DISCLAIMER: Only Heather's mine. None of the Buffy/Angel characters are. Sad, isn't it?
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is the second story in my "What Dreams May Come" series. It starts right where Price of Freedom left off. Okay, maybe a little before, but very close anyway.

Part 1

"Angel, I hate you!" Buffy screamed as another contraction tore through her system.

Knowing that she didn't mean it, Angel leaned forward and kissed his wife on the forehead. Despite Buffy's threats to divorce him, the former vampire had never been so happy. He was in the delivery room of the hospital watching as his wife of seven months gave birth to their child. He wished, though, that it didn't have to hurt her so much. But it was definitely better than the conditions in which he had been born two and a half centuries before.

"Keep pushing, Buffy. I can see the baby's head now," the doctor instructed. "The baby's almost with us."

After a couple more screams and curses, the room was filled with the shouts of someone other than Buffy. A tiny, messy little person whose limbs were all shaking in outrage. Angel and Buffy just stared in awe. This was their daughter. So amazed by it all, Angel barely heard the doctor ask him if he wanted to cut the umbilical cord. Angel looked down at Buffy, at a loss for what to do.

"You'd better go do it, Angel. She looks a little cold," Buffy teased him, managing a smile despite her near exhaustion.

Moving in something like a daze, Angel walked over to the doctor and accepted the strange looking scissors from him. He kept his eyes glued on his daughter's tear soaked face as he cut the cord which had attached her to Buffy for the past nine months. The baby began to scream even louder when the nurse moved her over to the other side of the room. It was almost as though she knew that she was being taken away from her parents.

"She's beautiful," Angel whispered, leaning over to kiss Buffy once again. "Just like her mother."

"She has my loud voice," was all that Buffy said. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't hold back her next comment. "Let's just hope that she doesn't like to brood as much as you do."

"Hey! I've gotten better. I don't brood as much anymore," Angel shot back, a real smile on his face.

A few minutes later, Angel was shooed out of the room by a nurse and told to go to the waiting room until Buffy and the baby were brought to the maternity ward. Angel kissed Buffy again then walked over to the table that his daughter was lying on and kissed her on the forehead.

"I'll see you in a little bit, m'eudail," Angel whispered, grinning at her as she stared up at him, gurgling quietly. After a moment, she began to smile and waved her hands in his direction. Angel reached down and took one of her tiny hands in his own, kissing the top of it before leaving the room.

Out in the waiting room, Spike, Cordelia and Doyle got quickly to their feet when they saw Angel walk in. When they saw the huge smile on his face, they knew that everything was all right with Buffy and the baby. The other two men were almost laughing at the goofy grin on his face. Cordelia, on the other hand, was becoming impatient. She wanted to know about the baby.

"Well? Are you just going to stand there all night or are you going to tell us whether Buffy had a boy or girl?" Cordelia demanded, crossing her arms in front of her.

Angel continued to stare at nothing for a few more seconds before turning to his three friends. "We have a daughter."

Then he promptly fainted.

=====

"Wakey wakey, sleeping beauty," Spike snickered when he saw Angel starting to come around. Seeing his sire faint was one of the highlights of the night.

Angel groaned and opened his eyes. He was lying on a couch in the waiting room, his head resting on Cordelia's lap. "What happened?"

"You fainted like a big babyman," Cordelia told him bluntly.

"I'm not a baby," Angel mumbled, putting his arms over his eyes. Then all of a sudden he broke out into a huge grin. "My wife just had a baby. Our baby.

"And as nice as that is, could you please sit up? Your head is heavy and it's wrinkling my skirt," Cordelia said, shifting slightly.

Before Angel had a chance to say anything smart, the doctor from the delivery room walked in. Angel was on his feet in seconds, wanting any news of his wife and newborn daughter.

"Mr. Donnelly, there are two lovely ladies who would like to see you," the doctor said smiling at the young man's enthusiasm. It had been a while since he had seen someone as thrilled with the idea of being a father as Angel was.

Angel waited barely long enough to hear what room Buffy and the baby had been taken to before rushing into the hallway. The fifteen minutes or so that he had been away from his new family was almost too much to bear. Their baby hadn't even been alive for an hour and already she had him wrapped around her little finger. There was nothing that Angel wouldn't do for her. He would protect her to his last breath if need be. Which he sincerely hoped it wasn't for he wanted to see his daughter grow up.

"Hey there, handsome," Buffy said quietly when she saw Angel standing in the doorway.

All that Angel could do was stare at them. He could not believe what he was seeing. Buffy was sitting in a hospital bed with their baby in her arms. From where he stood, all that he could see of his daughter was her dark head. It was just too perfect to be true. Angel could not remember a time that he had felt so blessed. Just over nine months ago he had been a vampire, cursed to live forever and watch everything that he cherished die around him. Now he was a living, breathing human with a family of his own. Sure it had taken a little while to get to that point, but it was more than worth it now.

"Are you just going to stand there all night, Angel, or are you going to come over here and hold your daughter?" Buffy asked, smiling in his direction.

At a complete loss for words, Angel could only nod his head as he slowly made his way over to the bed. As soon as he set eyes on his daughter's face he was once again caught in her spell. He stared in amazement at her tiny face. She had his dark hair, a miniature version of Buffy's upturned noise, a little rosebud mouth and her grandmother's eyes. Her eyes drilled into his just as Heather's had in that other world.

"Heather, m'eudail," Angel murmured placing a gentle kiss on her soft forehead.

Buffy watched this all with a sleepy smile on her face. All of the work that it took to bring their daughter into this world had left her exhausted. But after holding the little person who had lived in her body since around Christmas, Buffy had instantly fallen in love with her. It took her a moment to realized that Angel had called their daughter by the name of the girl who had helped him in the other realm. After his return, Angel had told her everything that had happened to him. Buffy vividly remembered the little girl that had saved him from Angelus on more than on occasion.

"I take it that you've decided on a name for her," Buffy said, drawing Angel's attention away from their daughter.

Angel looked over at her, a sheepish grin on his face. "If you don't mind. It's just that... after everything happened I can't bring myself to call her anything else."

"I have nothing against the name," Buffy assured him. "Just so long as I get to pick her middle name."

"You'll get no complaint from me. Anything that you choose will be perfect."

Yawning loudly, Buffy struggled to stay awake to watch the scene before her. This was something that she had never thought possible for her and Angel. Yet it was happening. "I want her middle name to be Angela," she told her husband, waiting to see what his reaction would be.

Angel walked back over to the bed and sat down next to Buffy, Heather still nestled comfortably in his arms. "Perfect. Just like her mother."

"Bloody 'ell. Could you two be any more disgusting?" Spike moaned from the doorway, shattering the peaceful aura that had previously filled the room.

"Can't you just behave for one night, Spike?" Buffy pleaded, running her hand absently along Angel's leg. "Just for tonight. Please?"

Ever the clever strategist, Spike had his own demands to make before assenting. "Let me hold Heather for a few minutes and you've got yourself a deal, Slayer. It's not everyday that a bloke get a new baby sister."

Barely able to keep from laughing, Angel got up and walked over to Spike. "You be nice to my baby girl, Spike, or I'll have to hurt you."

"You know that I'd never hurt her, you great poof," Spike said as he gently took the baby from his sire's arms. As soon as Heather smiled up at him, she had the vampire completely under her spell. Spike was instantly convinced that he would do anything to keep her safe.

"What's this about Spike being her brother?" Cordelia asked as she set the big teddy bear that she and Doyle had bought in the gift shop on the table across from the bed.

"It has to do with the whole vampire family thing. I made Spike so he is my childe. Since technically he is my son, that makes Heather his sister. It's stretching it, but it's the truth," Angel explained, lying down next to Buffy on the bed.

Buffy snuggled up against her husband, nearly asleep. "Does this mean that I'm Spike's step-mother?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Spike muttered, looking up from the baby's smiling face for the first time since taking her in his arms. When Heather began to make little baby cooing noises, Spike turned his attention back to her. "She looks a lot like you, Slayer. 'Cept for the eyes... And the hair colour since no one really knows what your natural colour is."

"Hey!" Buffy cried, putting a hand to her hair.

"Well if it 'elps, I think that it looks pretty damn natural t' me," Doyle volunteered, hoping to score some bonus points with his girlfriend. It didn't take long to find out that Cordelia had a thing for clothing, make-up and hair.

Buffy smiled at her husband's business partner then stuck her tongue out at Spike. "See, Spike, Doyle knows how to be nice. And you should be to considering I know a great many ways to torture and kill vampires."

Spike didn't hear any of Buffy's threats for he was too busy staring at the little girl that he held in his arms. In his entire life- both as a human and vampire -Spike had never once held a baby. At least not one that he wasn't going to kill in the immediate future. At that moment, he silently promised that he would look out for Heather her entire life. He would protect her and whatever family she had when she grew up.

"Spike, please stop making googly eyes at my daughter," Angel teased. "She's not even an hour old, she doesn't need a boyfriend quite yet."

"I wasn't making googly eyes at her, nancyboy. I'm not as disgusting as you and the Slayer there," Spike shot back, moving to hand Heather back to her mother.

For the second time that night, Angel was cut off by a doctor entering the room. This one informed all of the visitors that they would have to leave so that Buffy could get her rest. Angel was allowed to stay but only because he was the husband. Spike, Cordelia and Doyle all left after saying their goodbyes to the new family.

"You don't seriously think that Spike has the hots for her, do you?" Buffy asked once all the others had left.

Angel shook his head, his eyes on Heather who had his right index finger clutched tightly in her little hand. "Nah. This was just the first time that Spike's ever held a baby. It was a new experience for him. Plus, I think that he's already slipped into that over-protective older brother mode."

"Oh. Well that's good then," Buffy said, yawning loudly. "But the fact that he's my step-son is just really weird. He's not going to call me Mommy, is he?"

AUTHOR'S NOTES: In case you didn't notice in my last fic, I can't go very long without causing trouble. This would be when the trouble comes in. Oh! When Angel calls Heather "m'eudail" it means treasure. And "a ghraidh" is pet. They're Gaelic.

Part 2

Since Angel and Buffy's wedding back in February, Sunnydale had changed a great deal. The Scooby Gang was no more. But before they had disbanded in July, they had found a way to close the Hellmouth once and for all. Since Buffy had been roughly seven months pregnant at the time, Angel had forbidden her to help during the actual spell. She had been furious with him at the time, but after hearing afterwards what had happened, she was glad that she hadn't gone. Buffy didn't want anything to happen to the baby. Angel had walked around with a limp for the next two weeks. The only thing that he enjoyed about it was that Buffy had played nursemaid the entire time. That was something they had both enjoyed.

After the Hellmouth had been closed, the group had scattered to the winds. Willow had transferred from UC Sunnydale to Harvard. Oz and the Dingoes had gone to New York to try and break into the music scene. Giles decided that he wanted to go back to England not only to enjoy his early retirement, but also to keep an eye on Ethan Rayne who was there as well. Since Angel was now living in Sunnydale permanently, Cordelia and Doyle had taken over Angel Investigations themselves. Oddly enough, Xander and Anya had eloped in Las Vegas and were now driving cross country through North America. That left only Buffy, Angel and Spike in Sunnydale. Joyce was still around, but Spike was the only one to really see her. Even after Heather was three months old, Joyce had never seen her granddaughter.

As for Heather, she was constantly being spoiled by both her parents and older brother. She was a happy baby, adored by everyone who met her. About the only thing that she didn't like was the big stone statue in the atrium that had a sword sticking out of its chest. Every time that Heather saw the vine-covered statue, she would start wailing and wouldn't quiet until her daddy picked her up. Other than that, there was nothing that really scared her. Not even Spike's game face. Whenever he would vamp out, Heather would giggle and poke at her older brother's over-exaggerated brows.

"You know, Heather, this is very damaging for a bloke's self esteem," Spike informed Heather as she once again started to laugh at his game face. He had the five-month old in his lap while her parents changed after a workout.

"Well it's not like you were ever very scary," Angel teased as he entered the living room.

"Ha fucking ha."

Angel smacked his childe on the back of the head then jumped over the ack of the couch and sat down next to the pair. "No bad language around my daughter, Spike. You know that. Hell, you've probably already been teaching her how to cheat at poker."

"For your information, that was Heather's idea. Wasn't it, Munchkin?" Spike asked the infant who just gave him a big toothless grin.

For her answer, Heather scrunched her face up signally that she had just wet her diaper. Angel burst out laughing and scooped his daughter out of his best friend's arms. Seeing Angel laugh, Heather smiled up at him and clenched her fingers into his spiky hair, pulling on them as she giggled.

It took a few minutes for Angel to pry her hands out of his hair. Even harder with Spike laughing at him the entire time. "Good job, Heather. Now how about we go change you before momma finishes her shower."

Taking her giggle as an assent, Angel stood up and headed back upstairs towards the nursery, having a conversation with her as they went. Since her birth, Angel had taken to talking to Heather in Gaelic. No one else knew what he was saying for Buffy had never learned it and Spike had long forgotten what little he had once known. Angel was determined to make sure that his daughter knew that language that he had spoken as a child.

Since Buffy was still in the shower when Angel finished changing Heather, he decided to take the baby for a walk to the park. It was still early enough that they could go and still be back before sunset. Despite the fact that the Hellmouth was closed, Buffy and Angel still worried that some vampire would try and take Heather in order to use her against the Slayer.

As always, Heather loved the park. She adored being in the sun and would always laugh as she watched the other children play on the jungle gym. All of the older women would coo over Heather and tell Angel that he looked far too young to be a father. Angel always got a kick out of that for he was nearly two and a half centuries old. But they didn't know that. And Heather wouldn't know that either until she was about sixteen. That was when he and Buffy had decided would be the best time to tell her. Heather would be old enough to understand by then and if she didn't they could always use Spike to demonstrate.

Because he was enjoying the park so much, Angel failed to notice how quickly the sun was setting. Before he was aware of it, the sun had nearly disappeared below the horizon. Cursing under his breath, he got up from the bench that he had been sitting on and hurried back to the mansion. Buffy would have his hide if he got back after sunset. She always got really panicky when Heather was outside after sunset.

Even jogging the entire way, Angel was still about two blocks from home when the sun set. Besides worrying Buffy, Angel wasn't really too concerned about vampires. It was far too early for them to come out. Even Spike didn't normally leave the mansion until all of the purple had left the sky.

"Hello, daddy," a mocking voice said from behind him. A voice that was most certainly not Spike's.

Angel didn't even get a chance to turn around before he felt a stinging pain between his shoulder blades. As the drug inside the dart began to take effect, Angel began to shout Buffy's name, hoping that she would be able to hear him. Sensing that something was wrong, Heather began to cry. Her tear streaked face was the last thing that Angel saw before he lost consciousness.

=====

"Spike, have you seen Angel and Heather?" Buffy asked the vampire as she entered the living room.

"Aren't they with you?" Spike said absently as he flipped through the TV stations in search of a movie to watch.

Buffy rolled her eyes as she walked from the living room into Angel's office which was on the right side of the massive fireplace. "If they were would I be asking you? Spike, it's after sunset and I can't find them anywhere in the house. Angel never takes Heather out after dark. You don't think that anything's happened to them, do you?"

"Slayer, the sun has barely been down for five minutes. Give it another couple of minutes before you get all panicky."

During the next ten minutes, Buffy went through all of the rooms in the mansion in search of her husband and child. As each room revealed no trace of Angel or Heather, Buffy began to worry. She had a sinking feeling that something was wrong. Buffy could sense her baby's fear and was terrified to think of what had happened to her and Angel.

"Are they here?" Buffy demanded as she rushed down the stairs.

What she saw made her heart stop. Nothing ever fazed Spike so when she saw him staring down at a piece of paper in his hand, his face paler than normal, Buffy knew that something was wrong.

"Spike, what happened?" Buffy asked, hurrying over to her friend.

Without a word, Spike handed her the piece of paper.

*Naughty Slayer. You stole my Spikey from me so I took your Angel. He's mine now. You can have the baby back. I don't like her. She cries too much. Just send my Spikey home tomorrow night and he can have the baby.

Drusilla.*

Buffy slumped to the ground, unable to believe what she had just read. It wasn't just any vampire that had Angel and Heather. It was Drusilla. The insane vampire who talked to the stars and wasn't exactly too fond of Angel for what he had done to her before he turned her.

"I knew that things were going too good," Buffy muttered, tears filling her eyes. "I should have remembered that I'm not allowed to be happy. Something always happens to mess it up."

"Don't worry, Slayer, we'll get them back," Spike tried to assure her. "I'll go get Heather tomorrow and see what cane be done about Angel. Dru may be completely nuts, but she knows better than to hurt Angel."

=====

Angel was slow to wake up. His head pounded and he would have been content to slip back into the dark oblivion that he had so recently left if it hadn't been for the crying that he could vaguely hear. Knowing instantly that it was Heather's, Angel forced himself to wake up. Not remembering what had happened, he had expected to see only the baby monitor next to his head not Heather herself. Her tiny face was scrunched up and covered with tears.

"Shhhh. Shhhhh. It's all right, m'eudail," Angel whispered, rolling over to gather her up against his chest. "I'm here. Nothing's going to happen to you."

As soon as she heard her father's voice, Heather began to quiet down. The loud wails soon turned into hiccuping sobs. When at last she was quiet, Heather reached out and grabbed a hold of the necklace that Angel had on.

Unfortunately, Angel was not so calmed as his daughter was. While she was preoccupied with the cross necklace, Angel scanned the room that they were in. It didn't take Angel long to recognize the place. They were in one of the cellar rooms in the old factory that Spike and Drusilla had made their home in when they had first come to Sunnydale. The one that Giles had burnt to the ground after Angelus had killed Jenny. Angel's fear for his daughter's safety soon outranked his guilt over what had happened in that place all those years ago.

When he heard the door open, Angel quickly turned his head in the direction of the noise, being sure to keep himself between Heather and whoever had just entered. Angel visibly cringed when he saw Drusilla standing there in one of her blood red empire gowns.

"What do you want, Drusilla?" Angel asked, not moving from his position on the ground.

Drusilla just smiled at him then started towards the pair on the ground. When Angel saw where she was going, he picked Heather up and held her tight against him as he stood up. Under no circumstances was he going to let the insane vampire anywhere near his daughter.

"You made the baby quiet. Good. Now I don't have to listen to her," Drusilla mused, running her fingers along the back of Angel's neck.

Angel shuddered at the vampire's touch and placed a gentle kiss on Heather's dark head. "Why are you doing this, Dru?"

"The Slayer took away my Spike. She made me mad. Now I'm going to make her mad by taking you away from her," Drusilla told her sire, pouting like a child.

"What about Heather? Why involve a child in all of this when she has nothing to do with any of it?" Angel demanded, running his hand up and down her small back. Since her birth five months before, Angel had become very protective of his daughter and refused to let anything happen to her.

Running her finger along Angel's arm, Drusilla walked around in front of her sire. "That's your fault, daddy. You're the one who brought her with you. But don't worry, she's going back to her mommy tomorrow. Spike will take her back."

Angel let out a sigh of relief. He didn't really care what happened to him so long as Heather was all right. When he felt her begin to whimper, Angel shifted her over to his other arm and kissed her on the top of the head.

"Do you love her more than me, daddy?" Drusilla asked, smoothing one manicured nail lightly along Heather's back. "She all little and puny and can't play any of the games that we used to play."

Angel pulled away, standing on an angle so that Drusilla couldn't get anywhere near his daughter. "Stay the fuck away from my daughter, Dru. Touch her again and I'll kill you."

Drusilla's eyes flashed yellow when she heard that. Growling, the vampire lashed out and slapped him hard, cutting into Angel's cheek with her sharp nails. Angel winced at the stinging pain, but said nothing. He knew better than to provoke Drusilla while Heather was present. He could not protect his daughter while he fought his childe.

Smiling gleefully, Drusilla turned and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Don't worry, a ghraidh. Everything will be all right," Angel assured his daughter in a hushed voice. "Spike will come for you tomorrow and take you back to momma. Then I'll find a way back to the two of you."

Part 3

While he had been more than confident the night before, Spike was beginning to worry. Had it been only Angel that Drusilla had captured, he would have had no worries whatsoever. But it wasn't. Heather was involved. Spike was furious with Drusilla for involving a baby in all of this.

At that moment, Spike was standing in front of the factory that he had made his home in with his dark goddess when he had first arrived in Sunnyhell. He had been happy then. But then Drusilla had left him and he had been forced to live without her for the first time in over a century. It had taken a while, but he was happy again. He had his sire back, he was friends with the Slayer and her gang, and he had Heather. He loved the little runt beyond all reason and would do anything to keep her safe. Just like he knew that the poof was doing at the very moment. Angel would go into Hell and back- again -in order to keep his daughter safe.

Taking a very deep, and very unneeded breath, Spike walked toward the charred door of the factory and pulled it open.

"Dru? Are you in here, ducks?" Spike called, trying his best to make his voice sound as though he was still madly in love with her.

There was a slight pause before the insane vampire made her entrance. She glided out of the darkness, coming to stand directly in front of Spike. It was all that he could do not cringe at her very presence.

"Hello, Spike my sweet," Drusilla cooed, her lips curling up in a frightening smile.

"Where's Heather, Dru?" Spike asked, completely ignoring his former love's intentions.

Drusilla's smile turned into a frown when she became aware of Spike's mood. If he wasn't going to be nice, she was going to have to start playing mean. "What if I already ate her? She tasted yummy. Like cake."

Spike growled menacingly, trying very hard to keep his game face from surfacing. "If you touched her, Dru, so help me I'll....."

When she saw how angry Spike was, Drusilla began to giggle shrilly. "You like the little crying thing? My Angel seems to like her, too. Boys!"

Spike let out a sigh of relief when he saw the horde of vampires lead Angel and Heather into the main room of the factory. Angel looked a little worse for wear, but Heather was sleeping contently in his arms. Angel also seemed to relax when he saw the familiar platinum hair. Until that moment, he hadn't believed Drusilla when she told him that Spike was coming for Heather.

"See, Spikey, I didn't eat the crying thing," Drusilla said proudly as though expecting to be rewarded for that. "My Angel wouldn't let me get anywhere near it. He got all nasty whenever I would try to touch it. I only wanted a little sip."

"Dru, let Angel give me the baby," Spike said forcefully, slowly approaching the captive pair.

"Angel, you may give Spike the crying thing," Drusilla agreed. "Try anything and I'll have to let Mr. Murphy play with his toy. Isn't that right, Mr. Murphy?"

Both Angel and Spike looked up at the rafters to see the vampire in question. He was holding a rather large machine gun in his hands which was trained on Angel. Swallowing loudly, Angel closed the distance between him and his friend. Sensing the tension, Heather began to stir and opened her eyes, smiling up at her father.

"Ga!" Heather cried, reaching one of her little hands towards Angel's face.

"You go with Spike now, m' eudail. I'll see you in a little while," Angel told his daughter, placing a kiss on the top of her dark head. "I love you."

As Angel passed the infant over to Spike, Heather began to wail and reach for her father. It wasn't that she didn't like Spike, it was that she didn't want to be apart from Angel. Spike gathered his little sister close, running his hands over her to make sure that she was all right. Assured that she was, Spike looked back up at Angel.

"How you holding up, man?"

Angel groaned and placed his hand on the top of Heather's head. There was no telling when he would see her again after this. "I'll do. Just tell Buffy that I love her and that I'll find my way back to her."

"Sure thing, Angel," Spike said solemnly. He was worried about his friend and didn't want anything to happen to him. "Dru, if anything happens to Angel, you'll have to deal with both the Slayer and me."

"But, Spiiiike," Drusilla whined. "I only want to make the Slayer pay for taking you away from me."

"She didn't. You left me, remember?"

Drusilla pouted and began to stomp her feet. "You're not being nice, Spike."

Not saying anything, Spike turned around and left the factory. He didn't want to leave, but he had to get Heather somewhere safe. Angel's Blazer was parked around the corner with the Slayer waiting inside. After this long, she would have to be getting very panicky. Probably pacing around the vehicle, muttering things under her breath. Spike shuddered when he heard Drusilla's outraged scream. Something bad always happened when she screamed like that.

As expected, Buffy was pacing on the sidewalk next to the Blazer when Spike walked up with Heather. The instant that she caught sight of them, Buffy took off in a run towards her friend and daughter. She could feel her heart stop when she heard Heather's crying softly in Spike's arms. Her fear was that Drusilla had hurt her little girl. If she had Buffy swore that she would make the vampire's death as painful as possible.

"Is she all right, Spike?" Buffy demanded as she came to a stop in front of them.

With a tight smile, Spike handed Heather over to her mother. "The little runt's fine. She just wants her daddy."

"Oh, my sweet baby," Buffy whispered as she clutched her daughter's small body tight against her own. "I was so worried about you. But I won't let this happen to you again."

Buffy didn't breathe easy until Heather's tears began to quiet. Now that she was back with one of her parents, Heather knew that she was safe. She would have preferred her father, but her momma was just as good. Like her daughter, Buffy wanted Angel back. She wanted him away from Drusilla and back where he belonged. With them.

"How was Angel? Was he all right?" Buffy asked, fearful of the answer that Spike would give her.

"He's all right. A little rough around the edges, but it's probably only 'cause he's tired," Spike said, speaking the truth as he had seen it. "He said to tell you that he loves you and that he'll find his way back to you."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Buffy couldn't help but smile when she heard that. Hearing Angel say that always brought a smile to her face. True, it was Spike who had delivered the message, but it had still come from Angel's mouth.

"We need a safe place to leave Heather while we go after Dru," Buffy announced as she strapped Heather into her car seat. "But the gang's all gone. Who can we leave her with?"

"There's always yer mum," Spike suggested, curious to find out what the Slayer's reaction would be to that.

Buffy groaned, but nodded her head as she climbed into the driver's seat. "I don't like it, but it's the only option that we've got. I'm not leaving Angel there alone for another night. We go home, get Heather cleaned up, get supplies for both her and us, drop her off at my mother's then we come back here and get Angel out."

Spike just sat there and smiled. He couldn't wait to see what happened when Buffy and Joyce faced each other for the first time in over a year. It never failed to amaze him that two people who lived in such a small town could manage to avoid each other for an entire year. But soon mother and daughter would come face to face.

Half an hour later, the show was getting ready to begin. Buffy pulled the Blazer into her mother's driveway and slowly turned off the ignition. She didn't really want to see her mother, but she knew that she needed to do this. They couldn't bring Heather with them when they went back for Angel and the sure as hell couldn't leave her home by herself.

The door was open before the three of them even made it to the porch. Joyce stood there in the doorway, tears filling her eyes. Buffy prayed that that was a good sign.

"Look, mom, I know that we haven't exactly been all that close since last year but Spike and I were hoping that you could watch Heather for the night," Buffy began, not meeting her mother's eyes the entire time. "I know that you probably don't want to since she's Angel's daughter and you hate Angel, but this is really important so I was hoping-"

"Why would you think that I wouldn't want to see my granddaughter?" Joyce asked, surprised at what Buffy had said. "I love you and any child that you have."

"But you hate Angel and Spike said that you were mad when he told you that I was pregnant."

Joyce smiled sadly at her daughter as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I was only surprised. You're still my baby girl, Buffy and I was shocked when I found out that you were going to have a baby of your own. But after Spike showed me a picture of her, I fell in love with her. I just didn't know how to tell you."

Buffy let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God."

"Look, mum, we're in a bit of a hurry," Spike cut in. "Angel's in trouble and we need to go and get him out of it before something bad happens to him. So you take Heather and the bag of baby goodies and we'll go do what we have to do. See ya, runt."

A huge smile lit Joyce's face as she held her granddaughter for the first time. Heather just looked at her strangely, but quickly snuggled up against her, content for the moment. Buffy kissed her daughter on the forehead one last time before hurrying back the Blazer with Spike close behind. Things had gone a lot better than she had expected.

Part 4

Even as they pulled the car up a block away from the factory, Buffy could sense that something was wrong. Angel was in trouble. More so than he had been an hour before. Not pausing to think, Buffy gathered up her bag of weapons from the back seat of Angel's beloved Blazer and hurried towards the charred remains of the factory. She could tell that Spike was sensing the same feeling of dread as she was, for he had no witty comments to make. Hardly a night went by when Spike didn't have something smart to say. It was a great way to relieve tension, but the vampire said nothing. Buffy could only assume that it meant that Spike was just as worried as she was.

Sure enough, when they entered the factory, Buffy's theory was proved right. In the centre of the main open room was a ring of candles. As the Slayer, Buffy had seen the same thing many times before. Sometimes it was a good thing. Sometimes it was a bad thing. Considering the circumstances, Buffy had a feeling that this was one of the bad candle circles.

The two were very wary as they approached the ring of flickering candles, neither one knowing exactly what was in the middle. Buffy choked back a sob when she saw the three items in the centre. Angel's Claddaugh ring, his silver cross which dangled from a long chain and a piece of paper. Buffy immediately went for the items which belonged to her husband while Spike picked up the letter. After reading it over, he handed it to Buffy who had put the ring onto the chain before slipping it over her head. Just like the last time, the letter was from Drusilla.

*Sorry, Slayer, but we couldn't stay here now that you knew where I was keeping your Angel. You made my Spike be very mean to me so now I have to punish you and Angel. Naughty Slayer. What happens to Angel is your fault not mine. The stars are angry at you and want me to punish you.

Ta ta, Drusilla*

Screaming in outrage, Buffy kicked at the nearby candles, sending them flying in every direction. The force which with they flew through the air extinguished all of them so there was no chance that the factory would catch fire again. But that was the last thing on Buffy's mind at that moment.

"Why is she doing this, Spike? Why couldn't she just stay with that stupid fungus demon or whatever new thing she was sleeping with and leave me and Angel alone? Is that too much to ask?" Buffy demanded, ripping the letter to pieces before throwing it away.

Spike reached over and gathered the Slayer up in his arms as she burst into tears. He couldn't blame her. The past two nights had been very stressful for her. Spike was actually surprised that she hadn't broken down before this. Buffy was a lot stronger than he had given her credit for. After going through everything that she had over the past five years, you would think that she would have long ago ended up in the loony bin.

"Don't worry, Slayer. We'll find Angel," Spike assured her. "I've been playing this game with Drusilla for over a century."

"What game?" Buffy asked, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

Spike couldn't help but smile when he saw the hope blossom in his friend's eyes. "Hide and seek. One o' Dru's favourites. She has yet to win against me."

=====

The first place that Spike thought of to check for Drusilla and Angel was in the remains of the Master's lair. Spike knew that his dark goddess would go there first because she had always loved the throne that sat in the centre of the place. If she couldn't go to the factory or the mansion, Spike was sure that she would head there. Not wanting to worry the Slayer any more than she already was, Spike didn't mention the room down there which housed tunnels that led all over the city. If Drusilla went in there with Angel it would be all but impossible to find them if they didn't want to be found.

Just as expected, when Buffy and Spike reached the Master's lair, it was swarming with vampires. While to the casual observer this could be any band of vampires, Spike happened to recognize Mr. Murphy who was hiding near the back, machine gun in hand.

While Spike took out the front line with a mini fire launcher that Xander had stolen from the army base the year before, Buffy snuck along the side towards the back rooms where she hoped Drusilla would have hidden Angel. If the insane vampire also happened to be there, Buffy planned on killing her. No one messed with her husband and daughter without having to face the consequences.

"Angel!" Buffy shouted as she entered a corridor lined with doors. All of the other vampires were dealing with Spike and his flame throwing and didn't even give her a second glance. "Angel, are you back here?"

"Buffy!" came his muffled reply.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Buffy took off towards the door that his cry had come from. If she was lucky, Drusilla had gone to see what was going on and she could sneak Angel out before anyone noticed that he was missing.

When Buffy finally got to the door she could hear the sounds of a fight coming from the other side. She tried the door, but found it locked. So, gathering all of her strength, she charged the door, hoping to knock it down. Had it not been for the pain that went coursing through her shoulder as she did so, Buffy would have been thrilled that she managed to get it done in one shot. Wincing slightly, Buffy looked up and surveyed the room around her. Angel was the first thing that her eyes locked on.

He was bound with a knife pressed to his throat. Drusilla's hand held the knife.

"Dru, let him go," Buffy said calmly, getting slowly to her feet. She would have to wait until Drusilla moved the knife before she attacked. There was no way that she was going to risk Angel's life like that.

Drusilla pouted the stuck the tips of her fangs into Angel's shoulder. "Mean Slayer stole my Spike from me. If I can't have my Spike, you can't have your Angel."

With that she buried her fangs deep into Angel's throat and began to drink. When her eyes met Angel's and she saw the pain in them, something inside of her snapped. Knowing that Angel would be dead if she didn't act quickly, Buffy pulled a stake from her pocket and marched towards the vampire. She could hear Drusilla humming quietly as she drank and it only added fuel to her anger.

"Bad Slayer," Drusilla chided when she saw Buffy's advance. Her lips were covered with Angel's blood and Buffy felt sick to her stomach when she licked it from her lips delicately with her tongue. "Put the toy down or I finish your Angel. Won't take much. I took a few sips earlier so he's almost empty. Just like a juice box. Of course, I could become his mummy... Oh wouldn't that be a fun idea. Would you like to play naughty games with me, my Angel?"

"Buffy..." Angel moaned, completely ignoring her question. He was extremely pale, more pale than he had been as a vampire. His clothes were torn and dirty and his normally spiky hair had flattened itself against his head. In basic terms, he looked like shit.

That got Drusilla right pissed. Faster than Buffy could follow, she spun around on her heel and ran towards a door in the back of the room, taking Angel with her. Buffy was only about half way there when Drusilla and Angel disappeared inside.

"Did ye find them, Slayer?" Spike asked from behind her, sounding out of breath.

"In there," Buffy whispered pointing towards the door.

"Then we've lost 'em," Spike muttered, running his hands through his platinum hair. "On the other side of that door are fifty tunnel entrances which lead all over Sunnyhell. It'll be all but impossible to find 'em now."

Buffy shook her head, refusing to believe it. "No. We haven't lost him yet, Spike. We'll find Angel. I don't care how long it takes, we're going to find Angel."

"Slayer, I don't want to-"

"You can smell blood right?" Buffy demanded.

Spike lowered his eyes to the ground, but nodded his head. "Yeah, I can. So?"

"So, Angel was bleeding. We follow the smell of the blood and it leads us to Angel."

It was a long shot, but it was the best chance that Angel had at that moment.

=====

His head swimming, Angel slowly made his way through the tunnel system. He leaned his right shoulder against the wall to keep himself upright since his hands were still bound securely behind his back. Drusilla may have been a little absent minded, but she was definitely knew how to tie a knot. Angel didn't know how many days they had been wandering about in the tunnels, but it seemed like months. Years even. The only reason that they had stopped was because Dru was sleepy. It didn't matter to her that he hadn't slept since the night before she had abducted him and Heather or eaten anything since lunch of that day. She could have been dragging a corpse behind and probably wouldn't have noticed.

Biting back a cry as he hit his shoulder on a protruding brick, Angel continued on his way. He didn't know how much more time he would have until Drusilla realized that he was gone. It was during Drusilla's nap that he had managed to sneak away from the insane vampire. While he knew that he should probably use that time to rest, it could possibly the only chance that he had to escape. He still knew the sewer system rather well and was confident that he could make it out before Drusilla found him. Angel could only pray that it would there would be a nice big beam of sunlight over the entrance of the tunnel blocking her in.

Angel stiffened when he heard footsteps coming from around the corner. Even if it wasn't Drusilla, it could possibly be other vampires. Knowing that if they saw him he would be food, Angel quickly ducked into a dark recess of the tunnel. He nearly burst into tears when he heard their voices.

"Are you sure that you know where you're going, Spike?" Buffy asked as she cautiously made her way around some debris on the floor of the tunnel.

"Course I do, Slayer. What do you take me for?" Spike grumbled as he and Buffy trudged along through the dark tunnels. "Hold on! I can spell 'im. He's close."

Buffy perked up when she heard that. "Angel's nearby? Are you sure that it's him?"

"Slayer, I think that I know what the poof's blood smells like."

Ignoring the vampire, Buffy ran ahead, flashlight in hand. She aimed the beam of light in all directions, searching the darkness for her husband. "Angel, are you here? Come on, Angel, answer me! Angel, please."

Not completely believing that it was her, Angel stayed hidden in the shadows until the light hit his face. Blinking against the blinding light, Angel shut his eyes and turned his head away from it. Tears began to fill his eyes when he saw her face. Buffy was here. She had found him and would make everything all right.

"Oh God, Angel!" Buffy cried, dropping to her knees in front of him. "I thought that she'd killed you."

Angel moaned and pressed his forehead against Buffy's shoulder. He didn't care what happened after that moment. He was with Buffy again and that was all that mattered. Feeling completely safe for the first time in days, Angel let himself drift off to sleep. Nothing bad would happen now.

"Spike, we've got to get him out of here," Buffy said as she ran her hands up and down Angel's back.

Spike nodded his head and glanced around, trying to get his bearings. "There's a way out about half a mile from here. It comes up somewhere around the downtown area, I think... No. This is the one that just down the street from yer mum's."

"Good. We can use her car to get Angel to the hospital. Untie him then let's get going," Buffy ordered, not wanting to let Angel go for a moment.

=====

Joyce gave a start when she heard a knock at her front door. It was nearly eleven o'clock at night and Buffy had once warned her never to answer the door at night unless she knew who it was. And even then she was never to invite them in. They had to enter on their own. Glancing down at Heather who was sound asleep in her carrier, Joyce slowly began to rise to her feet.

"Mom! Open the door!" Buffy shouted, pounding rapidly on the door. "We need your car! Mom, open the door!"

Hearing the panic in her daughter's voice, Joyce rushed to the door and hastily began to unlock the locks. What she saw when she finally got the door open shocked her to no end. Buffy and Spike's disheveled appearance was only minor when she caught sight of Angel who was slumped against the vampire. He was covered in dirt and blood, there were dark circles under his eyes, his clothes were torn and he was incredibly pale. He barely even looked alive for that matter.

"Oh my God. What happened to him?" Joyce gasped as she placed a hand over her mouth.

"No time to explain, mum," Spike cut in. "Get Heather and your car keys. We need to get the poof to a hospital as soon as possible."

When Joyce remained completely still, Buffy quickly ran into the house and into the living room where she hoped to find her daughter. Sure enough, when she entered the room she saw Heather sound asleep without a care in the world. It had been two days since Buffy had last seen her daughter- the longest that the two of them had ever been apart. Smiling softly, Buffy picked up the carrier then hurried out to the Explorer where Spike and Joyce were waiting for her. Angel was lying across the back seat. Since there was no room for the carrier in the back, Buffy handed it to Spike who was sitting in the passenger seat before getting in the back with Angel.

"Hold on, my love," Buffy whispered as she cradled Angel's head in her lap.

=====

Angel slipped slowly from the oblivion into a dark world filled with many strange noises that he couldn't recognize. He wanted to shut them all out and go back into the darkness, but there was something which kept him from doing that. Something which continued to pull him away from the darkness. It was a hand running along his cheek and into his hair. A warm hand. Moaning softly, he turned his face into the hand, wanting the contact to continue. He was rewarded for that simple act with a tender kiss on his forehead. Wanting desperately to know who the other person was, Angel forced his tired eyes to open. The image was blurry, but he would know her anywhere.

"Welcome back," Buffy whispered, smoothing his hair back from his forehead.

Angel opened his mouth to speak, but found that his throat was extremely sore. Instead he smiled weakly and let her continue petting him. For the first time in days he felt completely safe. He was away from Drusilla, out of the tunnels and back with the woman that he loved.

"Knew you'd come," Angel managed to get out after a few unsuccessful tries.

Buffy smiled and kissed his forehead again. "Of course I did. I don't want to lose you any time soon, Angel."

"Same here."

The two of them just continued to stare at each other for several long minutes. They were both perfectly aware of how close they had come to losing each other though neither wanted to admit it. It was too frightening a thing to admit. Their solitude was interrupted all too soon by a certain blonde-haired vampire.

"Look, I hate to break all this sweetness up, but someone's being all fussy and I thought that I'd let you handle it," Spike said, carrying Heather across the room to where her mother sat on a chair. "Hey there, peaches, nice to see you conscious again."

While Spike tried to make light of the subject, Angel knew that he was more relieved than he was letting on. He could see it very clearly in his childe's eyes, but said nothing about it. For the time being he would let Spike keep his macho image. As soon as he felt better, though, he was going to make sure that Spike never lived it down. But at that moment, all that Angel wanted to do was hold his daughter.

Buffy sensed this and laid Heather down on the bed next to Angel without a word. She watched in delight as he placed his hand on her dark head. Moving very slowly, Angel slipped one arm under Heather's small body and gently lifted her up into his arms. The infant snuggled into her father's massive chest and slowly drifted off into a contented sleep. It was only a couple of minutes before Angel followed her.

Part 5

"Ye know, Heather, you're probably not going to see much of yer mum and daddy for the next couple days. They're probably gonna be holed up in their room doing the nasty. We might even have a new baby brother or sister before this is all over," Spike informed his little sister who was sitting on his knee playing with her smaller version of her mother's Mr. Gordo.

Heather looked up at him and grinned before turning her attention back on the stuffed pig in her arms. She was especially amazed with his tail and couldn't seem to keep it out of her mouth for more than five minutes at a time.

Angel had been released from the hospital the day before and since then, he and Buffy had rarely left their bedroom. True, the doctor had said that Angel needed to take it easy for a couple of days, but Spike had a feeling that his sire was doing more than just relaxing. Relieving some tension maybe, not certainly not resting.

"What are you teaching my daughter this time?" Angel asked as he walked into the living room. When he reached the couch, he slowly eased himself down onto the plush cushions and reached a hand towards Heather.

"Ga!" Heather cried, holding her pig out for Angel to see. She then began to bounce around on Spike's lap, reaching her other hand towards Angel as well.

Taking the hint, Spike handed the baby to her father and stretched himself out so that his feet were resting on the table. "Surprised to see you out of bed, peaches. Wore the Slayer out, did you?"

Angel smirked in his childe's as Heather abandoned the pig and started to play with his necklace. "She's had a tough couple of days and needs some rest."

"Look who's talking. You look like shite, Angel man."

"I'm fine, Spike," Angel assured him. "And I thought that I told you not to use any bad language around my daughter. Buffy would kill you if Heather's first word was 'shite.' Hell, she'd kill me, too."

Spike smiled at the baby and began to play with one of her dark curls. "You wouldn't mind, would you, Heather? I'll be teaching you lots o' fun games once you learn to talk. We'll make the poof's life a living hell."

Heather started to giggle when she heard that and threw the pig at Angel's head. When she heard Spike start to laugh, Heather's face broke out into a huge grin. Angel, on the other hand, just glared at his childe. There was nothing sinister about the look, but it was expected of him since he was the one being made fun of. Besides, Angel had really come to like Spike a lot more since he had become one of the good guys. That was something that he had never expected in his wildest dreams. Maybe in one of his wildest ones, but the thing that he had never expected was the bond that the vampire had formed with Heather. But as shocking as it was, he was glad for it. It meant that there would be someone to watch Heather even after he and Buffy were gone.

Seeing the look on Angel's face, Spike quickly rose to his feet and leaned over to pick up Heather. "Come on, runt. Our poof of a father has gotten sentimental again. We'd better get going before it affects us, too."

Angel didn't protest as his daughter was taken for him. It was time for her dinner, anyway, and he was too tired to even get up let alone go all the way to the kitchen to get a bottle ready for her. He knew that he probably should have stayed in bed, but he'd had a huge desire to see his daughter. She and Buffy had been two of the main things that had kept him going when he and Drusilla had disappeared into the tunnels. Angel absently put a hand to his neck where he could feel the small mark from where her fangs had pierced his throat. He had been terrified that the insane vampire would try and turn him back into Angelus. Strangely enough, though, that thought had never crossed her mind.

Shaking those thoughts from his mind, Angel got into a more comfortable position and drifted off to sleep. If he was lucky, he'd actually wake up and not feel tired. Angel found it extremely annoying that no matter how much he seemed to sleep, he was always tired. Just as he drifted off to sleep, he thought that he saw something out of the corner of his eyes.

In the atrium, Drusilla watched as her sire slept peacefully on the couch. He was supposed to be hers. Angel was her daddy, but now he had a family of his own. One which didn't include her.

"I want my daddy back," Drusilla mused as she stood there in the darkness.

Coming back into the living room, Spike saw Drusilla standing in the atrium watching Angel as he slept. He tensed instantly, clutching Heather against his chest. Drusilla saw him and smiled, walking forward towards the door. Unfortunately, since a vampire was living in the house, she was able to walk right in.

"Angel, get up!" Spike shouted as Drusilla stalked towards the sleeping mortal.

Angel's opened his eyes lazily, not wanting to wake up quite so soon. Craning his neck to the left to get a kink out of it, he happened to see Drusilla who was standing only a few feet away from him. Angel struggled to get to his feet, but ended up tripping and falling back down on the couch.

Drusilla continued to stalk towards him, a dark smile on her face. "My daddy. I want my daddy back."

Angel was out of room. He had reached the end of the couch and Drusilla was crawling across it, all but straddling his chest. He tried to push her off, but found that he didn't have the strength to do so. In a panic, he glanced over at Spike who was nowhere to be seen. When he looked back up at Drusilla, he was greeted by her true face.

"Bye bye Angel," she crooned, leaning forward to begin draining him again. She wanted her daddy back and nothing was going to stop her.

All of a sudden, Drusilla heard a noise behind her. Ripping her fangs from Angel's throat, she turned to see Spike standing there with a stake in hand instead of Heather. Before he had a chance to strike, though, Drusilla lashed out, knocking the stake from his hand. Growling angrily, Drusilla jumped from Angel and lunged at her former lover. While this was going on, Angel rolled from the couch and stumbled to where the stake had fallen. He found it near the fireplace.

By the time that Angel turned back to the fight, Spike and Drusilla were rolling around on the ground, trading punches back and forth. Both were deep in game face and noticed nothing that went on around them. Taking a deep breath, Angel readied himself for his plan that he hoped would work.

"Hey, Dru!" Angel shouted, hiding the stake behind his back.

The insane vampire looked up from her prey, a lethal glow in her golden eyes. She quickly slammed Spike's head against the ground to daze him then dove for Angel. Drusilla's body hit his painfully, sending both of them crashing to the ground. Angel landed hard on his back, the wind knocked from his lungs.

"My daddy," Drusilla mused, moving in for the kill.

When he felt her fangs prick against his throat, Angel blindly struck out with his stake, hoping that he would hit her in the heart. It seemed like an eternity before he felt the stake pierce her flesh. The seconds ticked by like hours as Angel waited for her to disintegrate into dust. Suddenly, he heard that traditional "poof!" then he was covered in a shower of dust.

"Angel, you okay, man?" Spike groaned as he rolled over onto his stomach.

In answer, Angel just sneezed.

=====

Buffy came down the stairs in time to hear Angel sneeze. She had woken up a few minutes ago to find Angel gone. If it hadn't been for the strange noises that she heard coming from downstairs, Buffy probably would have just rolled over and gone back to sleep. But her Slayer sense had kicked in and told her that something bad was going on. Her first instinct had been to check on Heather who was playing happily with some toys in her crib. Just as she was shutting the door to the baby's room, she had heard Angel shout, "Hey Dru!"

As soon as she heard the vampire's name, Buffy ran back into her bedroom to look for a stake. She was going to kill the insane vampire if she messed up one hair on Angel's head. Of course, by the time that she got down there, Drusilla had been reduced to a pile of ash, which now covered Angel.

"Angel, are you all right?" Buffy cried when she saw the blood smeared across the left side of his throat.

"I'll do," Angel confirmed, slowly pushing himself into a sitting position. The movement made the dust fly about some more and he sneezed again.

"What about me, Slayer? Aren't you going to ask whether I'm all right or not?" Spike grumbled as he got to his feet.

Buffy said nothing to the vampire, but helped Angel to his feet and back over to the couch. She winced when she saw the tears on his throat and rushed into the downstairs bathroom to get the first aid kit. "I don't need to ask, Spike. If you weren't all right you'd be a pile of dust. Now could you go get the broom and sweep up what's left of Dru. I don't want Heather playing in it."

Still grumbling under his breath, Spike went to go sweep up what his left of his former lover. He felt only a tiny bit of remorse over her death. She had been his dark plum, his princess... And now she was a pile of ash.

While Buffy was cleaning up the blood on his neck, Angel kept his eyes trained on his childe. He knew that despite his stotic endurance, Spike was hurting. After all, he had been in his position before. Angel could still remember clearly the guilt that he had felt after staking Darla. True, he had saved Buffy's life in the process, but that didn't take away what he had once felt for Darla. He had loved her for over a century. But things had changed.

Angel didn't say anything until Buffy went upstairs to go check on Heather. "You feeling all right, Spike? You look a little paler than normal."

"This from the guy who's as white as a sheet," Spike said mockingly as he flopped down next to his sire on the couch. After a moment's silence, he turned to Angel. "Is it all right that I'm sad that she died?"

"I'd be worried if you weren't."

Spike clutched his hand over his still beating heart as though he was in pain. "Why, Angel! I didn't know that you cared."

"Who ever said that I did? I just don't want you moping about the house," Angel informed his childe. He knew from long experience that Spike didn't like it when people fussed over him.

"Don't want any competition, do you?"

Angel rolled his eyes and playfully swatted Spike on the arm. "Why is it that everyone seems to think that all I do is brood? I smile. I laugh."

"Yeah, and you also like to sit in the dark when you could be out with the Slayer in one of those cute little outfit of hers," Spike mused dreamily. "Cor, some of those skirts are so short you can see her-"

"Stop now before I have to hurt you, Spike," Angel threatened when it became all to obvious where the vampire's train of thought was heading.

Spike tried his best to look innocent. An effort which was completely wasted on the person who had known him for well over a century. "What? Is it my fault that you're married to one hell of a stiffener who doesn't mind showing off her assets."

"Spike will you...."

"I wouldn't mind having her pin me to the ground the way she does you when yer fighting down in the basement," Spike continued, purposely trying to aggravate Angel.

"Spike, if you don't stop so help me I will..."

The vampire couldn't help but grin knowing that he had his sire right where he wanted him. "And that view I had when she snuck up on me in the shower think that I was you. All mussed up and seductive like."

"Spike," Angel said more forcefully.

"I wonder if Heather will have as great a body as her mother. Maybe she'll even have a thing for the undead like the Slayer does."

"SPIKE!!!"

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