Chapter 1: Prologue

Three years later



He didn’t find her. He tried but he never did, the incident with Parker changed all of their lives.



And then when she left. He felt like his world had crumbled.



She didn’t regret it.



And he let her get away.



He was an idiot.



After he graduated he went to a Police Academy in San Diego, graduated at the top of his class.



He had to get away from Washington.



It had too many memories, good and bad.



Willow and Tristen had gotten engaged last year and were planning on getting married in six months because Willow wanted a summer wedding.



Willow got a job for some hot shot computer company, once she had enough money and the right degrees she opened her own business.



Making video games.



He was her number one fan.



Willow and Tristen also moved wanting to make a new beginning. They now lived in a stylish home in LA, Hollywood.



Cordelia and Angel ended up moving to New York.



Angel got accepted into Harvard.



Who would have thought.



Cordelia started designing her own line of clothes right out of high school and it was expected to be some kind of a high fashion company in New York right out of college.



They had all did well for themselves.



Most likely even her.



Who he hadn’t seen or spoke to in three years.



There was a letter, it had came while he was out on a case.



She new where he was, and everyone else for that matter.



Yet none of them could find her, and she never ever talked about how she was in the letter.



Spike sighed and shook his head, trying to clear his head.



“Hey Will, Willows on line two,” Oz his partner told him as he passed by.



Spike thanked him and put him through.



“Hello love, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Spike purred into the phone.



He heard the red head giggle, and could practically hear her smile as she said:



“Well, you might wanna give me dibs on naming your first born.”



Spike smiled.



“And why is that pet?” he smirked.



“Because I just got you the first copy of my new game, Battle for the Kill, limited edition,” the red head said.



Spike smiled.



“You’re too good to me,” he said as he leaned on his elbows.



“I know.” Willow said with a laugh, “ I sent it this morning you should get it in a few days” Willow said.



Spike could practically hear the change in her voice.



She was waiting.



“Has she called?” Willow asked quietly.



Spike shook his head momentarily forgetting she couldn’t see him.



“No pet,” he said sadly “Don’t worry, she’ll show up”



Willow sighed.



“I know, I just wish she would hurry,” she said forcing a chuckle.



“In time pet,” Spike said softly.



“Thanks Spike,” Willow sighed. He heard the sound of Tristen’s voice in the background.



“Well, I got to go. Don’t forget we’re coming next week,” Willow said some of her happiness returning.



“Will do pet. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Spike said.



“Alright, I love you Spike. Don’t get killed today,” Willow said.



Spike laughed.



“I won’t pet,” he promised.



With a last greeting Spike hung up the phone.



Hearing one of his fellow officer’s request back up for a robbery he got up.



Another day on the job.



``````````````````````````````````````````



“Elijah?” the brunette called as she came home. “Chris? Lina?”



A dark haired man came out a room directly in front of the living room.



His gray eyes twinkled in the dim light.



“Lina asleep?” she asked.



Elijah nodded.



“Out like a lamp, so is Chris,” Elijah said as he plopped down on the overstuffed couch.



“How was work?” he asked.



Buffy sighed and shrugged as she went to the kitchen.



“It was ok I guess. The case I was working on, you know the one with the father who was trying to get custody of his one year old?” she asked. Elijah nodded and got up following her to the kitchen.



“He lost his case,” Buffy said as she sat down at the table.



“How, I thought he was like the perfect dad?” Elijah asked sitting down across from her watching as she dove into her saved spaghetti.



Buffy nodded.



“Well that’s what we thought, but we found new evidence to suggest otherwise. He beat his wife and let her take blame for their child’s injuries. She was so afraid that he would kill her that she played along and confessed to breaking the child’s leg. A family member came forward with new evidence, pictures of her injuries and videos from hidden cameras.”



Elijah frowned.



“They would have shrugged it off because it was recorded without permission,” he stated.



Buffy nodded and held up a finger.



“It was recorded with permission, the wife gave the aunt permission to hide the cameras if something ever happened. Anyway he lost his case, the child is living with the aunt until the wife sorts through her trauma,” Buffy said munching on a piece of bread.



Elijah nodded about to ask something else when a tiny cough behind him grabbed his attention.



Buffy smiled as her two year old Lina (short for Catalina) came into the kitchen.



She was still half asleep, her blue eyes dropping lazily.



Buffy picked her up and smoothed down her wavy sandy blond hair.



“Shouldn’t you be asleep sweetie?” Buffy asked softly.



Lina just bobbed her head.



Buffy shook her head and felt her temperature.



“What was her temperature when she went to sleep?” Buffy asked getting up.



Elijah thought a moment.



“86, it went down some. Chris was still a little hot but she went right to sleep with the medicine,” he answered.



Buffy nodded and picked up her daughter carrying her out the kitchen and to the door by the living room.



She walked into the spacious pale blue room pictures of animals and of her and Elijah were placed everywhere along with some of the twins and a couple of the friends she left.



She walked over to one of the small beds and placed a sleeping Lina in it before kissing her forehead and walking across the room to check on her identical sister Chris.



Chris was asleep her tiny thumb in her mouth.



Buffy smiled softly.



They looked just like Spike, sometimes it tore her heart to look at them, but she did it anyway. She loved them both.



She had ended up in Vegas and worked as a waitress at night while she went to college in the morning.



It was hard but she did it and now she as an intern for a lawyer, of course she still had a few more years to become an actual lawyer but she helped work on some cases like the case of ‘ The child custody battle’.



Elijah was a lawyer and her best friend. She worked with him sometimes.



He had helped her and became like her brother, he new everything bout her past and insisted on helping her.



She had accepted and he had moved her into his house telling her only to worry about the twins that eh would take care of everything.



And he did.



She helped now that she got paid, but he was still her saviour.



Buffy shook herself from her thoughts, with one last check on her daughters she left the room closing the door softly behind her.



``````````````````````````

 

Chapter 2: Crystalina Samantha Summers

````````````````````````````````



Buffy smiled to herself when she felt her bed shift signalling the entry of Chris.



“Awake mommy?” Chris whispered before sniffling.



Buffy’s green eyes opened to stare at her daughters two wide blue one’s.



Chris and Lina were identical in everyway, the only reason she could tell them apart was because Chris had this thing about sucking her thumb and she was more talkative then Lina.



“I’m awake baby,” Buffy said softly.



Chris smiled and sat on Buffy’s stomach.



Buffy groaned playfully.



“Good god girl what have you been eating? Bricks?” Buffy asked playfully making her daughter giggle, blue eyes twinkling.



“Where’s Lina?” Buffy asked.



Chris twisted her waist length curly hair around her finger.



“With Eli,” Chris answered before bouncing on Buffy’s stomach.



“Breakfast,” the child stated, Buffy nodded and looked to her right.



No wonder it looked so dark, it was raining.



“Alright baby,” Buffy said sitting up.



Chris smiled and got off of her stomach hopping to the floor.



Buffy smiled watching as her daughter ran from the room to go wake up Elijah.



She put on her slippers and ran a hand through her hair as she walked to the bathroom.



After brushing her teeth she walked out into the hall just in time to see Elijah walk out with Lina on his hip, her head on his shoulder.



His dark hair was sticking up all over the place, she smiled slightly shaking her head.



“Looks like Chris is feeling better,” Elijah stated walking out the hall to the kitchen.



Buffy followed.



“I think she just had the sniffles,” The brunette said, going to the pots and pans as soon as she was in the kitchen.



“What time is the doctor’s appointment?” Elijah asked sitting Lina on his lap.



The two year old closed her eyes still sleepy.



Buffy checked the clock on the wall as she put a pot on the stove.



“At eleven. After breakfast I’ll clean them up, then take them,” she answered.



Chris stuck her thumb in her mouth and sat in the chair across from Elijah.



“Don’t like doctor,” the child said quietly before sniffing.



Buffy shook her head as she got out ingredients for pancakes.



“I know sweetie but you wanna get better right?” Buffy asked.



Chris thought a moment before looking at her twin.



Lina woke up long enough to give her twin a nod.



Chris nodded and looked at her mother.



“Get better,” she nodded.



Buffy walked over to Elijah and put her hand on Lina’s forehead.



“She’s still got a temperature,” Buffy said picking up her daughter.



“Would you mind mixing the ingredients, I’m going to take her back to bed.” Buffy said.



Elijah nodded and got up going over to the counter to mix the ingredients.



Buffy smiled her thanks and carried her sick child back to bed.



“Funny shapes?” Chris asked coming over to Elijah, he picked her up and sat her on the counter.



“Anything for you gremlin,” he told her.



Chris was closer to Buffy than she was to Elijah but it was ok, because he was the best uncle that she had ever had.



Even if he wasn’t really her uncle.



“Work today?” Chris asked as she rubbed her nose.



Chris nodded as he turned to heat the pan.



“Yep, how about after the doctor’s I come and get you and we can have lunch at my office?” he asked.



Chris grinned then frowned.



“Maybe tomorrow, today take Lina. Tomorrow take Chris,” she stated.



“Why not today?” he asked.



Chris leaned closer to him and cupped her hand over her mouth.



“Because today is Chris and Mommy’s special day,” the child whispered.



Elijah nodded.



Ever since Chris was a baby Buffy had a day where she would take Chris to the park to look at the ducks and have popcorn.



Next month would be Lina’s turn.



“Silly me, I forgot” Elijah said with a smile as he poured batter in the pan.



“That’s k Eli, I knows it’s hard to bemeber,” Chris said with a smile.



“Remember,” Buffy corrected as she came into the room.



Chris smiled and wrapped her tiny arms around her mother’s neck once she was close enough.



“Today is special day,” Chris whispered.



Buffy nodded before giving Chris a butterfly kiss.



“Yep. Just you and me kiddo,” Buffy said smiling.



Chris grinned.



Just her and mommy.



```````````````````````````````````````````````````````



Chris giggled as she chased the ducks.



She squealed when Buffy caught her around the waist and swung her around.



“No-giggle-more,” Chris giggled, Buffy smiled and placed Chris on her feet.



Chris giggled as she plopped on the grass, her pig tales bouncing.



“Lina sick?” Chris asked suddenly, staring at her mother with huge eyes.



Buffy nodded and sat down next to her.



“She’ll get better though, remember the doctor gave her medicine. Soon she’ll be able to play with you again,” Buffy reminded her daughter.



Chris nodded with a smile.



“Right, not now dough,” she said.



Buffy nodded with a smile.



“Though, not dough,” she said with a smile.



Chris smiled.



“When daddy come?” she asked, Buffy smiled sadly.



“I don’t know sweetie,” she answered putting an arm around her daughter.



She had told Chris and Lina they had a dad and even showed them a few pictures, they would ask about him and ask to see him and sometimes she would even consider it.



Elijah had convinced her to write him a letter which she did.



He found out where Spike had worked along with her other friends, but she had only contacted Spike.



“Don’t cry,” Chris said wiping her mothers tears.



Buffy blinked and felt her face, she hadn’t even noticed she was crying.



“Are you sad?” Chris asked sitting in her mothers lap.



Buffy shook her head kissing her daughter on the cheeks.



“No baby,” she answered.



Buffy heard a clap pf thunder and looked up just as it started to rain again.



Chris’s eyes widened and she jumped up.



“Hurry mommy, before it rain kitties and doggies!”

 

Chapter 3: Catalina Anastasia Summers

``````````````````````````````



Elijah smiled at the child across from him. He had picked Lina up from the doctors then from there drove to the office for lunch.



He was used to taking them to the office. The boss didn’t mind so much when he didn’t have a case to work on.



The case he was working on now was put on hold, so it was ok.



Lina was sort of like his daughter, they were always together, which was ok since Chris was always with Buffy.



Lina sniffled and took a bite of her hamburger.



She loved her Elijah, they always did things together, like shopping and going out.



He had taken her along with him on one of his cases.



She had fun.



“So squirt, do you want me to take you home or do you mind staying with me for a couple more hours?” Elijah asked.



Lina sniffled and smiled.



“Stay with you Eli,” she whispered softly.



He smiled and wiped some grease of her chin. She was the quiet twin, the level headed one.



“I take medicine?” she asked. Elijah shook his head.



“Not yet, but you will have to take it,” he told her.



Her little nose scrunched up in disgust.



“Nasty.”



Elijah laughed softly before tugging on her braid.



“The nasty ones are always the good ones,” he said.



Lina giggled and flipped her long braid over her shoulder.



Elijah took a sip of his soda watching as she ate her hamburger.



He wondered why Buffy didn’t just call their dad and talk to him. He was sure that Spike would want to know he had two beautiful girls walking around.



The phone rang bringing him out of his thoughts.



He picked up the phone, still watching Lina thoughtfully.



“Hello?”



“Mr. Collins, your twelve o’clock is here,” his secretary’s perky voice drifted from the phone.



“Alright, send him in,” he said before hanging up the phone.



“You done squirt?” Elijah asked.



Lina wiped her mouth with a napkin and nodded.



Just as Elijah threw the last of the trash away, Danny ‘Hard hit’ Davidson entered with his Uncle Paul Levantine.



Elijah gestured to the seat in front of his desk, where Lina used to be sitting.



She was now in his chair so he leaned against the desk.



“Collins,” Paul said casually.



“Paul, Danny to what do I owe the pleasure. If I am correct then, your trial was held back,” Elijah stated.



Paul and Danny were part of the Italian mobster of Vegas. Their Uncle Vinny was caught smuggling drugs into the states and selling them at the docks. It was Danny’s and Paul’s job to make sure that he didn’t stay in jail and had even offered the jury money to get him out.



Everyone knew the whole family was a bunch of bad news.



“Eli, Eli, Eli. My Uncle Vinny no likes you very much right about now,” Danny said.



Paul nodded.



“You guys send him to jail, and now he is not so happy. So I shall make you an offer you better not refuse,” Danny continued.



Elijah raised an eyebrow, his gaze shifting to Paul who was staring intently at Lina.



He shifted so he blocked his view of the girl.



“Really?” Elijah asked.



Danny nodded and moved his jacket flashing his gun at Elijah.



“You going to shoot me?” Elijah asked.



Paul smiled.



“No, but we will do much worse,” he said his gaze shifting to Lina.



Elijah shifted uneasily.



“I think you catch my drift,” Danny said getting up.



Elijah narrowed his eyes.



“You have a two days, and I mean two days to clear my uncle’s name, or else,” Danny shift his threatening gaze to Lina.



Paul walked to the door Danny behind him.



Danny stopped just outside the door to look over his shoulder at Elijah.



“Oh, yeah. Cute kid.”



Then they were gone.



Elijah turned to Lina holding out his arms to her.



She got up and walked to him allowing him to lift her up.



“Come on kid let’s get you home.”

 

Chapter 4: New Life

````````````````````````````````````````````````````



Spike entered his three bedroom apartment and sighed.



God he was tired.



He had just come from a case that was rocking the whole state.



An Italian mob smuggled drugs into the US, he doesn’t know what happened to the guy Vinny, but he and his team were ordered to keep surveillance on his family.



Most of his family lived in Vegas so he had to call down there and get surveillance hooked up and then he had to get surveillance on Vinny’s cousins that were in San Diego.



They were getting the drugs from Mexico and smuggling it in the US using piñatas. Luckily an officer was smart enough to actually investigate them.



He was glad they finally caught and ended the smuggling well at least for now.



Spike shook his head and stretched his tired muscles.



He had did another un on the computer for Buffy Summers, even using names that she had said she would rather be named Like Joan.



But again he came up with nothing.



Just as Spike walked into his room the phone rang.



He sighed and went to pick it up.



“Hello?” he asked running a hand over his face.



“Hey Spike I was hoping I’d catch you,” Cordelia’s happy voice drifted down the line.



Spike smiled, even if he couldn’t see her he new she was smiling the Chase smile and he couldn’t help but grin.



“Hey cheerleader,” Spike greeted taking off his pants.



He heard Cordelia sigh.



“Oh nothing, other then my new line for kids just came out. I know you don’t have any, but I got all of my friends outfits for their future kids. You would love it it’s in all colors and stylish and ,”



Spike chuckled cutting her off.



“Cordy, as much as I would love to hear about you dressing the kids I don’t have I’m going to take a shower I am beat. But I will call you back,” Spike said.



Cordelia sighed dramatically.



“Fine, be that way,” she stated, then giggled. “You take your sexy ass and go shower I’ll talk to you later,” the brunette said.



“Bye princess,” Spike said with a laugh hanging up the phone.



After taking a shower he got back on the phone and dialed a number he knew by heart, Lorne a private detective and the best in the whole country.



Spike had worked on a case with him and the two were instantly friends.



“Hey cupcake,” Lorne greeted. Spike rolled his eyes. Why couldn’t Lorne use his name like any normal person?



“Any word?” Spike asked carrying his cordless into the kitchen to heat up some food.



He heard Lorne sigh and new that wasn’t a good sign.



“Sorry dumpling, this girl is hiding good,” the detective sighed.



“It’s ok Lorne, we’ll find her.”



```````````````````````````````````````



“Found you!” Elijah said loudly jumping in front of Lina, she giggled and ran between his open legs to her mother’s awaiting arms.



Elijah mock sighed.



“Oh darn, your mother is here. No more fun,”



Chris giggled and hooked onto his legs.



“It’s ok Eli, mommy play too,” the child giggled.



Elijah grabbed her around the waist and threw her up catching her in the air making her squeal in delight.



Buffy smiled and placed Lina on her feet.



“That’s enough you two. Mommy has to get up early and so does Elijah. Time for bed,” Buffy said.



Her twins pouted.



“Ten more minus?” Lina asked as her mother led her down the hall.



“No,” Buffy stated.



“Five more minus?” Chris asked sticking her thumb in her mouth.



Elijah laughed.



“Nope.”



Lina and Chris sighed.



“One more minus?”



“No,” Buffy said giggling as she entered their room.



Chris climbed into her bed stopping to grab her Scooby Doo.



“No more minus?” they asked in sync.



Buffy nodded as she tugged in Lina.



“No more minus, I mean minutes,” Elijah said kissing Lina on the head.



Buffy got up and went to the door.



“Go to sleep,” She commanded before turning off the lights.



`````````````````````````````````````



Danny threw a file down on his desk.



Paul took it and opened it.



He pulled out pictures of Elijah and Lina at the park, movies, and his job on lunch and even some of him tucking her in.



“So she’s his daughter?” Paul asked.



Danny shrugged.



“Looks like. I had a visit with Vinny today, he said to make the move in two days,” Danny said taking a seat in front of his uncle.



Paul rubbed his chin.



“She really is a cute kid.”



`````````````````````````````````````



Elijah rubbed his eyes as he came out the courtroom, Buffy beside him.



“What’s got you so stressed, I thought we want to win this case?” she asked.



Elijah nodded.



“We do but,” he trailed off.



Buffy frowned as she followed him up the steps.



“But what?” she asked as they neared his office.



Elijah shook his head.



“Vinny and his family are dangerous people, what if they come after me or you for winning our case?” he asked entering the office.



He smiled to the people that greeted him.



“Do you think they would?” Buffy asked closing the door behind her as she entered his office.



Elijah sat down in a chair.



“I don’t know,” he answered truthfully.



He wanted to tell her about the possible threat on Lina but he didn’t want to worry her.



Buffy frowned he was hiding something.



She looked at her watch.



“Well I’m off to go pick up the twins, see you when you get home,” she said with a small smile.



Elijah saluted her and watched her leave.



He hoped nothing went wrong.

 

Chapter 5: Trial

````````````````````````````````````````````````



He was acting real weird.



Buffy shook her head; Elijah had been real jumpy lately even more so today.



She wondered if it had anything to do with the case. He wasn’t able to go to the case today with her. Instead Faith, another of her best friends, had gone in his place since he had to finish some paperwork.



He had left soon afterwards, probably to spend the day with the twins since she wouldn’t be home until late.



Buffy pulled into the drive way a sinking feeling starting to make its way into her body.



Something was wrong.



Buffy shook the feeling off and grabbed her suitcase as she got out the car.



She locked it and made her way to the front door as she dug around for her keys in her pocket.



When she looked up, she stopped dead in her tracks.



The front door was wide open.



`````````````````````````````````````````````



“Hey Will,” Oz said taking a seat next o his partner at his desk.



Spike looked up from the paper work he was working on to give his friend a grin.



“You know that case with the drug dealer?” Oz asked holding his head up with his hands.



Spike nodded as he went back to his paperwork.



“It’s being put on hold again,” Oz stated.



Spike shook his head. Why was it so hard to convict this man?



“Why now?” Spike asked looking up.



Oz shrugged.



“I don’t know, the jury couldn’t actually some to a conclusion and the judge had it postponed since all the evidence didn’t point to him, just some of it,” Oz answered.



Spike shook his head as he fixed the files on his desk.



“How long was it postponed for?” he asked as he got up.



“I don’t know? But the family he had there didn’t look too happy about it,”



``````````````````````````````````````````



Buffy cautiously entered her house, her heart in her throat.



The furniture was overturned and the curtains were on the floor, paper was thrown everywhere.



“Elijah,” Buffy whispered loudly entering the living room.



The TV was smashed along with the windows and desks.



What the hell happened?



Buffy dropped her stuff and ran to her daughters’ room.



“Crystalina?! Catalina?!” Buffy called desperately as she ran into the room.



There beds were overturned, mattresses in shreds.



The closet was opened, clothes strewn about along with their dressers.



“Oh god,” Buffy gasped seeing all the broken pictures in the room.



She ran to Elijah’s room.



He wasn’t there; he wasn’t in her room either.



By the time Buffy reached the kitchen she was hyperventilating and tears were streaming down her face.



She wiped them away with a shaky hand.



“Elijah!” she yelled desperately.



Nothing.



“Chris! Lina!” she yelled again going into the living room.



She picked up the phone crying in frustration to find it was dead.



She hiccupped, sobs wracking her body so hard she almost didn’t hear the small cry from somewhere in the house.



Almost.



Buffy’s head snapped up.



“Lina?!” She called, she moved slowly down the hall.



“Chris?” she called again, she stopped waiting for something.



“Mommy!” her daughter’s voice drifted to her, Buffy took off down the hall, stopping at the linen closet.



She reached out with a trembling hand and opened it. A sob escaped her lips to see her daughter on the floor in tears, her blue eyes tightly shut as she rocked back and forth.



“Mommy!” she cried again.



Buffy didn’t think she actually knew where she was.



“Lina baby,” Buffy whispered kneeling down next to her daughter.



She touched her hair flinching when Lina flinched.



“Lina open your eyes, mommy’s here,” Buffy whispered sitting in front of her.



Lina shook her head.



“Hurt Eli, took C-c-chris,” Lina stuttered tears rolling down her face.



Buffy swallowed hard and cupped her daughters face.



“Lina baby please open your eyes. Where’s Chris?” Buffy begged.



Finally Lina’s blue eyes opened, they were even lighter than before because of her tears.



“Mommy,” Lina whispered.



“Where’s your sister baby?” Buffy asked.



“I no know, Eli had her, try to hide her,” Lina answered before hiccupping.



Buffy got up picking up her daughter’s limp body as she tried to steady her shaking legs.



“Chris?!” Buffy yelled again, going into each of the rooms.



She made her way to the back yard.



Setting her daughter on one of the chairs she told her to stay there.



“Chris! Elijah!” Buffy yelled as she looked around.



She heard a cry to her left and took off towards it.



There was enough light from the moon and the house that she was able to see.



“Chris?” Buffy whispered as she neared the body.



Elijah mumbled something under his breath.



“Elijah,” Buffy breathed kneeling next to him.



He was gagged, his hands tied behind his back and he was beaten.



“Elijah,” Buffy whispered taking off the gag.



He coughed and opened his eyes blinking to clear his focus.



“Buffy,” Elijah whispered.



“Elijah, what happened? Where’s Chris?” Buffy asked desperately as she untied his hands.



Elijah rubbed his hands once they were free; he looked up at her through swollen eyes.



“Chris is gone. They took her.”
 

Chapter 6: Missing (1 of 2)

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````



Spike looked up as the door to his house opened and Lorne walked in along with Graham.



“Hey sweetie,” Lorne smiled as he took a seat on the couch next to Spike who was watching COPS.



“Hey Lorne,” Spike smiled handing his friend a bowl of chips. ”Graham, long time no see,” Spike greeted.



Graham smiled and sat down.



“You know how working can be. Besides I’ve been working hard on watching that Italian mob family,” Graham said.



Spike nodded, they’ve been pretty quiet lately, he was sure they had something planned.



“They did anything out of the ordinary yet?” Spike asked.



Graham shook his head and popped a chip in his mouth.



“Not that we know of.”



`````````````````````````````````



“What the hell do you mean we can’t tell the cops?!” Buffy yelled as she paced her kitchen, hands tangled in her long hair.



Lina had finally cried herself to sleep and was sleeping on an air mattress in the hall.



“Buffy, I told you already. If we go to the cops we could risk getting her killed,” Elijah said pressing an ice pack to his eye.



“Who took her?” Buffy asked.



“I don’t know their faces were covered, but I’m pretty sure it was probably someone working for Danny Davidson.”



Buffy frowned as she sat down.



“The guy from the Italian mob?” she asked, twisting her hands in her lap.



Elijah nodded his eyes downcast.



“They came by my office two days ago and threatened me; they didn’t exactly say they would take Chris. But it was hinted, they think they have Lina,” Elijah answered.



Buffy’s heart dropped.



“Why didn’t you say anything?” she asked through gritted teeth.



Elijah sighed.



“I didn’t want to worry you,” he answered.



Buffy got off the counter angrily.



“Well thanks, because now I’m pissed,” she stated storming into the hall angrily.



Elijah followed witching as she carefully picked up her sleeping daughter.



“Where are you going?” he asked.



Buffy didn’t answer him as she went to the living room and grabbed her coat and keys.



Elijah followed her even when she left the house into the pouring rain.



“What are you doing?!” He yelled watching as she entered her car.



Buffy closed the door, starting the car she rolled down the window to stare at her best friend.



“I’m going to someone who can help. You coming?”



`````````````````````````````````````



Spike entered his office followed by Lorne.



“Any news on Vinny’s family?” Spike asked.



Lorne shook his head.



“Nope they have been perfect civilians. Kind of weird if you ask me,” Lorne stated.



Spike nodded.



“I agree.”



“I-” Lorne started only to be cut off by Spike’s secretary Harmony.



“Will, there’s someone on line three for you,” She said perkily.



Spike nodded rolling his eyes when she stayed in the office.



“You can go now,” he told her bluntly.



She smiled and nodded before disappearing and closing the door.



Spike picked up the phone.



“William Giles,” he answered his eyes on Lorne.



“Spike?” he heard a female voice, a very, very familiar voice.



“Who is this?” he asked quietly closing his eyes.



He heard the women take a deep breath.



“Spike, it’s me...Buffy.”

 

Chapter 7: Missing (2 of 2)

````````````````````````


Elijah watched as Buffy hung up her cell phone. They had driven for over two hours until she got the guts to call him.



“What’s going on?” Elijah asked.



Buffy took a deep breath her green eyes straying to the two year old cuddled up against her.



“He said he’d meet me.”



``````````````````````````````````



Willow couldn’t believe it.



They found her. Well she found them, and she was going to be in San Diego in a day’s time.



She had to get some days off work.



She looked up when Tristen entered the bedroom.



“What?” he asked seeing the tears in her eyes.



Willow sniffed.



“Buffy called.”



`````````````````````````````````



“No way!” Cordelia nearly yelled.



Angel nodded; he had just got off the phone with Willow.



“Yeah, she’ll be in San Diego tomorrow. Spike said he would call to see if she was ready to see us,” he said softly.



“What?” Cordelia asked seeing his broody face.



Angel looked up at his girlfriend and sighed.



“I think something’s wrong.”



````````````````````````````````````````



“Why else would she contact me,” Spike stated. Lorne sighed.



“What did she say sweetie?” Lorne asked watching as Spike got up and started pacing.



“Nothing, she just said she needed my help and to make sure I was here tomorrow,” he answered.



Lorne frowned. That was pretty cryptic.



“So what are you going to do?” Lorne asked.



Spike wanted to pull his hair out.



He looked up.



“I’m going to wait for her.”



`````````````````````````````````````



Buffy swallowed hard. They had driven all night and broken almost every traffic law there was to get to Spike’s work in as short a time possible.



It was now seven o clock pm and she was starving. She was pretty sure Lina was too, but the two year old hadn’t spoken since she woke up.



“You ready?” Elijah asked.



Buffy nodded and got out of the car followed by Lina.



Buffy turned when she noticed that Elijah didn’t get out.



“Aren’t you coming?” she asked. Elijah shook his head.



“I think you should tell him alone. I’ll go get us a hotel room and something to eat. I know my little monster’s hungry, huh squirt?” Elijah asked smiling at Lina.



She only nodded her head down.



Buffy bit her lip.



“I don’t think I can do this. What if he rejects me?” she asked. Elijah shook his head.



“He won’t, now get in there.”



Buffy nodded slowly; giving him a shaky smile she closed the door and gripped her daughter’s hand.



Buffy sighed as Elijah pulled away from the building.



She looked down. Lina’s hair was tangled and her face was a little pale.



She had on her Scooby Doo long PJ t-shirt and her Scooby Doo slippers.



Buffy ran a hand through her child’s long hair managing to get it back to its silky tangle free way.



Lina paid no attention to this as she stared unseeing at the building before her.



Shaking her head Buffy entered the building.



Lina looked around the building they entered, people were staring with curious looks on their faces.



Buffy stopped when an officer stepped in front of her.



“Can I help you?” he asked.



Buffy nodded.



“I’m looking for William Giles,”



````````````````````````````



Spike hesitantly walked out of his office. Oz had paged him and said that a woman had just walked in and was being questioned by Officer Riley.



He walked out of the elevator and searched for the blonde he had been missing for three years. But he did not find her.



He was about to turn around when he saw a tiny girl sitting on one of the benches outside his boss Wesley’s Office.



For some reason he was drawn to her, maybe it was because she was still dressed in her PJ’s or because she had blue eyes that seemed to stand out against her skin.



He walked over to her and kneeled in front of her.



She wasn’t looking at him; he didn’t think she was looking at anything. She was just staring.



“Hey kid,” he whispered getting no response.



He waved his hand in front of her face, sighing when she blinked and looked at him.



She looked familiar.



“Shouldn’t you be with your mum?” he asked softly.



She just blinked at him.



“Can you talk?” he asked frowning.



She blinked again.



“What’s your name kid?” he asked.



“Her name’s Catalina,” said a voice from beside him.



He looked up, his eyes going wide seeing who stood there.



“Buffy.

 

Chapter 8: The Story

``````````````````````````


Spike was frozen in place, he new she was coming but he still couldn’t get over the shock of seeing her.



She was no longer blonde, she was a brunette. Her hair ended a few inches above her waist it and curled slightly.



She was wearing a business suit; it was a bit disheveled though.



Whose kid was this?



“Buffy,” Spike said standing.



Buffy shifted and bit her lip, her eyes traveled to her daughter.



How was she going to tell him?



Before Buffy could even tell him anything she was swept up into a bone crushing hug.



“I’ve missed you,” Spike whispered.



Buffy closed her eyes and swallowed hard.



“Spike I need to tell you something,” Buffy whispered. He pulled back a puzzled expression on his face.



“What you don’t have a kid do you?” he asked with a small smile.



Buffy swallowed.



“Two actually,” she said softly, she forced herself to look him in the eyes. ”And so do you.”



Spike raised his eyebrows.



“Come again?”



`````````````````````````````````````



Spike sat across from Buffy.



He couldn’t believe she would do this to him.



“She’s mine and you didn’t think to tell me,” he said softly, his body trembling with rage.



Buffy gulped.



“I wanted to, but you said that night shouldn’t have happened. I didn’t want to tie you down,” she said softly.



Spike shook his head and stood; he walked over to the window and looked out seeing Oz and Lina staring silently at each other.



“I would have wanted to know I had a daughter,” Spike bit out furiously.



Buffy looked down.



“How old is she?” Spike asked still staring out the window.



“Two,” Buffy answered. She stood up and started to pace.



“Spike, I need to tell you something,” Buffy told him. Spike turned to look at her over his shoulder.



“What is it?” he asked.



Buffy closed her eyes tightly and took in a strangled breath.



“You know how I said I have two kids?” she asked.



Spike swallowed.



Oh boy.



“Yeah,” he said, slowly turning fully to her.



“One’s missing. She was kidnapped.”



````````````````````````````````````````````````



Elijah took a deep breath as he prepared to tell William ‘Spike’ and his friend Lorne what happened at home, when Chris was taken.



“I just changed the twins for their bedtime and was about to read them a story when I heard a car pull up in the drive.” Elijah sighed. ”I thought it was you and so did Chris; she hopped out of bed and ran to the living room so me and Lina followed. Before she even made it to the door, the door was bashed in...”



Flash Back



Chris yelled as the door cracked and splinters flew everywhere.



Two figures clad in black stepped through the frame and took one look at her before lunging.



“Run!” Elijah yelled. Chris dodged their grasping hands and ran as fast as her two little legs could carry her.



Elijah cursed when she ran to the kitchen and grabbed Lina; he shushed her and placed her in the closet.



“Close your eyes, and don’t come out for anything,” he whispered before closing the door.



Elijah ran to the kitchen; the glass double doors were open.



He heard Chris scream.



Elijah ran outside, the light from the house helping him see as one figure grabbed the small thrashing child and carrying her around the house.



“Chris!” Elijah yelled running towards them. He didn’t even get close before he was knocked to the ground.



Before he could even react Elijah was bashed over the head so hard that darkness claimed him.



End Flash Back



That’s all you know?” Lorne asked.



Elijah nodded, but Buffy shook her head.



“He told me that Danny and his uncle came by one day when he was at work and threatened him,” Buffy stated.



“How so?” Spike asked, as he leaned back in his chair his gaze was still outside where a now sleeping Lina was being watched by Oz and now Wesley.



“They came into my office, said if I won the trial that something would happen. They hinted that something could happen to Lina,” Elijah said, rubbing his face tiredly.



When he came back to pick up Buffy. She had told him to tell her friend everything that he knew.



So here he was.



“You're working on the drug smuggling case in Nevada?” Lorne asked.



Buffy and Elijah nodded.



“It was inconclusive. It’s on hold for now,” Buffy said.



Spike tightened his jaw. He couldn’t believe it. He barely learned he had two kids, and one of them was missing.



“We have to find her,” He said quietly.



Buffy nodded.



“It could have been Vinny and his family,” she stated.



Lorne shook his head.



“They have been perfect citizens for the past week. Nothing out of the ordinary,” he said.



Buffy ran a hand through her hair.



“We have to do something, my child is missing,” she said desperately.



“Lina,” Spike whispered,. Buffy, Lorne and Elijah turned confused eyes to him.



“What?” Elijah asked.



Spike looked at Lorne.



“Question Lina. The house was a mess; it wasn’t a mess when they ran for the kid so they could have been looking for something else besides her. She could have seen something. Question. The. Kid,”



`````````````````````````````````````



“She won’t talk,” Lorne sighed coming out of the office where Lina was seated.



He had been in there nearly an hour. Buffy and Elijah even tried to get her to talk.



“I’ll go,” Spike said, nerves wracking his body.



Before any of them could say anything he was already closing the door to the office.



Looking at the tiny two year old seated in the chair by the table Spike had to grimace.



She was adorable, and right now she looked ready to break.



He kneeled in front of her, cautiously putting a stray piece of long hair behind her ear.



“Hey Kid,” Spike whispered gently.



Lina looked up and looked at him. REALLY looked at him, her blue eyes filled with tears and she broke out in sobs.



“Daddy!” Lina cried throwing herself in Spike’s arms and holding him for dear life.
 

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