Timber and Kyle sleeping on the couch. They were so darn cute. They had died black hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. Timber was only an inch taller than Joan herself, and weighed probably even less. Kyle was just as skinny as his sister, but Joan guessed that he was about five foot nine. They were dressed all in black with several different piercings sprouting here and there. They’d obviously been into the Goth lifestyle before they’d been turned. It gave Joan a chuckle.

She woke the two kids up and set them to work cleaning house. She helped when necessary, but mainly she concentrated on the list she was making. The title of the list was: How to Win Friends by Killing Demons. She knew what she wanted: power. Truly, she wanted control. She wanted the control over her life that she’d been so very lacking in just a day before. The best way to have complete control was to have the most power. That meant killing the being or beings that currently dominated the power base inCleveland. A deeper reasoning drove her to such desperate actions. The bigger she was, the more she was talked about, the more likely he would hear of her. He would hear of Joan Williams and he would come. She was sure of it. If she’d been right about being different, about the power biding its time inside of her, then she was right about him too. William was real, and he would find her. It wouldn’t be hard; she planned on having her name on the lips of every demon in the nation within days.

Waking up on that table in the morgue had been life altering. Not only was she now officially dead, but she was definitely changed fundamentally. That thing that had been running under her skin, had now fully merged with her being. Her instincts, her reactions, her desires, were all altered. It was like awaking to a completely different self. Sitting here now with her two adopted children cleaning the home they’d won through battle, she couldn’t understand why she hadn’t simply slit Dr. Sephu’s throat and danced in her blood. Then gone home to Liam, gave him one last fuck and the phone number of the cute blonde who worked at the pharmacy counter, and walked out the door. What had she been thinking?

“Okay, guys, come here,” Joan called out.

Timber and Kyle came in looking as dirty as the apartment now looked clean. “I have an idea,” Joan said with comically raised eyebrows. “I’m going to rule the world!” She looked at the worried looks on their faces. “I’m just kidding,” she laughed. “I’m only gonna rule this Hellmouth.” They still looked worried. “What’s wrong?”

Kyle shuffled his feet a bit. “What do you know exactly about taking over evil empires?”

“Well, nothing, but I’m sure I can do it,” Joan said confidently.

Timber gave her a smile. “I think you can do anything, Joan.”

Joan smiled at Timber with a powerful punch of enthusiasm. “Thank you Timber.” She looked at Kyle. “I do have a plan, you know.”

“Okay.” Kyle sat down on the recently vacuumed couch. “I’m all ears.”

“And fangs.” Joan supplied.

“Huh?” Kyle was confused.

“I think you must be hungry,” Joan explained. “Your all fangy.”

Kyle reached up to feel his face. “I kind of am, actually.”

“Well let me explain my plan for ourCleveland takeover, and then I’ll head to the butchers. Deal?” Joan asked.

“Deal.”

“Okay. First, I get a job in some demon bar, or strip joint, or something. Then, I listen. Find out who’s the Mr. Big or Bigs in this town, and then I go and kill them. In the mean time you guys just stay low. I don’t want you getting hurt,” Joan finished, feeling quite pleased with herself.

“Joan, I think you’re crazy, but I’m behind you all the way.” Kyle stuck out his hand for Joan to shake, but of course got an armful of Joan instead. Apparently Joan was a hugger not a shaker.

“Okay. I’m off to the butchers.” Joan got up taking the measly eight dollars she’d found in ‘dead guy’s’ drawer. Oh, she knew his name now, but she liked to think of him as ‘dead guy’. It was funnier.

She made her way to the butchers by asking directions every block or so. She was in an unbelievably good mood. She walked into the butcher shop and found to her delight that there was a vampire running the counter. Good. This was good on two counts. One, She wouldn’t have any trouble getting a couple pints of blood out of him. Two, if he was running the butcher shop that meant that there was very likely to be a strong demon organization in this city. Exactly what she had been hoping for. When it was her turn, she put her eight dollars on the counter. “Exactly how much blood can I buy with this?”

The vampire raised an eyebrow at her, sensing a heart beat, and then said, “Two pints cow, one pint pig.”

“Two cow it is then.” She watched as the vampire went into the back room and returned with a white bag. She accepted it graciously and then gave him a flirtatious smile. “You don’t happen to know where a girl could get a job do you? Somewhere that would appreciate my personal talents?”

The vampire looked at her with renewed interest. He wasn’t sure what she was, but it was definitely not human. He wondered what her blood would taste like? “You interested in dancing?”

“I will if I have too, but I’d prefer serving cocktails. I’m interested in the kind of place that caters to my own kind, if you know what I mean.” Joan batted her eyelashes at him, and tried desperately not to giggle.

The vampire gave a chuckle at her antics. “Hold on.” He returned to the back room and handed her a card. “This ought to be exactly what you’re looking for. It’s a specialty bar called the Hock Shop. Tell them Carmy sent you.”

Joan leaned up on her tip toes and blew a kiss at Carmy. “Thanks, I’ll see ya around as soon as I can afford some pig!” She left the butchers with the feeling that everything was going her way.

She returned to the apartment and had Kyle and Timber share a pint of cow’s blood. “I wish it were more, but apparently that’s all that eight dollars will buy. There’s another pint for tomorrow in the fridge. I’m headed to get a job right now, though.”

“At a bar?” Timber asked.

“Yep,” Joan answered.

“We’d better do some clothes swapping. Your jeans are okay, but that yellow shirt is all wrong, plus it’s kind of bloody.” Timber led Joan to the recently cleaned bedroom. She’d gone through ‘dead guy’s’ clothes and found a bunch of great stuff, mostly men’s, but ‘dead guy’ had apparently had a girlfriend or two in the past. There were several tiny t-shirts and tank tops, along with a disgusting amount of thong underwear. ‘Dead guy’ was a collector. “Here put this top on after you shower.” Timber handed her a black tank top with a v-shaped mesh lining. It was kind of slutty, but highly appropriate.

Joan showered and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. ‘Dead guy’ didn’t have a hair dryer. Who doesn’t have a hair dryer? Honestly. She put on her dirty jeans and her newly acquired tank top. She also slipped on Timber’s black Doc Marten’s. They were a half size too big, but they’d do for now. She walked out of the bedroom and turned around. “How do I look?”

“Slutty, yet oddly innocent due to the complete and total lack of makeup.” Timber replied.

“Huh. Why couldn’t ‘dead guy’ have been a trans?” Joan wished aloud.

“Can I walk you to the bar or something?” Kyle offered. He was worried about her walking alone, even though he’d seen how well she could kick ass.

“That’s sweet, hon, but it’s still daylight. You two do know that you have to stay out of direct sunlight, right?” They nodded. “And no crosses, Bibles, or other religious artifacts?” They nodded. “Okay. I’ll go now. Wish me luck!”

“Good luck!”



Chapter 9





Spike could really go for some luck about now. First the stupid truck he’s stolen broke down, then he found himself in some hellishly small town that he couldn’t find a safe thing to eat in. A town this small would definitely miss one of its citizens. Though Spike felt he would be doing whoever he killed a favor. No one, but no one, could possibly want to live here. The town consisted of a gas station, mini mart, Taco Bell combo. That was it. Currently he was hiding in the bushes like some stupid fledgling, waiting for a lone traveler with illegally tinted windows to pull over and take a leak. He had his duster over his head, but he was still smoking a bit, and just generally feeling pissed off. He’d been here since sunup.

Just as he was contemplating giving up his path of revenge and taking a stroll in the sunshine, a dark blue sedan pulled over, and a small man in khaki’s and a striped dress shirt hoped out and undid his zipper. Spike moved like a snake, striking out and pulling the man back into the safety of the bushes. He drained the man before a scream could make its way out of his startled throat. He searched him for necessities and left his body to rot.

The car had darkly tinted windows and fabulous air conditioning. Spike would have been quite pleased if only the former driver’s musical tastes weren’t so obviously dictated by VH1. He decided to give the radio a try as he roared on down the highway. After surfing through the channels five or six times, and finding only country western and mariachi music, he gave up. He popped in a CD from a group called Train and settled in for a nice long pout. He was a day behind on his killing, which was bad enough, his heart hurt, and now he had to listen to someone calling for angels. Revenge was truly the only thing between him and a nice self inflicted dusting.



Chapter 10







Things were going really well for Joan. Oh, they hadn’t wanted to hire her at first. They thought she didn’t have enough edge to be appealing to their customers. So she’d killed the green demon doing the interview. It had impressed the hell out of the manager, Drugg. She was hired. She was also spotted a hundred for clothing and accessories.

Now she was working the room with ease. She hadn’t even had to kill anyone, and it was two hours into her shift. She’d made nearly sixty dollars in tips. Forty more and she’d have Drugg paid back. Then the rest was all hers. Hers and Timber’s and Kyle’s. They were a family. Just as Joan was about to pick up another order of drinks there was a commotion by the front door. It was a rowdy group of vamps. All female. They were hassling the doorman. Joan didn’t like that. She liked the doorman, or doordemon, whatever. She looked to Drugg and they locked eyes. He gave her a brief nod. Goody.

Joan walked up with an extra swagger in her step. The five female vamps all turned to her in unison. “You want to throw down little girl?” The tallest of the group asked. She had really bad skin. It looked liked she’d had a holy water facial in the recent past.

“Throw down?” Joan picked up the leader by the waist and tossed her into the street. “Yeah, that works for me.” She ran out the door pulling one of the girls with her, and the rest followed. Joan figured any damage would probably be taken out of her paycheck. Which just wouldn’t do. So, outside it was. She pulled a stake out of her waistband and dusted the little miss in her hand before turning to the now standing head chick. “Do I need to throw you down again?”

Miss Acid Peel came at Joan with a growl as did the remaining vampettes. Joan gave out a great laugh as the fight began in earnest. She was fighting for all that she was worth and having a great time. She’d ripped the head off of one girl, quite by accident, when she’d picked up another and hurled her feet in an arch. Must be some heavy duty stilettos. So, now it was just Joan versus three vamps. She was doing fine.

Kyle and Timber had gone out for a walk. They were bored. ‘Dead guy’ did not have cable. As they were coming down the street they saw a commotion outside of the bar that Joan had gone to. Kyle wasn’t surprised to see that there was a fight going, and he wasn’t surprised to find his pseudo sire in the middle of it. He and Timber each grabbed the stake that Joan had made for them out of an old record crate that afternoon. They jumped into the fray and each staked one of the vampires Joan was fighting. That just left Joan the tall one. She decided to end it quickly so that she could explain to her two kids how very unready they were for slayage. Slayage? Where did that term come from? She shrugged and wiped the dust off of her black mini skirt.

Suddenly, she heard clapping come from behind her. She turned with a fiercely pounding heart. Clapping. She knew clapping. Instead of white blonde hair, and bright blue eyes she saw the smiling face of her manager, Drugg. She gave him a little bow, trying desperately to push down the feelings of disappointment that threatened to overwhelm her.

“Well done. You have some serious fighting skills.” Drugg had kept the bar doors shut so that the entire place didn’t empty out on the streets. Humans didn’t come around this part of town, but still, no use in drawing too much attention. He was impressed with her moves and her strength.

“I was a martial arts instructor before I died.” Joan explained.

“You died?” Drugg was trying to figure this one out. She wasn’t a vampire, though she did give off similar vibes.

“Yeah. These are my kids. Is it okay if I have a quick word with them before I come back inside?” Joan asked.

“Sure, those are your childer?” Drugg was still trying to figure her out.

Childer. That sounded right. “Uh, huh.”

“Okay. I’ll see you in five.” Drugg turned and went back into the bar. She was their sire? What the fuck had he hired? He’d think about letting her go, but he doubted he’d live through the firing process. No, best to keep this one happy.

Joan turned to look at her kids after Drugg closed the bar door behind him. “You were very brave and very loyal. I appreciate that, but I don’t want to see you try something like that again until I’ve had a chance to train you. Do you understand?”

“Yeah, we get it.” Kyle looked at her with a hint of teenage defiance.

“Now come here for a hug and then get your skinny asses back home.” Joan opened her arms. She had to hide a smile at how quickly they moved into her embrace. She was breaking these two in nicely.

She went back into the bar and finished up her shift. After paying Drugg back, she came away with two hundred and sixty-five dollars and this weird black fur thing that Joan was convinced was made out of cat. She’d taken it with a ‘thank you’. She’d also learned that there was a meeting in two nights of the head demon bosses in the area. It was being held in the basement of the bar. Apparently the owner of the Hock Shop was the Mr. Big she’d been hoping to find. This was going to be frighteningly easy.



Chapter 11





Joan felt the weapon resting against her thigh. She was wearing a long grey skirt with high slits, wicked black boots, fish nets, and white t-shirt that had tatters purposefully placed in it. Her makeup was nicely gothed thanks to the talented Timber, and her hair had been done in makeshift dread locks. She looked mean and sexy, which is just what she’d been going for. Tonight was the night. She knew at some point in time she’d be sent down stairs to serve drinks. Drugg had already told her that the Boss had requested her service. Several of the other cocktail waitresses had given her jealous dirty looks. Joan just shrugged them off; she could always kill them later if they didn’t get an attitude adjustment.

She’d gotten the lovely sickle shaped weapon off of a demon she’d followed home one night. All weapons were checked at the front door, but she’d seen this guy hand his off out of the corner of her eye, and she’d known that she had to have it. Luckily, her shift was over fairly early that night. It was nothing, to wait outside and watch as Mr. Nice Weapon left the bar swaying on his three feet. She waited until he’d gone several blocks, then she made her move. Soon, Mr. Nice Weapon looked a lot like Mr. Mush. Apparently his kind disintegrated. Joan took her new toy home to show her kids, who were not alone. ‘Dead guy’ was back. Joan gave a great sigh, then remembered the weapon she’d just acquired.

She smiled at ‘dead guy’ who was in mid rant about his missing eight dollars. Like he needed it. She slowly stalked over to him, smile carefully in place, and she raised the weapon behind her back. In a swinging motion she arched the short-handled sickle and watched as his head hit the wall and he turned to dust. She saw the sprinkled blood pattern and turned to Timber and Kyle with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, about the mess.”

“It’s beyond okay. That was the most annoying man I’ve ever met.” Kyle said. “He has done nothing but complain since he walked through that door. I really, and I mean really, wanted to stake him, but I was a good boy and followed directions. Meaning, I sat on my ass and listened to him rant.”

Joan walked over and ruffled Kyle’s hair. “Soon, my beautiful boy, I will have the time to train you properly.” She held out her weapon for examination. “Isn’t it cool? I’m going to remove the head ofCleveland’s not so finest with this puppy!”

********

Joan worked the tables, trying to contain the energy that was buzzing through her. She wasn’t nervous. She was excited. “Anticipation” by Carly Simon kept going through her head. This would be fun. It would also send out warning bells all over the demon world. She was sure William would be here soon after. She knew he was a demon. She was pretty sure he was a vampire. Many of the dreams she’d had about him involved sharing her blood with him.

“Joan,” Drugg called her over to the bar. He had a large tray of drinks waiting for her. They were all tiny little shot glasses filled with various fluids. “There is a bar down stairs, but this stuff is special. The Boss likes the ceremony of one of his girls carrying it down and serving it. He’s gonna want you to be friendly. Overly friendly if you know what I mean. He’ll kill at the slightest irritation, so you best go along with whatever he asks. You understand what I’m saying?”

Joan nodded and gave Drugg a bright smile. “Not a problem. I can so be compliant Joan.” She picked up the tray and made her way to the stairs. She had to stop herself from whistling the tune from Kill Bill as she walked down. Not good to play her hand too soon. She nodded to the guards outside of the big double wooden doors as they gave her an appreciative leer. They sniffed the drinks and then stepped aside to open the doors for her. Joan walked through with a swivel of her hips and a toss of her hair. The cold steel at her thigh giving her assurance.

“Oh, there you are, my lovely.” The Boss motioned her to him with one extraordinarily fat finger. He reminded her of a pink Jaaba the Hut, with pustules. He was not a pretty man. She let him squeeze her ass he took the first drink off the tray. He’d go first. Then she walked around the room and distributed the rest of the drinks. There were eight men altogether. If any of them was a female, Joan sure couldn’t tell. Sexism, even in the demon community. Well that was about to stop. She put the big round tray down on the bar, and put her hand under her skirt to grip her weapon. She was ready.

She turned around in a blur of movement, wielding her weapon as she went. Boss’s pink head went thunk against the back wall, his poisonous tongue lolling uselessly outside of his mouth. Before anyone could do more than flinch she’d removed the head of two more big wigs. That left her five. By now they’d decided to fight back. The commotion alerted the two guards outside, and they came running in just in time to watch the little waitress take off two more heads. They watched them roll towards them as if in slow motion. Then they remembered just what they were there for and started to move in on the blonde.

Joan was aware that there were two more players in the game. She was pretty sure if she could just remove these last three heads, the bodyguards would stop fighting. I mean who were they working for exactly? Once the demon bosses were dead, they’d be working for her. She removed one more head before the guards reached her.

“Couldn’t you boys give me another minute?” Joan sighed as she fought them both off with her feet and her sickle. “I mean, it’s not like it’s taking that long. These guys are just a bunch of creampuffs.” Joan heard the last two demon bosses growl in rage and she laughed. She broke free from the guards with back flip and came up swinging her sickle. One more monkey jumping on the bed. She turned to the last man who was hovering in the corner. She was almost on him when she was thrown back by the burly guards. “Just a minute, and then I’ll get back to you. Hold on!” She called as she was flung towards the door.

She landed on the floor in a spin. She whipped her head around, sending her mock dreads flying. She let one green eye peek out and give a wicked wink to the guards before she moved. Then she launched herself at them, kicking both of their knees out as she came up in a Russian. She watched them go down, and felt a tug of disappointment. That had been a really cool move and no one had been here to appreciate it. She walked back to the cowering demon. “See, told ya it wouldn’t take long.” She raised her sickle for the last time that night.

Drugg came running down followed by several more body guards. They all looked at Buffy as she was calmly wiping her sickle off with a dish towel. “Isn’t this just the coolest weapon?” She turned to them with a smile. “I’m Joan Williams, in case any of you don’t know, and I run the Hellmouth. Any questions?”

They looked at the bloody mess on the floor and at the embarrassed guards holding their busted knees and shook their heads ‘no’. They didn’t have any questions. It was quite clear that they worked for Joan Williams.





Chapter 12



Spike was ready for some death. He’d had a grueling drive; it had taken him two days longer than it should have. His heart hurt. He needed to see blood run. He had entered the Hyperion through the sewer tunnels, and was now just waiting for them to disperse. They were having a group meeting; waiting for some soddin’ phone call from the Council. The Council, what a joke. It wasWillow, Dawn, and Giles. They headed the Council. Spike shuddered to think what the three of them would be like without Buffy. She’d been the true leader of the outfit. She was the one with the instincts, and that had nothing to do with her Slayer powers. It was just Buffy.

He was nearly bored enough to attack them all at once, and was thinking of doing so, when out of no where the call came through. Spike was a bit surprised. He’d been expecting a ring, but oh no,Willow couldn’t just use a speaker phone like the rest of the world, she had to appear as some hologram floating head. Spike had to spit in disgust. She was such a pompous ass. He wondered who else she’d put a persuasion spell on? Did she have Giles dancing to her tune in the mother country? Spike put those thoughts away. He wanted to be able to kill them all, and if he thought they might have been persuaded, then he wouldn’t be able to go through with it. Besides, if she’d been persuading everyone, wouldn’t she have given ol’ Xander a dose?

He wasn’t really listening to what was going on upstairs, lost in his own thoughts as he was, when suddenly one word made him perk up – Hellmouth. He started listening. They weren’t discussing the old Hellmouth. This was a different one, the one inCleveland. Apparently some big had offed all the mucky muck demons and taken the forsaken place over. It hadWillow in a snit. She was worried that anyone powerful enough to pull something off that the Council had failed to do over the last six months was too powerful to let live long.

“We need you to act as a tactical team and go in and remove the threat.”Willow head said.

“Wait, why don’t you do it yourselves?” Gunn wanted to know. They were the Council. Reformed, sure, but they had a hell of a lot more resources than the AI team did.

“We sent a group in right after the incident occurred. It wasn’t pretty. Their body parts were found floating in the sewers. We tracked them through a locating device we keep under their skin.” Willow head informed them.

“Whoa! So you seem to think we’re willin’ to have bits and pieces of us floatin’ in some sewer in another state? Are you crazy?” Gunn asked her.

“Yes,Willow, I have to agree with Gunn on this one. It hardly seems something we can comply with.” Wesley had no desire to go up against anything so powerful since they no longer had Angel. “You do realize that we act as more of a supernatural investigations unit than as a force of the powers now? Cordelia’s death put in end to the visions, and Angel’s shanshu took away our most powerful warrior. We are not equipped to handle your little problem.”

“It is not ‘my little problem’, Wesley. If she took overCleveland, the most powerful demon stronghold on the North American continent, how long do you think it will be before she takes over the other less powerful cities? She’ll come forLos Angeles, mark my words. She’s something none of us have ever encountered before. We haven’t received a picture of her, but we have a description. She’s apparently quite tall, with long white hair, and red eyes. Reports have said that she has mystical powers and can throw her will at anyone; decapitating a head without even touching them.”

“I don’t like the sound of that.” Fred said nervously.

“Will you at least look into it? Try and identify what kind of demon she is for us, so that we know how to dispatch her?” Willow tried to rally some sort of action out of the stale group.

“Yes, I suppose we can do that. Do you know anything else about her?” Wesley asked.

“Yes. She works mainly out of some demon bar called The Hock Shop, and her name is Joan Williams.” Willow head informed them.

“Okay, that will do. My crew and I will head toCleveland tomorrow,Willow. But, it is only for recognizance.” Wesley warned her.

“That’s fine. Anything will help.” TheWillow head disappeared.

Spike didn’t stay to hear what the AI team planned to do. He was already back through the tunnels and headed for his car. He missed the Desoto. He’d lost it somewhere in his drunken days, and now had to rely on the kindness of strangers for his rides. He hoped into the dark blue sedan and made his way toward the freeway. He wanted this Joan Williams on his side. IfWillow had grown even more powerful in her magic, which the floating head seemed to indicate, than Spike needed an ally. He’d swoop in and save this Amazon Joan from the Council’s prying eyes and get her to help him takeWillow out for good. Yep. He liked this plan.



Chapter 13



Joan loved life. If she could find her William, she’d be the happiest woman on earth. Who knew how much fun being a demon mob boss could be? She had completely reorganized everything. She’d killed anyone who didn’t appreciate the new way things ran. It turned out many of the demons were peaceable and only wanted to live alongside of the humans in anonymity. They looked to Joan for protection and for work. She had no problem with that at all. Plenty of demon clans had decided to vacate the city, which Joan had declared completely reasonable. She just let them go. But anyone in her city had to abide by the rules. Vampires were the hardest. They wanted to stay, but they wanted to continue snacking on humans. Now, it wasn’t that Joan felt like she owed the human world anything, but rampant killing brought unwanted attention. She needed the vamps to try a combination of blood bags, which could be purchased at The Hock Shop, drinking without killing, and the occasional ‘I just couldn’t help myself’ bloodlust kill. It was doable. She had finally gotten them to agree by threatening to ensoul them. They knew her two childer were souled, and they seemed to fear this more than anything. They were also completely convinced that Joan herself had the power to give them their souls back.

Drugg had become her right hand man. He was a great demon. He had a terrific head for business and had been helping the Boss before her run things, so he made her transition into power fairly smooth. The biggest glitch they’d had involved a group of militant humans that Drugg had identified as part of the Council. Some demon hunting agency. They’d dispersed them quickly enough, but the implications made Joan’s shoulder blades itch. She tried to push such thoughts aside tonight, though. She was very excited. Kyle and Timber had hooked up with a couple of other demons who had a band, and tonight they’d be performing at The Hock Shop. Joan had listened to them all week as they rehearsed. They were really quite good; a sort of punk/jungle combination.

She hopped on stage and all eyes turned to her. It wasn’t just that she was the most powerful being in the room, it was much more basic than that. Joan was drop dead gorgeous. She had black leather lace up pants on, black cowboy boots, and a red top held together with safety pins at the side. Her hair shone in soft gold waves down her back and shoulders. “Listen up. These are my kids.” She paused for a moment as she got a strange sensation. She felt as if someone new, someone important had entered the bar, but the bright lights prevented her from seeing anything clearly. “It is a privilege for all of you shit eaters to get a listen to such fine entertainment, so be polite.” She gave them all a wicked smile, “Or I’ll kill you.” She jumped off the stage as the crowd erupted in applause. They loved a good threat. The band started up as Joan made her way back to the bar.

Across the room stood a vampire, frozen. He thought he might be having a heart attack. Logically, he knew that wasn’t possible with a dead heart, but there was a good chance that seeing what he was seeing was causing his heart to start beating again. She was alive. Buffy was alive. Had the witch lied to him? Again. He watched her as she became aware of him. He watched her as she threatened the audience. He watched her as she jumped down and headed towards the bar. Finally, he got himself moving again. His Buffy was alive. She was alive. He was capable of anything at that moment. He made his way with swift strides across the room and to the bar.

Joan felt that ‘certain someone’ behind her. She turned around. Those eyes. Those blue eyes. Those eyes were for her. She gripped the bar with both hands to keep from falling.

“Buffy?” Spike said trying to hold the tears back.

Disappointment filled Joan. He was looking for someone else. This wasn’t her man. “No, I’m Joan. Joan Williams,” she said holding out a hand for him to shake.

Spike paused to digest that information a minute. Joan. As in I don’t know who I am, so I’m Joan. Williams. As in belonging to him. His face exploded in a wide grin. His voice was choked with emotion as he took her hand and pulled her close. Leaning over the bar so that only she could hear. “Well isn’t that convenient. I’m William.”

Joan felt that simple declaration run through her body. It was William. This was her William. She pressed her forehead against his. “Where have you been?” she sobbed.

Spike felt her words rip at his heart. “I’m sorry, baby, there was a spell keeping us apart. I came as soon as I could.”

“Okay. Don’t let me go again, though. I’ve been so lost. I kept looking…” She broke off in a sob.

Spike reached down and lifted her up and over the bar so that she was wrapped securely in his arms. He was holding his girl. He never thought he’d feel like this again. His sobs were quickly joining hers.

“Is everything all right?” Drugg said coming up to them. He felt protective of his new mistress, even though he new damn well she could handle herself.

Joan didn’t even look at him. “Fine. It’s more than fine.”

Spike noticed the many faces looking at them strangely. He vamped and growled, letting everyone in the room know to mind their own business. All the eyes suddenly found the bottoms of their glasses very interesting. “Is there somewhere we could go for a moment, luv?” Spike asked.

“Yes,” Joan got up. She kept herself completely molded to his body as she led him up a flight of stairs and into her office. They shut the door behind them and immediately fell to the floor, each desperately holding onto the other.

The emotions flowing through them were overwhelmingly strong. Neither was willing to let the other move the slightest bit away. They were both afraid if they let go, they would never see each other again. “I was so lost,” Joan cried into his shoulder.

“I know baby. It’s okay, I’ve got you now. Not gonna lose you ever again,” Spike assured her as he rocked her gently.

She looked into his eyes. “No one believed me. I told Liam and I told Dr. Sephu that it was all wrong, but no one believed me. I even told Dr. Sephu about you. She gave me pills.”

Spike realized what she was telling him. She may not have known who she was, but she’d known things were terribly wrong. His heart broke at the pain and confusion she must have felt. “I’m sorry baby. They told me it was for your own good. That I had to let you go so that you could be happy. I wouldn’t have done it, I really wouldn’t have, but the witch put a persuasion spell in my jacket. Spell wasn’t broken until the jacket belonged to someone else. Even then, I thought you were dead. I was off to kill the witch and everyone who had helped her, when I heard about this bad ass Joan Williams inCleveland. Came to get her to help me with the witch and her Council.”

“It worked. I took overCleveland to get your attention and it worked.” Joan looked at him with a watery smile.

“You did that for me?” Spike asked in amazement.

“Uh, huh. I didn’t know who you were. I only knew that I belonged to you. After Liam and I died in a car crash, I knew I was free to find you. And I did. Okay, maybe you found me, but I helped,” Joan said with pride.

“You sure did, baby. Nothing can keep my little Slayer down.” Spike kissed the side of her neck.

“Slayer? I’m a slayer?” Joan squeaked. Drugg had told her about slayers when the Council goons attacked.

“What do you know about yourself, luv?” Spike asked as he stroked her hair.

“My name was Elizabeth O’Conner. I was married to Liam O’Conner. We met in college. We were both orphans. I was a martial arts instructor. Everything was fine until one day I woke up looking for you in my bed and found Liam instead. That was a bad day, and things just got worse. I couldn’t stop looking for you each time I opened my eyes. And poor Liam. He was married to a woman who didn’t love him. Who constantly searched for another man. I started to get a little weird, and Liam sent me to a psychiatrist. She said I was delusional and paranoid. She gave me pills. They made me mellow and sleepy. I was a good little wife for a very long time. Then we died. I felt so guilty because I was relieved. Poor Liam.” Joan sobbed into Spike’s shoulder. He just held her, rocking gently back and forth, waiting for her to continue.

“When I awoke in the morgue, I felt different. I felt powerful. There were a couple of vamps in there and for the first time in my life something felt right. So I kept them. Got them some souls, and then I took over the Hellmouth. That pretty much covers it.”

Spike was horrified. “It was all a lie. You were the Slayer, the best one ever, and I’d know. Killed a couple in my day. Liam was your first love. He was a vampire with a soul. But his soul had this curse and when you two slept together for the first time, his curse was broken and he turned into Angelus, the not so nice version of himself. He got his soul back eventually, but things were never the same between the two of you. After several unpleasant things happened that I’ll fill you in on later, you and I hooked up. Things weren’t too pretty at first, but in the end we really came to love each other. But then Angel was turned into a human, into Liam, and your friends, one of whom is a hell of a powerful witch, decided to reward the two of you with new lives. She wiped your memory and replaced it with false ones. I’m sorry, love.” Spike hated having to tell her these things.

“Oh, thank goodness. So, I wasn’t crazy!” Joan turned to him with relieved eyes.

“No, baby, you weren’t crazy.” Spike cupped her cheek and leaned in for a gentle kiss.

“What’s my name? My real name,” Joan asked pulling away from the kiss.

“Buffy. You are Buffy Anne Summers. Daughter of Hank and Joyce Summers. Sister of Dawn. Lover of one William the Bloody, or Spike.” He looked into her beautiful eyes as they filled with wonder.

“Yes. That all feels right. Buffy. I’m Buffy and I belong to Spike.” She stated with conviction.

“That’s right. And I belong to Buffy.” Spike moved in for another kiss.

“We have to kill them.” Buffy murmured between kisses.

“Who, luv?” Spike asked, his mind completely taken over by the girl next to him.

“The people who messed with us. They have to die.” She stated simply.

“I couldn’t agree with you more, but then again, I just lost my soul.” He looked closely into her eyes. She was different. She was still his Buffy, but the demon that made her the slayer was stronger than it ever had been before. He could sense it now that he was trying, and he could see it in her eyes. His own demon responded and he could feel himself grow hard.

“You had a soul?” For some reason she’d never pictured him with a soul.

“Yep, got it for you. I got rid of it after the witch told me you had died. I was hoping maybe the soul of William could find yours in the ether.” Spike looked down at the carpet, not wanting to see her reaction.

“That is the most beautiful thing I have ever heard.” Buffy made him look at her again. “I love you William, Spike, whoever you are. The one thing I have been sure of over the last eighteen months is that I love you. Thank you.”

“Not sure when you get your memories back you’ll be thanking me. I don’t think you can love me without a soul.” Spike was very afraid, but he was equally determined to restore his girl.

“I promise you, it won’t matter,” she swore.

Spike looked at her tenderly. He hoped she was right.



Chapter 14





Spike looked at the two teenage vampires sitting on the couch. They were giving him the evil eye. They didn’t trust him one bit. Spike thought it was cute as hell. He could rip their heads off in seconds, he’d seen and caused over a century of pain and death, he’d been in England during the original punk movement, and yet here before him were two sullen, black haired, body pierced fledglings just daring him to hurt their mama. He could see why Buffy had wanted to keep them. You just wanted give them a good noogie.

Buffy was on the phone trying to track down someone who could take the spell off her. She was also trying to recover from a bout of embarrassment. She and Spike had been half way to consummating their reunion, when Timber and Kyle had come bursting through the office door to see if she was okay. Not one of her best moments. Exactly why had she not locked the door? Oh, that’s right, the whole emotional upheaval thing. Finding out everything you had ever known was a lie should have been devastating, but finding out you weren’t paranoid or delusional somehow made it all better. Oh, she was still pissed. Which was part of the reason she was anxious to get her memories back. She wanted to bring the people who had done this to her quick, yet painful death. Spike insisted that when she had her memories back that she would feel differently, that she loved these people. She sincerely doubted it.

“Yes, hello. My name is Joan Williams. I’m the Master of Cleveland.” There was a pause while she listened. “Yes, that does have a Hellmouth. Anyway, I was told that you could perform spells, or better yet, dissolve them.” Pause. “Uh, huh, I see. Okay. Well, that’s great. I’ve had spell placed on me that replaced all my true memories with false ones. Do you think you could undo it, or counter act it, or something?” More listening. “Perfect. No, my manager will have your ticket ready at the airport. First class. One of my kids will pick you up. They’d probably hit me if I made them hold a sign, so could I get a good description of what you look like?” Long pause. “Great.” Another pause. “No, you’ll be arriving at night. It’s the only way I can ensure your safety to The Hock Shop. My kids are vampires and for obvious reasons they can’t get you in the afternoon, and all my other staff happen to be demons. The airport is a little too packed with security guards for them to slip in unnoticed.” Buffy listened some more. “Good, I’m glad you understand. We’ll see you tomorrow night then. Bye.” She hung the phone up and looked at everyone. “That went well.”

“Are you sure you want to do this Joan?” Kyle asked. He didn’t like the idea of someone performing magic on his mother figure.

Buffy smiled as she got up to give him a reassuring hug. “It will be fine. This man comes highly recommended. His name is Ethan Rayne.”

Spike choked and Buffy turned to look at him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, but Ethan Rayne is an old enemy of yours, luv.” Spike informed Buffy. He smiled as she came over to slide on his lap. Touching her again made him want to pick her up and finish what they’d started earlier.

“So, we should just kill him when he gets off the plane?” Buffy asked.

Spike was loving this new lethal side to his girl. “No, it will probably work in our favor once I tell him we plan on doing Rupert in. He was never out to hurt you specifically, it was your watcher he had an old grudge against. I always thought they were probably lovers at one time, and ol’ Rupes did a runner after some bad magic went down. Nothing like a lover scorned and all that.”

Buffy leaned down and pulled his bottom lip into her mouth. “How do you like my kids?”

“They’re adorable, just like you. I can see why you wanted to keep them. Bet they would have been really something without the souls.” Spike looked at them wistfully.

“Nonsense, they’re young and impressionable. Still plenty of ways to make them ‘really something’.” Buffy whispered so that only Spike could hear.

He gave her a wicked laugh as he bit the side of her neck gently. “I don’t think they like me, pet.”

Buffy looked at Timber and Kyle. She’d grown quite fond of them since she’d rescued them from the morgue. “Listen, guys. Spike is my, well he’s mine. And I’m his. My real name is Buffy, but if you guys want to keep calling me Joan or Sire, that’s fine. Whatever makes you comfortable, but you need to understand that Spike only wants what is best for me, just like you two. I want you guys to be friends. He is very powerful and he can teach you so much if you let him. Do you think you two can try and accept him?”

Timber was the first to speak. “Of course, Joan. We’d do anything for you. I’m sure Spike is nice when you get to know him.”

Spike gave a snort at the word nice. “I am not nice.”

Timber gave him an apologetic smile. “Well nice in a very evil way.”

“That’s better,” Spike said, giving her an encouraging smile.

“Kyle?” Buffy prompted.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll try. I just worry about you,” Kyle reluctantly agreed.

“Great. Things will be perfect. I’ll get my memories back. Spike and I can be the Masters of Cleveland, and we’ll have you guys in fighting form in no time. We’ll be just like one big bad family!”

Spike pulled Buffy in for a kiss. He hoped that she would feel the same way after her memories were restored. The things she said. The things she was offering to him. These were the things his dreams were made of. He hadn’t experienced the comfort of a true vampire family in a long, long time. He didn’t like being a solitary creature. Being a part of the Scoobies had always felt like wearing someone else’s suit, it just didn’t fit right.

Buffy pulled out of Spike’s kiss and cupped his face lovingly. She turned to Timber and Kyle. “Could you guys go downstairs and take care of everything for me? I want to spend some time with Spike.”

Kyle rose to his feet and pulled Timber up with him. “Of course.” Timber gave a little wave goodbye as she followed her brother out the door.

“Spike time?” Spike asked huskily.

“Oh, yeah. We have a place upstairs with a great big bed.” Buffy got up off his lap and walked away from him a seductive sway of her hips.

Spike followed her out the door and up a flight of stairs. His eyes never left those swaying hips.

When he walked through the door to the apartment he was hit with the sweet smell of Buffy. She obviously spent a great deal of time here. He was hopeless to prevent a small sob from escaping his chest. He’d been sure he would never smell this again; it was the smell of home and belonging.

Buffy turned at the sharp sound. She saw Spike standing in the doorway. She reached back and took his hand in hers, pulling him forward. “It’s okay, baby. Whatever it is, it’s okay, because we’re together, and nothing is ever going to separate us again.”

He let her pull him into her arms. He let her rock him back and forth. He tried to believe what she said, but they’d been messed with too many times. He knew how easily someone or some power could decide to tear them apart again. Just the thought of spending another moment without her made his grip tighten. When he heard her give a hiss of pain he let go and looked at the marks he left on her arm. “I’m so sorry, luv. I just got to thinking about not being with you again, and…”

“Shhh, baby, it’s okay. I don’t mind a little pain.” Buffy took him by the hand again and led him to her bedroom. She pulled him inside and shut the door. She hadn’t gotten around to redecorating yet, but the Boss had excellent taste, and she really didn’t mind the exposed wood and steal beams or the sleek modern furniture. It was attractive and very, very sturdy.

She stepped away from Spike and slowly started to remove bits of her clothing. First, she pushed down the zipper that held her shirt together, gently pulling the red garment over her head and tossing it on a chair. Then she bent over and took her boots off, well aware that her breasts were dangling seductively out from underneath her blonde hair. When her boots were off she sat down on the bed and wriggled her feet at Spike.

The Slayer’s black clad toes were waiving at him. He gave a chuckle as he moved in to slip one off of each of her tiny feet. She had gorgeous feet. He was treated to the site of the black toenail polish with a tiny read fang painted on each tip. “Cute,” he rumbled in a low voice.

“Thought you might like that,” Buffy said back to him. She undid the buttons on her pants and pushed her hips upwards as she pulled them off. Spike’s sharp intake of breath let her know that he’d appreciated the move. Now all she had left was her panties because a bra had not been an option in that top. Her panties were the color of fresh blood, and they had a rhinestone heart in the center of them. She looked up at Spike and saw his eyes trained on that heart. Buffy waited for him to make a move but he couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away. She cleared her throat.

“Lady here that needs ravishing,” she said with a smile as he finally looked up at her.

“Your bloody beautiful, Buffy. Every inch of you is fuckin’ gorgeous. I missed you. I was damn lonely. So incomplete. I thought I’d never be whole again, and here you are. It’s almost too much.” He said with a watery smile.

“I may not have my memories, but please believe me, Spike. I missed you just as much. There was this huge aching whole in the middle of my soul, and nothing could fill it but you. You’re here now, and I need you to fill me body and soul. Please, baby, make love to me.” Buffy got up on her knees and moved to the edge of the bed.

Spike came towards her so that they were just brushing against one another. He stood passively by as she started to undress him. When she had trouble getting his trousers down past his knees, he seemed to recover some sort of awareness and kicked into gear. Within seconds he had his clothes thrown on the same chair as hers. He picked her up and laid her back down on the bed. Then he lay down beside her.

Buffy was aware that he had a beautiful body. She desperately wanted it inside of her. But the only thing she could really concentrate on was his eyes. This is what she had been dreaming of for the last eighteen months. This look of love. She felt Spike remove the panties that had so fascinated him, and then push her knees apart. She felt as he slid himself into her wet opening. There would be no foreplay. This wasn’t about sex. This was about reconnecting. This was about those eyes.

Spike looked deeply into Buffy’s eyes as he slid inside of her. Once there, he didn’t even move. He simply rolled to the side and wrapped his legs around her. If he could stop time and live in a moment, this would be it. This was perfection; buried inside of Buffy, arms and legs wrapped around one another, eyes filled with love boring into his own. He couldn’t help it as the tightness in his chest unwound and a torrent of tears escaped.

Buffy marveled at the expressions that flew across Spike’s face as he lay nestled inside of her. She’d never felt so happy or complete before. This was it. This was everything. Her soul was finally filled. She was hole again. She saw the first tear role down his cheek and her eyes spilled over in kind.

They just held one another, gently rocking back and forth. They let the sorrow of their separation leave their hearts and be filled with the joy of one another. After a while Spike started to move in and out of Buffy in long slow strokes. He wasn’t surprised when she started to move along with him. They’d always had perfect rhythm, even as enemies.

Buffy’s mouth sought out Spike’s. Her soft pink tongue made its way inside of his mouth, searching for and finding his own. What started out as a gentle kiss soon turned passionate and wild. Buffy felt Spike increase the movement of his hips to match their tongues. Arms and legs and tongues, they were tightly wrapped together, writhing in an open ritual of reclaiming.

Buffy felt Spike slip into game face and she let out a low moan of desire. She loved all of him. She wanted all of him. Right now, however, she needed the demon. She needed to feel him inside of her in a way only he could be. She arched her neck and pressed it hard against his mouth.

Spike new what she was asking for but he didn’t want to do that until she knew who she was again, so he simply sucked on the offered flesh. He knew she was close to coming. He sucked harder as he bucked against her. His girl was almost there. He reverted back to human form and bit with his blunt teeth. When he felt her walls start to shutter he allowed himself release.

Buffy lay against Spike like a puddle. She’d just had the best orgasm of her life. Or at least she thought she did. Hard to tell when all you have is false memories. She was a little disappointed that he hadn’t wanted to bite her. “Spike,” She said softly.

“Yes, kitten?”

“How come you didn’t want to bite me?”

Spike gave a harsh laugh. “Couldn’t have that one more wrong, Slayer. It took every ounce of self control I have not to bite you. Wanted it so bad, baby.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

“Because I want you to know what I’m doing. To know who I am. To know who you are. Then, and only then will I claim you. It wouldn’t be right otherwise.” Spike explained as he held her close.

Buffy thought about it for a minute. All she could think to say was, “I love you, Spike.”

“Love you too, Buffy. Love you so damn much.” He held her close, not willing to ever let go.



Chapter 15



Ethan stepped off the plane and looked around. He was excited about this job. Memory spells were tricky. Whoever had successfully implemented this one must be a powerful sorcerer. Ethan looked forward to taking apart magic that had been so expertly laid. It was a challenge. He scanned the crowd before him to locate his driver. No one appeared to be looking for him. He was about to give up and just head out to the street, when he saw a young man in black jeans with a black skull t-shirt on rushing toward him.

“Sorry,” Kyle said as he reached for Ethan’s carry on. “I’m not usually late, but there was a problem with the car. We just got all of our cars, after my Sire killed the old demon guys, and sometimes we find a Serious Glitch in them. So, not cool, man.”

Ethan knew exactly what the young vampire was referring to. Serious Glitches were horrid little demons who occasionally inhabited mechanisms of the 20th and 21st century. Often, very powerful demons would purposefully put one in their automobiles to prevent them from being stolen. Nasty little buggers. “Not a problem,” Ethan assured him as they left the terminal.

“I’m Kyle, by the way,” Kyle turned, awkwardly shuffling the large bag, to offer Ethan his hand.

Ethan shook the boy’s hand with a wry smile. He could tell the young man was trying to act very professional. It was quite charming. “Nice to meet you Kyle, I’m Ethan Rayne.”

“I hope you can help my Sire. Personally, I think this is just stupid. What if something bad happens when you perform the reversal spell? I don’t understand why she can’t just live her life from here. She’s got Spike and she’s got us, why does she need to remember the jerks that did this to her?” Kyle led Ethan out of the airport doors and across to the parking area.

“It’s complicated, Kyle. Imagine not knowing anything true about yourself. Imagine taking a bite of tiramisu, and you start to say ‘this is the best tiramisu I’ve ever tasted’, and then suddenly realizing that that might not be true. It may not seem so important when applied to food, but now apply that to things like love.” Ethan waited for Kyle’s brain to absorb this concept as he followed the boy along.

Kyle approached a large black Cadillac with darkened windows. He pulled out a switch and pushed a button to unlock the trunk. He put Ethan’s bag in it and shut it soundly. Then he pushed another button and unlocked the doors. He got behind the wheel and waited for Ethan to let himself in. When Ethan had buckled his seatbelt, Kyle started the car, and then turned to look at him. “Your right, that would be horrible. Just please, don’t hurt my Sire. She’s all my sister and I have.”

Ethan’s eyes widened in shock. “You have your soul.”

Kyle chuckled and put the car into reverse. “Yeah, my Sire’s funny like that.”

Ethan contemplated this startling news as they drove throughCleveland’s busy streets. Who exactly was this Joan Williams? The boy had also mentioned something about a Spike. He wondered if it was the Spike who had helped Giles the time Ethan had slipped him a mickey. If so, was it another souled vampire? Were these people connected with Giles and the new Council somehow? So many questions. He wasn’t sure he was quite looking forward to getting the answers.

“We’re here,” Kyle said as he pulled into a large parking garage. “This is where the cars are stored. Not a single cool one in the bunch.”

Ethan looked around at the vehicles. The boy was right. There were four big identical sedans parked side by side. He got a look at the various license plates and couldn’t help but muster a laugh. DRAKAR 1, 2, 3, and 4. “I take it the former Boss had a thing for cheap cologne.”

Kyle rolled his eyes as he took Ethan’s bag out of the trunk. “You have no idea! We took over his apartment above The Hock Shop. It reeked. Luckily, Joan took the master bedroom, ‘cause it was the worst. With a lot of cleaning and a lot of girly stuff sprayed in there, it finally smells half way decent.” Kyle explained as they made their way to a private entrance and up the steps to the top floor.

“Anything I should know before stepping in there?” Ethan asked him casually.

Kyle thought for a minute, not sure what the guy was asking. “Uh-uh, can’t think of a thing.” And he opened the door.

Ethan walked in and his mouth dropped open. He turned to look at the vampire boy behind him. “Telling me the Slayer was here didn’t qualify as anything I might like to know?”

“Sorry, man, but the Slayer is my Sire. She’s the one you’re here to fix.” Kyle shut the door and dropped Ethan’s bag on the floor. He walked into the room and gave Joan a kiss on the cheek. “Safe and sound as promised.”

Buffy gave Kyle a quick squeeze before she walked over to extend her hand to Ethan. “Hello, I’m Buffy apparently. I go by Joan Williams. Spike tells me that we know one another.”

Ethan was worried that this was all a trick. Someway to trap him after he escaped from the government complex. He started to move backwards, toward the door, but found himself up against something hard and unmoving. He turned to look at the object. Oh, yes Spike. “Hello.”

“Hello, mate. Weren’t thinking of going anywhere were you?” Spike said evenly from behind.

“No, not at all.” Ethan stepped into the room, knowing full well that he couldn’t possibly beat the vampire to the door. Not this one. He was old. Damn. Ethan looked around the room as he helped himself to a seat on the couch. “I suppose my old friend Rupert, is hiding behind one of these doors, or perhaps a full military unit?”

Buffy looked at Spike questioningly. He gave her a smile as he took a seat opposite Ethan, and then patted his lap for her to sit down. She eagerly crawled into Spike’s lap and then turned to look at the strange, nervous man who was eyeing her speculatively. “What’s he talking about?”

“Well, luv, like I said, you and Ethan have a bit of history. He did a dastardly thing to you and yours a time or two. He and Giles, you remember the one that I said was your watcher? They used to be mates. They had a falling out. One went evil, the other went white hat, and never the twain shall meet. Except of course, to try and destroy the other. Anyway, after he pulled a nasty trick on your watcher, your military boyfriend took him into custody.”

“I had a military boyfriend?” Buffy didn’t like the sound of that. “Why?”

Spike laughed. “Don’t rightly know, luv. I suspect it had something to do with wanting to be all normal like.”

Buffy laughed along with Spike. “Why would a vampire slayer try and be normal? That’s just stupid. Plus, I’ve done normal. Boring. And there are pills.”

Spike hugged her to him. “It’ll all be right in a bit, kitten. Ethan here will straighten you out.”

“I find myself actually believing this display, but it would be rather nice if someone could assure me that once I restore Miss Summer’s memories, she won’t just send me back to my lovely cell, so richly appointed by theU.S. government?” Ethan wasn’t particularly liking the situation he’d found himself in.

Spike gave Ethan an evil smile. “Rupert Giles and Willow Rosenburg were the two spell casters in this trip to hell. That answer your question?”

Ethan nodded. He still wasn’t entirely sure, but he doubted the master vampire would let him leave without doing what he had been paid to do. He thought of the lovely little numbers resting securely in his Swiss bank account, and got up from the couch to retrieve his bag. “It won’t take long. I just need some blood, some hair, some tears, and some spit from Miss Summers. I prepared the rest of the spell before coming here.”

Spike tensed up beneath Buffy. He wanted this for her, he really did, but he was terrified that once she was herself and she realized that he was no longer soul having, she’d turn away from him.

Buffy sensed Spike’s tension. She turned and nuzzled his neck. “Don’t worry baby. I’ll never stop loving you.”

“What if you still love me, but you can’t let yourself be with me?” Spike’s voice was small, too small for such a great man.

Buffy hated the pain and doubt coming from him. “It’s not gonna happen. I promise.”

Spike gave her a tremulous smile. “Better call the young ones in. They’ll want to be a part of this.”

“Kyle, Timber, get out here please!” Buffy yelled.

“Woman, vampire here, couldn’t you have just gone in to get them?” Spike whined as he tried to shake off the ringing in his ear.

Buffy kissed each of his ears. “Sorry, baby.”

“I’m ready. I’ll need Mr. Spike to help with the casting.” Ethan came up to Spike and handed him a piece of paper. “You do read Latin, don’t you?”

Spike looked deeply offended. He snatched the paper out of Ethan’s hands. “Yeah, you nit.” Spike looked over the spell. It appeared on the up and up. “You know of course if anything happens to her, you’ll die. Painfully. Nothing could stop me.”

Ethan gave Spike a knowing smile. “Oh, yes. I realized from the moment I walked in here that my life will constantly be on the line. Such pleasant working conditions, I really have to thank you all.”

“Where do you want me?” Buffy asked Ethan.

“You can sit on the couch as soon as I’ve collected all of the things I need.” Ethan began taking samples from Buffy and adding them to some kind of tin ceremonial bowl. Once the ingredients were mixed he allowed Buffy to take a seat on the couch. He then handed the bowl to Spike to take a sip. After Spike, Ethan took a drink himself. Then he put the bowl down as he and Spike started to chant in Latin. Soon there was a mist rising out of the bowl and out of their mouths. The mist entered Buffy and her entire body started to radiate with heat. She let out a small scream as a black light came out just as the mist had gone in.

Spike wanted to run to her but he knew better than to stop chanting until Ethan indicated the spell was complete. He watched intently as Buffy settled into the couch in a slump. Ethan stopped chanting and nodded to Spike.

Spike scooped her up in his arms, heedless of his earlier worries of rejection. “You okay, baby?”

Buffy let out small sob. “Nuh-uh, my best friend and my watcher stole my life. How can I be okay? Why did they think they could do this to me? And to Angel? And to you? You lost your soul because of this!” Buffy yelled.

Spike immediately released her and stood up. “Losing my soul wasn’t the worst of it.” He turned to walk away.

“Spike! You idiot, get back here. I love you!” Buffy didn’t have the energy to go after him. What would she do if he left her?

Spike turned around with his unbeating heart clinched tight. “I know you love me. Do you still want me? Like this?”

Buffy opened her arms up to him. “Always. Always. Don’t you ever leave me!”

Spike sat back down on the couch and pulled her into his arms where she belonged. He saw Timber and Kyle looking nervously at them. “Luv, I think you might want to reassure the children.”

Buffy looked over at Timber and Kyle. “Come here and give me a hug. It’s fine.”

“You still want to be our Sire?” Kyle needed confirmation.

“Of course. It’s a little weird, but hey, I’ve never followed the handbook.” She gave them a bright smile. “You two are the family I chose. That has to say something, right?”

Timber’s face lit up with happiness as she launched herself at her adopted mother. “I love you,” she said into the side of Buffy’s neck.

“Love you too, sweetheart.” Buffy assured her. She looked at Kyle with a raised an eyebrow. “Is someone scared of a little hug?”

Kyle just rolled his eyes as he came over to join in the group hug. “I just needed to be sure, you know?”

“I know, you’re a boy.” Buffy gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I love you, Kyle. Your mine.”

Kyle turned his head away, not wanting any of them to see the emotion in his eyes. “Ya, love you too.”

“This is touching, really. But I was wondering if I might be free to leave now?” Ethan was holding his bag up.

“Of course,” Buffy spoke up from the group huddle. “But Ethan, I’m not the Buffy you knew. I’ve changed. I will kill you, if you cross me in anyway, and I’ll do it with a smile on my face.” She let the lethalness that had served her so well recently seep into her eyes.

“Oh, I get the message.” Ethan turned to leave.

“Dude, do you need a ride?” Kyle asked.

“No, I’ll be fine thank you. I really, just want to be as far away from you people as I possibly can.” Ethan walked out the door without so much as a bye your leave.

“Would you two mind going down to the bar and making sure it’s ready to open in a few hours?” Buffy asked Kyle and Timber.

“No problem.” Kyle got up and tugged Timber along with him. He knew his Sire wanted some alone time with her man.

After they left Buffy looked into Spike’s loving blue eyes. “It was this that kept me tied to you. This look that only you can give me. No one has ever looked at me the way you do, Spike. That last night as I fell asleep, I thought to myself, that I never wanted another day to go by where I did not see you looking at me that way.” Fat tears started to roll down her cheeks. “Why did they take that away from me?”

“I don’t know, baby, they meant well.” Spike tried to comfort her.

“They were always trying to interfere in my life, always. But this time they went too far. I can’t forgive this, Spike. I just can’t.” Buffy buried herself against his chest again.

“Don’t have to, luv. But I suppose the ‘killing them all plan’ went out the window?” Spike said with disappointment.

Buffy chuckled. “We can discuss it after the claiming.”

Spike stilled against her in shock. “You still want to go through with that?”

Buffy looked into his eyes, desperately hoping she reflected the kind of love he always showed to her. “More than anything in this world or any other. Make me yours, William.”

Spike pulled her in for a deep kiss, claiming her with his mouth before he claimed her with his demon.



Chapter 16





Buffy lay very still as Spike’s hands made their way inside her shirt. His fingers probed lazily at the hallows of her flesh. He was moving slow. Oh, so slow. It was as if he was mapping her skin, memorizing her topography. When his hands made their way to the top of her shirt, when his knuckles were lying against her color bone, he took a great breath and just looked at her.

One moment he was William, eyes as sweet as the summer sky, the next he was Spike, eyes as dangerous as a jungle cat. He gripped her shirt from the inside and savagely ripped it in two. Then he swooped down on her neck and gave her a long lick. His tongue sent icy points of sensation straight to her core. She remained still. Waiting.

Spike wanted to take all of her inside of him. He wanted to absorb her. Claim her like no other had been claimed before. He wanted to become her, and for her to become him. He wanted to erase every moment of separation. He wanted them to be one. He placed his lips against her neck and sucked the sensitive skin into his mouth. He let her flavor roll around on his tongue and settle in the back of his throat. This was Buffy. His Buffy. He was still drowning in her, and he realized he always would be.

He leaned up, making eye contact with her, as he shifted to his knees. He pulled his black t-shirt over his head, and then moved his hands down to his pants. All the while she watched, never moving. She was letting him lead, letting him initiate her in a ritual as old as time. When Spike had freed himself, he leaned down to nip and worry at the flesh around her bellybutton. Throaty moans and growls erupting from him as he softly bit his way down to the top of her pants.

He gave her jeans the oddest look, as if he couldn’t understand what they were doing there. With his head cocked to the side he pulled them apart and down her legs. He tossed the two strips of material aside like they were the greatest of offenses. Then in a predatory move, he leaned down and captured both of her hands in his. He held them tightly as he gripped her lace panties with his teeth. They were nothing but a fancy wrap to the prize below. He discarded them with ease. Then he looked at the center of her sex. The soft, round mound covered with short dark curls. Did those curls exist to protect? Were they merely trying to hide what lay below? The glistening pink walls whose scent drifted up to him. Calling him. He could feel his mouth fill with saliva.

The anticipation became too much for Buffy and she gave the tiniest of pushes up towards his face. Spike gripped her hands almost painfully as he growled a fierce warning to her. She let out a breath and willed herself to relax.

Once she was stilled, the demon released her hands, letting his own trail down her thighs. He ran them underneath her body, gripping the inside of her legs, rubbing his fingers in those two soft hallows at the apex of her sex. He pulled her legs firmly, but gently, apart. Now laid before him, was his prize. He stuck his tongue out and moved with deliberate slowness to give her one long lick. Ambrosia.

It took everything Buffy had, not to go wild at that lick. She was pretty sure, that if she had let herself, she would have cum from just that one lick. As it was she could feel herself pool with moisture. She wanted. She wanted so badly.

Spike watched in glee as Buffy’s center began to drip with the physical evidence of her lust. ‘Mine’, he thought. This was his. He did this to her, and he knew without a doubt, that no other had, or ever would have, this kind of effect on her. She was his, even before the bite he would place on her, she was his. With that thought, he leaned in and received his bounty.

Spike’s tongue worked Buffy over in ways that she’d never imagined. Every lick followed by a nip. His tongue delving inside of her and then back out again. He had her working every which way, and not knowing where she was going. She was sure she would start to weep from the torture at any minute. She needed so badly to cum, but was afraid that wasn’t what he wanted.

When Spike was satisfied he gave the inside of her thigh a gentle kiss. He sat up and looked at his golden girl. “So beautiful, so perfect, so mine,” he said huskily as he started to crawl up her body. “Gonna make you mine forever, baby,” he said as he hovered over her. The hard tip of his penis, waiting just outside of her opening. He kissed her lips, giving her the faintest taste of her own juices, before leaning back up again to stare into her dark green eyes. “Do you understand what we are about to do? Do you want this? Do you want me? To be forever mine? Do you Buffy? Do you baby?”

Buffy had to kick her strangled response system into gear. “Yes,” she choked out, “please!”

With one movement of his hips, he had himself buried inside of her. He put one hand behind her head and the other around her waist. He tilted her head to the side and pulled her sharply against him all at once. “Mine,” he growled as he sank his teeth into her hot flesh. This wasn’t a gentle slip of the fangs. This was a brutal marking that was to indicate to the entire world her possession by him.

Spike moved his head side to side, ripping open the holes slightly more as her blood burst forth on his tongue. It mingled with the flavor from her sex, creating the single most delicious taste he’d ever experienced. He suckled from her long and hard as he remained buried to the hilt inside of her body. When he was sure it had taken, that she irrevocably belonged to him. He lifted his face away from her neck. “Now make me yours, Buffy.”

Buffy looked at the demon above her. His face was a mask of passion, ferocity, and blood. The bite had been painful. It hadn’t just marked her body, it had marked her soul. She was his. Always his. Now, she wanted nothing more, than to make him hers. She finally allowed herself to move. Languidly she brought her arms up to circle around his neck. She slowly pulled him down so that she could lick the blood off of his face.

Spike felt a shudder go threw him at her actions. She was going to make him wait, just like he’d made her wait. He let a stillness fall over him, as he gave in to her. When she was done with his face, she used her slayer strength to flip them, keeping him deep inside of her. Then she stretched her arms in the air, and rotated her hips, squeezing his shaft as she did so. Fuck. It was hard to stay still.

Buffy lowered her arms and splayed her hands across his chest. So hard. So white. So, so soft. It was all for her. She let her hands settle on his small pink nipples. She rubbed them with her thumbs, giving a throaty chuckle as they pebbled. She leaned down and pulled one into her mouth. She had to pull hard on his muscled chest to get it between her teeth, but it was well worth the effort. She felt Spike give a little buck as she suckled. She bit down, careful not to break the skin, and gave him a growl, to let him know she didn’t approve of his moving. This was her game. It was her turn to play.

She let his nipple go, and swiftly moved on to the next one, just giving it a nice nip. Then she worked her way up to his throat. She knew from past experience just how sensitive the skin on his neck was. She sucked and gently bit her way onto his jaw. She loved this part of him. It was the weakest part, and by far her favorite. If she could write poetry, she would write it about his jaw line. It spoke of the man he was, and the man he always would be. She often thought it was his jaw that had kept him form being purely evil, it was an unbreakable connection to his humanity. She ran her tongue all along his jaw line, before allowing herself to probe his mouth.

Sweet taste of Spike. It was the taste of home. It was the taste of love. She wished there was a way to crawl in there and stay. Reluctantly she pulled away and looked into his once again blue eyes. “Do you love me William? Do you want me forever? Do you want to be mine? Always mine, as I am always yours? Forever?”

“Yes,” Spike hissed. “Yours.”

Buffy wasted no time. She was done with patience. She ducked her head into the hallow of his neck and bit down, giving the same little shake Spike had to make the blood flow freely, and to make the marks stay. She let his blood pour down her throat. She wanted him inside of her in a fundamental way. She wanted her cells to merge with his. To mutate into something that wasn’t just Buffy, but a Buffy laced with Spike. After a while, she pulled away and looked at him. “Mine.”

Spike growled and morphed back into his vampire visage. Now, only now, would they have sex. Now they could find completion in each other’s arms. They moved as one. Writhing and biting, not afraid to draw blood, not afraid to cause pain. Screams tore from their throats. Growls erupted as they attacked one another’s body; each trying desperately to crawl inside of the other. Finally, at the pinnacle, when they both felt they were near death, their orgasms tore over them. A primal scream ripped from each of their throats. Their transformations were complete. They were born anew from their love and passion. Bound forever as mates.



Chapter 17



In the bar below, Kyle heard the scream of his Sire. He was about to take off, and run up the stairway, when a strong arm stopped him.

Drugg knew exactly what was going on in the apartment above them. He gave a deep chuckle, “You don’t want to go there boy. Your Sire is fine, more than fine.” He turned back to polishing up the bar rail.

“It sounded like she was in pain, like he was killing her.” Kyle still wasn’t sure that Drugg knew what he was talking about.

“Yeah she was in pain,” Drugg turned blood red eyes onto the young man. “A special kind of pain that only comes to demons with really great sex. Get used to it.” Drugg shook his head. Virgins. They annoyed him. He would have to think about getting the boy laid. Then again, the kid sort of had a father now. Drugg gave a shrug. It was probably best to let the master vampire lead the boy into manhood. Plus, that way if Joan got ticked, it wouldn’t cause Drugg’s head to vacation several feet away from his body.

Timber had heard the scream as well, but instinctively she had an idea of what it meant. She’d always been very in tun with people’s emotions. Her friend Kelly, who dabbled in witchcraft, used to refer to Timber as an empath. Timber walked over to her brother to reassure him. “It’s okay Kyle, really. Joan and Spike are just sort of becoming one up there.”

“What do you mean?” Kyle was still confused. “Did he turn her?”

“No, silly. They mated, at least I think they did.” Timber wasn’t sure if that was exactly what she was feeling, never having felt it before. She simply had no frame of reference for this.

Drugg turned to look at Timber with a new eye. This girl had a bit of mojo to her. He filed that info away for future use. “Your sister’s probably right. It was only a matter of time with those two.” Drugg hitched a thumb in the direction of the floor above them. “Mating is a good thing. All demons have their own way of doing it. For vampires it involves a claiming bite and an acknowledgment of the claim. A two way claim is a mating. In a single claim, one party has influence over the other. Spike will act as the male leader of your clan now. You can ask him about stuff like this. It’s his job to educate you both. Train you up.”

Kyle had never had a father, not even a father figure. He couldn’t decide if he liked the sound of this or not. He was kind of used to being the man of the house, but then again he was kind of tired of being the man of the house. Joan had been easy. She was a woman. Between his useless mother and his sweet sister he’d been very accustomed to being bossed around by women. He knew that if he caused any problems with Spike, that he’d be out on his skinny, white but. He was going to have to learn to accept Spike. Soon.

Kyle’s musings were interrupted as he felt Spike and Buffy making their way down the stairs. He turned to Timber and saw her eyes drawn to the stairwell. Apparently Kyle’s acceptance of Spike would have to come a little bit more than soon, it would have to come right now. He looked to Drugg, but the older man was busy arranging things behind the bar. He turned back to the stairwell and felt his knees grow week. The couple was practically radiating with power. They were walking hand in hand. Kyle could see their auras pouring into one another. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever witnessed. He tore his eyes away to look at his sister.

Timber felt the tears running down her face. She didn’t care. This was a moment that would be forever etched in her mind. She knew what they were coming to do. While the power was still fresh between them, they were coming to place a familial claim upon her and Kyle. They were going to make them a family.

Spike and Buffy split into two, each approaching a young fledgling. Spike took Kyle. He stalked over to the boy with a purposeful stride. “I’m going to make you mine, boy. Do you understand?”

Strangely, Kyle did. He nodded his head and then tilted it sideways, offering Spike access. He stiffened as he felt Spike’s sharp fangs inter his neck. He was released as fast as it started, and then he smelled the most wonderful smell. Blood. Rich, old, powerful blood. He took Spike’s offered wrist and fell to his knees. He reverently leaned over to drink the blood, freely given. When he was done he looked over at his sister.

Timber was on her knees as well. Weeping and drinking. Buffy’s bite had been swift and gentle. The offering great.

The two stunned children stayed on their knees as the process was repeated with Buffy and Spike switching places. When it was over, they drew the children to a stand. Spike was the one to speak, the one familiar with the formalities of the ritual. “We are a clan. A family. The two of you belong to us. We fight for one another. We owe loyalty to one another. Nothing comes between us. Nothing. Do you both understand?”

“Yes,” Kyle and Timber said in unison.

Spike looked to Drugg, who had caught on to the proceedings about the time Buffy and Spike had hit the bottom step. Drugg felt privileged, it was a rare thing for an outsider to get a glimpse into vampire clan rituals. “Do you stand as witness to this event?” Spike asked Drugg.

Drugg nodded, “Yes, I do.”

“It’s done then.” Spike took Buffy’s hand and gave it a gentle kiss. Then with his trademark grin in place he turned to look at the room. “Well, have fun kids. The mom and I are headed back upstairs for some more couple time. Be good. Don’t eat anyone I wouldn’t eat.”

Buffy hit him on the back of the head. “Spike! Stop it. They’ll think you’re serious.” She looked at her two sweet kids. They were really hers now. “He doesn’t mean it. Well, he means it about the couple time, he just doesn’t mean that you should eat anyone.”

Spike pulled her along after him shaking his head. “You can be eternally bound to a master vampire, have the best sex of your existence, form a clan, and still rattle on like a little old lady.”

“I was not rattling!” Buffy huffed as she followed him, or was drug rather, up the stairs. “I was clarifying.”

Spike turned to look at her as they reached the apartment door. “No. Clarifying involves making things clearer. What you did was muck things up.” He reached down and scooped her up in his arms. “Just,” he kissed her lips as he opened the door with his free hand, “like,” he stepped over the threshold and kicked the door shut with his foot, “a little old lady.”

Buffy was getting lost in the kisses, but at the ‘little old lady’ part she perked back up. “I’ll show you who’s not a little old lady!” she exclaimed.

“I just bet you will!” Spike growled.



Chapter 18



Buffy had her head comfortably nestled against Spike’s chest. She was right where she belonged. Spike was looking with amusement at the little domination list she had made. “So, oh great and powerful Master of Cleveland, now that you’ve conquered the Hellmouth, whatcha gonna do?”

Buffy rolled away to look at him. “Are you making fun of me again?”

“I might be. Then again, I am a man who just a short time ago existed solely for revenge, so it’s more than possible that I’m dead serious. What should we do aboutWillow and the rest of your silly Scoobie gang?” Spike turned on his side so that they were face to face. He reached out with one lazy finger and drew a line down the end of her nose. He loved her nose.

Buffy heaved a great sigh. “I just don’t know. I’m so angry.” She paused to consider things. “I don’t want to kill her anymore exactly, but I have to do something. She needs to be punished for what she did to us, and what she did to Angel. Oh, Angel,” Buffy said with a sob.

Spike pulled her in close, realizing she was just now truly mourning the death of her first love. “I know baby. That wasn’t the way for a champion to go out.” He held her tightly against him while she cried.

“He deserved so much better after what he did. He finally turns human, and he gets saddled with a woman who’s desperately in love with another man. It’s so unfair.” Buffy hated the last eighteen months now more than she had before she regained her memory.

Spike felt for her and he felt for Angel, but he couldn’t help the little leap of joy and triumph at her declaration of hopeless love. It felt good to be loved so completely by her and to have her admit it so freely. “Don’t look at it that way, kitten. Think of the good parts. Angel got to live the human life he wanted. He had the woman of his dreams, and something tells me you didn’t let on that you didn’t love him.”

“Not in words, but he had to of known.” Buffy sat and thought about how genuinely happy Angel had seemed all of the time. Maybe he hadn’t known. Maybe he really had enjoyed the last few months of his life.

“Well, we are going to have to figure out what to do pretty quickly. I’m sure I made better time than Angel’s team did in getting here, but I figure they ought to be hitting the city limits any hour now. When they catch sight of you the shit is going to hit the fan, andWillow’s sportin’ some pretty sharp blades these days,” Spike exclaimed.

“We could call Giles. Sort it out with him. Maybe he was under a persuasion spell too? Maybe even Dawn was. I just hate to think that they all would do this to me.” She looked desperately at Spike. “You did say Xander and Anya weren’t a part of this right?”

“Sort of. Xander gave a big thumbs down. The demon bird didn’t bother to raise a thumb. Neutral as ever, that one.” Spike was careful not to mention too much about Anya. That was a sore point between he and Buffy, even though to quote that geeky paleontologist from that sitcom Dawn used to watch, ‘They were on a break,’ he figured it was best to mention her as little as possible. “I figure our best bet is to find a way to ground her. Take away her magic or something. I don’t know much about this type of thing really. I don’t much like magic. Try to keep away from it if I can.”

“So that’s why you were all into doing that love spell when Dru left you?” Buffy huffed.

Spike gave her a wicked little look. “Somebody’s jealous.”

“Angel. Blow jobs. Lots.” Buffy could do wicked too.

Spike morphed and growled as he rolled on top of her. “Not a word about the blissful married sex life. Not. A. Word.” He bent down to emphasize his point by biting her when suddenly he felt fangs clearly enter the skin above his shoulder blade. Wide eyed he pulled away from her.

Spike’s mouth hung open as he looked at her. “You bit me.”

“You were going to bite me too!” Buffy defended herself.

“Yeah, but... I don’t think you’re gettin’ this.” Spike leaned back down to her and ran his tongue against the inside of her mouth.

Buffy moaned appreciatively when Spike’s rich blood flowed into her mouth as his tongue stroked her fangs. Fangs? She gulped. After pushing Spike roughly to the side she sat up and ran a hand along her face. “I have bumpies! I’m a vampire!”

Spike leaned down and listened to her heartbeat. “Nope, luv, you still have a heartbeat. Which is funny really, ‘cause not only did you die and come back, but you are indeed sporting a full vamp face right now.”

Buffy’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m ugly,” she wailed as she covered her face with her hands.

Spike who was in game face himself gave a great huff. “Fine. That’s how it is. I see. You only find me attractive when I look human. You love the man and not the demon. Or at least you don’t find the demon sexually attractive. Perhaps I should stay out of game face permanently.”

“Spike!” Buffy hit him squarely on the jaw. “Over a hundred years with a woman, and you never learned when it was time to offer reassurance? I was looking for a compliment, you bleached moron! It’s not let’s make Spike feel good about himself time. It’s let’s make the newly vamp-faced Buffy feel good about herself time!”

Spike looked at her again. He grabbed her hand and placed it on his rock hard cock. “That answer your question. Vampire here, luv. I happen to find the bumpies quite attractive.” That should reassure her.

To his utter shock, Buffy burst into a fresh bout of tears. “You never really found me attractive did you? You always wished I was a vampire!”

What? “No, no, baby. I’ve always found you attractive, even when I was trying to kill you.” Spike said carefully. He really wasn’t sure what was safe to say and what wasn’t at the moment. Was there some kind of mating handbook or something?

“Really?” Buffy looked at him and her face morphed back into its human visage.

“Really. Now come here and give us a cuddle.” Spike opened up him arms.

Buffy moved into Spike’s arms and put her head back on his chest. She loved it here, just listening to his heartbeat. Heartbeat? She sprang up and looked at him much the way he had looked at her a few moments before. “You,” she pointed at him accusingly.

‘What now?’ Spike thought. “Yes, me.”

“You have a heartbeat,” Buffy accused.

“Your daft, woman.” Spike put his hand to his own chest and then ripped it away as if he’d been burned. He jumped away from the bed. “What did you do?”

“Me?” Buffy squawked.

“Well, I sure as hell didn’t go and make myself human again. I don’t want to be human. I was a sniveling, weak, little poet boy. I’m not going back to that!” He yelled.

“Spike, be rational. Think about it for a moment.” She vamped, “Here, make a game face.”

Spike immediately vamped. “Oh, yes. Thank you.” He put his hand to his heart. “Nearly gave me a heart attack, you did.” He looked at her with renewed horror. “I really could have a heart attack now.”

Buffy rolled her eyes as she walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around him and tilted her head up to look in his eyes. “You are not going to have a heart attack, you big baby. You’ll be fine. I’ll be fine. It’s obviously some weird mating thingy. You should know all about this stuff, figure it out.”

“I’ve never known anyone who mated with anything but another vampire. You and I are different,” Spike explained.

“Okay. Well, maybe we’re a first. Gee, I’d call Giles for a research party, but I wouldn’t want him stripping our memories and convincing us we’re German rice farmers or something.” Buffy said snidely.

“Uh, luv, pretty sure there aren’t any such things as German rice farms,” Spike pointed out.

“You know what I mean,” Buffy said as she held him tightly.

Spike thought that in no way did he ever know exactly what this woman meant. She was female and she was Buffy. She constantly surprised him. He smiled and kissed the top of her head. “Life with you is gonna be incredible, Slayer.”

Buffy smiled up at him. “You think so?”

“I know so. I love you, Goldilocks,” Spike said, offering her all the reassurance she needed.

“I love you too, Blondie.”



Chapter 19





Wesley was tired. He could not comprehend how the bulk of the driving had fallen to him. All he wanted was a nice warm bed followed by a plane ticket home. Their finances had been somewhat challenged since Angel’s departure from their lives, and so they had been forced to drive all the way toCleveland instead of fly. The thought of Angel sent a pang to Wesley’s chest. He wondered, not for the first time, why they had agreed to replacing his memories without his knowledge. As soon as the thought entered his head, the reason came to him as clear as day: so he could be happy. Oh, yes. Funny, how he kept forgetting that. Wesley hoped the last eighteen months of Angel’s life had been all that he deserved.

He looked at the back of the Suburban and caught a glimpse of Fred smiling back at him. He thought perhaps her feelings might be changing towards him. Certainly, she seemed to be over her relationship with Gunn. Lorne sat sandwiched between the two of them. He looked truly miserable. Wesley knew that Lorne would like to be riding in the passenger seat, but unfortunately his bright green complexion had a tendency to catch the eye of the highway patrol. Beside Wesley, sat Connor.

The poor boy had been through so much this past year. First, Cordy had died. That had been devastating to everyone, but especially to Connor. Cordy had been like a mother to him. When she came back from her celestial being duty, there had been something evil residing inside of her. Lorne had caught onto it immediately, and the whole team came together to form an intervention. They’d killed the evil but lost Cordelia in the process. Then right after, his father gets his great reward and is sent off to Never Never Land to live happily ever after. Why had they done that again? Separated a father from his son? Wesley shook his head to clear it. Oh, that’s right, so Angel could be happy.

Wesley pulled into a motel parking lot and turned off the ignition. “Okay, rise and shine people. We’re in the lovely city ofCleveland. Let’s sleep.”

Wesley went in to register and get the room keys while the rest of them grabbed their baggage. When Wesley came back, they trudged wearily after him to their rooms. They let themselves in and collapsed on the beds, never once noticing the many eyes that noted their arrival.



********



Spike thanked the odd little demon for the information and then sent him on his way. He turned to his mate who was trying hard not to laugh at him. “What?” Spike huffed. “You try being comfortable around one of those things. What the hell was he anyway? And why does he need a hundred eyes? It was bloody unnerving. I had no idea which eye to look into. Next time, you be the big boss and deal with the informants.”

Buffy came over and ran her fingers through his hair. “Sorry, baby, you’re right, that was a little odd. Very helpful though. So, we have five AI team members to deal with. We can’t kill them until we know whether or not they were under a persuasion spell.”

Spike looked at her. “You know, how much I love it when you talk all bad?” He tried to pull her in for a kiss, but she wasn’t having any of it.

“Nuh-uh, talk first, kiss later. What should we do?” Buffy was worried. She and Spike had discussed it for hours and they just weren’t any clearer on what they should do aboutWillow or anybody else for that matter.

“Well, luv, I figure we have two options. One, we give them misinformation. Let them tellWillow you’re a Habbrack demon or something and watch as she comes swooping in to kill you. Take care of her then. Two, we can capture Angel’s dolts, torture them for information.” He saw the warning look in Buffy’s eyes. “I mean gently question them to see if they were persuaded, and see where to go from there.”

Buffy thought about it. He was right those were the two best options. The misinformation thing was tricky though. How much better to have the AI team on their side, then supply the misinformation, and have extra back up for when Willow swooped in. Of course, if it turned out that the AI team wasn’t under any persuasion spell, she would be stuck with five people she had absolutely no idea of what to do with. Killing didn’t sound as bad as it should.

“Let’s capture them,” Buffy said. “Exactly how can we do that?”

“See, this is the kind of stuff you need me for. I have experience in running evil empires and minion deployment.” Spike smiled at her wickedly.

“Oh, yeah, you’re the king of evil organization.” Buffy rolled her eyes. “But, this inexperienced, newly evil-initiated little slip of a woman has an idea.”

“What’s that then?” Spike asked.

“We do nothing. Let them come to us. That’s what they’re here for right? To get a good look at me and report back? Will lead them on a merry trail that sends them right here to The Hock Shop. Then we’ll lock up the doors and have ourselves a round-up.” She flashed him a smile.

Spike growled and finally succeeded at pulling her onto his lap for a little ravishing. “You are do damn sexy when you’re plotting.”

“Ah, you say the sweetest things,” Buffy said as she gripped him by the shoulders and turned so she was straddling him.





Chapter 20





Gunn came into the cheep motel room in a hell of a bad mood. It had been decided that since he was the only one in the group, excluding Lorne, who carried any ethnicity, that he would be the one to walk the streets ofCleveland and try to get a hook on the Master’s identity. Just what Gunn had always dreamed of; working vice. He looked at the four people lying on the big queen bed obviously caught up in some pay-per-view movie and gritted his teeth.

“You all care about what I busted my ass for, or should I just head back out on the streets with my people?” Gunn asked snidely. Why was he with these white folks again? He was all for fighting the good fight, but sometimes this group got on his last nerve.

Four heads turned to look at him, completely perplexed. Gunn just shook his head as he collapsed into a chair. “I got info. You want it?”

Wesley straightened up into a sitting position. “Of course, Gunn, I’m sorry if you don’t think your efforts are appreciated. I assure you, they are. You know I would have gone out myself, if I thought I would have had any chance of success.”

Gunn thought about Wesley, even the new rough and tough version of Wesley, hustling for info on the streets, and he couldn’t help but let out a laugh. He felt a little bit of patience return. “Naw, man, it’s cool. Word is that there’s a heavy demon mafia in this place just like the witch-head said. The boys I talked to said they stay away from all that. The demon and the human world exist side by side here, but they don’t interact unless its one of the demons interacting with the flesh of one the humans, if you know what I mean. But, and here’s the weird part, since the new Master’s taken over, that don’t happen too much. The number of human fatalities has gone way way down.”

Bored as only a teenager stuck with a room full of adults on a road trip to hell could be, Conner rolled his eyes. “Exactly how is this helpful? It’s pretty much what we already knew fromWillow.”

Gunn gave the boy a level look. This kid really needed his ass kicked. Gunn wished he knew of someone strong enough to do it. He’d pay to see it. He really would. “I’m getting’ to that. Anyway, as I was saying, they stay away from the demons and their business. They said everything in a five mile radius of some joint called The Hock Shop is off limits. It’s some kind of demon bar, or at least that’s what they think it is. They don’t know anyone who’s ever gone in there and come back out again.”

“The Hock Shop,” Wesley said. “Intriguing. I suppose it’s our destination then.” He turned to Lorne with a smile.

“Let me guess. It’s my turn to blend in with my people.” He looked around the room. “You do realize that not all demons are a part of the whole ‘death to humans crowd’, right? I mean, I may be green, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to walk in there and develop any lasting friendships.”

Gunn looked around the room again. “No shit. Not like you all ever ask me to go undercover as a lawyer or something. Nuh-uh, no sir, its gotta be a gang member, a janitor, or there was that one time you wanted me to infiltrate that church group. Could you people possibly stereotype more?” He turned a pair of hard eyes to Lorne. “You’re doing this. I walked the gang streets, you’re walkin’ the demons streets, my friend.”

Lorne held up a hand. “Okay, okay, point taken. But if I loose my head, please remember that it reattaches.” Lorne got up to take a shower. If he was walking into his death, he wanted at the very least to look good.

Hours later, Lorne strolled into The Hock Shop and looked around. Not bad, a little dark and trashy for his tastes, but he’d seen worse. Of course, not everyone could measure up to Caritas’ standards. Not everyone had Lorne’s innate sense of style after all. He walked up to the bar and asked for a Sea Breeze. He was shocked as all get up when he got a good look at the bar tender. It wasn’t that he was clearly underage, even for a vampire. No, it wasn’t that at all. It was the shiny soul that was shining brightly out of the young man’s eyes. Lorne tried not to let the shock he felt show through. He paid for his drink and took a seat near the stage.

From a room up above the bar, Spike and Buffy watched Lorne’s movements. Buffy listened carefully as the band started up. It was a nice jazz trio. She hoped Lorne liked the entertainment. She turned to Spike with a sultry grin. “Gee, baby, look who it is. Our friend Lorne, just like you said.”

Spike gave his girl a raised eyebrow. “Did you ever doubt? I know people. Knew they’d send in the demon as a scout. Now, we just have to set out the bait.”

“You sure he’s straight?” Buffy asked for the third time. She just couldn’t picture Lorne as anything but gay.

Spike let out a big sigh, all teasing gone. “Woman, look, I explained a thing or two to you about this. Meterosexual. Say it again, met-ero-sex-ual. It’s not a difficult concept.”

Buffy looked at him, refusing to say anything. “Well, I hope your right. I also hope he’s attracted to blue skinned women with four tiny breasts. Why her?”

“You’ll see. Watch Lorne’s face.” Spike held up a finger to shush any further responses from Buffy as he pointed to the stage.

The curtains shut and the lights went low as the jazz trio finished their set. After the slightest of pauses, a sweet low sound came from all around. It was a low driving beat; the seductive sounds of a tenor sax, a lush synth pad, and a fretless bass drifted over the crowd. The curtains started to part as a soft spot light illuminated the stage. A dark, blue skinned woman with long flowing hair the color of old blood, stood facing the room with her head down. Her smoky voice joined in with the music. She started to sway as she sang, her silver sequined gown catching the light in time with her hips. She raised her head and the audience got their first glimpse of her. She was stunning. A beauty with two impossible large red eyes, dark lashes, straight nose, and full lips the same daring color as her hair. She had the whole room entranced, including the green skinned guy with the snazzy suit.

Lorne was completely fascinated, he’d heard many renditions of ‘Why Don’t You Do Right?’ in his lifetime, but he’d never heard such a sexy, slowed down version before. Her voice was like rich honey. It flowed over him and made him want oh so much more. One night with this one, just one night, and he could die a happy man. He realized he wasn’t picking up a damn thing from her singing. Sweet heaven! To be with someone he couldn’t read. To have the intrigue and the mystery that everyone around him just took for granted. Oh, yes, this woman would be his.

From far above the crowd, Buffy felt herself growing hot just watching Lorne. Spike couldn’t have been more right. Darn him. Lorne was in deep, deep lust.

“Is this turning you on as much as it is me?” Spike asked her, not taking his eyes off of Lorne.

“Uh-huh,” Buffy said absently.

“I rule, don’t I?”

“Yes, baby, you rule.” Buffy slid over so that she was sitting on Spike’s lap. She’d dearly love a quickie, but they couldn’t afford to be distracted tonight.



Chapter 21





Lorne tried to roll over. His head was killing him. Thankfully, however, it appeared to still be attached to his body. Why couldn’t he move? He tried to think of the last thing he could remember. A gorgeous siren. A jazz singer. He thought he’d possibly fallen in love with her when she’d started singing ‘Teach Me Tonight’. After that… nothing. He tried again to move and once again found he couldn’t. He bravely opened his eyes.

“Good morning, Lorne. How’s your head? Roxy has quite the voice doesn’t she?” Buffy asked perkily.

Lorne groaned. He had a bad feeling about this. For one, he was pretty sure that the little blonde popcorn in front of him was supposed to be dead. “What am I doing here?”

“That depends,” Spike said coming into Lorne’s view. “On what your role was in getting your boss killed.”

“What? Who?” Lorne wasn’t sure if he meant Wesley or Angel.

“Let me clarify,” Spike smiled a smile that sent a heavy dread down Lorne’s smile. “Me and the little woman here, are a might bit upset. Had some mojo worked on us and we didn’t quite like the results. I lose the love of my existence. Buffy loses not only me, but herself too. Angel got the worst of the deal, though, dinnit he? Angel lost his life. Now, what Buffy and I want to know, is how involved you and yours were in this spell thing. It’s a matter of culpability, Lorne.” Spike looked deeply into Lorne’s green eyes as he vamped. “You culpable?”

Lorne swallowed and it was a dry scratching kind of swallow that made him cough. “I knew about the spell. I didn’t help perform it or anything.”

“That’s not really what we’re concerned with,” Buffy explained. She leaned down near Lorne and made sure he was staring into her eyes as she let them go yellow. “We want to know, if you did this willingly.”

Buffy was a vampire. That explained it. He looked around wildly. What if they’d sent Angel off to be human, only to have him turned. Lorne couldn’t stand that thought. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Spike shaking his head. “Don’t worry, good ol’ Angelus isn’t popping up in this equation. No, it was only Buffy that eventually walked away from that accident.” Spike took his hand away and put it up to his lips. “I’m sorry, did I say don’t worry? My bad, you probably should worry. Angelus taught me everything I know.”

“I don’t understand what this is all about. I didn’t do anything to you people. I just…” Lorne stopped as he saw theCalvary rushing in to save him. He knew they were all screwed. “Hey, guys,” he said as Conner, Fred, Wesley, and Gunn were immediately surrounded by minions.

“Hey, Lorne,” Gunn responded back. He’d thought this was probably a trap, but what else could they do? Lorne was three hours late coming back. You don’t just leave a man down. You go in fighting, even if it means you go down fighting. Gunn had a feeling they were about to go down.

“It was real sweet and all, you little rescue bunnies hopping in like this, but do you think you could possibly have called the Council in instead? You know, someone with power and some smidgeon of a hope that they could rescue me?” Lorne yelled.

“Tie them up,” Spike informed the minions.

The only one to offer any kind of a fight was Conner. Spike watched in amusement as Angel’s kid was taken down by two of his and Buffy’s finest. This was kind of fun.

Once the AI team was secured, tied to chairs right along side Lorne, Spike felt they could get back to business. “Angel would be so disappointed in all of you. I mean, what? You’ve been in town for less than a day, and here you are in the clutches of the Master of Cleveland.”

“You’re the Master?” Wesley said in a condescending tone.

Spike gave Wesley a wicked, wicked grin. “Not really, I’m a liberated man you see. Don’t mind the little woman bringing home the bacon.”

Buffy stepped out from the shadows she’d taken refuge in when Angel’s team had burst in. She walked up to Spike and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Aw, you’re the best mate a girl’s ever had.”

“Thank you, I know.” Spike leaned down and gave her a fierce kiss of possession.

“You’ve done all this?” Wesley asked in shock. “You’re dead.”

“Don’t go there,” Lorne warned.

“About that,” Buffy moved away from Spike to stand in front of Wesley. “I’m not the only one who’s dead.” Buffy and Spike watched in amusement as the newcomers all wrenched their necks trying to see if they could catch site of Angelus. It was highly entertaining. “Naw, he’s really dead. But you see that’s what pisses me off. His team, the one’s that are supposed to support him, have his back and all that, betrayed him. You,” Buffy pointed her finger at the lot of them, “sent him to his death. How does that feel?”

“I hardly see that we can be held responsible for a car crash.” It was Wesley again.

“Let’s see,” Spike spoke up. “You wiped away his memories, put him in a situation not of his choosing, and then stepped away. I’d say everything that happened to him from the moment he awoke next to a woman who did not love him, was entirely your fault.”

Fred looked at Buffy with wide eyes. “You didn’t love him?”

Buffy turned to look at the girl, it took every ounce of control she had not to slap her. “Of course I loved him. I loved him like a brother. But I seriously doubt that was what he was looking for. You people should have checked your facts, don’t you think? I was, and always will be, in love with Spike.” She hit Wesley upside the head, somewhat gently, at least for her, as she walked by.

“I see. I imagine that was somewhat awkward,” Wesley said as he rubbed his sore head.

“Awkward!” Buffy turned claws out. Spike had to grab her by the waist to try and restrain her. “Try horrifying! Everything was wrong. Everything! It was a living nightmare. How could you do that to us?” She screamed.

Gunn swallowed the lump that had been in his throat since he’d seen Angel’s old flame. Truly, it was a lump that had been in his throat for the last year and half. He looked up at Buffy with water eyes. “We did it so you could be happy. Every time I wondered why we were doing this the answer would come to me; so you could be happy. I still can’t seem to conceive of the idea that you weren’t. I think something’s wrong with me.”

Buffy and Spike exchanged looks. That was it. That was what they’d been looking for; the happiness clause part deux. “How about you, Wesley. Why’d you do it?” Spike asked the former watcher.

“Why for the same reasons as Gunn, of course. It’s not that I didn’t question things, I most certainly did, but each and every time I kept coming back to the thought that it was for your happiness.” Wesley stopped to consider what he’d said. Something wasn’t right.

“Me too. That’s what I thought too. You weren’t happy?” Fred asked in a soft little voice. It had a dreamlike quality to it that confirmed to Spike and Buffy thatWillow had been a busy little bee.

Great. Now they had to figure out where the AI team’s persuasion spell was located and destroy it. Then they had to figure out what to do about the team itself. It was going to be long day.



Chapter 22





It turned out that the only thing the AI team members all had in common was the Hyperion. This was good and this was bad. It was good because it left no doubt that this was the source of the persuasion spell. It was bad because it was huge! Spike and Buffy decided to hire an outside contractor to find the spell and defuse it. Even though the contractor was a mage it took two days before he was able to locate the spell itself. Apparently the Hyperion had experienced a lot of magic in its day, which made it extremely difficult to perform a magic tracing spell on it.

Spike hung the phone up and gave Buffy a nod. It was done, spell found, spell broken. They walked down to the basement to give their hostages the good news. Of course, they still weren’t altogether sure what to do with them. As they rounded the steps they saw Timber sitting on the floor, her legs criss cross applesause, talking with Conner. This was a common site over the last two days. It looked like their little girl had developed quite the crush.

“Well, we found the spell kiddies.” Spike started pacing in front of the still tied up AI team. “It’s been defused. You are full of free will and all. That’s a good thing. Still, doesn’t tell us what to do with you, does it?”

“May I make a suggestion?” Wesley asked. His voice was low and conquered. Now that he was out from under the spell, he had full realization of what they’d done to their friend and mentor. Free will indeed.

Spike stopped his pacing in front of the ex-watcher. “I’m listening.”

“Obviously you have some ideas in mind of our usefulness or you would have simply killed us the moment we walked in here. I’m of a mind to believe that this somehow involves stripping Willow Rosenberg of her powers. I think I speak for my entire team when I say that we’d be more than ‘willing’ to aid you in such an endeavor.” Wesley looked straight into Spike’s eyes letting him see his honesty and determination.

Spike studied the man before him. He was a funny a guy. He was all watchery and yet he had an edge to him. A bit of compassion mixed in with rebellion. It was a good combination. Spike found himself reluctantly liking this one, at least a whole hell of a lot better than he did Rupert. “I believe you,” Spike said. He turned around and spoke to the guard, “Untie them.”

Timber jumped quickly to her feet to untie Connor. She’d been talking to him about his dad when Spike and Buffy had come down the stairs. Timber had known the spell had been removed before she’d heard the faint ringing of the phone upstairs. Connor’s face had said everything. She felt so badly for him. She hoped her family could help him. When she had his ropes free she bent down and whispered in his ear, “She’ll pay. Trust me.”

Connor turned to look at the pretty little vampire. He had been raised to hate vampires, and yet for the last two days he’d become completely enthralled with this slip of an undead girl. Of course, she did have a soul. He winced. A soul. Like his father even before he’d been turned human. How had he ever thought that his dad could be happy in a life without his son? Angel had fought so hard to have a relationship with him. He wouldn’t have wanted to walk away from that when the final barrier to their relationship had just been removed. Connor thought of the persuasion spell and he saw red. He reached out and gave Timber’s hand a little squeeze of gratitude, then he turned to Spike. “I don’t like you. You’re a killer, but I need to seek vengeance on the witch who killed my father. I will take you help.”

Spike wanted to laugh at the boy. He was so slight, yet he was standing all tall and puffed up with righteousness. It was alarming and kind of cute all at once. It reminded him of a far too serious version of Harmony when she’d declared herself Buffy’s menaces. Spike new all about pride, however, and he was going to be very careful not to damage Angel’s son’s. So, laughing was out. He walked over to the boy and offered his hand. “I am a killer. I no longer have a soul, but I promise that if you play nice, no harm will come to you and yours while we go knock Red off her pedestal. Can you say the same, Connor?” Spike’s hand stayed extended waiting for the boy to find his answer.

After a pause, Conner reached out and shook Spike’s hand. “As long as you promise not to harm any of us, then I won’t harm any of you.”

Buffy rolled her eyes. Men were geeks. “Listen, all of you. Spike lied.” All eyes turned to Buffy, including Spike’s. “He does have a soul. He has my soul for whatever it’s worth. Now, I may not be the sharpest crayon in the box, in fact I’m a lot like that stumpy crown with the paper peeled back, probably the yellow one…”

Spike loved this woman. “Naw, baby, you’re definitely the green one.”

Buffy stuck her tongue out to him. “Anyway my point is this. Do you really think that whoever runs things in this Universe actually had me jump off a morgue table just to run the city ofCleveland? I highly doubt it, although I think I do make a good Master, but anyway my point is… and I do have one. My point is that I’ve been used to stop the big bad,” she looked at Spike, “except for you honey, time and again. More than likely that’s why I’m here. And I have a pretty good idea who the next big bad is. So, this isn’t just about vengeance, thought I’m all aboard that train, it’s about stopping someone from harming others. This means we all need to work together and respect one another. Spike is my mate. He is literally my other half, and I will tolerate no one being disrespectful or untrusting of him. He’s given you his word. I lived my first three lives as a total white hatter. It was all about the mission for me, but now, it’s all about Spike. Anyone makes a move on him and they’ll see just how versatile my wardrobe is.”

At the many blank expressions staring back at her, Buffy elaborated. “Wardrobe as in hats, people. White hat to black hat. Get it?”

“Oh, I get it!” Fred exclaimed. “That’s clever.”

“Thank you,” Buffy said to the thin young woman. “We need to feed you.” Buffy looked at the guard. “We have been feeding them, right?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the guard assured her.

“Oh, yes. We’ve eaten and been taken to the bathroom. It’s been nice really.” Fred said graciously.

Gunn turned to look at his ex-girlfriend with utter bafflement. “Are you nuts?”

Fred looked away with discomfort. She was still highly sensitive to the delicate mental state she’d returned in from Pylea. “I just meant that I’ve had worse, is all.”

Lorne walked over and put an arm around the nervous girl. “Sure, we get it, honeycakes. To tell the truth I’ve had worse myself. This was practically like the Holiday Inn compared to some of the places I’ve been kept hostage.”

Fred leaned into Lorne’s hug and gave him a grateful smile.

“Well, now that that has all been sorted out, let’s get down to the vengeance, shall we?” Spike looked over at his mate. “I mean let’s find a way to stop the bad guy.” He gave her a tender smile. The things she’d said about him had warmed his not so dead heart. She really did love him. For the first time ever, well since his mom, someone put him before anything or anyone else. He didn’t just feel loved, he felt complete. Buffy was his everything, and he knew without a doubt he was her everything too. It felt damn good. His world would be perfect if they could just rid it of the Witch.



Chapter 23



Wesley had foundCleveland quite accommodating in regards to literature and magic of the occult. Of course, this was a Hellmouth, and he was in fact working for the master of the said Hellmouth. It should come as no surprise that his every need was being met.

He’d had a few days in which to contemplate the current turn of events. He was finding Buffy’s transformation completely fascinating. She had given him all of the painful details of the last year and half so that he could try and make some sense of what had happened to her. It was something Spike had said that actually led Wesley to his current conclusions.

They’d all been sitting downstairs at the bar listening to Lorne complain about Spike and Buffy’s use of art as a means of deception. It seemed Lorne was very displeased that they had clouded his ability to mentally read information by way of a ‘steamy set of pipes’. Spike had clapped a hand on Lorne’s back and told him, “Rest easy, mate. You’re not the first man done in by a pretty woman. Hell, even when that soddin’ chip didn’t register Buffy as human anymore I couldn’t bring myself to truly hurt her. At least not in a bad way.”

Wesley had asked Spike what he was referring to. Apparently, when Buffy had been brought back from the dead byWillow, her molecular structure had been altered. Upon further discussion, Buffy had told Wesley that she’d received a serious injury from one of the Uber Vamps when she’d been searching for Spike. She had called it a “major death blow.” She hurt and she bled, but she lived. She’d been to busy with the world ending to think about what that meant at the time.

Wesley had wanted to take blood samples from Buffy, but after discovering that she and Spike had mated, he realized that her DNA would be far too altered to give him any real clues as to why she’d risen from the dead again. So, he was left to his mind and his research for answers. Luckily, he was adept with both.

“Hello, Buffy. Spike,” Wesley nodded at the two creatures curled into one another on the sofa. “I was wondering if I might speak with you for a moment.”

“Found a way to neutralize that bitch of a witch?” Spike asked with hope.

Wesley smiled and looked down at his feet. “Not really, no. I’ve still been researching Buffy’s third resurrection.”

“So, what’s up doc? Am I gonna live?” Buffy quipped. A pained look from her mate made her wish she hadn’t been so flippant.

“For quite some time, I’m sure.” Wesley walked further into the room and took a seat opposite to Buffy and Spike. “I can’t be sure, but I believe that the alterations of your DNA that resulted fromWillow’s spell laid the groundwork for the element inside of you that is the Slayer to begin to merge in a more encompassing manner then it had previously done. Did you perhaps experience different reactions to things after you were brought back than you had before?”

Buffy looked at Spike in alarm. “Yeah, but I just thought it was from all the pain of being torn out of heaven. That it made me a bit of a psycho bitch for awhile.”

Spike pulled her close to let her know that she was forgiven for everything she’d done to him during that time. “It’s okay, luv. It’s over.”

“I’m sure that had something to do with it as well, but I believe a bigger part of what ever occurred was due to cellular changes in your body. These changes affect your mind as well as your body,” Wesley explained. “Now, when you arose in the morgue. You say things seemed clearer to you? Timber and Kyle were immediately known?”

“Well, not known in a ‘hey your Timber and Kyle’ kind of a way. More like known in a ‘you belong to me’ kind of a way. If the Slayer power and I were becoming ‘One’ why wouldn’t my instincts have screamed ‘kill’ or something?” Buffy asked.

Spike gave Wesley a hard look. “Are you going to tell her Watcher or am I?”

“The men in the cave who tried to turn you into the full Slayer, they explained to you that it was a demon, correct?” Wesley hoped they’d filled her in on that part.

“Yeah, at least I think they did.” Buffy answered. She had felt such a panic at that time. She wished she could say it was only because she didn’t want to lose her humanity, but the girl in her had been terrified of having horns and scaly skin.

“Okay, good. The Slayer power comes from a demon. It is a demon very closely related to the same demon that animates vampires. There are some worlds, such as Pylea where Lorne is from, in which vampires are not unnatural at all. When Angel went into ‘game face’ as you call it, he became the actual full demon instead of just the parasite that occupies the human body.” Wesley said.

“Oi, wait a minute. I’m not a bleedin’ parasite!” Spike exclaimed. He didn’t like this explanation at all.

“Yes, actually you are.” Wesley said, unafraid. He was used to dealing with vampire sensibilities. A small pang went through his heart at the thought of Angel, but he shook it off and continued. “The vampire demon and the Slayer demon would in fact look remarkably similar if both were in their true forms.”

“If they are natural in other dimensions, can they mate and stuff?” Buffy wasn’t sure why she was asking.

“Yes, they can. They can even mate with each other. It’s really quite fascinating.” Wesley wished they could talk about this in detail. He didn’t often find people he could discuss such things with at length. It was at times like this where he actually found himself missing the Watcher’s Council. “But, I wouldn’t want to bore you with all of that. To make a long story, slightly less long, the Slayer demon was able to make a molecular grip on you DNA. You weren’t quite as human as you had been before, and the suppression spellWillow performed on you while you were Beth just worked to royally piss it off. When your body suffered severe trauma in the accident, I imagine the Slayer demon took the chance to merge a bit further. It took you under, and then brought you back out a little more altered than you had been before,” Wesley finished.

“Wait a minute! Is this going to keep happening? Am I going to wake up one morning with a tail?” Buffy screeched. She turned to Spike with panic in her eyes.

Spike just gave her a sexy leer. “I’ve seen plenty of females do amazing things with their tales, luv.”

Buffy punched him in the shoulder. “That is so not helping.”

“Don’t worry. I believe the mating ritual that you and Spike underwent has put a stop into any further morphing. You should remain as you are. There is some Slayer demon in both of you just as there is some vampire demon in the both of you.” Wesley looked at them intently. “It would make a fascinating study…” he began. He stopped as he realized that they were no longer listening. He got up to leave the room and heard Buffy mutter something about what she could show Spike without a tail. Facinating.



Chapter 24



The next evening Spike was waiting patiently for Buffy to get out of the bathroom. They were having a big pow wow with Wesley and the gang about how to neutralizeWillow’s power. Spike had showered and was ready to head downstairs. Buffy had gotten out of the shower right behind Spike, but still hadn’t managed to come out of the bathroom yet. Shaking his head, Spike decided to get up and hurry her along.

He opened the door quietly and saw Buffy bent over at an impossibly odd angle, looking at her hind end in the mirror. “What are you doing, luv?” Spike’s voice rang out loudly in the bathroom.

Buffy gave an unearthly shriek as she turned to Spike in shocked embarrassment. She’d been so caught up in her worries that she hadn’t even sensed her mate coming in. “Nothing.”

Spike walked in and leaned against the tiled wall. “Does nothing involve checking for a tail?”

Buffy looked down at her feet and gave a near teary-eyed nod. “It might.”

Spike sighed and walked over to her. He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her damp head. “I told you over and over again today, that it wouldn’t matter one wit to me. Even covered in green scales with goo leakin’ out yer nostrils, I’d find you sexy. Besides, Watcher told you, we’re merged now. It’s stopped whatever was happenin’ to ya.” Spike smiled down at his silly little mate, thinking how ridiculously insecure women could be. That is until her next words hit him.

“Yeah, but what if Wesley’s wrong? What if instead of neutralizing it, or whatever, it’s inside both of us now? What if you’re gonna grow a tail too? Bet I’ll get mine first though,” Buffy mumbled into her mate’s chest, or she would have, but suddenly that chest was no where near her. Buffy looked up to see Spike divesting himself of his clothes as quickly as possible.

She watched in a mix of horror and amusement as he began to bend over and examine his gorgeous derriere in the mirror. The mirror. That had been a morning after treat. Spike may be the Big Bad, but he could scream like a girl when the need arose. The morning after their mating, Spike had walked into the bathroom and reached decibels that had put his testosterone level into serious question when he had spied his own reflection for the first time in well over a hundred and twenty years. Of course, his scream was followed by hours of self appreciation that had not only Buffy, but Kyle and Timber rolling their eyes.

Buffy watched as he found his tailbone and gave another shriek. This one even louder than the one before. She actually flinched. “Calm down glamour-boy, that’s just your tailbone. Everyone has one.”

“You sure?” Spike sounded really worried.

Before Buffy could answer the bathroom door was thrown open as Kyle and Timber responded to Spike’s very loud scream. They took in the state of undress and Spike’s obsession with the mirror. “Not again?” Kyle asked warily.

“This time he’s checking for scales and stuff,” Buffy informed her kids. “You know, that stuff that doesn’t matter. That stuff that you still love people anyway if they have sprouting all over their bodies.” Buffy said accusingly.

“This is different,” Spike said soundly.

“Oh, yeah, how?” Buffy called him on it.

Spike looked at her like she was a total nutter. “Because it’s me, of course!”

That was it. Buffy cocked back her fist, ready to let it fly when a calm voice came at her from behind Kyle andTiber’s heads. “I told you earlier. There will be no more genetic alterations. You’re finished. There really is no need to keep checking for a tail. And Spike, really, I’d of thought you’d know better.” Wesley said in wry amusement as he turned away from the display in the bathroom.

Gunn came into the apartment with Lorne, Fred, and Conner behind him. He caught site of the nakedness through the still open door. He looked at the smiling Wesley. “Is there some freaky vampire thing going on in there? No one expects us to all get naked do they?”

“No. You may remain clothed,” Wesley assured him. Then he gave Fred a long hard look that let her know her clothing was entirely optional.

Timber and Kyle shut the door on their sires, so that they could both get dressed. They took seats on the floor, letting the adults have the couches and chairs. Kyle wondered idly if staying young looking forever would keep him firmly placed at the kiddie table for the rest of his existence.

When Spike and Buffy came out of the bathroom, they saw their kids sitting on the floor and each took a seat beside them. They were a family, and they wanted to take every opportunity to show that world to the world. Spike looked at Wesley, and he could still see the amusement on the younger man’s face. “Hardy har, very funny. Do you have something for us, or not?”

Wesley masked his amusement and looked directly at Spike and Buffy. “I do indeed. It won’t be easy, however. She’s become very powerful, and now she has reformed the Council to serve as a powerbase for her. This could very well end up being a bit of a civil war.”

Buffy cocked her head and let her eyes turn amber. “Oh, there’s not going to be anything civil about this.”

Chapter 25







Conner had a message to deliver to Spike and Buffy from Wesley. That’s why he was staring wistfully into their kitchen as the little family ate breakfast. It had nothing to do with Timber. Conner had to remind himself that he didn’t like vampires. He killed vampires, he did not contemplate dating them. The reason he couldn’t take his eyes off of her as she laughed with her brother… Well, okay so he couldn’t quite think of a reason for that. He wasn’t quite capable of convincing himself he was tracking her. Even he wasn’t that self delusional.

Spike was very aware of the young man staring intently at one of his childer. He would call the boy on it, if he actually that he was a danger, but Spike realized that Conner was falling love. Whether he like it or not. Spike had decided that he wasn’t going to interfere with love. Not after what had happened between him and Buffy. Though he did worry the boy’s radically screwed up childhood would end up breaking Timber’s heart.

Timber was completely oblivious to both Conner’s presence and her Sire’s musings. She was trying hard to overcome her revulsion at her family’s breakfast habits. “That is so gross,” she said covering her mouth with one hand.

Kyle looked down at his pancakes. He looked up at his sister. “Pancakes? You like pancakes.”

Timber took her hand away. “Sure, pancakes. Blood and pancakes – never.”

Spike swirled a bite of pancake in the blood pooled on his plate, and made a great scene of relish as he placed it in his mouth. He tilted his head back and let out an appreciative moan as he rubbed his tummy.

Timber just gave him a hard look. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Buffy pour the offending liquid over her flapjacks. She turned to look at her adoptive mother with accusing eyes. “You too?”

Buffy gave her a sheepish smile. “Just think of it as syrup.” Buffy’s need for blood now that she and Spike had mated caused her to come up with all sorts of creative culinary concoctions. Blood and pancakes was one of her most recent discoveries.

“Timber,” Kyle said in a voice that indicated how childish he thought she was being. “You like pancakes. You like blood. It doesn’t make sense to not like blood and pancakes.”

“Oh, please. People like steak and they like peanut butter, but you never see them putting those things together!” Timber said smugly, feeling sure she’d won that one. That is until she saw Spike looking at her funny. “What?”

“Lot’s of people eat steak and peanut butter together, little girl. Lots.” Spike realized he had so much more to teach these kids than just how to fight. The training was going quite well. Both of his childer were quick studies. It helped that he and Buffy were able to show them both offensive and defensive tactics in hand to hand combat. Wesley had been working with the entire group in magical defenses as well. Soon, they would be ready.

Conner chose that moment to walk into the room. “I don’t like peanut butter on my steak.” He winced. Why had he said that? Did it sound as stupid outside of his head as it did inside of his head?

Timber turned and offered him a brilliant smile. “Thank you, Conner.” She turned to her family, “See, some people don’t have perverted taste buds.”

“Perverted?” Spike said in mock horror. Then he looked right at Timber as he flung a bloody piece of pancake onto the side of her cheek with his fork. She turned a pair of amber eyes on her Sire. She’d never had a father before, and had taken to Spike like a duck to water, but that would not save him now. She was a teenage girl who’d just had a gross piece of food land on her person, right in front of the boy she was seriously crushing on.

Spike saw the look in his little girl’s eyes and he knew he was in big trouble. He turned to his mate for help. But found Buffy retreating into the recesses of the kitchen. She wasn’t stupid. Neither was Kyle, who had himself been on the receiving end of Timber’s anger a time or two. Spike had just half a second to look at Conner pleadingly before he and his chair hit the ground hard.

Spike looked into the yellow, angry eyes of his childer and tensed. He saw what she was about. He should have known. Surely she wouldn’t? Not in front of Angel’s get? He felt her fingers dig into his sides. She would. Spike started rolling around, trying to buck her off, but it was hard to get the control a master vampire wields working when he is guffawing like a six year old boy.

Timber tickled Spike mercilessly. It was her only weapon. She was small for a woman; she’d been small for a little girl too. She’d learned quickly that her fingers were her best weapon. Timber was a master tickler. Spike and Buffy had discovered this one night when they attempted to get her to turn off some disgustingly awful tripe on television with emaciated young women throwing themselves at squat frat boys.

“Uncle!” Spike screamed. “Uncle!”

Timber backed off, her fingers raised in the air. “Are you going to try that again?”

Spike knew the smart thing would be to say no, but he figured he might just try it again sometime. “I hope not.” There. That was honest.

“Okay, then.” Timber turned and walked into the kitchen. She accepted the towel from Buffy and wiped the offending substance off of her cheek. Everyone returned to the breakfast table.

“Conner, would you like some pancakes?” Buffy asked the boy, who was just standing there open mouthed.

Conner closed his mouth at Buffy’s question. He’d never thought a vamp family could appear so normal. He figured they sort of hid out in cave-like rooms, plotting evil things to do. He looked down at the food on the plates and then looked back at Buffy.

“It’s okay. We do have syrup,” Buffy assured him.

“Yeah, that would be nice. Thanks.” Conner sat down at an empty seat as Buffy got up to get him a plate.

“So, Conner, what brings you here so early?” Spike asked.

“Oh, Wesley. He thinks he found a way to stripWillow of her powers. It’s a spell. It makes her body like a foreign substance to magic. Where it can’t recognize her anymore. Black or white magic; it won’t matter.” Conner explained.

“That’s perfect. Just what we need,” Spike said.

Buffy came in and sat a heaping plate of pancakes in front of the young man. She grabbed the syrup that sat in front of Timber and put it in front of Conner. Then she sat down with a heavy heart. She looked up at Spike with tears in her eyes. “That’s not enough. It’s not enough for what she did to us. For what she did to Angel.” She looked at Conner. “See him Spike? That’s Angel’s son. Do you think he would ever willingly have been taken away from him? It’s wrong. It’s so very wrong. She needs to know that.”

Spike got up and pulled his mate into his arms. “Tell me what you want, baby. Whatever you want. We’ll find a way to do it.”

“I don’t know. I don’t want to kill her, but I can’t just do nothing. I want her to hurt. I want her to feel what I felt without you. The despair,” Buffy sobbed into Spike’s chest. She held onto him tight, like he was the most important thing in the world, and for her he was.

Spike held his love in his arms. He could feel everything she felt. She was right. Willow did need to be punished. Repelling magic from her wouldn’t be enough. He looked at Conner. “Tell Wesley, that before we make it so that magic can’t touch her, we need to give her one good jolt. I want an empathy spell created. A strong one. I want her to feel everything Buffy and I felt over the last year and a half. Got it?”

Conner nodded his head. He got it. Looking at the way Spike comforted Buffy, looking at their pain, he realized that he didn’t know anything about vampires at all. He wished desperately, for one more chance with his father. Just one more.

You know what they say. Be careful what you wish for.



Authors note: I have two friends who are lawyers and they are truly lovely people. Sorry for the lawyer bashing – remember it isn’t me bashing, it’s the character. I’ll bake you cookies to make up for it.



Chapter 26



He looked around at the smug faces of the suits sitting in the boardroom. Idiots. Truly a stupid group of men and women. Lawyers. The only thing they were good for was eating. “So, let me get this straight. You brought me back because it was prophesized that I would play an important part in the apocalypse.”

Lilah looked at the gorgeous hunk expensively attired thanks to her bank account. “Yes, that’s correct.”

He started to laugh. He couldn’t help himself. “You do realize that apocalypses happen like once a year? I’ve been involved in several. As a matter of fact, my involvement in the one two years ago was so significant that I was turned human. Seems to me you brought me back to fulfill a prophesy that I’ve already fulfilled. Bummer. Gotta thank you though. It’s good to be me again.” Angelus gave the room a delighted grin as he stood to take his leave.

The lawyers all scrambled to double check their papers. They looked at each other, and then they all looked at Lilah. “Don’t look at me. I don’t interpret prophesies.” She got up from the table and followed Angelus out the door.

Angelus looked over his shoulder. “Scared, little girl?”

“Of you? Please. They’ll have me killed for this just as soon as they’re thinking clearly enough to give the order. I’m using you for a shield, buddy. This is a proceed straight past Go kind of a thing. I’m not stopping to collect my two hundred dollars if you catch my drift.” Lila pasted herself to Angelus’ side.

He shook his head at her audacity. “What makes you think I’ll help you?”

“Because I can help you get revenge for the whole trip to suburbia. Unless of course you enjoyed it. Did you enjoy it, Angelus? A little bowling. The occasional dinner party. Yatzee. I bet it was a blast. And the little woman…” Lilah hadn’t survived Wolfram and Hart as long as she had without knowing how to play the game.

Angelus growled at the thought of the hell he’d been put through; okay, it wasn’t actually him, but he had the full color memories of it all, and it pissed him off. “Yeah, you might be useful after all.” He looked at Lilah as they made it to the parking garage. He knew which car was hers and headed straight for it. After they had closed the doors and Lilah had started the car, Angelus looked at her. “You know, that little bitch pissed me off the first time around when she made me feel love and shit, but this… This is just unforgivable. I had neighbors! I mowed the lawn.” He gave a shudder of disgust. “I think it’s time to visit the grieving widow. Comfort her by ripping her throat out or something.”

“Whatever you say, bossman.” Lilah replied as she pulled onto the busy Los Angles streets.

“Bossman. That works.” Angelus’ eyes raked over Lilah’s long legs that were so generously visible in her short skirt. “This job has several fringe benefits, Lilah. I expect you take full advantage of them.

Lilah felt moisture pool between her thighs. “Not a problem. I think you’ll find me a dedicated, enthusiastic employee, Angelus.”

He sniffed the air. “Let’s go straight to the Hyperion. Kill the crew and screw.”

Lilah made a left, heading towards the old hotel. “Hell, I’m game.”

“I just bet you are.” Angelus was looking forward to exploring every inch of her pampered flesh. He watched the people walking under the street lights as the car sped along. Each of them completely clueless as to the dangers of the night. He smiled. He had a beautiful, evil woman beside him who was more than willing to do whatever he asked. He had a hotel full of old friends to rip apart. Most wonderful of all, he had a wife to torture. Unlife was sweet.

Lilah pulled into the parking lot behind the Hyperion and got out of the car. She knew she was gambling with her life by playing with Angelus, but sticking it out with Wolfram and Hart meant certain death. A chance at survival was better than nothing. Plus, she’d always wanted to have a go at Angel’s body.

Angelus threw open the doors of the Hyperion and immediately realized it was not only unoccupied, but that it had been unoccupied for days. He sniffed the air. “Well, this is just disappointing. No one’s here.”

Lilah was determined to keep her new boss happy. She took off her blazer and dropped it to the floor. “That doesn’t mean we can’t still have our fun does it?”

Angelus turned at the low sound of her voice. It was filled with lust and longing. His eyes took in her tight white camisole. So that’s what was under her blazer. Nice. “I like what I see, Lilah. I really do.” He stalked towards her. “There’s just one problem. I was planning on feasting on my friends. Now here I am. Friendless. Bloodless...”

Lilah drew her hair back away from her neck and ran a long manicured nail across her skin. “I can be pretty friendly when I’m motivated, big boy.” She didn’t even know what hit her. One moment she was looking at him as he walked toward her, the next his fangs were buried in her neck. He’d bitten her once before when he wasn’t exactly himself, which had hurt. This time was entirely different. She could feel her orgasm build instantly. Apparently, whoever was behind the wheel made a huge difference in performance.

When Angelus had taken his full, he pulled away and looked at her. “I’m going to fuck you till you bleed.”

“That had better be a promise,” Lilah whispered huskily.

Angelus threw his head back and laughed. “I like you. Think I’ll keep you. Hope that doesn’t make the wife jealous.” He reached down and picked Lilah up in his arms. “Don’t want you to faint from all that blood loss before I get the chance to cause you a little more.”

Lilah smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Your consideration is really turning me on.”

“I just bet it is.” Angelus was having fun. This was the kind of woman he could talk to. The kind that could understand him. He carried her up to his room and kicked open the door. Then he proceeded to keep his promise to her for the next three hours.

Lilah had never been in so much pain or in so much pleasure. She hoped her body could keep up with his demands.

As if reading her mind, Angelus rolled over and pulled her close. “Don’t worry baby. If it looks like I’ve broken you, I’ll turn you.”

Lilah drifted off to sleep, thinking how, sadly, that was the nicest thing a man had ever offered to do for her.



Chapter 27



Spike, Buffy, and Kyle were watching wide eyed at the display before them. Timber was teaching Conner how to dance. The bar was closed but the jukebox was blaring. They watched as the two teenagers writhed and shook their stuff on the dance floor.

Spike turned to Kyle, his voice deadly serious, “You have to get out there, mate. You have to help him.”

“That’s what Timber’s doing,” Kyle said as he looked at Conner wave his arms in the air. It was just wrong. Kyle couldn’t say how it was wrong, but it was very, very wrong.

“That’s the problem. He’s dancing like Timber. He needs to dance like a teenaged boy, not a bloody little girl!” Spike declared.

“Huh,” Buffy said. She had her chin resting on her hand. “I couldn’t pin point what was off, but now that you said it. Wow, he really is dancing kinda girly.” She looked at Kyle. “Spike’s right. Help him.”

“I don’t dance.” Kyle had no intentions of helping the person he was sure was trying to seduce his sister.

“You do too!” Buffy huffed.

Kyle looked at her and crossed his arms. He shook his head; all of his teenage resolve boring holes into her head. Buffy looked at Spike. “You do it. You dance. Teach Conner.”

Spike looked at her in the very same manner as Kyle, and for exactly the same reasons. Just because he didn’t plan on interfering in Conner’s clumsy courtship of Timber, didn’t mean he was going to help.

“Spike!” Buffy exclaimed in irritation.

Spike turned to look at Kyle. “Kyle. Do it. Now.” He let out a little growl of dominance and waited.

Kyle heaved a huge sigh. He’d known that whole sire-thrall-command thing was going to bite him in the ass someday, but he hadn’t figured it being because of this. He walked up to the two dancers and started to move. Kyle was actually quite a good dancer. Sure enough, Conner started to imitate Kyle instead of Timber. Soon the three of them were grooving away.

“Well isn’t that a site for tired, red eyes?” Lorne uttered as he came to take a seat by Spike and Buffy. “Nothing quite like youth.”

“Whatever,” Spike groused. “Wesley coming?”

“Yeah,” Lorne said as he watched the dancers. “He’s parking the car. Fred and Gunn are out shopping for magic supplies.”

“Hello, all,” Wesley said as he came through the door. He caught sight of the kids and smiled. “Nice to see them getting along so well. Conner hasn’t ever had friends his own age. His father would be pleased.”

“Yeah, well, when he breaks my girl’s heart, I’m gonna break his head.” Spike was sure this was going to end badly. Damn, Willow. If she hadn’t messed with him and Buffy, he would never have thought twice about insisting Timber stay away from the miniature Angel.

Wesley looked at the young people and then back at Spike. “Do you really think they fancy one another?”

Buffy made a zurbert sound with her mouth. “Please, they are so into one another. Haven’t you wondered why he’s over here every minute of the day?”

“I thought it was for training, and possibly friendship.” Wesley looked at them with great sadness. “You see, Conner was never accepting of his father’s vampirism. He’s a bit prejudiced really. The thought of him being ‘into’ a vampire is astonishing. I wish he’d met her before. Then maybe he would have given his father a fair chance.”

“Things that bad?” Spike asked.

Wesley nodded his head. “You have no idea. The boy actually sank his father in a coffin in the middle of the ocean.”

Spike sat up in full vamp face. “What!” He was at Timber’s side in four purposeful strides. He growled at Conner, “You stay the fuck away from my family!”

Conner slipped into that place he went when fighting. It was a cold place. No life. No laughter. No dancing. Just death.

Buffy jumped up and came between the two seasoned killers. “Hold up.” She turned to her mate. “Spike, baby, we need to talk about this. Does the way Conner acts around Timber make you think he’s going to actually hurt her? Think.”

“Hurt me!” Timber squealed. She turned and gave Spike a look of rage mixed with disbelief. “What? Death by dancing?”

Spike and Buffy looked at one another knowingly. Spike looked Timber right in her baby blues and spit out, “It. Has. Happened!”

“That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!” Deeply mortified, Timber spun out of Spike’s grip and ran out of the room.

Buffy shook her head. She’d have to follow. She gave Conner and Spike each a warning point with her finger. “Make nice. Spike explain yourself.” With that she turned to comfort the fleeing Timber.

Spike decided to take the lead and walk back to the table. He sat down and kicked a chair out with his foot for Conner to take. Conner kept the master vampire in his sites as he walked over to the table and sat down in the offered chair. He also had to stay aware of Kyle. The kid was green, but he hadn’t hesitated to assume a fighting stance beside his sire when the uproar started.

Spike felt Kyle come to stand behind him. The kid was loyal. Spike liked that. He took a deep, unneeded breath before speaking to Conner. “I need to know that you aren’t going to hurt Timber. I don’t mean hurt her heart. I fully expect you’ll do that. I mean her body. I don’t want to have to look for her at the bottom of the ocean.”

Conner flinched. “That was a mistake. I’d thought he killed my father.”

“Angel killed Angel. What?” Spike asked, wondering if the kid had a screw loose.

“I wasn’t raised by Angel. I was raised by Holtz.” Conner informed him.

Spike choked. “No wonder you’re so bloody screwed up! Hell boy, that just ain’t right.”

“Who’s Holtz?” Kyle asked.

“Some guy that Darla and Angelus did a number on. Though in their defense, the guy was after them before they killed his family and turned his daughter.” Spike looked at Conner. “That guy died before my time. How’d he raise you exactly? Heard you’d been pulled into a hell dimension. D’you meet him there?”

“No, he actually was the one to take me into the hell dimension. Some demon froze him or something, to use as a weapon on my dad, on Angel.” Conner realized that saying these things out loud made his actions against Angel seem even worse. His mind clicked on something Spike had said. “So, Holtz was after my parents before they killed his family?”

“Oh yeah, Holtz pursued them relentlessly, he did. Fancied himself some type of vampire hunter.” Spike was starting to understand this kid, though that didn’t make him feel any more comfortable having him hang around Timber. “I need you to promise me that you won’t try to hurt her. I need to know that she’s safe with you.”

Conner’s answer was instantaneous. “I’d never hurt her. I couldn’t. She’s…”

Spike smiled and held out his hand to the boy for a second time. “That’s all I needed to know. Now, if you’re smart. You’ll go up there and explain what went on here so that I don’t have to live with a sulky teenager for the rest of my days. That would go a long way in making me trust you.”

Conner nodded his head eagerly and stood to find Timber. After he left, Kyle sat down and looked at Spike. “That was pretty smooth. In angry Timber is never a good thing.”

“Boy, an angry female period is never a good thing. Speaking of which, I hope Buffy’s not pissed with me.” Spike winced at the thought of having to sleep on the couch.

“Well, I imagine she’ll be greatly cheered by my news.” Wesley broke in. He felt badly about having been the cause of this recent upset. Perhaps he shouldn’t have shared Conner’s actions with Spike and Buffy. “I’ve found the exact spell the two of you were looking for in order to placeWillow under an empathy pulse. It will actually prove quite useful as it is a much more simple spell to perform than the magic repulsion spell. We go in with the empathy pulse, and while she’s under that we can begin the other spell. As she comes out of one, she’ll go under the other. It’s perfect, so long as we can find her and prevent her from bespelling any of us first.”

“That’s excellent news, mate. Truly excellent. As for finding her. Don’t you think we should use the same tactic we used on you lot? Lure her here on our home turf? I think it’s time for the AI team to make their report. Don’t you?” Spike gave Wesley a chilling smile.



Chapter 28



Angelus was pissed. First they’d driven to the little house his souled counterpart had shared with ‘Beth’. No good. It was completely deserted. Then Lilah had done some Internet surfing. Apparently, the little woman was dead. When he ever so nicely asked Lilah why the hell she hadn’t known about this, and yes, in his book a left hook is asking nicely, she’d wiped the blood from her face and explained that the firm hadn’t been able to track him during his time as Liam. There had been some magical force preventing them from locating him. Then one day he showed up back on the radar; in the realm of possibilities where the mystics operate. The seers Wolfram and Hart retained had been able to clearly see his remains at a morgue inCleveland. A representative from the firm had purchased his ashes and then sent them toLos Angeles for reanimation. No one had been interested in the details of Liam’s existence. They didn’t even know he’d had a wife. Their bad. Again.

So now, here they were, at a morgue in a city that Angelus just didn’t get. Hellmouth or no. Rome – he got. Paris – he got. New York – he got. Cleveland – not so much. Why couldn’t they ever open a Hellmouth somewhere nice? He was interrupted in his musings when the half-breed demon came back in the room, nervously shuffling papers, Lilah pressed to his back.

Larven was scared shitless. Sure, the vampire was powerless inside of the morgue, but he had a human female with him. He would have been scared of this polished beauty all on her own, but the pistol she was pressing between his shoulder blades pretty much sealed the deal.

He’d about had a heart attack when he saw the vampire walk through the door. He remembered this one. He’d only just cremated him when his boss came in and informed Larven that the guy’s ashes were to be transported. Now, he well remembered his promise to the grieving widow, but he had no choice. Of course when he discovered a few weeks later that the widow was the current Master of Cleveland, he realized he might be in some deep doo.

Now the guy was back as a vampire looking for his wife’s ashes. What was it with these people and ashes? Larven had gone to the records room to look up the wife’s file. He knew exactly what it would say of course because he’d written the false information himself, but he was desperately trying to buy himself some time. There had to be some way of coming out of this with his spinal cord still comfortably seated inside of his skin. “Your wife’s body was taken by a Joan Williams,” Larven said, hoping with everything he had that they wouldn’t attempt to read the file in his hand for themselves. It said no such thing. It actually said that she’d been cremated and buried along side of her husband in a local cemetery.

Angelus looked carefully at the terrified man in front of him. He could tell that he wasn’t being entirely truthful, and yet somehow he was. He really wished he could just snap his neck and be done with it, but he might need further information from him. Best to keep the halfy alive, for awhile at least. “Who is this Joan Williams, and why would she want my wife’s remains?”

Larven looked straight into the master vampire’s eyes and said with complete honesty, “Joan William’s is the Master of Cleveland. I never asked her what she wanted with the remains.”

This time the man was telling the complete truth. “Okay. Fine. Where can I get a hold of this ‘Master’?” Angelus made little quote fingers on the word master. Like anyone could possibly be more masterful than him. Please.

“You can find her at a demon bar called The Hock Shop.” Larven reached into his wallet and pulled out a business card. “That’s it there. Good luck.” He handed the card over to Angelus and backed away.

Angelus signaled Lilah to back off. “Okay, Larve, this works for now, but if I found out you’ve been misleading me, I’ll be back and I won’t be happy.”

Larven nodded his head. He watched as the vampire and the woman left the building. He counted to ten and then he headed down to the basement. There was tunnel access back to his place. It was definitely time to get the hell out of the Hellmouth. He wanted to be as far away from Joan Williams and her husband as possible. In fact, he was seriously thinking about skipping this dimension entirely. There was that one without shrimp. He’d never been that big of a fan of shellfish anyway.

Lilah got into the passenger seat of the rented Mercedes. Angelus was hell on her bank account. He had ridiculously expensive taste. They’d flown here first class. Rented a uselessly pricey automobile. He was dressed in designer threads from head to toe. How was it that she worked for him and yet forked out all the cash? Oh that’s right, to stay alive. Now, he was bent on finding the dead slayer’s remains and having Lilah use her connections to get the woman brought back from the dead. Just so he could kill her again. How stupid was that? He didn’t want her dead, dead. He’d decided he wanted to turn her so that he could quote ‘torture her for all eternity like she deserves’. He was truly one sick fuck. Damn, it made her hot.

Angelus sped throughCleveland traffic on his way to The Hock Shop. For the unlife of him, he couldn’t figure out what the Master of Cleveland could possibly want with Buffy’s remains. Not that it mattered to him. Buffy was his, and he would be more than happy to show this Joan Williams how a true master operated. He pulled up to the front of the bar and parked. It was deserted. He imagined the doors didn’t open for another hour yet. Thanks to the tinted windows of the Mercedes and the many parking garages, Angelus had been able to move about fairly easily despite the late afternoon sun.

He got out of the car, throwing his leather coat over his head for protection and made a run for it. He didn’t wait to see if Lilah would follow. He knew she would. That one he had truly whipped. He got to the front door and pushed down the handle. It was locked. Damn. He pounded it with his fist. He was about to ask Lilah to pull out her gun and give it a few bullet holes just for the hell of it, when the door opened, causing him to fall forward right on top of a soft female form.

Angelus looked into the face of the woman beneath him. “Well, how convenient. Just the person I was looking for. Did you miss me, honey?” He purred into the face of his supposedly dead wife.

Buffy knew exactly who she was dealing with. The feel of leather pants grinding into her crotch gave it all away. “Gee, Angelus, I missed you just like a dog misses fleas.”

“That’s touching, Buff, really.” He gave her a wicked leer. “I’m gonna drain you dry, you little bitch. You thought you could housetrain me? The Scourge ofEurope! Well, I hope you have fond memories of our little domestic scene, because they are all you’re going to have to keep you warm for the rest of your days. See, I’ve decided to keep you. I mean since we’re married and all. A quick kill just doesn’t say commitment. To show you that I’m into the long term thing, I thought that out of the goodness of my heart I’d turn you. What da ya say?”

Buffy vamped underneath him. “I’d say too late,” and with that she bucked him off of her.

Spike had been upstairs trying to mend his fences with Timber. Once Conner, and then Spike, had explained the situation, she’d calmed down. Spike had just been about to hand some money over to Conner to take Timber out on an actual date, when he felt the sudden unmistakable presence of his grand-sire. He tore out of the apartment and down the steps to the bar. He arrived just in time to see Buffy throw Angel across the room.

Angel felt Spike enter and he jumped to his feet. He pointed a finger at the vamped Buffy and then back at his grand-childe. “Spike! What did you do?”



Chapter 29



Spike was all set to answer Angelus. He had several sly comebacks at hand from ‘what you weren’t manly enough to do’ to ‘took back my girl’. They all would have been wasted however, thanks to Buffy’s loud guffaws. Spike looked at his mate and couldn’t help smiling. She was laughing so hard she was crying.

Angelus looked down at the still prone figure of his former honeybunny. “What exactly is so damn funny?” Angel growled out.

It took Buffy several moments to gain a measure of control. When she did, she hopped to a stand and pointed at him. “You. You were all set to charge in here and turn me, just so that you could bug the hell out of me for the rest of my existence.” She wiped a stray tear from her cheek. “And then, when you find out Spike beat you to it, you’re all put out. Like he took the last cookie in the cookie jar.” She put her hands on her hips. “Come on, even you have to see how funny that is!” Buffy turned behind her for confirmation from the three teenagers who’d come running down in the ruckus. Nobody was laughing. She shrugged, “Guess it’s just me.”

“Dad?” Conner’s shocked voice cut through Buffy’s reverie.

Angelus’ head whipped to the side to look past Buffy. “Conner? What are you doing here?” He’d remember in a few minutes that he was evil and didn’t care about his son. For now, he was just confused. This whole situation was confusing.

Conner took a few steps towards his father, but was stopped by Spike’s firm hand on his wrist. “That ain’t your ever lovin’ father, Conner. That’s Angelus, not Angel. Don’t go looking for any hugs, trust me.”

Angelus turned to Spike with smug eyes. “Oh, is that a complaint I hear? Does someone need a hug?” He opened his arms up invitingly.

“Very funny. Sod off.” Spike walked over and wrapped his arms around his mate, nuzzling the side of her neck where his mark lay.

Angelus’ eyes got even wider. “You didn’t just turn her, you mated with her. You actually mated with someone other than Dru.” He was well and truly shocked.

Spike gritted his teeth - stupid man would have to go and mention Drusilla. Nothing, but nothing made Buffy quite so huffy as the mention of his sire. He tried not to giggle at his inner rhyme. “I didn’t turn her, you numskull. We just mated. Don’t rightly know what the bumpies and heartbeat are all about.”

“You have a heartbeat?” Angelus felt that surely he’d fallen down some hell-forsaken rabbit hole.

“Enough of all this, been there done that. Who’s the bird?” Spike asked, indicating the woman still standing in the doorway of The Hock Shop.

Angelus turned to look behind him. “That’s my associate, Lilah.” He motioned her to shut the door and walk into the room. Angelus turned back to look at Spike and Buffy. “Is there any particular reason we’re not fighting? ‘Cause I’m getting’ kind of board.”

Spike looked at his grand-sire and gave him a toothy grin. “Could be that we have the same goal.”

“Oh, so you want to torture Buffy for all eternity for damning me to the suburbs too?” Angelus mouthed.

Anger shot through Buffy like acid. “I so did not condemn you to the suburbs, bub. I mean, please, get over yourself. I was just as much a victim as you were. Like my idea of a good time is playing house with you until I die. I don’t think so.”

Angelus bristled at her disdain, but his eagerness to punish whoever did this to him won out. “Okay, I’ll bite, who was it then?”

“Willow. Little red riding hood’s all grown up now, and she’s decided to lead the wolves on a merry chase.” Spike let go of Buffy and walked over to two of the tables, pushing them together. He waved his hands for everyone to take a seat. Conner was earning major points in Spike’s book by carefully placing himself between his father and Timber.

“Why wouldWillow do this?” Angelus asked. He just couldn’t conform his vision of the sickeningly sweet littleWillow with that of some evil mastermind.

“Well, she told everyone it was to make us happy, but I’m guessing the persuasion spells she put on people means that she might of just wanted us out of the way,” Buffy said. She reached over to pull Spike’s hand into hers. “I wasn’t anymore in love with you then you were with me. We’d both moved on.”

“I think you’re forgetting something,” Angelus gave her a look of pure disgust; “I was never in love with you. That was all soul-boy.”

Lilah gave a little condescending laugh at Angelus’s words. Stupid little girl. You’d think a slayer would know better. “As if a soulless vampire would ever fall in love with a slayer.”

“Ya, like that would ever happen.” Spike decided it was a good time to pick up his mate and put her on his lap. “Love you, kitten,” he said huskily.

“Love you too, baby.” Buffy knew he was reassuring her. She looked at Lilah and Angelus. “You see, Lilah, a soulless vampire really can love a slayer.”

Angelus actually thought he might faint. He really had slipped into bizarro world. “You lost that soul everyone was going on about and you still mated yourself to her?” He threw his head back and let out an unneeded breath of air. “That’s just sick. I spent months of wedded unbliss with that nut job. She’s a freak. I had to put her in therapy. I had to medicate her just to get a decent blow-job.” Angelus’ world abruptly went black.

Spike rubbed his fist as he stood over his grand-sire. He looked over his shoulder at Conner, Kyle, and Timber. “Tie him up.”

“Spike?” Buffy’s voice called out softly from the floor. “I appreciate all the chivalry, but did you have to knock me onto the floor just to defend my honor?”

Spike walked over and gave her a hand up. “I’m sorry, luv, but he really pissed me off.”

“Yeah, me too,” Buffy said as she wrapped her arms around him. “What we gonna do with him?”

“Thought we could torture him for a bit, and then see if he wants to help takeWillow down,” Spike explained.

Lilah, who was standing over the fallen vampire with a bit of a blank expression, spoke up, “Don’t you think torturing him will make him less than cooperative?”

Spike laughed. “Naw, he expects it. He wouldn’t have made a comment about a master vampire’s mate like that and not expect retribution. It’s a vampire thing, don’t try and understand it.” Spike watched as the three teenagers came back into the room dragging a set of chains. “Tie him up, and then put him in the basement. Make sure he’s uncomfortable. You can put her down there with him, just make sure you don’t leave the key out.” He turned to lead Buffy upstairs. As they got to the first step, he turned back around. “Oh, and Conner? Do whatever you like. Feel free to take out your teenage angst.”

Conner lifted an eyebrow. “He is my father.”

“Yeah, but you’re much more familiar with the soulful version, who I’d like to point out is irritatin’ as hell all on his own, but the soulless version will make you wanna rip his tongue out. Just wait.” Spike turned back around and led his lady upstairs for some well deserved TLC. He hummed Marvin Gaye’s ‘Sexual Healing’ all the way up the stairs, hoping it was sinking into Angelus’ subconscious as he was being tied up.





Chapter 30





“What are you doing?” Buffy asked her mate as he scooped her up in his arms.

“Carrying you,” Spike said with a low growl.

“Why?”

“I’m feelin’ all protective. It’s that bloody poofter’s fault. He’s got me all worked up.” Spike said as he nudged the door to their apartment open with his hip.

“I think you’re feeling more needy than protective, baby.” Buffy wasn’t complaining. She always liked being in Spike’s arms. She hadn’t interfered with his actions with Angelus. It wasn’t just that he deserved to be tied up after his snotty remark; it was that she knew Spike needed to be assertive. He needed to prove to his grand-sire that he was his own man now; he was the head of his own family.

Spike carried Buffy into their room and laid her on the bed. “Needy works too. I’d agree with needy.” Spike started to systematically undress her. It was one of his favorite things to do. When they were down at the bar, in the middle of serving drinks and mediating fights, he’d see her across the room and he’d start imagining they were the only two people there. He’d slowly remove every article of her clothing, watching as each piece drifted to the cement floor below. She was his precious gift. Unwrapping her was a continuous delight.

Buffy lay still. She’d gotten used to the reverent way he liked to remove her clothes. Sometimes he was overcome with passion and he’d just rip them off, but more often than not he liked to take his time. Exploring what each piece revealed as it was lifted from her body. He nudged at exposed parts with his nose, rubbing against her like a cat. He seemed to enjoy her elbow just as much as the underside of her breast. It was all a great pleasure to him. She felt loved. She felt worshiped. She wished she could explore him like that, make him feel this way, but once he’d removed the last garment, the anticipation would get to him. He immediately turned into action man.

Spike removed Buffy’s tiny black thong, slipping it off the end of her feet and dropping it on the top of her discarded pile of clothes. He lifted his face up and sniffed the air. The smell of her arousal permeated the room. He felt his teeth elongate along with his cock. She was ready for him. Hell, she was always ready for him. He turned his amber eyes to her, watching her intently as he removed his own clothes.

Buffy couldn’t help herself. Her fingers made their way down to her soft curls, dipping ever so slightly into her folds. She needed release. At the very least she needed contact. Watching spike take off his clothes was a sublimely erotic experience. He was a master. If he ever needed quick cash, all he’d have to do is walk into Chippendale’s. His body was perfect, but it was his moves that all the women would be paying for.

When Spike was finished he bent down at Buffy’s feet. He picked one up and placed a soft kiss on her instep. Then he gave it a gentle bite, just pricking the skin. He lapped at the tiny drops of blood that came to the surface. He placed her foot back down on the bed and made his way up her calf to the underside of her knee. He gently pushed her leg up so that he could have access to the soft skin underneath. He ran his tongue against it forcefully, just like he knew she liked, before giving her another bite. This one produced a bit more blood, and he sucked for a few seconds, making sure to get every drop of the precious fluid. He had to hide a smile as Buffy’s fingers started to furiously work at her clit. Damn, he loved teasing this woman.

Buffy felt Spike push her leg back down as he carefully pried her knees apart so that he could have access to her inner thigh. She felt as his tongue started to work the hallow there. It was nice. It was fantastic, but oh how she wanted him to go just a little to the center. So close. Such wondrous torture. “Spike, please,” she begged.

“Please what?” Spike asked knowing darn well what she wanted.

“Please help me,” she panted. Her fingers weren’t doing it. She moved her hands up to grasp the pillow under head, and she lifted her pelvis off the bed. “Help me cum, baby. Only you can do it. Only you.”

Spike moved his head so that it was hovering just over her center. “Damn right only me,” and with that he plunged his tongue deep inside of her. He brought it out again, rolling her juices around on his tongue. She had always tasted wonderful, but now she tasted like mate. Blood couldn’t even come close to comparing to this rich flavor. He ran his tongue along the outside of her clit and then started to make slow rolling motions. He heard her scream and he couldn’t help the smile of pure self-satisfaction that spread across his face.

Buffy pulled Spike up and off her. She threw him down on the bed and mounted him in one swift move. She heard his intake of breath as he bucked up against her in response. He wasn’t the only one who could take control. She rose up on her knees and then pushed back, sliding the top side of his cock hard against her walls. Then, as she went down again, she pushed forward, doing the same thing to the underside. She repeated this motion going as slow as she could, all the while watching as he writhed on the bed.

“Fuck, fuck baby. So good. Oh, yes, Buffy. That’s my girl. Harder baby. You’ve got to go harder. I can’t take it.” Spike begged.

Buffy leaned down on the next down stroke and thrust her tongue inside of his mouth. She could taste her feminine self along with her blood on his tongue. Kinda yummy, but not really what she was looking for. She continued with the slow strokes as she carefully examined his flesh. Where did she want to taste? It was all so inviting. She’d just about decided on his chest, when she heard the faint, distant sound of chains rattling. The ex was up. A sudden fierce to desire to mark her mate, somewhere highly visible, overtook her. She struck like a snake, morphing and biting all at once deeply in the side of Spike’s neck. His blood flowed over her tongue and she felt herself cum hard. She convulsed against him, collapsing at his neck as she withdrew her fangs.

Spike knew exactly what she was doing, and it was fucking fantastic. No one had ever been so frantically possessive of him before. It made him want to cum and cry all at once. He went with the first. He gently rolled Buffy off of him and on to her stomach. He placed his hard member between her slick thighs, as he gently pried her cheeks apart. “Gonna go inside of you now, baby. It’ll feel so good. Gonna make you feel so good,” he whispered in her ear, nearly incoherent with lust. He entered her, and instantly he could feel her start to respond all over again. She pushed her bottom up, causing him to go in further. He began pumping in and out of her. He leaned down, gripping her neck between his sharp teeth as he felt himself nearing the end. Once he felt her reach the same precipice he bit down hard.

“Mine!” It was between a growl and a scream as he came inside of her.

“Yours,” Buffy moaned back as another orgasm overtook her. She felt Spike collapse on top of her for a brief moment, getting his breath back before he rolled over and spooned up against her.

“Always mine,” he whispered against the back of her head.

“Always, Spike. Always yours and you’re always mine.” Buffy felt his hand resting against her thigh. It was such a casual mark of ownership. Everything he did was like that. He was always reminding her with his body that she belonged to him. She loved that. She loved him. “Spike, I can’t even form the words. I wish I could. I wish I was a poet like you.” She turned to face him. “I wish I could really tell you exactly how I feel, how you make me feel, how very much I love you.”

Spike looked down at his beloved. There were tears filling her beautiful green eyes. Love. All he saw when he looked at her was love. He reached out and ran a thumb under each of her eyes, wiping away her tears as they started to fall. “Everything you are screams your love to me. It’s in your eyes, it’s in your touch, it’s in your smell, it’s in the way you taste, and it’s in every word you speak. You are poetry, Buffy.” He kissed her softly. “You’re my own personal little love poem.”

“That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. You are such a dweeb, William.” Angelus’ voice came from behind them, followed by an annoying rattle of his chains. “You two love birds got a set of keys to these?”

Buffy and Spike both cringed. They turned to look at the man who had somehow crept unnoticed into their room, and was now standing at the foot of their bed. Spike reached down and pulled the coverlet over his mate. He gave Angelus a look out of the corner of his eye. “Don’t say one fucking thing about having seen it all before,” he warned.

Angelus had to let out a giggle, because of course that is exactly what he had been going to say. “Not a word.” He made an exaggerated zipping move with hand, made all the more noticeable by the chain hanging off of it.

“Three questions, Angelus,” Buffy said as she sat up, pulling the blanket up with her. “One, did you hurt anyone making your way up here? Two, how did you break those? And three, how did you sneak up on us?”

Spike tossed the key he’d retrieved from the nightstand at Angelus. “Yeah, mate, I’d like an answer to those questions myself.” Spike knew, just as Buffy did, that Timber and Kyle were okay, but they had no clue about Conner, Wesley, or Lorne.

Angelus gave them a big smile as he freed himself of the broken chains and made himself comfortable at the end of their bed. “Don’t worry. No one’s hurt. Just locked up in the basement. Probably more embarrassed than anything. I made them take off their clothes before I left.”

“What!” Spike jumped up and started pulling his clothes on, forgetting all about the other questions.

“What’s his deal?” Angelus hitched a thumb in Spike’s direction.

“Fatherly stuff. You just locked your naked son in a basement with our naked daughter.” She turned to look at her mate and was rewarded with the cute view of his backside just before it was covered with his black jeans. “Baby, you do realize that her big brother is down there with her, right? Nothing’s going to happen.”

Spike turned to look at her in disbelief. “Nothing? His son,” he pointed an accusing finger at Angelus, “is looking at our girl’s private bits. You call that nothing?”

“You did realize that eventually he was going to see her without her clothes on, right?” Buffy was confused.

“Eventually, like in a few years. She’s just a baby! I bet she’s never even seen a naked man before!” Spike couldn’t believe that Buffy was taking this so flippantly.

Buffy decided Spike had a point. “Throw me my clothes will you?” She flinched as her clothes came flying at her head.

“You two are freaking me out again,” Angelus complained. “You are way too domesticated. It’s just wrong.” He watched as Spike buttoned his shirt. “And Spike, really, like any kid of mine is gonna wait a few months, let alone years, to get in some girls pants.”

Buffy got there before Spike did this time. She laid a good right hook into his jaw. “That’s my daughter you’re talking about not some girl!”

“You tell him, Goldilocks,” Spike said. He was so proud of his woman. She was a powerhouse. “Now, let’s go clothe our children.”

Buffy grabbed the blanket off of the bed as she followed her mate out of the room.



Chapter 31







They removed the bar Angelus had used to lock everyone in the basement with from the doors and threw them open. Their eyes searched frantically for Timber in a sea of naked male bodies. From behind them Angelus’ irritated voice sounded out. “Conner! Where the hell are your clothes?”

Conner refused to look at his father or respond to him in any way, but someone else did. From the far corner of the room a figure emerged. Timber scrambled clumsily forward, relying on her vamp senses to guide her, as she had her hands firmly covering both eyes. She was wearing Conner’s shirt and pants. It was a good thing the boy was so skinny.

“He gave them to me, sir.” Timber said.

Buffy rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Timber. Then she turned and gave Angelus a seething look of annoyance. “You are so childish. Really, locking a bunch of people naked in the basement. For what? If you weren’t planning on coming back to snack on them later, why bother?”

Angelus ignored her. His focus was on his son. “Why did you give that girl your clothes?”

Conner spoke, but still refused to look up. It wasn’t embarrassment about the lack of clothes – after all, he was the only one in the room still wearing his underwear. It was embarrassment over what his father had done. “I gave her my clothes because I care about her. It’s not right to do what you did.”

Angelus turned to Spike and jabbed his finger at him. “First, you mate with my wife. Now, you’ve corrupted my son with morals! Are you trying to get me to kill you?”

Spike walked right into Angelus’ outstretched finger, letting it poke him right above his heart. “Sod. Off.” He turned around and left, calling over his shoulder, “Told you, you’d wish you’d tortured him when you had the chance. He’s the most annoying mother fucker on the planet.”

Conner looked at his father in horror. Angelus just rolled his eyes. “It’s a figure of speech, Conner. I’m not really a mother fucker.” Angelus thought about it for a moment. “Okay, I actually did fuck your mother, but that’s not what I want to talk about.”

“Must you be so crass?” Wesley asked as he grabbed the clothes Spike was throwing through the door.

“Would you like me to bite you?” Angelus got a good look at Wesley’s anatomy as the ex-watcher bent down to grab his underwear. “Whoa, Wes, who would have guessed?”

“Yeah, who would have?” A soft voice sounded through the open doorway.

Wesley looked up with total dread. “Fred.” Fred was standing in the door. Fred was here. She was here and she was looking at him naked. He blushed a deep red and began to dress in haste.

“Oh, sorry,” Fred muttered as she turned around. Wow! Wesley was nicely built. “I came to tell you that when you’re all dressed, Buffy and Angel want to talk about tactical planning and stuff. Gunn and I just got here. We’re a bit surprised to find Angelus, uh… existing an’ all. And we got the ingredients that you asked us to get, Wesley. So, whenever you guys are all descent, come on out. Spike’s making onion rings!” She knew she was rambling, but, Wow!

“Thank you Fred,” Wesley said from behind her. “You can turn around now. I believe we are all dressed.”

“If it’s just the same with you, I think I’ll walk back out without lookin’,” Fred said as she walked down the corridor to the staircase.

Kyle walked out the door closely followed by Lorne who did nothing but shake his head as Angelus as he walked by. Wesley and Lorne had been in Spike and Buffy’s office making their call to The Council when Angelus had made his original appearance. Imagine their surprise at being called down to the basement by the voice of their old friend, just to be knocked around and made to strip. It was absolutely deplorable in Lorne’s book.

Wesley waited for Kyle and Lorne to leave, and then he looked at Angelus. “Personally, I feel you should either be staked or locked up. I’ve dealt with you before. You’re incredibly dangerous, and I fail to see how Buffy and Spike can’t recognize that. I cannot believe they’re willing to simply let you walk around free.”

Angelus gave a deep chuckle. “Oh, Wesley, you just don’t get it do you?” He let his features change, so that he could show Wesley his true face. “Spike and Buffy are just like me. They may seem all caring to you right now, but their attentions have been on their family. Ask Spike if I didn’t do just the same in regards to my own childer. It’s the way we work. If you think for one moment that those two, a mated pair, are any less dangerous than I am, then you are sorely disillusioned. And yeah, get used to it – I’m evil.”

Wesley walked out the door. A seed of doubt placed firmly in his mind. Then he remembered the way Angelus had twisted the truth the last time he’d gotten free. All of the horrible things he had said to turn the group around had been accomplished with him firmly placed behind bars. His tongue was one of his greatest weapons. Wesley vowed to remember that as he made his way to the others.

Angelus let his human features fall back into place. “I’m not ever going to be the father you want, Conner, but I’m still your father. You’ve probably figured out by now that I’m not going to kill you. So there’s no sense in keeping up that pretense.” He sat down on a crate next to the boy. “Your mother was an amazing woman. She was the fiercest creature I’ve ever known, and you’re all I have left of her. Vampires aren’t humans, Conner. We don’t operate the same way humans do. We don’t have a conscience. I do things because it pleases me. I kill because I’m hungry. I kill because I’m bored. What I said to Wesley was the truth. Spike and Buffy are just like me. Don’t underestimate them. Spike’s made a stand here. He’s declared himself the head of his own family. I’m going to let him. I should have made him torture me, but I got bored pretending to be passed out, so I played my little trick on you guys. He can have Buffy. He can have those two weird little teenagers. He can’t have you though, and he can’t have Drusilla. I will fight him to the death to keep the both of you. Do you understand?”

Conner nodded his head. He’d grown up in a hell dimension. He understood this kind of stuff much better than he did phrases such as mother fucker. He knew he should be horrified by what this demon was saying to him, but he just felt wanted. It was a good feeling. As he got up to follow his father up the stairs he wondered vaguely what Drusilla was like.

The only thing on Angelus’ mind as he headed up the stairs was what to do about Lilah. He didn’t really need her anymore. Oh, she was good for a fuck and had a hell of a lot of spare change, but if Spike had mated with Buffy… Well, that left Drusilla all alone, and that just didn’t work for him. He meant what he’d said to Wesley. He took care of his childer. He could see Dru and Buffy being able to live together. Buffy had a strong mothering instinct. Not to mention that she was definitely the have a few girl friends type. Lilah, not so much. He’d have to have a little talk with Spike and Buffy in private. He had an idea.

Angelus and Conner walked into the room and sat down at a round table near the others. Lilah got up and sat beside Angelus. Spike waited for everyone to be still. “Okay, people. Lorne and Wesley called The Council. They didn’t actually talk toWillow, but they did talk to Giles. They told him that things were more serious here thanWillow originally thought; that they needed Giles’ expertise with identifying what Joan Williams is.” Spike looked at his girl, thinking that no one could possibly sum up just what she was, other than perfect.

“Is he comin’ then?” Fred’s sweetly accented voice rang out.

“Yes, Fred he is,” Wesley answered. He’ll be arriving Tuesday. I’ve agreed to pick him up myself.” Wesley looked down at the ground for a moment before looking back up again. He just couldn’t help the grin that spread out over his face; it was lovely when plans fell so nicely into place. “He’ll be traveling withWillow and Dawn. The former wanted to check things out for herself, and the latter was hoping to do a little shopping on their layover inNew York.”

“That’s just perfect,” Gunn said. “Now we can see if they’ve been mojoed just like us.”

Spike and Buffy shared a look with Angelus. These humans were so easily led.



Chapter 32





“You want us to what?” Buffy asked incredulously.

“I want you to hire Lilah as your personal and business attorney.” Angelus didn’t see what the big deal was.

“Why?” Buffy didn’t like the idea of having some cold, condescending lawyer bitch around her.

“Because I don’t want to kill her. She’s been a help with the whole bringing me back to life, uniting me with my beloved family thing,” he gave Spike a cheeky grin, “and some truly fantastic sex. Plus I may need her in the future. Good help is hard to find.” Angel finished.

Buffy rolled her eyes, but before she could offer a protest Spike broke in. “That’s fine, Angelus. We definitely could use a smart attorney, especially one who’s so well acquainted with demon law.”

Buffy morphed and growled. “If this is in regards to the truly fantastic sex comment, Spike, you’re in deep shit.”

Spike looked at his mate without a trace of a smile. “Be serious. As if I would ever look at anyone that way but you, ever.”

Buffy’s human features washed over her again. She felt contrite. “You’re right. I’m sorry I got jealous.”

“That’s okay, kitten.” Spike held open his arms and she ran into them. I think it’s sexy when you’re all possessive.”

Angelus felt this was the perfect time to mention the other part of plan. “Also, I need you to take Lilah on because I want Drusilla back.”

Spike stiffened in reaction to the wave of annoyance that washed over him from the tiny woman on his lap. He looked over her head at his grand-sire and gave him a dirty look. He knew damn well that mentioning Drusilla right after Buffy’d had a jealous moment over Lilah was a bad, bad thing. “Of course. All the more reason we’d be happy to have Lilah on board. We want Drusilla as far away from us as possible,” Spike said, thinking he’d gained the upper hand on this right quickly.

Buffy looked at him with wide, hurt eyes. “You need to have her away from you as far as possible! Is she that much of a draw? You just can’t trust yourself if she’s within touching distance!”

Angelus couldn’t help himself. He started cracking up. It was just too, too easy. He wiped the tears from his eyes, as he sat back and watched his grand-childe squirm.

Spike was going to seriously mess Angelus up over this one. “Buffy, baby, that’s now what I meant. Angelus is just trying to rile things up between us. Causing other people pain is his greatest ambition in life. You gonna let him get a handle on you like that?”

Buffy knew he was right. She let herself melt right back into Spike’s embrace. “Sorry. Again. I’ve never really been like this before. I just feel so possessive of you. I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she said softly.

“It’s the claim,” Angelus said, sobering up. “It acts like that when it’s brand new. Spike feels it too, he’s just trying to be a man and not show it.” Angleus got up and walked toward the entwined couple. He leaned down and ran his cheek against Buffy’s.

Spike instantly vamped and gave a fierce warning growl. Angelus straightened up and backed away with his hands in the air. “Just proving a point.” He sat back down in his on chair. “So, we have a deal?”

Buffy unwrapped herself from Spike and turned to face him. “Yeah, Angelus, we have a deal. We’ll take Lilah. You take Dru.”

Angelus gave a big smile. “Good. Now, does anyone know where Dru is?”

Spike knew that once again Angelus was trying to bend him over backwards. “I have no bleeding clue where she’s at, but I do know how to find her.”

Buffy looked at him. “You’ve known how to find her, but you stayed away from her all that time I was playing housewife with hair gel guy here?”

“Yeah, baby. I told you. There’s no one else for me but you,” Spike said.

Buffy grabbed both sides of his face with her hands as she drew him into a passionate kiss. Her body automatically shifted so that she was straddling his lap. As the kiss deepened she ground herself against his quickening member. She tore her mouth away from his with great reluctance. “Tell him how to find Dru, so we can fuck. Hurry, baby. I need you.” Her voice was low and sultry, and it was filled with the kind of desire that only Spike could satisfy.

Spike gave a hard swallow. “Right.” He turned to look at Angelus whose brown eyes were glazed with lust at the site of the couple before him. “Take off my shoes,” Spike rasped.

Angelus shook his head. “What?”

“My shoes, you great moron. Take them off!” Spike was loosing patience. He had a mate to satisfy.

“I appreciate the invitation and all, William, but I don’t think the little lady is gonna go for it.” Angelus was clueless as to what Spike was getting at.

“As if.” Spike growled. “No, it’s how you can get a hold of Dru. Plus, I just like seeing you at my feet.”

Angelus had to nearly physically restrain himself from making an obvious comeback. He got down on his knees and took Spike’s boots off. “Now what?”

“Now, you put them on,” Spike ordered.

“They’re a bit too small,” Angelus said snidely.

“No shit. Just slip what you can of those behomoths into them.” Spike sat back and watched as the elder vampire took his expensive dress shoes off and did his best to get his feet into Spike’s worn boots. “Now, click your heels together and say, ‘There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.’ A time or two.”

Angelus turned fiery eyes on the seated couple. “What the fuck are you up to? That’s the lamest joke you’ve tried yet, Will.”

Spike let out a great sigh. “It ain’t no joke, it’s Drusilla. You’re the one who went and made the bint daffy, don’t blame me for this crap.”

“Wouldn’t that send me to Dru, instead of sending her to me? Assuming you aren’t just doing this for kicks that is.” Angelus was still a little less than convinced that this was Dru’s idea.

“A logical person would do it that way. This is Dru. Trust me, it will bring her to you in a flash. Now get on with it.” Spike had to admit. This was great fun. He wished he had a video camera.

Buffy had to hide a grin as she watched the Scourge of Europe, with his toes in another man’s boots, clicking his heals together, and chanting, “There’s no place like home.” Truly, she would have paid good money to see this. She decided she would have to give Spike a special thank you for this one later.

Angelus was mortified. On the third chant around, just as he was about to take Spike’s boots off and shove them up his ass (really), a bright light erupted all around them. As the light faded away, there was Dru. She had a long dark brown dress on that clung to every one of her sinuous curves. Angelus opened his arms up as he kicked Spike’s boots off. “Hey, baby. Come to daddy.”

Dru squealed as she threw herself into her Sire’s arms. This was her special place. The most wonderous place in all the world. This was home. She looked past Angelus and caught sight of Buffy and Spike. She’d known about the mating when it had occurred. She hadn’t been upset. She wanted her boy to be happy. She gave Spike and Buffy a little wave with her hand.

They waved back. Buffy was surprised to find that, now that Drusilla was actually here, she didn’t feel jealous at all. In fact, she was actually kind of looking forward to spending some time with the odd woman.

Spike could feel the claming feelings coming from his mate, and he gave a great sigh of relief. This was going to work out after all. Plus, having Drusilla around during the battle to come was going to lend their side a strong psychic ally. Angelus, Spike, and Buffy knew that there was no wayWillow, Giles, and Dawn were coming all this way just to identify Joan Williams’ species. No, they were coming to fight. Undoubtedly, there would be an armed force of Council assassins coming along with them. They’d be hard to spot. They’d be coming in just like tourists. Basically, the three vampires had decided that killing anything that came intoCleveland with an English accent was the best offensive move they could make. They’d held this tactical advance back from all the humans of course. Humans could be so sensitive when it came to random killing.

Author's note: No offense meant to my Brittish readers - tomorrow you'll see it is in fact a

compliment.



Chapter 33



Willow, Giles, and Dawn were flying from their layover inNew York intoCleveland. They’d made reservations at a hotel, in fact they’d made reservations at hotels and motels and boarding houses all over the Hellmouth. Their Council operatives were pouring into the city, scouring for information, and preparing for battle.

Willow sat thinking over the events of the last two years. After Xander had lost his eye,Willow had decided enough was enough. She’d sent a little bit of persuasion over the rag tag group of Scoobies and potentials. She’d had Buffy thrown out, but of course she’d just come right on back. Like that stupid cat. Angel’s Shanshu had been just whatWillow had needed to put Buffy in her place. Oh,Willow loved her friend. She really did. She was just sick of Buffy causing them all so much pain.

Jesse’s death was all because of Buffy. Willow’s fish? Buffy. Mrs. Calendar? Buffy. Kendra? Buffy. Tara? Buffy. Buffy. Buffy. Then those poor trusting young girls, and finally Xander’s eye. It was too much. Buffy simply had to stop being the leader. She clearly wasn’t any good at it, but all that slayer power just wouldn’t let the blonde take a back seat like she should. SoWillow had approached Giles with her little plan.

Giles thoughts hadn’t been so far off fromWillow’s. He’d been enraged when his slayer had chosen to take Spike’s chip out. He’d tried to make up for her mistake. Unfortunately, the attempt on Spike’s life only made Buffy turn to the vampire even more. Giles couldn’t understand how she could be so foolish! How she could put everyone’s lives in danger over a worthless killer. It was inconceivable. Willow’s plan was perfect. Reward Buffy with a happy ever after and begin a new Council.

Everything had been going smoothly until this Joan Williams. Giles andWillow had been able to harness the powers of the Key to strengthen their own personal magics. They’d rebuilt the Council, making it stronger, modernizing it. They’d tried a spell to activate all the potentials into full slayers using Faith’s slayer power but it had failed. Until the attempted failure on Joan William’s life, it had been their one and only set back.

They didn’t know what kind of demon Joan Williams was, but they were quite sure she would be a dead demon very soon. Willow was actually looking forward to it; a real fight. She’d been organizing and building her magical strength over the last two years, but she hadn’t really had any opportunities to show off her stuff. She had some major fire power that she was just dying to throw at this upstart of a master. For one moment, just a brief moment really, she missed Buffy. She missed the old days where they’d go at a demon back to back. The whole gang working to defeat them. She shoved that feeling aside. She’d mourned Buffy’s death. It was over. She was dead and buried. End of story. Now it wasWillow’s story.

Dawn sat in her seat. Why had she agreed to come along? Oh, that’s right, shopping. She’d wanted to do some shopping inNew York. Of course their layover had been really short, and she hadn’t been able to do any actual shopping. What was inNew York that she couldn’t get inLondon? She really didn’t want to go toCleveland. That’s where Buffy had been killed in a car crash. She couldn’t believe that someone as strong as her sister had died in a car crash. It seemed such a pedestrian way to go. Angel too, for that matter. Strange. Everything was strange. Sometimes she felt so very, very tired. Like all of the energy was being drained out of her. She wished she could just close her eyes and go to sleep. She wished she could go to sleep in her sister’s arms. Sometimes she missed her so much, and sometimes she had trouble remembering her at all.





Back at The Hock Shop things were hopping. The bar was in full swing. Lorne was singing his heart out on the stage. Timber and Kyle were teaching Conner how to work the tables. Fred and Wesley were having drinks and dancing. Gunn was trying to pick up Lilah for some easy sex, and quite frankly it was working. The lawyer lady was a little miffed at being dumped for the crazy vampire. Gunn’s overtures were going a long way in soothing her sore ego.

Angelus, Dru, Buffy, and Spike were in the office up above. Occasionally they would look out at the crowd. They were making plans and going over intelligence reports. So far, 27 newly arrived men and women with English accents had been disposed of.

“Why are we killing off only the English tourists again?” Buffy asked.

Spike looked patiently at his mate. “Because, luv, they’re the most likely to be Council goons.”

“They have Council people all over the world. Demons don’t limit themselves to just the Hellmouth andGreat Britain.” Buffy didn’t understand Spike’s reasoning.

“Buffy,” Spike nearly whined. “These aren’t just any old Council members. These are the elite. The assassins. The best of the best. Of course they’re Brittish, woman!”

Buffy rolled her eyes, getting it now. Spike was being a nationalist. Great. They’d all be off’ed by a bunch of Spaniards, who’d walk right in undetected just because someone watched way too many James Bond films.

Angelus gave a chuckle as he figured Buffy’s inner thoughts. He leaned over and whispered to her, “He’s right, but not for the reasons he thinks he is. He’s right because Giles is in charge of the goon squad. Would Giles feel any different than Spike about this?”

Buffy thought back to the only agreeable moments between Spike and Giles. Angelus was right. Both men were true Brits from the top of their heads to the tip of their toes. “Okay,” Buffy sighed, “we keep killin’ off the English.”

Spike took Buffy’s hand gently in his own. “If it’s any consolation, Slayer, how many fine Englishmen do you think chooseCleveland as their holiday destination? We have far better taste than that.”

Before Buffy could respond, Drusilla help up a hand. She got to her feet and started to sway back and forth, hand still raised in the air. “They’re taking all the light. It isn’t nice to take the light. It doesn’t belong to them.” She opened up her eyes and looked straight into Buffy’s. “They must be punished. Locked up. Shrunk down. No reaching the key, just likeAlice.” She pointed a finger. “But no potion for them. No, no, no!”

Spike and Buffy looked at one another in a panic. “Hell no!” Spike yelled.

Angelus was not following things. “What’s she talking about? What light?”

Buffy looked at him with wide, fear filled eyes. “Dawn. She’s talking about Dawn.”

“Dawn as in your sister?” Angelus asked.

“Yeah, but that’s not so much the point here. Dawn as in the key. They’re using the power of the key,” Buffy explained. She looked up at Spike. “That’s an awful lot of power. Poor Dawnie, how could they do this to her?”

“It’ll be okay, baby,” Spike said as he scooped her up in his arms. There was a part of him that was actually relieved. He’d stopped believing in Dawn as an innocent a long way back. First she’d treated him like crap after all that he’d done for her – being tortured, risking his life again and again, and taking care of her after her sister died. Then she’d kicked Buffy out of her own home. It had broken Spike’s heart to think that Dawn was apart of all of this. Now, maybe, just maybe, she was being used as much as the rest of them.



Chapter 34



Wesley wiped the sweat of his palms on his pants for the third time. He was nervous as hell. Gunn stood beside him, and Wesley could tell from the vein throbbing on the man’s temple that he was just as nervous. One slip up and they would be dead. Magic wasn’t something that was easily combated by novice practioners such as themselves. The only hope they had of truly succeeding at bringing such a powerful witch down was to first separate her from the key then to immobilize her with the empathy pulse. Only then could they hope to perform the complicated spell that would makeWillow repulsive to all magic. It wasn’t a small thing they were out to accomplish.

He felt Gunn stiffen at his side and realized that the passengers must be getting off the plane. He swallowed hard as he turned to offer a straight face at the people streaming out. Willow, Giles, and Dawn were among the first to walk into the terminal. Wesley was shocked at how exhausted Buffy’s sister appeared. How couldWillow possibly justify doing this to an innocent. And Giles? The man should know better. They were interfering with the energies of the universe. It was hubris pure and simple. Wesley just hoped he would be able to see them fall.

“Hello, Wesley. This must be Gunn,”Willow held out her hand. The tall dark man gave it a firm shake. Willow liked that. This was the kind of man she insisted on having on her team.

“Nice to see you again, Wesley,” Giles held out his hand to the former watcher. “I’m anxious to talk with you about this Joan Williams. Have you seen her?”

Wesley gave the older man a tight smile. “I think perhaps that would be best discussed in private. Joan Williams run this town. It wouldn’t do to speak ill of her in public. Please follow me.” He turned around, gently wrapping his arm through Dawn’s as he did so. He walked slowly, allowing the young woman to lean on him.

Dawn wasn’t surprised that no one had spoken to her. It seemed days would go by where no one spoke with her. She had a lovely set of rooms in the top floor of the new Council headquarters. Willow and Giles also had rooms there. They were a team. A family. She had very few visitors. Faith had come at first. Xander and Anya had never been to visit even though they said they would. They never called either; if they did they didn’t ask to speak to her. She was enjoying the feel of Wesley’s arm beneath her hand. It was nice to touch someone without feeling so tired. Willow’s touch made her tired.

They arrived at Wesley’s SUV. Gunn took their carryon luggage and put it in the back, doing his damndest not to slam the hatch door. He was enraged. The girl looked like she was about dead on her feet, and he seriously doubted it was from jet lag. Gunn wasn’t surprised to find himself sitting next toWillow with Giles on her other side in the back seat. Willow had a pinched look on her face that let Gunn know she wasn’t used to the back seat treatment. His opinion of Wesley went up another notch.

The drive to the hotel was made in silence. Gunn got out and headed to the back to grab the luggage. He was more than happy to have Wesley take care of Dawn. They entered the lobby of the hotel, and Gunn turned around with a whistle of appreciation. Clearly, Council duties paid a hell of a lot better than AI’s did. Damn but this made their place look like a roach motel. Spike and Buffy had offered to hook them up with something better, but Wesley had been afraid it would draw attention to them.

After checking in, the group headed to the elevators and up to one of the topmost floors. Willow took the room card and let them all in. She really liked to lead things. Gunn looked at Wesley and gave a shake of his head. After the doors had firmly shut behind them,Willow turned to them with black eyes.

“You boys don’t mind if I take a little look-see. It’s so much easier than talking,”Willow purred as she made her way over to the men. She didn’t wait for their permission. She simply put her hands on each of their foreheads and raped their minds.

Gunn and Wesley staggered backwards until they were each leaning against the suite walls. Willow had taken her hands away, but her magic lingered like a bad cold. They both felt distinctly ill.

Willow laughed at their dazed expressions. Then she looked at Dawn. “Why don’t you lay down Dawnie? I think the traveling has gotten to you. You look a little tired, sweetie.”

Dawn just nodded her head. She walked over to one of the open bedroom doors and entered the room. The AI men watched as the door shut behind her. They turned toWillow with steely eyes. “What the fuck was that for?” Gun asked sharply.

Willow laughed. “Such language. Really, it was just a little peek. It so much better than words. Words are complicated things. They twist and turn, not always telling what they should.”

“You should have asked first,” Wesley said quietly.

“I did. I just didn’t wait for an answer,”Willow said as she took a seat upon one of the two divans in the opulent room.

Giles took a seat beside her. Truly he was a bit embarrassed about what she had done to Angel’s men. “It’s a bit unpleasant, butWillow is correct. It is most necessary.”

Wesley and Gunn each took a seat on the divan opposite. “Fine. What did you see exactly?”

Willow gave Wesley a wicked grin. “Oh, I saw everything. Looks like someone has a crush.”

Giles gave a nervous laugh. “Willow, I hardly think that’s necessary.”

“Oh Giles, all work and no play.” Willow said sadly. She sat up straight. “Fine. They came intoCleveland. Were immediately recognized and reported. Joan William’s called them in to give them the big lecture on joining her community. She thinks they’re working for her. She’s some kind of a fairy I think. She’s tall with white hair and red eyes just like as was described to us. Her magic is old and weak. She’s using the demon community and the energy form the Hellmouth to maintain her strength.” Willow said disdainfully.

Gunn had to bite the side of his cheek from saying anything. Like that scenario was any worse than stripping a young woman of her life’s essence. Damn but this red head was delusional.

“It’s better than we thought, really,”Willow said with confidence. “I was afraid she was some ultra powerful demon newly arrived form a hell dimension or something. Fairies we can fight. We just need to outwit her. Make her give us a promise. She’s bound to keep her word, literally. Throw some heavy magic at her and trick with words. Lucky for us wit is something I have in abundance.” She gave the men a sassy tilt of her head as she cocked her eyebrows.

Suddenly, Gunn wished that Angelus would just eat this woman. Starting with her damn eyebrows. He felt true hatred start to stir up inside of him, and he had to work hard to squash it down. She’d be able to read such a strong emotion.

Wesley knew that Gunn must be having a hard time keeping his emotions in check. He wanted to get them out of there as soon as possible. “What would you like us to do? We are expected back at The Hock Shop at 7:30.”

“I’m going to give you a magical boost. Several of our operatives have already been taken out by this Joan Williams, probably more as we speak. We still have nearly fifty men that she hasn’t managed to kill, however. We’ll converge on the demon bar tonight at midnight. The witching hour is no myth. You know some minor defensive spells from your watcher days, right?” Willow asked.

“Yes, some. I know a few offensive spells as well,” Wesley answered.

“Great. I’ll give you a magical enhancement. It won’t last past sunrise tomorrow.”Willow warned. “When my men and I burst through those doors, we are going to kill everything in sight. They’ll be using weapons. I’ll be using magic. I’m going to zero in on this Joan Williams and concentrate on taking her out. I’ll need you and Giles to act as protection for me as I’m doing this. Is that all clear?”

Wesley gave her another tight smile. He wondered if his face might not crack. “Perfectly clear. At midnight you burst in with your men, who fight of Joan’s demons. You attack Joan herself and Giles and I keep anything form disturbing you.” Wesley looked toward the closed door. “What about the girl? Where will she be? Surely you will leave her here?”

“Don’t worry about Dawnie. She serves her purpose. She’ll be at my side. Part of your job will be to protect her as well. I wouldn’t want any harm to come to my girl.” Willow said with great sincerity.

Wesley couldn’t wait for this woman to get her powers stripped. It would be such a pleasure. He came to a stand, and Gunn followed suit. “Very well, till midnight then.”

“Till midnight.” Willow and Giles echoed back to him. ThenWillow waved her hand and chanted some Latin. A bright green light came from the bedroom and entered into Wesley.

Wesley felt himself filled with power. When the witch was done, he and Gunn turned and left.

Gunn made it down to the street before he felt his knees buckle. Luckily Wesley was ready for that and was there to catch him. They each leaned against the outside of the building getting their breaths. They had felt the wall that a demon sorceress had built to guard the truth of things start to crumble whenWillow had made her assault. They’d been excepting her to do what she did. They’d planted false information for her to access and built a type of mental firewall for the truth, butWillow’s strength had nearly eradicated that of the demon’s. If that wall had fallen, it would all have been over. Willow would have killed them instantly and then had her way with Spike and Buffy and the rest of the team.

Gunn felt some strength return to his legs and he pushed himself away from the wall. “When this is over? We take a vacation. Somewhere without demons or witches. I’m thinkingNebraska. There any hellmouth’s there, man?”

Wesley gave a laugh. “No, Gunn. There are no known hellmouths inNebraska.”

“Wait, you said ‘known’. What do you mean known?” Gunn shook his forlornly as he got in the SUV. “Damn, no place is really safe.”

“Word,” Wesley answered as he started up the car.

Gunn hit him in the back of the head.



Chapter 35



Buffy was more nervous now than she had been when she went to meet the Master. Everything she cared about was in danger; Spike first and foremost. She had Kyle and Timber to worry about; they weren’t exactly seasoned fighters. And Dawnie. She had been so angry when Gunn and Wesley had delivered their report earlier, that she thought she might actually throw up. Spike had punched a whole in the wall.

Now here it was a quarter till midnight. Every demon in the bar was at the ready. They knew how to fight and they knew how to do it during a magical hailstorm. Thank goodnessWillow had been so foolish as to juice up Wesley like she had. This gave Buffy the hope that Wesley’s power would be somewhat equal to Giles’. Buffy had memorized the empathy pulse spell and was planning on doing it herself. She figured she would have a split second of sheer surprise onWillow’s part to enable her to employ it. As soon asWillow was zapped, Spike was going to grab Dawn and give her to Drusilla. The crazy vampire was certain she could pull Dawn entirely into her own power thus blockingWillow access to the girl. Between the empathy pulse and the power of the key being taken away, they should be able to perform the difficult spell of makingWillow’s body a foreign substance to magic.

The night’s success relied on perfect timing. One little misstep and they’d be in big trouble. Buffy stood on the stage, swaying to a jazz beat. She was pretending to sing. In reality it was Roxy’s dulcet tones that people were grooving to. Roxy had the ability to cloud people’s perceptions, making it hard to get a magical reading when she was singing. The reason Buffy was lip sinking, the reason she was standing on stage, well…

Anyone who looked at the glorious figure under the bright lights would see a tall fairy with long, flowing white hair and red eyes. A lovely little fairy named Herman had kindly put a glamour on Buffy that would disappear as soon as she said the word ‘Xander’. As nervous as she was, Buffy couldn’t wait to see the look onWillow’s face when she said that one word. Buffy and Spike had tried to find Xander and Anya but had been able to do a locater spell on them. They both felt thatWillow probably had the couple blocked.

Buffy looked down at the gold and silver watch on her wrist. Five more minutes. Mentally, she went over where everyone was. Timber and Kyle were behind the bar with Drugg. Lorne was sitting at a table with Fred and Gunn. Wesley was standing near the door with Conner. Spike was crouching behind the counter at the weapons check-in with Drusilla. There was access to the kitchen through there, and from there to the stairwell. Angelus was waiting in the wings. She could just catch him out of the corner of her eye. It was funny how comfortable she was around him now. He and Dru were family. Evil family, but didn’t everyone have relatives attired in black wool?

Buffy was just getting ready to pretend to sing another song when the front doors blew open. There wasWillow, her eyes shining black, her read hair flowing out behind her, and magic crackling in the air around her. Giles and Dawn were each at her side, and behind her stood a special ops team. At quick glance Buffy figured there to be about forty men. She made the numbers 4 and 0 with her hands to signal to the crowd what they were dealing with. Willow’s people were severely outnumbered. Buffy figured she had at least 200 hundred armed demons sitting in her bar.

As planned, everyone pretended to be shocked by the dramatic entrance. They all just stared with their mouths hanging open asWillow and her people infiltrated the bar. Willow made straight for the stage. She saw her target and was going to take her down.

Willow wasn’t worried about the demons in the bar. First of all, half of them must hate the current master. Second, most would not be trained to fight like her men. And third, she’d found out that The Hock Shop made their clientele check their weapons at the door. Willow’s men were all heavily armed. It would be like shooting frogs in a barrel. Not that she would ever want to shoot frogs in a barrel or otherwise. Yech.

Willow levitated onto the stage in front of Joan Williams. She looked at the creature. “You’re pretty,” she said, knowing you can get far by appealing to the vanity of the fey. Willow raised her hands as the fairy smiled, ready to let go with a powerful stream of magic, when the fairy opened its mouth.

“Xander!” Willow looked around wildly for the sight of her old friend. When she turned back around to look at the fairy it wasn’t there. Willow stumbled back in horror. “Buffy?” she whispered.

Across the room Spike jumped out from the weapons counter with a wild war cry. That was the cue for the demons to pull out their weapons and open fire on the Council operatives. Spike grabbed Dawn away from the surprised Giles and threw her over the counter into the waiting arms of Drusilla. When he turned back around to address Giles, he found the old man in a magical war with Wesley. Spike moved in and grabbed Giles by the neck, pulling him back against his chest.

Spike could feel the magic from both men bouncing around him. Some of it hurt, but none of it could distract him from his purpose. This man had to die. He pulled Giles’ head in one direction and his body in another. Funny how that always made a human’s head pop off. Spike threw the head into the crowd and smiled at the resounding cry of triumph that came from the demons that became splattered by the watcher’s blood. Now, to quote Martha Stewart, that was a good thing.

Spike was just about to move into the fray and take out a few Council ops himself, when he was abruptly propelled backward by magic. He looked up to se Wesley coming at him in full fury.

Wesley couldn’t believe what the vampire had just done. They were supposed to immobilize Giles and see if he was under a persuasion spell, not just kill the man outright. Angelus’ warning entered into Wesley’s brain as he sent Spike flying across the room. The Scourge of Europe had been correct. Spike and Buffy were dangerous. Wesley walked over to the vampire fully prepared to stick a stake in his heart when he found himself face to face with Conner.

“Back of Conner. He murdered Giles,” Wesley warned.

“I saw. This is a war, Wesley. Don’t kill one of our strongest allies.” Conner hoped his friend would listen and listen quickly. He knew if Wesley killed Spike, that Angelus, Drusilla, and Buffy would hunt him down and bring him pain like he couldn’t possibly imagine.

Wesley lowered his arm and walked off into the crowd. Conner was right. There would be time to deal with Spike later.

Spike gave Conner a nod of thanks as he threw himself into the fighting. That boy was a bit of alright. Spike was trying to make his way to Buffy. He saw Angelus coming out of the wings walking toward Buffy andWillow, and gave a mental thank you. He knew Angelus wouldn’t let anything happen to his childer’s mate.

Willow finally realized what Buffy was doing and was just about to attack, when she saw movement coming from behind her once best friend. It was Angel.

The moment of surprise was all Buffy needed to utter the last word of the spell and throw the dust overWillow that would start the pulse. She watched in utter satisfaction asWillow fell to her knees, her mouth opened in silent terror.

From up above, where the commotion below was only so much background noise, Drusilla began to separateWillow’s magic from Dawn. It wasn’t easy. Drusilla could see black tentacles reaching into and all around the frail girl. Each tentacle would have to be removed. Dru honestly didn’t know if the girl would survive this, and she wanted her to. Dawn was such a pretty girl. Just like a doll.

Chapter 36



Everything was silent in The Hock Shop. The Council men were all dead. They’d been good fighters, however. Better than most of the demons. They’d left over half of The Hock Shop patrons as corpses, not including those that started out that way. Spike and Angelus were standing beside Buffy with Timber, Kyle, and Conner taking up positions behind. They were staring at the red head writhing in silence on the wooden planks of the stage.

Wesley, Gunn, Fred, and Lorne were standing opposite of them. They weren’t sure what they were supposed to do now. They’d all seen Spike’s little head toss. They were contemplating whether to go with the fire or the frying pan. Wesley was worried they were doomed either way.

Buffy looked up fromWillow and gave Wesley a long level look. “You really thought we’d let him live? Do you know what he did to Spike?” Buffy had to give herself a mental reminder that her mate was safe and sound beside her. Every time she thought of how close she had come that night to losing him, she just wanted to kill something. She continued, “Giles and a man named Wood, funny that he’s named after one of the greatest weaknesses of a vampire, they tried to kill Spike. Giles took me out and distracted me, while Wood locked Spike in a room lined with crosses. Then he played a song that Spike’s mother used to sing to him to try to drive him to madness just as the First Evil had been doing. Once I realized what Giles was up to I ran. I ran as fast as I could, but I was too late.” Buffy looked at the AI team with bright, tear filled eyes. “I didn’t get there in time to save him. He had to save himself. If he wasn’t the amazing man he is he would have never made it out of that room alive. Giles did that. He did that to me, and he did that to Spike. His death was long overdue. I don’t give a fuck if he was under a persuasion spell or not when he helpedWillow to wipe my mind and send me to suburbia.”

Angelus was shaking with rage. He couldn’t believe that Giles had done that to his childe. He fervently wished that they’d had time to torture the man before he died. Buffy’s last words caught Angelus’ ears, and he admitted for the first time that she was a suitable mate for William. The whiny little slayer he’d known had turned into a fierce warrior. She was no longer tied to the mission as so many slayers before her. She’d become her own woman.

Just then the empathy pulse subsided andWillow lay there spent, looking up at all of them. Buffy reached out her hands and linked them with Spike’s and Angelus’. She hoped her words had convinced Wesley to help them. Otherwise they were just going to have to killWillow, and really where was the penance then?

Wesley made his decision and reached out his hands and the AI team followed joining with the vampires and Buffy. They began the complicated spell that would preventWillow from ever again interacting with magic. The steps to the spell were simple. They’d been performed hours before. It was the concentration of energy from a group source that was complicated. Everyone had to be in line. Their focus singular. Their purpose unified. All ten men and women stood around the fallen witch and uttered the sacred words.

Willow realized what they were doing and she began to panic. She reached out to Giles, but found his life force ended. She shrieked. She reached out to Dawn but found her way blocked. She screamed. Finally, she reached into that inner source, the place she said she would never go again. She reached for the blackest of magics. She went under to meet the dark force that would give her the power to put these novices in their place. But all she found were dark blue eyes coming at her in a face as pale as moonlight. Willow opened up her mouth to begin her plea, when a cold hand wrapped itself tightly around her lips. An icey voice started to whisper in her ear. Willow had never known that sound could be so cold. “Quote the raven, nevermore.” Over and over the voice whispered. Willow could feel herself growing colder and colder. She pulled out of the darkness, away from that terrible voice. As she came into the light of the stage she realized who she had met in the dark. It had been Drusilla. The dark vampiress had stopped her from connecting with the black magic she needed to save herself.

The chanting stopped. The spell was done. Willow looked into Buffy’s eyes, and with tears flowing down her face she asked her old friend, “How could you do this to me? Magic is all I had. All I am.”

Buffy leaned over and slapped her.

Once again, in a room above The Hock Shop, Drusilla found herself staring down at the pretty doll. The distraction caused by blocking the naughty witch from the darker magics had not been good. The doll was broken. The last of the black tentacles were gone, but the doll’s pretty little heart beat was slowing. Drusilla hated when pretty things died. It was like the flowers in her garden, they never stayed. The birds Spike used to bring her, they always stopped singing. The only pretty thing she’d ever had that stayed was Spike.

Drusilla gently lifted the doll in her arms. She swayed back and forth as she sung a soft little song. It was one from her childhood. No, wait. It was a song Spike’s mother used to sing. She’d heard it in Spike’s dreams. She sang it now to the pretty doll. It was a goodbye and a hello song. As she finished the last word, she let her fangs elongate. She bit down, savoring the rich blood that flowed from the doll’s lovely throat. Then she broke away and used one of her fangs to slice a nice neat hole in her wrist. She placed it against the doll’s ruby red lips and said, “Drink my lovely. Drink for mummy.”

Being a good doll, she did.





Chapter 37



Buffy looked at Spike as Wesley and Gunn carried Willow out of the bar. Conner, Timber, and Kyle were accompanying them to Wesley’s SUV in case any of the demons were thinking of finishing the witch off. Wesley had offered to keep Willow at the Hyperion on a semi-permanent basis. Apparently he didn’t trust Spike and Buffy with her person. Smart man.

Buffy moved towards her mate. “She felt our pain, every bit of it, and yet all she could talk about was the loss of her magic,” Buffy cried. Her eyes were filled with tears and a tiny sob tore out of her chest. Spike brought her into the warmth and safety of his arms. He wished he could take her pain away.

“I know, kitten. But you have to understand what she let Rack to do to her. Once a junkie, always a junkie. The only hope she ever had was to go cold turkey and stick with it. White magic, black magic, it’s all the same when it comes to the way it affects someone. A junkie only cares about their next fix, and right now Willow is very aware that she’ll never get it. It’s all she can think about. Eventually, the effects of the empathy pulse will catch up with her, and she’ll have to live the rest of her life knowing what she has lost, and what she has done to you. And to Dawn,” Spike gently explained to her.

“Dawn!” Buffy exclaimed. She pulled away from Spike and tore up the stairs. She entered the apartment with Angelus and Spike at her heels. As soon as they crossed the threshold they knew Dawn was dead. They could feel it permeating the rooms.

Buffy sank to her knees screaming her sister’s name. Spike came down right beside her; too lost in his own grief to offer comfort.

Drusilla walked into the front room and over to Angelus. She let him pull her into his embrace. “What are they going on about? The witch is a witch no more.”

“They’re upset because the girl died,” Angelus explained.

Drusilla gave a tinkling laugh. “She was too pretty to wilt and have her song cease.” She walked over to Buffy and bent down wrapping her arms around the sobbing woman. “Don’t cry, my sweet, the little doll isn’t really dead, just sleeping. The Willow woman’s dark magic had a hold of her like an octopus; a twisty turning thing. It wouldn’t let go. Each tentacle tore the lovely little doll apart. I tried to keep her stuffing inside, but I got distracted when the witch reached out for the darkness. Kept it from her, I did, but the little dolly went all limp. So, I gave her a sweet kiss. Now she’ll be beautiful forever. A perfect doll.”

Buffy threw Dru’s arms off and raced into the bedroom. There was Dawn, laid out on the bed in one of Dru’s white gowns. She did look like a doll. A perfect little doll. So peaceful. Buffy turned and launched herself at Drusilla. Angelus and Spike both moved to try and stop the inevitable attack, but the repeated sobs of thanks Buffy was pouring onto Drusilla’s breast stopped them both.

“Thank you, Dru. I couldn’t have lost her that way. Not to Willow. Not just as some kind of thing to be used. Now I can keep her. Now she’ll be safe.” Buffy cried.

Spike was shocked. This was a Buffy much different than the one who had lived in Sunnydale. He knew she’d changed, and he loved her either way, but her reaction was still a complete shock. He looked at Dawn. He was also pleased by what Dru had done. He made a mental note to call that gypsy woman for the spell to get Dawn’s soul back. He wanted her to be their Dawnie. Then they could be a family. Everything would be perfect.

Suddenly, three teenagers ran into the room fully prepared to do battle. They’d heard Buffy’s scream from the street and had taken off in a dead run. They now stood in the doorway looking in at the vampires and the beautiful girl laid out on the bed.

Kyle broke away from the group. He moved as if in a trance. He walked over to the bed and just stared. He swallowed hard as he turned to look at his sires, “Wow.”





Epilogue



Dawn was given her soul back by Buffy and Spike. She was saddened to realize what Willow and Giles had done to her, but the love she felt being back with Spike and Buffy was more than enough to bring her solace. She’d been so happy at seeing her sister alive that she cared very little that she was now a vampire. Timber was pleased to have someone else around who hated blood on their pancakes just as much as she did. Kyle had caught Dawn’s eye the moment she awakened. The two were nearly inseparable.

Angelus and Dru had stayed a few weeks and than taken off. Angelus gave Spike many dire warnings of what would happen to him, if Conner wasn’t kept safe and slightly evil. Everyone watched them go with a mix of emotions. They were family, but they were so very deadly. Visits every year or so would more than suffice.

The Hock Shop was cleaned up. The demons that helped in the battle were rewarded and the families of those demons whose lives were lost were compensated. Spike and Buffy loved running the bar. Being the masters of the Hellmouth wasn’t too bad either. All in all life was good. Well, for everyone but Willow.

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