*banner by Bloodshedbaby*

by Tasha

Story Summary: Starting with the episode "School Hard" and taking us through an alternate Season 3, this story is a response to Challenge #64 at The Bloodshedverse (www.bringonthebloodshed.com/bloodshedverse/ ).  Angel can’t close Acathla this time.  Only a pregnant Slayer's blood is able to tame the beast and seal Acathla forever, but who will the father be?  Will she find love, or is she just doing her duty as the Chosen One to protect the earth from darkness?  Full challenge requirements will be listed at the end of the story to keep from giving away several key plot points.

Chapter Summary: This chapter starts off at what will be a part of the end of the story during a rewrite of the episode "Becoming".  Once you read it, you'll understand what I mean.  Please be aware that this is a major cliffhanger.  It is a teaser to the story, giving you a glimpse into how some things will be at some point.  Towards the end of the chapter we go back to the "present" time of the story's beginning.

Author's Note: This is a pregnancy Buffy fiction based on a prophecy that I created which I hope you will enjoy.  I know its been done before by others, but I hope that you will give my story a chance to stand on its own.  I am hopeful that you will find it worth your time to read.  Biting and claiming will be a part of this story as well as descriptive sexual situations.

DEDICATION: This story is dedicated to Bloodshedbaby.  She is the webmistress of the Bloodshedverse, and this was a challenge she posted.  She is an amazing writer as well as a dedicated person who keeps everything updated daily at the web site.  I talked to her about this challenge several months ago, but I didn't want to start posting until I had a different WIP completed.  Now is the time I can start this, and I hope she likes it.  BSB ... this one's for you!

Disclaimer: All characters originally created by Joss Wheadon and Mutant Enemy belong to them by all rights.  I just sneak them out of the vaults to play with them whenever I can.  I do not make any money off of this.  I have only the satisfaction that others enjoy the creativity and storylines that I come up with for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story.  "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.

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“Spike!”  Buffy yelled over the din of the swirling vortex in the middle of the room.  Her voice shook with pain and panic.  She clutched her swollen abdomen as if she was trying to keep something inside of her.

Spike dusted another minion of Angelus’.  He was checking to be sure Drusilla was still unconscious when he heard Buffy’s scream.  He ran to her place in front of Acathla.  He stepped over the crumpled form of his Sire, Angelus.

“It’s trying to pull the baby from me.”  Buffy tried to step back from the portal.  The vortex pulled stronger at her body the further away she moved.  So, she stepped closer again.  “It’s taking me with him!”

“That wasn’t part of the deal.”  Spike growled.  “Bloody prophecies.”  He wrapped his arms around Buffy’s waist from behind.  Holding her tight against his chest, he tried moving away from the gate to Hell.

Buffy screamed as they moved.  “Spike!  Stop!”  She openly wept in his arms.  “We don’t have much time.”  She continued to sob.  So much had happened in the last few months.  She didn’t want to leave her friends or family, but she especially didn’t want to leave Spike behind.

“I won’t let it take you, damn it.”  Spike stepped between Buffy and the statue.  “You don’t deserve to go to Hell.”

Angel stirred beside the couple.  A sad puppy dog face stared up at Buffy and Spike.  “Buffy?  What’s going on?”  He slowly stood up halfway to face Buffy and Spike.  “Where are we?  Everything’s all so muddled.  I feel like I haven’t seen you in months.”

“After all that Willow got the spell to finally work when it was too late.”  Buffy let Spike hold her while she cried.  She ignored Angel completely.  The roar from the vortex grew louder as the portal opened wider.  “I have to close it.  It needs me.”  She tried to side step Spike.  I’m the pregnant Slayer.”

“It needs your blood, pet.”  Spike stopped Buffy from going around him.  “It’s always about blood.”  He thought back on the prophecy they studied for the last several months.

The word pregnant finally seeped into Angel’s addled and confused mind.  “Pregnant?  Just what is going on?  Why are you letting him touch you?”  He pointed to Spike, but he yelled at Buffy.

“We’re saving the world from your ever so whacked out and soulless self you ungrateful git.”  Spike answered in irritation.  ‘Think Spike.  What did the prophecy say about blood?’

Angel lunged for Spike’s legs from his now half crouched over position.  Before he made contact, a pointy-toed boot connected with his chin.  His head snapped back from the force of the blow.  He fell to the floor at Spike’s feet unconscious.

“That’s it!”  Spike exclaimed.  “The blood of life within the womb will halt the beast from bursting in gloom.  It needs the blood of a pregnant Slayer, not all of you.”

“I’m the only one who has my blood, Spike.  I don’t see the diff …”  Buffy’s sentence was cut off by the growl of a Master Vampire intent on his purpose just before he sunk his fangs into her neck.

Spike tried not forget the shocked look of horror and disappointment on Buffy’s face when he dove for her neck.  He hoped she would understand later why he did it.  ‘If the bloody status wants her blood, I’ll give it to him.’  He drank deeply of her life’s essence.  He wasn’t sure how much blood was needed.  He had to make sure he had enough to take her place but not enough to harm their child.

Acathla’s portal inched across the room close to the embraced couple.  Buffy cried and moaned in confusion.  She felt the weakness encompass her with each pull of her blood.  ‘After all we’ve been through, why would he kill me now?’  She drifted closer into unconscious.  The softly spoken words from Spike’s lips, now free of her neck, kept her holding onto consciousness just a little bit longer.

Spike cradled Buffy in his arms.  Tears tracked down his face while he caressed his fingers through her hair.  He knelt down on the floor a few feet from their previous position so that he could lay her down.  He leaned down to whisper into Buffy’s ear, “Tell our son that it was worth it.  Let him know that I loved him enough to die for you both.”

Buffy’s eyes widened.  She was too weakened to move, and it killed a part of her when she wasn’t able to stop the press of his soft lips against hers one last time or keep him from leaving.

Spike cupped Buffy’s cheek.  “Please don’t forget me.  I love you, Buffy.”  He looked up in time to see the Scoobies rushing into the main room.  He stood up and faced them.  “Take care of her.”

No one had a moment to stop Spike from turning around to face Acathla once more.  He extended his arms open wide to accept his fate.  Fate could be cruel sometimes, but at least Buffy would be there for their child.  He’d fight to find some way to watch over them from the beyond, even if he had to bribe the devil to do it.

Acathla flashed brightly.  The pulse of the sucking vortex being closed whooshed through the room and knocked Buffy completely flat to the ground.  It brought the standing Scoobies to their knees. 

When the room returned to normal lighting Buffy started to sob.  She crawled towards Acathla with what little strength she had left.  She beat on the stone surface with wounded hands.  She cried out, “No,” over and over again until Giles and Joyce physically moved her away from the statue.

“Easy, baby,” Joyce held Buffy in her lap just like she had when Buffy was a younger child.  She tried to soothe her daughter’s broken heart, but she only ended up adding her own tears to Buffy’s.  “It will be all right.  Somehow, it will be all right.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

10 Months Earlier

A dusty black Desoto roared into Sunnydale.  The driver deliberately crashed into the "Welcome To Sunnydale" sign on the outskirts of town.  Loud rock music blasted from the car.  Even with the doors and windows closed, the steady bass beat and rhythms were heard.

With a loud and annoying squeak, the heavy driver's side door opened.  The music grew even louder, breaking the silence of the somewhat peaceful night on the Hellmouth.  One black boot followed another onto the asphalt. A long black leather duster stopped just shy of the driver's ankles.

He strutted away from the car door, slamming it shut behind him.  His surefooted steps led a body that sauntered with confidence and power to in front of the car.  He looked back and forth over his surroundings before he turned back to face the car.

This was no ordinary man.  A raised forehead, accentuated cheekbones and brow ridges told the story of a creature of the night.  A man doomed to walk in darkness until the day of his final death.  Bleached blonde hair topped off a pale, but handsome face.  His physique and stature were enough to make any woman swoon at the sight of him.  He radiated allure, power, and a bad boy image that made most want to beg him to take them with him.

A low breathless rumble caressed the vampire's lips and throat.  He flicked open his lighter and brought it up to the cigarette hanging from his lips.  He lit the tip, inhaling the nicotine deeply.  It wasn't something he needed, but it was a habit he enjoyed.

The man, still in full vampiric visage flicked the lighter closed.  He took a long drag from the cigarette.  The tip flared red like a beacon in the darkness.  A rough British accent drifted through the air when he spoke.  "Home.  Sweet.  Home."  His mouth turned into a smirk.  His firm cheekbones became more pronounced as the smirk grew.  He blew out a line of smoke through his nose.  It only served to make his smirk look that much more foreboding.

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(To Be Continued)
 

Chapter Summary: Chapter 1 gave us a glimpse into the future when Acathla is opened. At the end of the chapter we saw Spike's arrival into Sunnydale. Let's take the adventures further to the first time Buffy and Spike saw each other. Was it in the alley, or did Buffy notice Spike in the Bronze too? What were they really thinking when they first laid eyes on each other? What if Joyce was just a few seconds later than she was in canon at the end of the episode?

Author's Note: Not all dialogue is going to be exactly like the episode "School Hard" because I am tweaking it to fit the progression of this story. Also a decent portion of this chapter is going to include direct quotes from the episode. Credit to the great Joss Wheadon and his writers for their words. Also a tinsy bit of blood play in this chapter.

Disclaimer and Distribution notes are listed on the Index page of this story.

The Day Before Spike's Arrival

Buffy walked out into the daylight to meet her friends Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg.

"Snyder's got you guys makin' party favors, huh?" Xander quipped.

"His two worst students." Buffy sighed. She pointed to Sheila making out with an older guy by a car in the street. "That's what my mom sees when she looks at me. A Sheila." Buffy frowned. "If I could just tell her that I am the Slayer, I know she'd be proud of me."

Willow crossed in front of Xander to Buffy's side. "She'd also be scared out of her wits and all freaking out."

Buffy groaned. "I think that would be better than her looking at me like a failure and a disappointment all the time. I wish she could be proud of me like she used to before all this Chosen One stuff."

"It will get better, Buffy. You'll see." Willow, ever the supportive friend, encouraged Buffy to get out of her slump.

"Do you think any other Slayers had to go to high school?"

"Weren't they all taken away from their family and secluded into solid training day in and day out?" Xander questioned.

"Okay ... I'll take going to high school." Buffy rolled her eyes. "Watchers can be so stuffy."

The three of them walked away from the school to head home their separate ways.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The night of Spike's arrival

"The Master is dead. Someone has to take his place." A tall and dark vampire spoke to the others in a factory like building.

"As long as the Slayer's alive, whoever takes his place will be sharing his grave." Another vampire standing near the Anointed One, a child, answered.

"Then let the soul who kills her, wear his mantle." The arrogant vampire offered up his solution. He wanted the power to be the Master of Sunnydale.

"Can you do it?" The child questioned the vampire who seemed a bit full of himself. He was tired of the Slayer being around. She killed the Master when he was supposed to rise to glory, and she destroyed his attempt to bring the Master back. She needed to pay for her actions.

"Yes," The vampire sneered. "This weekend, the night of St. Vigeous, our power shall be at its peak." He walked closer and closer to the Anointed One. "When I kill her, it'll be the greatest event since the Crucifixion. I should know," He bragged, "I was there."

Before the child could answer the boast, another voice interrupted the gathering. "You were there?" The accented voice from the shadows laughed. "Oh please! If every vampire who said he was at the Crucifixion was actually there, it would have been like bloody Woodstock."

"I oughta rip your throat out." The bragging vampire tried to intimidate the blonde haired vampire who revealed himself to the room.

"I was actually at Woodstock." The blonde vampire turned away from the rest of the demons there. He held out his hand in front of him, waving it back and forth a little, while he walked away from the group. "That was a weird gig. I fed off a flower person, and I spent the next six hours watchin' my hand move."

The offended vampire ran at the blonde from behind. Without even looking the blonde fisted a backhanded punch right to the dark vampire's face. He knocked him out cold. "So, who do you kill for fun around here?" He turned to face the child again.

"Who are you?" The child asked the blonde. Something about this vampire felt like the Master did. He felt the same thing when Angel was around. He wondered who had stepped into his presence.

"Spike," Spike said simply. "You're that anointed guy. I've read about you." One of the Anointed One's guards stepped up to Spike when he stepped too close to the child. Spike practically laughed at the vampire and walked around him. "Sounds like you've got Slayer problems. That's a bad piece of luck."

Everyone in the room stared at Spike strangely. He was cocky, but he seemed justified in some way.

"Do you know what I find works real good with Slayers? Killing them." Spike stopped in front of the Anointed One.

"Can you do it?" The child remained calm as he sat on his perch off the ground. He may look like a child, but inside he held the wisdom of ages past.

"A lot faster than nancy boy there." Spike smirked. Something called him to this town. He told himself that it was the attraction of the Hellmouth that brought him there. His desire to find Drusilla's cure was the foremost thing on his mind, but he couldn't stop the nagging feeling in the back of his head that told him he had another destiny to face.

"I did a couple Slayers in my time. I don't like to brag." Spike bust out into laughter after a half snort. "Who am I kidding? I love to brag! There was this one Slayer during the Boxer Rebellion, and ..."

Everyone's attention turned to the dark haired woman entering the room. The dress she wore was a style of days gone by in a mixture of white and ivory lace over satin. She walked slowly into the center of the room.

"Drusilla," Spike's face returned to his human form. His voice was soft, like a parent speaking to a child. "You shouldn't be walking around. You're weak." As much as he loved his dark princess, she was growing more on his nerves daily. At times he thought about leaving Drusilla, but in his heart he couldn't abandoned the woman he considered his savior especially since there was no other family to take care of her. 'If I find Angelus, I'm going to kick his arse for leaving her behind. Bloody wanker.'

"Look at all the people. Are these nice people?"

"We're getting' along," Spike answered Dru.

"This one has power. I could feel it from the outside. It called to me." Dru hungered to taste the power of the Anointed One. She felt the connection of him to the Aurelius clan. He was strong with the blood of what could cure her illness.

"Yeah. He's the big noise in these parts. Anointed and all that." Spike quipped. He had hoped to get settled in with the child before Drusilla appeared. He needed a safe place for her to rest while he looked for the cure she needed. Once she was cured, he'd feel better about his decision to follow his own path.

"Spike, I'm cold." Drusilla's eyes turned from an insane glint to a manipulative one.

"I got you." Spike removed his duster and wrapped it around Dru's shoulders. He never let on that he was anything but a devoted servant to Drusilla, but in his heart he needed more. He always felt that Drusilla held a part of herself back from him. He needed someone who would love all of him and give all of herself to him.

Drusilla realized that her William's attentions were waning. He'd been a good companion for her, but she knew he was destined for other things. The pixies tried to tell her that she must set him free to find the sunshine, but she refused to give him up. "I'm a princess."

"That's what you are." Spike shivered at the touch of Drusilla's razor like fingernail cutting down his face. His dark princess knew how to get his attention when she wanted it, but he also knew that she'd ignore him when it suited her. "Me and Dru," He turned, with his forehead resting against Dru's, towards everyone else. "We're moving in."

No one in the room denied or argued the point. They all stared dumbfounded and curious at the interaction between the two vampires. Anyone with sense realized that the two of them radiated power and age. The blonde was a Master Vampire, and they weren't in a rush to contradict him.

"Now," Spike stepped forward alone, "Any of you want to test who's got the biggest wrinklies round here, step on up." He waited for an answer. When none was forthcoming he addressed the Anointed One directly, "I'll do your Slayer for you, but you keep your flunkies from tryin' anything behind my back. Deal?"

The Anointed One nodded his agreement. He didn't trust this vampire, but if he could get rid of the Slayer for him he would be pleased.

"I can't see the Slayer. I can't see ..." Drusilla pressed her knuckles into her temples. She saw the Slayer for a brief moment in her mind. She was all glowing and beautiful. She was the one. She was the one the pixies told her about. 'No!' Her mind screamed. She wouldn't let her William go. So she lied, "It's dark where she is. Kill her. Kill her, Spike." Her voice edged in panic, "Kill her for me?"

"It's done, baby." Spike placed his hand over Dru's chest to hold her in place and calm her. Something wasn't right, and he knew it. Dru was never afraid of a Slayer. She always knew that he would protect her. Why was this one bothering her?

"Kill her for Princess?"

"I'll chop her into messes."

Dru teased Spike with her tongue and lips in sensuous motions. 'Give him a little teasing temptation, and he'll never leave my side.' She grinned. "You are my sweet. My little Spike."

Content that he finally had Dru calmed down enough again, Spike wrapped an arm around Dru and turned to face the child. "So, about this Slayer? Is she tough?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy sighed. She tried to pull the brush through her hair, but she wasn't succeeding in doing anything but hurting herself. "Ow!"

"What's wrong?" Joyce Summers asked from the doorway of Buffy's bedroom.

"I thought I was spending my entire allowance on a nice conditioner to get rid of the tangles." Buffy dropped the brush on her bed and sat down. "It feels like all it did was make them worse."

Joyce smirked. She remembered the pains of being a teenager, even if Buffy thought she was too old too. Sometimes she longed for the days when all she had to be concerned about was school, friends, and boys. She sat down on the bed next to Buffy. She picked up the brush and started to work on the tangles one by one.

Buffy nibbled on her lower lip nervously. "Did you get the note I left on the table about Parent-Teacher Night?" She knew her mom would find out some way. She figured it was best to just tell her. If Snyder called first, or another notice came in the mail, she'd just be in more trouble for not admitting it.

"Yes, I did." Joyce brushed long strokes down the back of Buffy's hair. "It seemed awful sudden to just hear about it now." She'd known about the Parent-Teacher Night for the last 2 weeks. She kept waiting for Buffy to tell her about it. She was glad that Buffy finally did.

"I've known for a bit, but I didn't know how to tell you about it." Buffy sighed.

"Buffy, life is more than grades, homework, and not getting kicked out of school." Joyce wanted to be supportive of Buffy, but it was getting harder every day. Sometimes she wondered if Buffy knew the meaning of responsibility. "But we moved once because of you getting in trouble, and I had to start a new business, not to mention a new life in a whole new town."

"I know, Mom." Buffy turned to face her mother. "I'm trying. I really am." She frowned. "There is so much going on that I wish I could tell you about because it would make you feel better, but I can't. I don't want you to be disappointed in me anymore. I'm under so much pressure right now."

"Wait till you get a job." Joyce patted Buffy's leg, handed her back the hairbrush and left the room with a, "Sleep tight," called over her shoulder.

Buffy stood up to place the brush on her vanity. She opened up one of the drawers. Holy water, stakes and crosses filled the drawer. She looked up into the mirror with a saddened face. "I have a job."

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The next day at the Bronze, Buffy tried to study for her French class with Willow. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get her mind wrapped around the text she needed to be reading. She kept getting this strange feeling that she was being watched.

Willow could tell Buffy's heart wasn't in her homework. "You just said the cow touched me from Thursday." Maybe it was the fact that Angel wasn't at the Bronze. She knew Buffy was hoping for him to show. Every time she saw the two of them together, since Buffy got back from L.A., the tension between them was intense.

Buffy buried her head in her arms on the table. "I'm never going to get this, and my mother is going to be so mad." She rested her chin on top of her hands. She felt tingles crawl up and down her back. Usually she only felt something this strong when Angel was nearby, but it didn't feel like him. She started to turn her head to look around the room when Xander blocked her view.

"I'm all alone out there. Come dance with me. You've been studying for nearly 12 minutes." Xander tempted Buffy and Willow to come dance with him. Buffy was looking awfully cute in her halter top tonight, and he wanted to see her do a dance and jiggle.

Buffy sighed. She played off her annoyance at not being able to locate the source of the tingles by being flippant. "No wonder my brain's fried. Come on." She pulled Willow out onto the dance floor with them.

Spike stepped forward out of the shadow's he'd been watching Buffy in. 'She's radiant.'

When Spike first entered the Bronze, he scanned the room for the Slayer, and his eyes fell on the golden beauty sitting with a redhead. He momentarily forgot about the Slayer's proximity as he studied the girl. Even over the multitude of scents in the club he knew the vanilla and rose mixture that tingled his nose belonged to her.

Spike felt an indescribable draw to the young woman. He found himself drawing closer and closer to her table until it hit him. This young woman was the Slayer! 'What luck.' He growled low and drew back into the shadows. He watched her trample the French lesson she was trying to grasp. He had to hold back a chuckle at her poorly worded sentence. 'Oh, how I'd love to show her just how to speak the language of love.'

Spike cursed himself for letting his thoughts wander again. He walked through the crowd surrounding the dance floor to get a better look at the Slayer. She moved with grace and agility, even in her walk. When she started to dance his breath would have been stolen from him, if he had any to steal. Her curved hips swayed back and forth with the beat of the music with a fluidity that he hadn't seen in a long time. He wanted to dance with this one, and he wanted it bad.

The music floated through the Bronze, "I hi, hi, did a stupid thing last night. I called you, a moment of weakness. No, not a moment, more like three months of weakness."

Buffy rocked back and forth to the music. The strength of the tingles increased in their intensity. Something or someone was definitely here watching her. Was Angel lurking somewhere? She scanned the crowd for Angel, but the only one she saw staring at her was a blonde bad boy dressed in black leather from head to toe. She saw something in his eyes that stirred her core and brought forth an inner heat of desire. Her gaze locked with his, and for a few moments she was dancing specifically for him. Everyone else in the room vanished except for the man with startling blue eyes in leather.

"I'm one step away from crashing to my knees. One step away from spilling my guts to you." The group "Nickel" continued to sing in the background.

Spike broke eye contact with the vixen on the dance floor. 'If only she wasn't the Slayer,' He thought to himself. He wanted to taste and tease her. He adjusted the hardening member in his pants, and he turned back to the bar to find the vampire who came with him. "Go get something to eat." He instructed him, and he waited a few minutes before stepping up near the dance floor again.

Buffy frowned when Spike walked away. She was so sure that she'd seen the same lust in his eyes that she felt. It even looked like he adjusted himself before he turned away. Why didn't he approach them to dance? 'Get a hold of yourself, Summers. You have a boyfriend, kind of.' She chastised her thoughts and tried to focus on her friends and the music again.

Spike broke into the Slayer's dance with her friends. She was letting the idiot boy touch her and dance closer to her where he wanted to be. He had to get her away from him quickly. "Where's the phone, I need to call the police. There's some big guy out there tryin' to bite someone." When the Slayer ran off to the door, he grinned and headed out behind her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Screams echoed in the alley along with the snarls of a vampire about to feed. Buffy pulled the vampire off the girl and threw him away from them.

The vampire grinned maniacally. This was just the person he wanted to see. If he could kill the Slayer then control of Sunnydale would be his. "Slayer."

"Slayee." Buffy advanced on the vampire. They both kicked and punched at each other, until Buffy was thrown back against the wall. She got up and kicked out again. "Get her out of here, and a stake would be nice!"

Buffy and the dark haired vampire who bragged about killing the Slayer in the factory kicked and punched their way around the alley.

Spike watched the two of them from the shadows. His cock got impossibly harder with each punch the Slayer threw and each kick she landed. She was truly poetry in motion with her fight. "Beautiful." He muttered low.

The vampire shoved Buffy to the ground after he knocked her legs out from under her. "I don't need to wait for St. Vigeous. You're mine!"

"I don't think so, mate!" Spike emerged from the shadows at a run. Without thought he tackled the other vampire to the ground. "She's mine!" He growled possessively and twisted the head right off the vampire. He brushed the dust from his hands.

Buffy looked up at the blonde stranger from her position on the ground. She accepted the cold hand that offered to help her up. This was the guy from inside the Bronze. 'He's even yummier up close. All that leather.' Her fingers ached to touch him.

Xander ran back outside with the stake. He didn't see the vampire anymore, but now there was another man in the alley with Buffy.

Spike pulled Buffy to her feet, and his hand wrapped around her forearm in a firm grip. "That was some nice fighting, luv. Bloody beautiful dance."

Buffy shivered at the coldness of his touch, the lilting sound of his voice, as well as the tingles that traversed her body at his nearness. "You're a vampire." She frowned.

"Bright one for a Slayer." Spike ginned. He cupped her cheek with one hand for a brief tender moment. "I'm afraid you'll find out exactly what I am on Saturday."

"What happens on Saturday?" Buffy didn't want to kill this one. 'Maybe he has a soul like Angel?' She thought hopefully.

Spike pulled Buffy closer to him. He leaned down near her ear and whispered, "I'm afraid that is the day I have to kill you, precious." He nipped her ear with his fangs to taste her. Then he let go of her arm and pushed her back.

Buffy stumbled only for a brief moment. "And just who is going to be killing me?" She rubbed her slowly bleeding ear lobe. It wasn't severe, but she was curious as to why he bit her ear and not her neck.

"Name's Spike, luv. Best not forget it." Spike sauntered away down the alley without a care in the world, leaving a stunned Buffy behind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(To Be Continued)

Duty Or Destiny - (4) Fairytales and Lies - Part 1
By Tasha

Chapter Summary: Moving along from "Inca Mummy Girl" through to "Lie to Me".  Summarizing for the non-Spuffy times.  Instead of Buffy and Angel moving closer towards a relationship, Buffy forced herself to try to do things with Angel to forget about the bad boy Spike.  She finds herself still thinking of Spike a lot more often than she should, and she isn't thinking about killing him.  She actually looked through all of Giles' books to find as much information about William and Spike that she could.

Author's Note: Not all dialogue or scenes are going to be exactly like the episodes because I am tweaking them to fit the progression of this story.  Credit to the great Joss Wheadon and his writers for the quotes that I do use from the episodes.  Blood play will more than likely have some part in almost every chapter from here on out.  It might just be a little bit or a lot as we are moving things along with Buffy and Spike.  Also, Buffy has not cut her hair as short as she did in canon.  She left it as long as it was in "School Hard".

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The weeks following the Parent-Teacher night passed in a blur of various activities for the Scoobies.  Instead of growing closer, Angel and Buffy seemed to only go through the motions of an early relationship.  Buffy tried to get closer to Angel, but one look at her neck, and he would withdraw further away from her.  She had a feeling that there were a lot of things Angel wasn't telling them about Spike.  She spent many hours hidden in the book stacks at the library searching for any information Giles had on Spike or "William the Bloody".

After Xander's failed attempt to date a foreign exchange student, who turned out to be a life force sucking Inca Mummy, Willow was determined to step up her pursuit of her childhood friend.  Halloween was approaching, and she wanted to find just the right outfit to make Xander notice her.

Thinking along similar lines towards Angel, in an attempt to push all thoughts of Spike from her system, Buffy picked up an elegant costume at a place called Ethan's.  The ivory gown had yellowed some over the years, but its lace was still intact over the silk main skirt and bodice with various pearl embellishments.

What Buffy failed to realize about her purchase was that it was a wedding dress crafted in England around the late 1800's.  Something drew her to purchase the dress.  She originally thought it would be something that Angel would enjoy seeing her in, but if she'd wanted to entice Angel with something from his era, she was about 100 years too late.  Angel was turned into a vampire in the 1700's.  Was her mind subconsciously being drawn to purchase something that Spike would recognize, or was Buffy just that off on her history lessons?

Buffy stood in her bedroom and tried to get ready to take the younger children of Sunnydale out trick or treating.  "I swear Principal Snyder just loves to be an ass."  She grumbled to herself while she fanned out the layers of lace and satin of the dress hanging from her closet door.  "I still don't see how he can force us to do half of the things he does.  I should punch him in the nose and be done with it.  He has to be some sort of demon."

Buffy picked up the ivory accented silver combs from her dresser.  They shimmered in the trickles of light from her vanity.  The combs were a gift from her grandmother on her 15th birthday, the year she was called to be the Slayer.  Grandma Summers told her that they were a gift from her grandmother when she turned 15.

The combs were so elegant.  Buffy rubbed her fingers over the prongs.  Hand carved ivory roses nestled along the width of the top of the combs.  Buffy looked down at the wig on her dresser.  "Nah, I'd rather go with my real hair.  With my luck some kid would pull the wig off, and Grandma's combs could be lost."

Buffy pulled up the sides of her hair and looked at one side of her face and then another.  She plugged her curling iron in.  It was going to take her an hour just to curl her hair if she wanted it to look like the wig did.

Buffy didn't want to look like herself for one day, the Slayer.  She wanted to be looked at as a lady and not some tomboy or fighter.  For once she wanted to be cared for and doted on by the man she wanted in her life, even if she wasn't quite sure who that was at the moment.

'Maybe I should give up on men completely.  Maybe then I could get Spike out of my head, and I wouldn't have to worry about Angel freaking out like he did the other week.'  Buffy shivered at the memory of the look in Angel's eyes when he confronted her in the cemetery about their relationship.  She knew she had been trying harder to get together with Angel since Spike arrived in Sunnydale, but it seemed as if Angel was pushing her away.

The anger and pain in Angel's eyes when he yelled at her in the cemetery scared her.  Even in the middle of her battle with Spike, the evil vampire never looked at her like that.  She wondered why Angel was so angry.  Thinking back on that night, she couldn't find anything that should have upset him that much.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Are you saying you want to go on a date?"  Angel inquired.

"Date?  I never said date."  Buffy stammered over her response.

Angel, in his superior acting way, took the whole situation tongue in cheek style.  "So you just want to have coffee or something."  He knew that Buffy had a bit of a crush on him.  Before the episode at the school with Spike he would have even said that she was falling in love with him.  Now, he wasn't so sure.  She'd been acting weird lately.

"Coffee?"  Buffy frowned.  Why was this sounding like her conversation with Willow earlier that day?

Angel sighed.  He figured the only way out of this mess was to toss it off as nothing he was seriously considering.  He always wanted to come out on top, whether it was for the brush off or the seduction.  "I knew this was going to happen."

"What?  What do you think is happening?"  Buffy wondered what Angel was assuming.  All she'd done was find the bracelet on the ground and attempt to carry on a bit of conversation with him.  What unspoken words was he pulling out of the air on her?

"You're 16 years old.  I'm 241," Angel spoke in a very condescending tone.

"I've done the math," Buffy answered meekly.  'And Spike is a little under 150.'  Her thoughts wandered briefly.

"You don't know what you're doing.  You don't know what you want."  Angel looked off into the distance.

Buffy started to get ticked.  'Oh so this is how he wants to play it?'  She absentmindedly rubbed her neck.  It tingled and itched all of a sudden.  "Oh, no.  I think I do.  I want out of this conversation."

"Listen."  Angel grabbed Buffy's arm and turned her retreating form around to face him.  "If we date, you and I both know one thing's gonna lead to another."  There was no way he was letting anyone walk away from him.  He would have the last word, and he would be the one to end things.

"One thing already has led to another."  Buffy stared up into Angel's eyes.  "Don't you think it's a little late to be reading me the warning label," Buffy sighed.  She wanted to scream out her frustration over the situation.

"I'm just trying to protect you.  This could get out of control."  Angel growled low when Buffy rubbed the barely visible lines on her neck again.  "That is one reason why I won't let this go any further."

"What?"  Buffy looked at him in shock.  "What is one reason?"

"You touch it all the time."  Angel pointed to Buffy's neck.  "You let him that close to you."

"Is that what this is about?  A macho contest between vampires?"  Buffy was enraged.  She hadn't realized that she touched her neck that often, but sometimes it tingled.  "I was fighting for my life.  He sunk his claws in after he saw the Master's mark.  Would you rather he finished with the biting me he was about to do before he saw the scars?"

"No, of course not."  Angel reached out to Buffy only to have her back away from him.

“Don’t touch me, Angel.”  Buffy felt revulsion at the mere thought of him touching her at that moment.

Angel dropped his hands to his side.  "I just can't stand that he touched you."

"So instead of showing me that you care for my safety or love me in any way, you are going to run away because some vampire scratched me in a fight?"

"It's more than that, Buffy.  You don't understand about vampires and marks."  Angel tossed out the remarks in anger.  "He's preparing you."

"Preparing me for what?  To kill me?"  Buffy spat back at Angel.  "You know what, I don't care."  She stepped away more from Angel.  "You're punishing me for something I had no control over.  This just isn't worth it."  She turned and ran away from the cemetery before Angel could stop her this time.

Angel threw his hands up in the air.  He growled and stormed off in the opposite direction.  He hoped that he found some demons on the way back to his apartment.  He needed to kill something.

A small glowing red ember burned in the darkness.  A rolling deep chuckle echoed in the silence.  'Trouble in paradise.'  Spike pressed the cigarette butt under his boot to put it out and headed in the direction the Slayer left in.  'Good, because she is mine Angelus, not yours.'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy sighed.  "Not like normal worked for me either.  I swear that I should never listen to Cordelia about anything ever again."  She flopped down on her bed.  "I almost ended up reptile fodder because I wanted to have a normal party night like any teenager should have."

Buffy fell back on her pillow.  "Stupid frat boys and their demon sacrifices."  She rested her cheek against the pillow.  She stared at herself in the vanity mirror across the room.  "Who am I really supposed to be?  Where do I fit in?"

After being drugged at a fraternity party that she went to with Cordelia, and being offered up as a sacrifice, Angel apologized for his comments.  They made up a little bit, but they were still distant.  She hoped that tonight's costume would help to show Angel that she wasn't just the Slayer.  She could be a lady too.

A knock on her bedroom door brought Buffy out of her self-involved reverie.  "Yes?"

Willow walked in shyly.  Her hands were clasped in front of her over the short black leather skirt she wore.  "Hello Buffy."

"Oh wow, Wills."  Buffy sat up quickly.  "You look fantastic."  She pointed to the white sheet in Willow's hands.  "What is that for?"

"I don't think I can go out dressed like this."  Willow shifted from one foot to another.  "This is so I can go as a ghost.  It was the backup costume I purchased at the shop after you talked me into this outfit."

"Wills, you can't back out now.  You are going to knock Xander's socks off with that outfit."  Buffy tried to encourage her friend to help break the lack of confidence Willow had.  "Xander would have to be blind not to notice you in that outfit.  It's the only way you'll get his attention.  I know you can do it."

"I don't know, Buffy."  Willow fidgeted.  "I feel naked."

"Turtlenecks, baggy sweaters, jumpers, jeans and ankle length skirts will not a Xander catch."  Buffy rubbed Willow's arms in comfort.  "He's kind of dumb when it comes to you.  He's too blind to see what is right in front of his face."  She directed Willow to sit down in the chair in front of Buffy's vanity.  "Tonight we're going to give him a Willow tinted pair of glasses."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Dru, I don't bloody want to go out there."  Spike paced back and forth in front of Drusilla.  "This is a night off for demons, remember?"  He grew more frustrated with the lack of a cure for Drusilla daily.  She nagged him constantly about his promise to kill the Slayer.  When Dru wasn't simpering about the Slayer, she was yammering on about the return of her daddy.  It was all enough to nearly drive him insane.

"Spike, the pixies tell me that a change is coming."  Drusilla stood in Spike's path to keep him from pacing.  She was mad over all the time Spike spent each night watching and studying the Slayer.  Now when she actually wanted him to find the Slayer, he wouldn't.  "She will be weak tonight.  She'll never suspect my Spike until it is too late."

"Halloween is for humans, Dru."  Spike zigzagged around Dru.  "Demons do not hunt on Halloween, especially vampires.  It's tradition."

"You never wanted to follow the traditions before."  Drusilla stomped her foot to the ground like a child in a temper tantrum.  "You don't want to kill her.  She swims around your thoughts like little fishies.  Bad fishies."

Spike grabbed Dru's upper arms and squeezed tightly.  "I do what I wish, and I've never violated the Halloween tradition."  He squeezed tighter until Dru yelped.  "If you weren't so whacked out, you'd remember that."

"If you don't kill her, she will destroy us.  The stars have painted the sky with the last moments before our final death at her hands."  Although Dru's vision showed her only her own death, she wasn't going to share that tidbit with Spike.

Spike pushed Dru away from him with a hard thrust.  "Enough!"  He growled and stalked towards the exit from the factory.  "I'll go out, but I am NOT bloody hunting tonight.  I just want the hell away from you!"  He slammed the door shut behind him.

Dru's eyes twinkled with delight.  "You won't have to hunt."  She spoke softly with a very sane clarity.  "The little lamb will fall right into your arms, and you will be unable to resist the pull of her blood."  She giggled and clapped.  Then, she headed back to her room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy trotted down the stairs of her house to meet Xander at the door.  She opened the door, standing behind it, waiting for him to see her.

"Private Harris reporting for ..."  Xander's voice trailed off, and his toy gun lowered from his mock salute.  "Buffy!  Lady of Buffdom, Duchess of Buffonia, I am in awe."  His mouth gaped open at the sight of Buffy in her Victorian style dress.  "I completely renounce spandex."

Buffy lowered herself in an exaggerated curtsy.  "Thank you, kind sir."  She giggled playfully.

Xander bowed in return.  Their attention was drawn to the shuffling at the stairs.

"Wait until you see ..."  Buffy sighed and shook her head.  "Casper."  She rolled her eyes.

"Hey, Will!  That's ... a fine "Boo!" you got there."  Xander teased his friend in the same joyful manner that they always shared.

"Come on.  Let's get out of here."  Buffy reopened the door.  "We need to get to the school before Snyder has a fit."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Several hours later, Buffy knelt down in front of her three charges.  "So what did you guys get?"  She shook her head in mock disgust at the toothbrushes they all showed her.  "Awful.  She must be stopped."

The children snickered and nodded.  Buffy stood back up.  "I think we have time to do the rest of this block before we need to get back."  She took the youngest child's hand in hers and continued along the sidewalk.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Back in his shop, Ethan Rayne continued the incantations he’d prepared and recited all day long.  With a chaotic prayer of supplication to Janus, he finished the rites and completed his plan for chaos and revenge.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

All around Sunnydale, a costume purchased from Ethan's transformed its new owner into what they masqueraded as.  Xander became a real soldier, equipped with a proper gun.  Willow dropped to the ground unconscious for a moment before she awoke in a ghostly form.  Buffy nearly fainted, but she righted herself on a nearby fencepost.  She gazed out at everything fearfully.  She wondered where her fiancé was and how she came to be in her strange location.

It didn't take Willow long to round up Xander and Buffy.  Willow managed to convince them both that she could help them find safety in a nearby house, which happened to be Buffy's.  Willow didn't tell the other two who's house it was though.

"Why are we here?"  Buffy's English was articulately spoken.  Gone were the California bits of slang she usually uttered.  In its place, Buffy spoke the Queen's English with perfect clarity and form, complete with an aristocratic English accent.

"This is your house, Buffy," Willow explained.  "We should be able to find weapons here."

"Weapons?"  Buffy gasped and clutched her hand to her chest.  "I am not accustomed to handling such matters, and please stop calling me Buffy.  I don't know who she is.  You may address me as Lady Elizabeth."

Willow rolled her eyes.  They needed the Slayer right now not a pampered princess.  "She couldn't have gone as Xena this year?"  She muttered to herself.

Cordelia joined the group shortly after the three of them arrived at Buffy’s house.  Strangely Cordelia seemed unaffected by amnesia or costume changes.  Willow decided that they needed Giles' help.  She walked clear through the wall to the outside.

Lady Elizabeth, Buffy, shrieked and stuttered, "She ... She ... Oh dear Lord!"  She fainted dead away just as Angel came into the house through the kitchen.

With lightning reflexes and vampire speed, Angel caught Buffy before she hit the floor.  "I'm glad both of you are here.”  He looked up at Xander.  “It's crazy out there.  What happened to Buffy?"  He cradled her head in his lap.

"Unhand that woman."  Xander pulled back the mechanism of his weapon, readying it to fire.  "State your name and your purpose."

"Are you crazy, Xander?"  Angel lowered Buffy's head to the floor.  He stood up to full height.  He gripped the barrel of the weapon and pushed it away from pointing at him.  "You know who I am."

"Actually he doesn't."  Cordelia stepped up alongside Angel.  "Buffy, Xander and half this town have flipped out."

"I don't understand."  Angel looked down at Buffy.  She was starting to stir.  "Why is Buffy in that gown?  Is that a wedding dress?"  He thought he recognized the style and embellishments.

"It must have been her costume.  She probably wore it to impress you."  Cordelia rolled her eyes.  "I know Xander was doing the whole five and dime soldier thing for his costume, and now he's a real military man."

"Oh dear."  Lady Elizabeth, Buffy, waved her hand in front of her face.  "I swear that I must be having a fit of the vapors, or maybe it’s jitters before the ceremony."  She looked up at Cordelia in her cat outfit, soldier Xander, and Angel.  "Or perhaps not.  I declare this is my worst nightmare come true."

"Let me help you, Miss."  Angel bent down to help Buffy stand back up.  He wrapped his hands around her tiny cinched waistline.  He drank in her scent with his face pressed up next to her cheek.  She smelled like Heaven.

"Take care to keep your space, Sir."  Elizabeth pushed herself away from Angel.  She flicked open the fan that hung from her wrist and fanned herself.  "You have no right to such liberties."

"Oh please."  Cordelia laughed.  "Spare us the Miss innocent act.  I don't care what century you think you are from, Buffy, but that is ridiculous."

"It was commonplace for such things to be said in the late 19th century, Cordelia," Angel explained.  "If my guess is right her dress is dated around the late 1800’s."

"I really don't care what either of you think."  Elizabeth stomped her foot down in a petulant fit of anger.  She turned to Xander.  "I demand that you return me to the church where I am to be married to my betrothed.  William will be quite upset if I am not there on time."

"Look lady, I don't know anything about a church.  We have to get ourselves set up tight in here."  Xander shouldered his gun by the strap.  "You need to stay out of the way while we men get this place secure."

Elizabeth pouted.  She flicked her fan closed quickly and slapped it against the layers of satin covering her hips in a gesture of defiance.  She stomped into the kitchen and plopped down on one of the stools around the island.

Angel followed "Buffy" into the kitchen.  He started to offer some comfort when he looked up at the now open door.  "I don't remember leaving that open."  He slowly moved towards the dark opening.

A cloaked figure jumped out at Angel.  He grabbed Angel around the neck and tried to choke him first and then bite him.

Elizabeth screamed in a high pitched wail.  She backed up against the sink to get away from the battle.

"Buffy, I need a stake," Angel called out to Buffy.  He kicked the intruder in the gut.  He followed the kick with a punch to the jaw.  The two wrestled along the floor between the kitchen and dining rooms.  "Now Buffy!!"  He turned around in full demonic visage and growled at Buffy.

Elizabeth, who had been halfway towards Angel with a large knife, dropped the knife as soon as she saw the beast looking her way.  She ran out of the house.  Her only thought was to get as far away from the monster as she could.  She shrieked and dodged through the neighborhood, in-between the houses to get away from the many creatures filling the streets.

"William, where are you?"  Elizabeth cried out into the black night.  Frightened and confused, she crouched against a wall outside a broken down church on the outskirts of one of Sunnydale's cemeteries.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Why did she run off in the first place," Cordelia whined.  Children and adults dressed like demons and other things ran through the Sunnydale streets.  She really didn't want to be out in it.  Unfortunately, they were trying to find an escaped Buffy who didn't realize she was the Slayer.

"I vamped out during the fight in the kitchen," Angel ground out annoyed.  "She saw it and ran."

"Way to go big guy," Soldier Xander taunted.  Something inside of him told his amnesiac mind that he didn't like the man.  "Now we have to go find her instead of building our stockade."

"Buffy can handle herself.  We don't have to be out here."  Cordelia wanted to get back home as soon as possible and forget that this night happened.

"The real Buffy could, but not this one."  Angel remembered the style of dress that Buffy wore.  The combs and jewelry pieces screamed Victorian noblewoman to him.  He was positive that the dress was a wedding dress to boot.  "This one doesn't know the right end of a stake.  She is helpless out here."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Did you hear that?"  Spike pulled back from his little band of demons to stand up straight.  "Somewhere out there is the tastiest morsel you could ever sink your teeth into, and all we have to do is find her first."

The band of demons growled and squawked in approval to go get a bite to eat.  Spike wanted to find the Slayer all right, but not for the reason he gave.  Oh, he'd have a bite to eat, but not in the way they expected.  He needed to make sure that no one else found the Slayer before he did.  Only he was allowed to touch her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(To Be Continued)