Chapter Four

Buffy walked into the kitchen area of the Winny with tears in her eyes. She couldn't believe that the Powers had destined her for this. She did want she was supposed to; she fought the good fight; ate her vegetables. Buffy took the plate teeming with food from Spike without comment. Why had 'they' forced her to mate with this insensitive vamp? She picked up the glass of freshly squeezed Orange Juice that Spike had poured her. Oh, God! The fact that Spike just didn't love her was obvious - he had squeezed her fresh orange juice, but had left in the pulp. She hated pulp.

Her tears began streaming down her face, but she didn't care. Let the world know how much she hurt, it didn't bother her. Not now.

"Bloody hell, what are you crying about now?" Spike asked her. His question fueled more crying.

"You don't love me," whispered Buffy, sobbing. "See, I don't rate a luv, a pet, a Buffy or even a Slayer. You hate me."

"Bollocks. Slayer, are you bleeding insane?"

"See, now you're calling me names," Buffy began to cry now in earnest.

Spike slowly started beating his head against the table mumbling, "Why me? Why do I always get the bloody loons?"

Sunnydale Library

As Rupert Giles puttered around the library cleaning weapons, he kept muttering to himself. Anger laced every thought. How dare she do this? Her last vampire lover had killed his ladylove, so what does the insolent child do? Why… go out and find herself another one! The very idea! He could care less what the prophecy said, that they would both die.

Unknown to Giles, a Dark Lighter stood invisible behind him, whispering into his ear, tempting him further into the darkness.



P3, San Francisco

When the soldier types entered the P3, Piper cursed herself for having dragged herself and Phoebe down to the club so early, but it was too late now to change things. The three men walked up to her after having cased the place and began asking questions.

"Have you seen any of these three?" the blondish wanna-be all-American boy asked, holding up a series of photos.

"No, who are they?" Piper asked in reply, after looking over the pictures.

"They are escapees from a local mental institution," answered the blonde soldier, trying to turn on the charm.

Phoebe however picked up the pictures and nearly fainted. Upon touching the photos, she rocked back on her heels, her eyes rolling back. The visions came fast and fierce.

Phoebe saw way more than she wanted too, but still the visions continued. She was receiving more than she had ever seen before at one time. Obviously, the two blondes in the pictures were very important to the future of the world.

The three soldiers quickly came to her aid, not-so accidentally copping a few cheap feels of the beautiful well-built witch in the process. Piper quickly stepped in, helping her sister out of their clutches. Regaing some semblence of okay, Phoebe pulled herself up and placed herself behind her sister quickly.

"Freakin migraines," she told them, laughing ruefully, "Hit without a moment's notice." Still holding her head, she walked behind the counter searching for headache medicine.

"Migraines." Piper reiterated. "Poor girl, she gets them all the time," covered Piper, turning her head away from the soldiers, arching her eyebrow in question at her sister. She wondered what the hell was wrong with her sister.

"Can we keep those pictures?" Phoebe asked them. "I think I have seen this guy." Pointing at the photograph of Ethan Rayne. "Just not in here, and for the life of me, I can't remember where." She added, sugar coating it with her 'shy, I'm so innocent - not' smile.

The three soldiers practically drooled and fell all over themselves trying to 'help' her. One even sort of stumbled with opening the bottle of Tylenol for her. Eventually, the one in charge stepped forward and offered her his phone number. "The name is Riley Finn, ma'am. And you can reach me at this phone number anytime." Finn gave her what he thought was his sexy smile.

As soon as Phoebe was certain that the soldiers left the club, she turned to her older sister and declared, "We let those soldiers nowhere near these three. These guys in the photos are the good guys. The soldiers are the bad guys. So many visions. My head really does hurt." She dry swallowed a pill.

"Not so hard to believe. That Finn guy gave me the creeps," Piper answered, shuddering slightly. "Who are these guys?" She asked pointing at the blonde couple.

"As for names, I have no idea. But she is some kind of Vampire Slayer, hunter, thingie," Phoebe answered. "She's kind of like us, a champion for higher powers. Now, the guy appears to be a formerly evil vampire that killed slayers, but get this..." Phoebe added with a smile. "she's pregnant with his child!"

"Uh...what?"

"Let's get Prue and Leo together, so I can tell you all at once."

Ethan headed back to the camper more scared than when he had left. The girl's Watcher and pseudo-father wanted them all dead, and as if that wasn't enough, he wasn't sure what the bloody head of the Council, Quentin 'the git' Travers' was up too. He didn't trust the old buzzard, never had.

Damn! He'd never been in a situation this bizarre. Here, he was... a soddin' Chaos lord trying to protect the bloody Slayer, of all people, from the very people that were supposed to be protecting her from wankers like him. Talk about your bleeding irony.

Quentin Travers studied the faces of the representatives before him. Both the Gillians and the Arcadians were long time allies of the Council. Some would consider them demons, even though both races appeared to be basically human.

"So, gentleman," Travers began, "What are your terms?"

"This one is free, High Priest," replied the Gillian Ambassador. "This is an abomination that needs to be destroyed."

With a nod, the Arcadian Ambassador agreed.

Spike had finally coaxed Buffy into his lap to talk.

"Buffy.. luv, you are my mate and the future mother of my child. You are the single, most important person in my life. I love you. And I always will, even after you start hating me."

Buffy sniffled into his hair. "Children. According to my Slayer dreams, we are having children. As in more than one."

Spike sat behind her gobsmnacked. Children? His grin widened as he nuzzled her neck. "Oh love, I promise I will make you the happiest woman alive."


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