Hello, All(

Well, here begins Book Seven of the Peacemaker Chronicles. That ficlet that keeps on giving. I never planned for it to go this far, but here it is. I owe those of you that have read and given me comments since the beginning, many, many thanks. The story would have stopped long ago were it not for you.

As many of you know, my personal life has been a wreck since the start of book six and the passing of my grandfather. The old adage of "when it rains, it pours" has held true in my circumstance. Hence the delays in starting book seven. I did not want to let the insecurity and upheaval in my real life eaffect the story that many of you rely on to be the happier side of "what could have been.". So, please forgive the delay.

The big perk to having a pretty hard life at the moment, is that I have found some life long friends through writing this story, both directly and indirectly. People who have mentally, physically, and financially been there all the way. So, thank you to you all, especially Brat, Linda, Crystal, Bittn, Karen, Alane, J, Theresa, Melissa, Laurie and of course, my dear Kay.

Because of my personal circumstances, I cannot say, with all certainty, when the chapters will be released. I can tell you that I will release at least one a week, with my goal being two. I have some massive changes coming up in RL and it may disrupt me here and there, but I will do my best. For you.

With all that said, welcome to Book Seven. I hope that you enjoy it. As always, your comments, emails and questions make me think, and create and write, so please let me know on Always, BAPS and ff.net, what you think. This story would no longer exist without you all reminding me how much you want it, and reminding me how much I love to write.

Again, thank you all for your kindness throughout this story. I would not, nor could I, do this without you.

*Cheery Vibes*, Nimue

Title: Whispers and Sighs (Chapter One of Meant to Be)

Author: Nimue

Rating: PG -13

Pairing Buffy/Spike. Most major characters included.

Feedback: Yes, please

For instant notification of fic releases, straight to your mailbox, please visit Always_Everyday@yahoogroups.com

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN, Fox... Just Borrowing. (With, of course, the exception of Emma and William, who belong to Buffy and Spike)

Summary: Welcome to the beginning of Book Seven of the Peacemaker Chronicles. This book is set about one year after the ending of Book Six, which puts us in about September of 2010.

Just to give you a little timeline of the Peacemaker story to date, which I had to do anyway to start up again, here are some dates of major events. This story breaks AU after Normal Again, in April 2002. In Book One, Buffy finds out that she is pregnant with Emma. Emma is then born in Book Two in what would be October 2002 (the date being 10/29/02). William was born in Book Five when Emma was three, which makes his birthday 05/30/06. River Harris, daughter of Takina and Xander born 03/9/07 and Randolph (aka Randy) Giles (yes, you got that right), son of Rupert and Anya, who insisted on the name, on 11/25/07. Lastly, Willow and Tara gave birth to a son and a daughter respectively (thanks to Oz's input) born 09/20/09. This story is then set in September 2010. Buffy and Spike have been together for eight years and hand fasted for four (August 2006). They live in the same house on Revello. Dawn is in design school and lives with her boyfriend Brian, although they live nearby. Xander and Takina are married. Officially. Giles and Anya are not. But they do their own thing. She sort of decided that the dress was too much anyway. Willow, Tara and Oz. well, that is yet to be told.

Things have been relatively quiet in Sunnydale since the last round with evil in Book Six. Just the run of the mill apocalypses. But the Windsor's have been free of attacks on Emma and their family and friends while the forces of evil regroup. That is until now. But the bad boys have a new plan, not that any of them are particularly effective. But this one is just downright mean. And the wish of a little girl is what starts it all.

Welcome back to Sunnydale 2010.

Whispers and Sighs

He walked silently for a moment, watching the cracks in the ground pass under his feaet. William was careful not to step on them. Didn't want to break anything else on mummy. Specially not her back. He was older now, but still young enough to believe in the fairy tales and superstitions. Still young enough to cling to his father's hand as they walked and trust the bigger man to make sure the monsters stayed away. That's what he did. Dad and Mum. Chased the monsters away.

"You all right, Will?" Spike asked, tugging the pensive child's hand as they walked along the tree lined sidewalk. "Seem a bit lost."

William looked up at what his face would be in in 30thirty some years. Rugged and handsome and kind. The boy squinted in the sunlight and Spike moved to block the rays from the child's face instinctively. "I'm okay," he answered quietly.

Spike stopped, the boy stopping next to him. "Been walking long enough, tot," he said quietly, leaning down and hoisting the boy up. William grumbled, but secretly was glad to be in his dad's arms. It was safe there and something bad was coming. "Want to tell me what's on your mind?"

William was quiet as Spike walked towards the school, watching the shadows in the trees covering the lane. It was a long time before he spoke. "Why is mum sad?"

Spike stopped again, amazed at the boy's uncanny ability to read his family. And River. William went into a panic clear down the road when he knew that girl was upset. Between heim and Xander, they'd thought of building some kind of ski lift between the two houses to save the frantic jog every time, but then the two men invariably huffed in disgust at each other and drank another beer.

"You're mum's not sad," Spike answered, brushing hair out of the boy's face. It was mostly true. Buffy had been a little down lately, but everyone got that way from time to time. Truth be told, Spike had as well. Much of a pleasure that those two tots of the witches had been, they were a constant reminder that Spike and Buffy would never have a normal family. A normal marriage where you make mistakes and triumphs, and love and babies when you could or would. The Fates owned their lives. Most of the time that was fine. They were The One and they had more than they could ask for.

Other times, it was a painful reality. They were at the mercy of outside forces. Their gifts came with athe price and that was that they hadof having little control. Sometimes, that made Buffy sad. And it made Spike angry because he wanted to give her everything she wanted. But he couldn't give her this. This especially. A man should be able to give his wife children. That was his job.

Spike swallowed a growl and thought of a way to explain it to the four year old who was clinging to his hip. Softly, he smiled at the boy. Too easy to forget, sometimes, that Fate gave them two perfect tots as it stood. Shouldn't be so selfish. "Think your mum just misses fussing over you when you were smaller, is all," Spike explained, ruffling the boy's hair again.

"She wants another baby?" William asked, still watching his father with serious eyes. "Coz of Loki and Kali?"

Spike shook his head. The boy was good. "Think they remind her of when you two were smaller."

"I'm still small," William said, hanging his head. He was small for his age and he knew it. One of the downsides of being premature. But he was growing now and strong and smart as a whip. But, like his father, acutely aware of his faults.

Spike set the boy on the ground, letting him walk again as they approached the school. "Not like your mum's very big and she can kick me cross the pond," Spike consoled. "And Emma's just a wee thing and she's."

"Magic," William answered, smiling, looking up at his dad's blue eyes. It made Spike smile, the raw adoration that Will had for his sister. That would change forward and back for years to come, but right now, they stuck together, with River, like the Three Musketeers.

"That she is, tot," Spike answered, walking round the back of the school to the playground. Emma was waiting with a bunch of other students, swinging languidly in the late summer air. "That she is."

"Daddy!" The little girl's voice cried out in absolute joy as she jumped off the swing and tore across the sandlot, fuzzy pink backpack slapping into her with each long stride. William was nearly hopping in place with excitement. The teachers watched the little girl hurtle through the air, landing with her legs around the attractive man in the black long sleeve shirt, and the way the man hugged her close, planting a gentle kiss in her hair.

The female teacher's sighed. And some of the males.

Mr. Windsor.

Sigh.

Spike waved at the gaggle of kids and teachers, shifting the 7 year old onto one hip and pulling the tot up to hang on to the other. This was a change from ten years ago. Walking away from the playground, two kids in tow, broad daylight, and nodding at the PTA. Not quite the least bit scary. But this was his life.

And he wouldn't ever go back. ~~~~~

It was a beautiful day, even if she was walking over the Hellmouth, Anya thought as she carried Randy on one hip and River on the other and strolled up the walk to Xander and Takina's house. She and Giles lived a bit further out of town now. They'd upsized their home to move the nanny in full time, and in hopes of another baby or two. Someday. But Anya insisted that Randy be in school first because she liked too fuss too much over one to have two small ones all the time. So, there were a couple of years yet.

Xander, however, had stayed close to home base and bought and renovated a house less than a block from Buffy's. Just around the end of Revello on Tulip. The house was much nicer than it had been when they'd bought it, thanks to a whole lot of help from the construction crew Xander had working for him. They were even thinking about a pool, that is if he oculdcould prove to Takina that he could safety proof it so that none of the little ones could wander in and.

Couldn't think about that.

This had become a daily summer ritual. While the days were long and Buffy was helping out with Willow and Tara's kids, Anya would watch River and Randy during the day. Xander would get home early and Anya would swing by and pick him up and they'd all meet up at the park. None of them could ever quite figure out how it started, but he showed up there one day to claim his little girl and Buffy and Spike were spread out on a blanket, mooning over the witchlets and watching Emma and Will play with River and Randy and Anya would swing on the playsetplay set, keeping an eye on them all. He ended up swinging next to her, watching them, remembering simpler times. Then someone from the Willow household would show and pick up the twins, as they'd come to be known, and they'd all just sit there and watch dusk fall. Sometimes they laughed. Sometimes they didn't speak. But always they were there.

He'd miss this when the days were short,short; Xander mused as he locked the door behind him and took River from a smiling Anya, cudllingcuddling the little girl close to his chest and kissing her forehead. She giggled, as the happy little one always did, and wrapped her arms around her daddy's neck, letting her head drop onto his shoulder.

It was a beautiful day over the Hellmouth, so Xander and Anya walked together with their kids in silence. It never crossed their minds anymore what could have been, because what *was* was so much better.

~~~~~ ~~~~~

~~~~~~~~Their hands were sticky messes, Spike thought as Will reached up to grab his father's fingers. Spike chuckled as he looked down at the boy, covered in chocolate ice cream from forehead to toes. Emma was doing slightly better, but her butter pecan was smeared all over her hands. It was warm and the napkins weren't helping.

"Not a chance, Will," Spike chided, smiling and handing his son a napkin. "You're mum is going to kill the lot of us."

"I'll help her clean up," Emma chanted, walking to her brother and dutifully wiping off his hands.

Again, Spike smiled. "Only because you don't want her to stop letting me take you for ice cream after school." The girl looked like a deer in headlights, blushing at being caught. "Don't worry, Mite. Secret's safe," he comforted, watching the grin break on her face.

They rounded the corner and before they even reached the edge of the grassy field, William was at a run. River sat on the edge of the sandbox, long dark ringlets shining in the late day sun. Emma looked back up at her dad, waiting for permission, but as soon as he began to nod, she was off.

Spike strolled behind them, watching his own dive in with the rest, completely at home and safe with each other, and with Anya and Xander watching over them like hawks. He took a moment, surveying the green, lush field, trying to spot her. He could already feel her like a sweet, white light, warming his veins, but the little rise from field to sidewalk shielded her from view.

As he crested the hill, he saw her. Buffy was stretched out on a huge blanket, staring at the clouds rolling over head. Loki, Willow and Oz's son, was stretched out on her stomach, staring up at her face. Kali, Tara and Oz's daughter, was curled in the crook of Buffy's arm, watching her quietly.

"Looks comfy," Spike purred as he stood behind Buffy, bringing her back to reality. "Got room for a Vampire who just got sized up on the sandlot in an elementary school?"

Buffy smiled, shielding her eyes and looking at her beautiful other half, standing behind her head. He stared down at her with such complete devotion. It made her heart ache with joy. "You like it," she joked.

"Like what, Pet?" Spike joked, lowering himself on the blanket next to her and pulling her head into his lap. He stroked her hair quietly as she stared up at him.

"Getting all ogled by the teaching staff," Buffy chided. "Makes you feel all manly."

"Does not!" Spike huffed with mock offense. Buffy smiled again, calling his bluff, but he wouldn't budge. "I don't."

"I see," she commented knowingly. "Brats with River?"

"Yes, the galloping horde of energy is currently wrestling in the sandbox," Spike answered.

"Covered in ice cream?"

Spike shrugged. "They're tots. Bound to be covered in something."

"Good, coz you're going to be covered in laundry detergent," she said, leaning up and letting him brush his lips to hers. "Night off tonight? I don't feel like patrolling."

Spike took a look around, sizing up the serenity of the scene. "Don't see why not, Love. Been quiet of late."

"Want to spend it with you," Buffy whispered, brushing her lips to his again. He smiled against the softness of her mouth.

"Want me to ask the git if he can have an overnight with Emma and Will?"

Buffy nodded quietly. "Yeah. Tell him we'll take them all on Friday night. Dawn can baby-sit while we patrol."

"Right then," Spike agreed, his mind reeling with devious thoughts. "So, how are the witchlets today?"

Buffy sat up, handing Loki to Spike and pulling Kali into her arms. "Are they Witchlets or Wolflets? Or is it pups?"

"Not sure," Spike answered, sitting the boy on his outstretched legs. "Handsome little devils, though."

"Pretty," Buffy corrected, brushing the wispy light brown hair out of the little girl's eyes.

"Personally, I'm thinking cute," a voice said from their right. Buffy and Spike both whipped around to see Oz standing next to the blanket. "And I thought you had Vampire hearing," Oz snarked.

"Must have been turned off," Spike countered.

"Nah, you were deafened by the power of excessive cuteness," Oz replied, nodding sagely. "Need to get them home soon. Willow and Tara were out on interviews today."

"They're going back to work?" Buffy asked, pushing herself to her feet.

"Well, part time, at least. I keep telling them that I can afford to take care of them," Oz countered, "But I think that they feel like. I dunno, like they want to make sure that they can make it on their own?"

"I don't think that," Buffy corrected, shaking her head and softly handing the little girl to her father. "Think it has more to do with grown up stuff. You know? I mean, I love having Will and Emma around, but sometimes it's nice to see adults and talk in languages that other humans understand."

"Probably just need a change of scenery, Mate," Spike contributed, situating the little boy on Oz's other hip. Both kids clung to their father, staring up at him adoringly. It had been a little strange at first, but Oz had stayed to help Tara and Willow right after the babies were born. The kids grew so attached, he grew so attached to them, and Willow and Tara just. It was best this way. Oz lived in a separate bedroom in the same flat with the girls. They were a family now. A different one, but one all the same.

"Yeah," Oz answered. "I just."

"They love having you there," Buffy interrupted. "In fact, Willow told me herself that she was all happy that you stayed."

"She did?" Oz asked brightening.

Buffy nodded. "So go. Be all, super dad."

"Plan to," Oz agreed smiling. "Thanks for watching them."

"Sure," Buffy called as the werewolf strolled away. She watched him go, cooing to his babies, remembering when Will was that little. When Emma was. She missed that.

"You all right, Love?" Spike asked, wrapping an arm around her waist.

She jumped a little, mustering a fragile smile. "Definitely. Now, where are ours? Can't believe I got the cold shoulder."

Spike sighed. "Alas, the magic of River."

Buffy returned the sigh, wrapping her fingers through her lovers'. "We're second fiddle to a three year old."

"Well, you're the whole bloody symphony to me," Spike whispered, nuzzling her shiny blonde hair. "Always."

Buffy smiled, looking up at him. His eyes. Those endless blue eyes. "Everyday, Spike."

To be contd.

 

 

Hey, everyone(

Well, I actually managed to get this one out on time, even with the upcoming Tampa trip. Next week's will be a little dodgier, but I will see what I can do.

Thanks to Brat, Crystal and Alane for beta'ing for me. You guys totally rock!

Enjoy, and I hope to have chapter three out next Tuesday!

*Cheery Vibes*,

Nimue

Title: The Werewolf, The Witches and the Foreman (Chapter Two of Meant to Be)

Author: Nimue

Rating: PG -13

Pairing Buffy/Spike. Most major characters included.

Feedback: Yes, please

For instant notification of fic releases, straight to your mailbox, please visit Always_Everyday@yahoogroups.com

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN, Fox... Just Borrowing. (With, of course, the exception of Emma and William, who belong to Buffy and Spike)

Summary: Dawn and Brian discuss the status of their relationship. Willow, Tara and Oz share a quiet evening at home. Xander has a talk with Emma about her parents, their past, present and their future.

The Werewolf, the Witches and the Foreman

"Okay, so tell me you're not the *best* boyfriend in the world," Dawn cooed, her eyes closing, her head lolling back against the pillows. A small moan escaped her lips and her eyes rolled back at the pleasure of it all. "I bet Spike never did this for Buffy."

Brian chuckled, keeping up the tempo. "Dawn, I doubt there is anything fangy hasn't done for your sister."

"Ahhhh," she sighed, her back arching against the comforter. "She's a lucky girl."

"What about you?" Brian asked, kissing her softly.

"I'm like. supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," Dawn answered, shoving her foot further into his hands as he rubbed them, soft and strong, turning her into a puddle of goo. "I had *no* idea that they were so tired."

"Design school will do that to you," Brian answered, continuing the deep, rhythmic, rub.

"What does law school do to you?" She asked, situating herself against the pillows.

"Melts your brain. Turns it into legalese oatmeal," he smiled, kissing her big toe.

A sly grin broke across her face. "Well, I'll have to figure out how to separate your mind from your body and distract you later. I mean, if you want."

"I always want," Brian purred, letting his finger roam to her calves.

They were both silent for a long moment, him gently rubbing her legs and her purring at the contact. Both of them could feel words building, but neither could set them out for the other to hear.

Finally, Brian broke the silence. "Dawnie?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever. I mean. we've been living together for over a year now."

"Yeah?"

"Do you. I mean. Where are we?" He finally asked, his fingers upping the tempo to counter the shake in his hands.

"In bed," Dawn snarked, stretching her arms above her like a cat. "And loving it."

He sighed, knowing she knew what he meant, but she was avoiding it, as always. "Hummingbird, you know what."

"We're us," Dawn interrupted. "I mean, I'm happy. I think you're happy. Why change?"

"Because I.."

"You what?" She asked, sitting up a bit to meet him. "What, Brian?"

"You know I love you, right?"

"I know, baby," Dawn answered, cupping his handsome cheek in her hand. "What's on your mind?"

For a moment, he was silent, chewing his lip and staring at her as if she were his goddess and he merely a peon. "Hummingbird, do you ever.. I mean. what comes next?"

She slumped against the pillows, sighing. "You know how I feel," she answered, curtly.

"Not all relationships are bad, Dawn," Brian countered, pushing himself up next to her. "Not all marriages end in divorce. Not all people end up hating each other."

"Like seventy five percent do," Dawn argued, turning her head to face away. It wasn't the percent that mattered. Only her parents. Brian was from a happier place where both of his parents were still living, and both called him every week. From the same house. Still in love. Dawn had met them over last Christmas and wasn't even sure what to do with that kind of situation.

"You act like you've never seen a serious relationship work," Brian interjected, brushing strands of dark, shiny hair away from Dawn's face. "But look at your sister and Spike. They're basically married and."

"They're handfasted," Dawn snapped. "It's different. No legal brouhaha."

"But to California, they're Mr. and Mrs. Windsor, right?" He almost felt bad arguing this, but Dawn needed to work it out. Needed to know where he stood.

She sighed. "Yes."

"And they love each other. Do you *really* think he'll ever leave her? Cheat on her? Or her him?"

Dawn had to giggle. "Uh, no! I mean, that's like. that's like. I wouldn't even want to *imagine* the smackdown that occurred if that happened."

"But it's not fear that keeps them together, is it?"

"No," Dawn answered, rolling towards her boyfriend. "It's love."

"Sometimes," Brian whispered, moving his face closer to hers. "Love *is* enough."

"Sometimes it isn't," Dawn whispered dejectedly, thoughts of her mum and dad fighting rushing through her head like a river.

"Just remember," he whispered, lips pressing softly to hers, "Sometimes it is." ~~~~~

Tara strolled out of the baby's room, her hair falling over her shoulders and a tired, but happy, look on her face. It'd been a good day. She'd got the job she'd wanted. Teaching alternate theology at the university, and she'd realized that the class schedule would be flexible enough to accommodate Oz and Willow and allow at least one of them to be with the babies all the time. It wouldn't be the same as taking care of her own, but it was safe. It was love.

The living room was quiet, a fire glowing in the fireplace. Early in the season, but with the air conditioning still on, it wasn't very warm. Willow stretched out on the rug, a glass of what looked to be absinthe in one hand, a book lying open by her side.

Tara smiled.

It was a good day.

"Did.. did it go well today, Willow?" She asked, shyly, walking into the closed off room and standing next to her lover.

"Great," Willow answered smiling, turning her head towards Tara. "The office said they'd work out the hours with me and so one of us can always be home. And. and. I mean. it's cool that I'm working out of a place that treats both humans and demons. That's just. well, it's freaky, but in Sunnydale, it's pretty cool."

Tara knelt down beside her, her long skirts folding under like butterfly wings. "It is," she smiled, brushing hair out of Willow's face. "I mean, I'll miss being with the babies."

"And Oz works mostly nights," Willow commented. "The band and all. And he's away."

"But between us, they'll always know we're here," Tara interrupted. It made Willow smile.

"Yeah," she answered softly. "I just hope there will be time for us."

"There will be," the quiet witch answered, moving her legs out from under her and stretching out next to her love. "We'll just have to make it."

Willow was silent for a long while. A sigh came before the words. "Do you think we're doing the right thing?"

"Going back to work?" Tara asked, spooning against Willow's back.

Another moment of silence. "Yeah. I mean, they're still."

"We have to, Will," Tara answered softly. "I mean, it's not fair to make Oz take care of us all the time."

"We don't make him."

"You don't make me," a voice said, followed by the sound of a closing door. "I want to. I want our. I mean, your, babies to grow up with their family near them."

"Our," Tara corrected, smiling softly and holding out her hand. Oz walked toward them and into the living room, twining his fingers through Tara's. "They're ours."

"Pretty ours, too. Who'd a thunk it?" Willow contributed.

"I would," Oz commented, sitting down by the girl's feet. "What better genes could they ask for?"

"Um, non-witchy, werewolfy, height genes," Willow joked, playfully kicking Oz's knee.

"The power of height," he sighed, taking that foot and stroking it between his hands. "It's over rated."

"I completely agree," Tara responded, smiling. "They can be not so tall and happy."

"I keep waiting for one of them to do some poofy magicy thing," Oz chuckled, taking Tara's foot in the other hand.

Both women sighed. "I caught a floating rattle the other day, but I wasn't sure who the culprit was," Tara responded, giggling. "But they're bound to be hell on wheels once they figure it out."

"We'll teach them," Willow comforted, stroking Tara's arm. "It'll be fun. Like all Harry Potter."

Oz had to laugh. "Well, at least the full moons have gone well for them."

"For now," both women answered, simultaneously giggling. "No fur."

"Not that there's anything wrong with it," Tara amended, thinking of the room they'd set up with bars that came across for Oz's 'Time of the Month'.

"No," Willow added. "Fur equals fun."

Oz tried to laugh at them, but part of him was bothered. He didn't want his babies to have to deal with the trials he had. So far, so good. But it was still always a question. Well, nothing he could do about it now. "Well, ladies, think I'm off to the man cave."

Willow frowned. "Stay a while and cuddle."

Oz raised an eyebrow, looking between the two women, studying one face, then the other. It was very confusing, sometimes, to be the only man in a house with two women. "Looks like a . girl's night?"

Tara smiled. "Nothing we can't fit another into," she commented, scooting back from Willow and gesturing Oz between them. Oz stared at them for a moment, then stretched out, settling between the two women.

Strange as it was, it felt like home. His arm over Will in front of him. His hand on Tara's leg behind him. All of them quiet and peaceful, lying in front of the hearth, just existing. In his mind, Oz lamented the day that this would be over and the girls wouldn't need him anymore.

But now, it was bliss.

~~~~~

River and William were curled on a blanket on the floor like kittens, his arm protectively over her shoulder, his body spooned as close to hers as he could get. At first glance, it made Xander smile. He adored that girl. But then he thought about the boy's parentage. Particularly, his fatherage, and that made him shudder.

Spike. As an in law.

Eww.

Takina had nodded off next to him, her head lolled on his shoulder, the end of the movie playing almost silently on the TV screen. Emma was cuddled between them, her head on Xander's thigh, her legs draped over Takina's lap. Emma had always been the one for contact. And Xander was her uncle in all but blood. Someone she trusted. Loved. Respected.

Xander absently stroked the little girl's hair with one hand, his wife's hand with the other. The last moments of "Lady and the Tramp" played out on screen. Funny how movies that had enraptured them as kids, things he could think of watching with Willow, were still as captivating now. The kids had been enthralled until sleep had gotten the better of them. The Magic of Disney.

"Uncle Xander?" A sleepy voice asked. He started, assuming Emma had been as conked as the rest of them.

"What's up, kiddo? Thought you were out?"

Emma stirred, turning on her back so that she could see his face. "C'I ask you somethin'?"

He smiled, looking at that perfect, beautiful face. She looked so much like Buffy, except with huge blue eyes. The child was nearly flawless. "Of course," he answered. "Only nothing that'll get your dad all fangy at me."

Emma laughed. "Daddy doesn't get fangy much anymore."

"But he can," Xander mused, brushing her hair out behind her. "He can."

The little girl was thoughtful for a moment, staring up at her uncle's quiet brown eyes. "Do you think mummy's unhappy?"

Xander's face contorted in confusion. He hadn't really noticed anything. I mean, she still looked at the Vampire as if the sun rose and set in his eyes. Or his pants. Or something. And she loved the kids like they were her entire world. But Emma was right. There was something.

"I don't think she's unhappy, Em," Xander answered. "Dunno. Did you ask her?"

Emma was quiet again. "No. She's . she seems quieter."

Buffy? Quiet? Xander thought. Now that's something new. "How do you mean?"

The little girl thought for a moment. "She plays with Kali and Loki and she seems far away." There was silence as Emma collected her thoughts. "Like she misses."

"You," Xander answered. "And Will. I know this one. You miss when they're really little. Babies, I mean. And all they need is you. But Emma, that doesn't make her love you any less. She just.. She just thinks about when you were little sometimes."

"I know she loves me," Emma answered, smiling. "She and Daddy love us the best. Me and Will."

Her confidence made Xander smile. Kids did get it sometimes. "Yeah. She and your dad love you more than anything."

"But she wants another baby?" Emma asked, trying to sort it in her head.

Xander snuck a look at his sleeping, beautiful, wife. "Sometimes, we all do."

"Why doesn't she have one?" The little girl asked. "I can help take care of it."

Again, Xander smiled at her sincerity. "I don't think it works like that for them, Em. I mean, they're all super-powery and have a mission-y. Don't think they get to choose what happens next. I used to be jealous of all that power. But now. I dunno."

"Power is hard," Emma sighed. "Makes you different."

Something about the quiet, resigned tone in her voice got to Xander. "But different is good," he commented. "How do you think your mom and me and Willow got together? We were different."

Emma smiled. "I'm okay," she answered. "I just wish mum could have her wish is all."

Xander chuckled. "I'd watch it with the wishing in these parts," he snarked. "Aunt Anya might hear you."

She smiled up at him, her face aglow with radiance and power. "I know. I just want mummy to be happy."

"She is," Xander answered, cuddling the girl closer. "Now, what say we sneak upstairs and make us some popcorn and let them miss out?"

Emma lit up at the secrecy of it all. "I agree," she said quite seriously. "And Uncle Xander?"

"What, little girt?" He answered, easing off the couch and pulling her up with him.

"Thanks for not talking to me like a baby," Emma said, looking up at him with ageless eyes. "Only mum and dad talk to me like a grown up."

That was odd, Xander thought. Maybe she's aware now. Maybe she knows just how old she is. "No problem, kiddo. Let's make that popcorn."

Emma grabbed his hand, letting him tug her off the couch, and followed him out of the family room.

To be contd.

 

 

 

 

Title: When You Wish Upon a Star (Chapter Three of Meant to Be)

Author: Nimue

Rating: PG -13

Pairing Buffy/Spike. Most major characters included.

Feedback: Yes, please

For instant notification of fic releases, straight to your mailbox, please visit Always_Everyday@yahoogroups.com

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN, Fox... Just Borrowing. (With, of course, the exception of Emma and William, who belong to Buffy and Spike)

Summary: Buffy finds herself on the back stoop in the middle of the night, trying to figure out how to cope with what she wants out of life. Spike joins her and together they realize that they’re more alike than they ever thought.

 

 

 

When You Wish Upon a Star

 

 

 

 

Buffy stretched, padding through the kitchen and to the back door. How many times had she done this? How many pensive moments had she spent on that porch? Alone. With him. Countless hours of waiting and watching and thinking. It made her feel safe. Clear.

The door opened with a soft click and she let herself out into the night air. It was a little chilly, at least for a girl in her husband’s button down and not much else, but it was nice. The sky was a dark, dark blue, the stars twinkling like tiny beacons, the moon just a sliver in the sky.

Slowly, she lowered herself onto the steps, pulling her legs to her chest and watching the world around her. Listening to the night creatures. The ones that didn’t like to eat people for a late night snack. The sound of the breeze rustling against the leaves. The silence of the house behind her.

Spike. She and Spike. Oh wow. They… Wow. Even now, he could make her world explode into tiny shards of existence, gather them all up, put them back together, and kiss the seams until she was whole again. The man knew how to make her body sing with joy. For hours on end. But now, in the dead of night, she took a moment of solitude, leaving her sleeping Vampire alone in their room.

Why? Why was this so hard? I mean… how selfish? She had Emma. Will. Two of the cutest, smartest, sweetest, kids she’d ever come in contact with, living in her house. Borne of her body and her blood. But something more called to her. Emptiness inside of her, waiting to be filled. The thought of life, hers and *his* being created. Living, being protected, loved, inside of her, and coming into the light of day. Her body craved it. Her mind, her heart, her soul begged for it. Needing to bring him to life again. Needing to keep him alive.

Buffy’s hands fell on her belly and she *felt* the emptiness inside. They were so blessed. So incredibly blessed with power and ability and a love that couldn’t die. Two children who would change the world in their own ways. And a life that most people would give their right arm to live.

Still, it called to her.

She looked at the sky, wondering what soul was waiting. What little being was hers that she couldn’t bring forth because she was in the control of the Powers. What dwelled in the ether that wanted to come to her. To Spike. To make them whole once again.

Tears fell down her face.

Maybe it was Loki and Kali. Reminding her of what it feels like to be a mother to something so helpless. Remembering Spike asleep on the couch, holding Emma against his bare chest and protecting her from the monsters inside and out. Maybe it was feeling the complete, true love, she felt for Will and Emma and her heart knowing that she had more. More to give. More love. She and Spike had more love than they could ever use.

But it wasn’t their decision to make.

Tears fell down her face.

~~~~~~~

 

His eyes fluttered open, feeling the empty space next to the bed. The small, warm spot that smelled of her and felt of her heat. But she was gone.

Spike sighed, feeling her want from a distance. Feeling that emptiness that consumed her. That love that she wanted to give. To him. To Em. To Will. To another. But he couldn’t. He wanted to, but he couldn’t give her the one thing that would make her happy right now.

A slow sigh escaped his lips, and his hand meandered through his ruffled curls. Didn’t matter whether or not he could change it really. For a Vampire, he was truly blessed. Almost human again, but enough Vampire he could help protect them. Help his mate succeed in her mission. Human enough to father two children that in his *wildest* dreams, he could not have wished for better. Lucky. Damned, sodding, lucky. And not very deserving. So, questioning the Powers on their call to end their line here was not something he felt he had a place to do.

Still, Spike thought, as he stood and gathered up the navy blue sweatpants he’d worn the evening before, he wished he could give her everything in the world that she wanted. Not just the lover, or the husband, or the father, or partner of her dreams. But everything. It was his *job* to make her happy. Give her babies. Make her world something full of only love.

Wasn’t his choice to make.

Spike sighed again, pulling the sweatpants low on his hips and making another pass through ruffled hair with his strong hand. Couldn’t leave her alone. Couldn’t let her drown in it. Had to make her see. For her. For the kids they *had* brought into the world. For him.

Had to make her happy.

~~~~~~

 

The night was clear and warm as he opened the kitchen door out onto the porch. This was the place they had both always run for safety. Always gone to suss it all out. The strange and wonderful dichotomy of their existence. The juxtaposition of dark and light, good and evil, superhero and average people. People who loved and lost and still loved more.

She sat on the porch step, curled in a tight ball, her body, not moving, her eyes trained on the sky. The stars. He remembered her telling him once, after he nearly lost her to the demon who sent her to the In Between, that the stars had sung to her. Maybe, somewhere, they still did. He heard their voices as well. Singing lullabies and cacophony with equal zeal.

“So, what’s a bird like you doing sitting on the stoop in her unmentionables?” Spike asked as he walked across the deck barefoot until he was almost right behind her.

Buffy’s head spun, not hearing him come out. Her face was stained with the salty lines of tears; a look that very nearly broke his heart every time he saw it. But she managed a small smile, holding out her hand and guiding him down next to him.

Good, he thought, not going to shut me out this time. Maybe we are growing up.

She sat in silence for a moment before she reached to her cheeks with the back of her hand and wiped them, his gentle hands following their trail. “They’re not my unmentionables anyways…” she whispered, mustering the same small smile.

“Right,” Spike chided. “First you buy me all that rot, then you go about wearing it.”

She chuckled, sniffing the collar of the shirt she was wearing. “Smells like you.”

“Turning into a Vampire now, Love?” He chided. She’d always thought the scenting business was ‘creepy’. Funny to hear her relying on the same instincts.

“Might as well,” she sighed, winding her fingers through his. “Married one.”

“Only sometimes, Pet,” Spike responded, letting a half hearted growl from his throat. She chuckled again. “Mind telling me what brings you to your thinking corner this night?”

Again, she sighed, the smile fading and her hand loosening in his. Buffy’s eyes wandered back to the sky, but her lips stayed tightly pursed, as if he couldn’t pry it out of her with a crowbar.

“Don’t even want to begin to ask this, Pet, but something you didn’t like in… round one?” Spike asked, training his eyes to his knees and remembering the sweet, but rather kinky first half of the evening they’d had. She’d seemed willing enough, and he was nothing but able to expand her repertoire. But when it came right down to it, she was little more than an all American cheerleader who probably never dreamed of some of the things he could teach her. Well, she was always more than that to him. Just… he didn’t always know if she was willing or just trying to make him happy.

He swallowed hard in the silence that ensued, trying desperately not to look at her face and know he’d upset her. But curiosity got the better of him and he turned toward her to find her slack jawed and staring at him with wide, curious eyes.

“What, then?” Spike asked defensively.

She stuttered once. Twice. Then got her lips to form words. “H…how can you even ask me that?”

Spike turned away again. “Dunno, Pet. Worry, is all. Gotta keep you happy.”

He heard the chuckle that wasn’t. That sharp, uneven intake of breath, and the steady release over her pretty coral lips. “Uh, Spike…”

Again, he looked at her, eyes desperate to see that he was wrong. That he wasn’t disappointing her, “Yeah?”

“Worlds of good. Mind blowing, leg shaking, toe curling gallons of fun and yummy researchness,” she commented, stroking his thigh.

“Then why the silence?” Spike asked, hoping she wasn’t trying to burst his ever fragile ego.

Buffy chuckled again. “Cause I can’t believe you even asked me that! Weren’t the ear piercing screams of joy a good sign in the ‘You are a Sex God’ direction?”

Feeling a bit puffed up again, Spike smiled at her. “Just wanted to make sure I could still ring all your bells and blow all your whistles, Pet.”

“Rung. Blown.” She blushed, realizing how that sounded. “Or maybe you rung and I blew?” A mischievous grin broke on his face as she dug the hole deeper. “Oh, whatever. Sex God. Wobbly legs. Need you. All good jiggly on the insides,” Buffy finally broke down and sighed.

“Always the wordsmith, Love,” Spike commented, still smiling at his mastery and her blatant appreciation. “Not so bad in the bells and whistles yourself. After a little retraining from the train wreck of your past.”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t a train wreck,” she defended.

“First one went Three Faces of Eve on you right after he deflowered you, second blatantly used you, for which I still think he should be bludgeoned to death with a large flat object, third’s idea of different and exciting was ribbed vs.…”

“Enough!” Buffy snapped, laughing at her other half. “Okay. Retraining was good.”

“Just good?” He asked, nuzzling her cheek.

Her body shuddered in anticipation, just at the gentlest contact. “More than good. It’s gggreeaaattt!”

Spike’s eyes rolled. “Been around the tot’s breakfast cereal too much, Pet.”

Again, the clear, sweet, sound of her laugh filled the air and then slowly, became silent. He could almost see the thoughts that had brought her out to their spot return to her mind one by devious one. “Care to tell me what’s really on your mind, Love?’

Buffy shook her head slightly. “Nothing much.”

“What brings you out here in the middle of the night then?” Spike remarked, inching closer to her so that his hip was flush to hers. She always relaxed when they touched.

“Needed to think,” she answered quietly, her eyes looking down now at the bottom step. “Needed to talk.”

“Could’ve talked to me, Pet. You can always talk to me,” Spike purred, his hand gently stroking her back.

She smiled slightly. “You were asleep.”

Spike’s chest puffed out a little. “My manly duty, Love. Wouldn’t be right if the man didn’t fall into a deep, satisfied slumber after mind blowing sex.”

Again, Buffy giggled. “Right. So, I decided to come out here and… think.”

“Bout?”

“Stuff.”

“Care to share?”

“Do I have to?”

“Can rattle about in that cranium of yours until I dig it out if you don’t want to tell me. Up to you.”

Buffy sighed, knowing he already knew, but wasn’t going to let her off that easy. “Babies.”

Spike’s turn to sigh. “All right. Wee ones it is. Care to expound?”

Buffy fidgeted, drawing into herself both physically and mentally. Her mind throwing up protective walls. Her knees drawing closer to her chest. Losing contact with him. “Nothing.”

“Not going to let you off that easy, Pet,” Spike demanded softly, taking her tightly clasped hands and loosening them, her knees dropping, her feet stretching back to the step. He took one of those soft, small hands in his, caressing the back of it with his thumb. “Nothing you can’t say to me.”

Her eyes closed. “But I feel stupid. Ungrateful.”

“Well, I can assure you, you’re neither,” Spike comforted. “Smart little bint, and I know you thank your lucky stars every day that you’re still here. With me. With us.”

Buffy’s eyes flickered open, her head turning towards him, her mind filling with thoughts of just how lucky she was to be sitting next to *this* man, after all that they’d been through. How lucky she was to have Emma. William. Even Pony, who spent much of his time sleeping with the kids in his more advanced age. But it didn’t change that empty feeling. “I am lucky.”

“We both are, Pet,” Spike answered, his blue eyes melting hers. “Doesn’t change the fact that it’s human nature to want.”

She chuckled. “That coming from a Vampire.”

“Which, as you well know, is just a human with a nasty skin condition who is breathing challenged and has unending stamina, of which, I apparently do not. Cept for maybe the last bit,” Spike huffed.

“Definitely the last bit,” Buffy responded, smiling softly. She was quiet, a long moment, drinking in his beautiful face. Studying the fine lines that were starting to appear as he aged for the first time in over a century. The wisdom that began to etch into that beautiful face, making it even sexier. More kind. More wonderful. She sighed. “I just.. I know that I’m lucky, and I know that I shouldn’t… I just…Spike…”

“You want another baby,” he finished for her. “Another one to protect. To love.”

She nodded, the tears beginning to fall again. “I want to feel it. I want to feel part of you growing inside of me again. And I want to know that we get to live a little longer in them. Love some more. That they can’t ever take that away from us. They are us, Spike. Emma. Will. They’re all that’s best about you and me and how can that be a bad thing to want more?”

He closed his eyes, heart breaking at the sound of the quiver in her voice, and the silvery rivers on her face. Slowly, he pulled her close until she was sitting in his lap, her legs thrown over his thighs, her head buried against his strong, bare chest. He could feel the wet warmth of her tears against his skin. Gently, he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. “S’not love. Not a bad thing.”

“Then why?” Buffy asked, her voice small and weak. “I mean, we can protect them. Better than anyone else. And Spike. We have so much love. Plenty more.”

“Endless, Love,” Spike whispered, burying his face in her soft, silky hair.

“Then why?” She whispered again. “Why won’t they let us?”

He was silent for a long moment. “Dunno, Pet. I know I feel like I let you down. Man should be able to give his wife children.” His voice was quiet. Almost as unsteady as hers.

Slowly, Buffy lifted her head, looking up into his deep, blue eyes. In that instant, she realized that this was something he wanted as badly as her. That he understood. Really, truly, knew. The emptiness, despite the fullness of their lives. That ache to love more. To feel the joy of knowing that they will always survive through them. Even on the day that they faded into ether, their love would always live on in them.

And he blamed himself that it couldn’t happen.

His eyes were lost.

Buffy sat up, taking his cheeks in her palms. “Spike,” she whispered, brushing her lips to his. “It’s not you. It’s not me. It’s … destiny. You know that.”

His head lowered to her shoulder, kissing the soft skin at her open collar. “Just want to give you everything, Love. And I want to hold… I remember holding them…”

Buffy lifted his head even to hers, pressing her forehead against his. “So, I’m not alone?”

“You’re not,” he answered quietly. “Never alone.”

She kissed his lips softly. “You know I love you.”

“I do,” he answered, brushing stray hairs from her face. “Can only think that They know as well,” Spike continued, his eyes rolling skyward.

Her eyes followed. “They can see,” Buffy answered. “They’ll do what’s meant to happen, I guess.”

Spike sighed. “Just want you to be happy, Pet. Want you to never regret… this. Me.”

“I can’t,” she said, smiling. “I won’t. You’ve given me everything. Two beautiful babies. A life that I wasn’t supposed to have. Happiness every time you’re near me.”

Spike studied her a moment, his eyes capturing hers. “Tell me you’re not disappointed that I cannot… that…”

“Spike,” Buffy whispered, kissing his cheeks. “I can’t either. Only they can decide. Which is a world of suckiness sometimes, but it just is. All we can do is hope. But no, I don’t blame it on you. And I don’t blame it on me. It’s not up to us.”

Spike nodded, feeling all the love he had for her well into his heart until he felt like it would explode. How he deserved this, deserved her, completely escaped him. “Well, for what it’s worth, I’ll hope along with you, Pet.”

Buffy smiled, nuzzling his nose with hers. “There are some other things we can do to help things along,” she whispered deviously, nipping at his lower lip.

A sly smile broke across his face. “What do you have in mind, Pet?”

“Umm,” she hummed, her hands tracing long, slow lines down his back. “Think you mentioned something about round two?”

Spike pulled her in for a long, slow kiss, feeling the warm softness of her tongue searching his mouth. Dancing with his, her body pressing closer, her heat… “Think we can manage that, Love,” Spike finally commented as she came up for air. He scooped her up, carrying her back up the steps. “Only you have to tell me if things get a little too…”

Buffy smiled. “I think I want to try that swing thing again.”

The grin on Spike’s face became downright wicked. “Now, *that’s* my girl,” he praised, kicking open the kitchen door.

 

To be contd.

 

 

Title: Coming Home (Chapter Four of Meant to Be)

Author: Nimue

Rating: PG -13 (some insinuated adult scenes, but no worse than on the show:))

Pairing Buffy/Spike. Most major characters included.

Feedback: Yes, please

For instant notification of fic releases, straight to your mailbox, please visit Always_Everyday@yahoogroups.com

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN, Fox... Just Borrowing. (With, of course, the exception of Emma and William, who belong to Buffy and Spike)

Summary: Emma sneaks out of her uncle's care and makes a wish to her other family. Buffy and Spike, unaware of their daughter's journey, reap the benefits.

Coming Home

She waited until the lights were out in the hall. River and Will were long since asleep tucked between Xander and Takina in the master bedroom. There was no more shuffling. No more rumble of pipes. Not even a mouse.

Emma sat up quietly, pulling the blankets on the small bed to her ankles. She was a big girl now and got to sleep in the guest room sometimes. Mostly, she liked it. But sometimes, she wanted to be the one curled up in the big bed. An involuntary sigh escaped her lips. Growing up.

The little girl swung her legs over the side of the bed, her flannel nightgown almost brushing her ankles as she hit the floor in utter silence. She had told Uncle Xander that she liked the breeze and asked him to keep the window open for her. He'd always been a little gullible, she thought, as she crept towards the opening. She made her way over the frame and out onto the flat part of the roof beneath the guest room window.

At first, she thought the sound of a shingle loosening under her feet was about as loud as an atomic blast as she climbed the pitch to the highest point. But there wasn't a movement in the house below. Either they slept like daddy, she thought, or it wasn't really all that loud.

Finally, the summit. She pulled herself carefully up to the apex of the roof, pressed her back against the chimney for balance and looked up at the sky. The moon was the Maiden. A perfect crescent, shining in the sky. Beckoning to her. Welcoming her. Emma closed her eyes and memories she didn't remember having flashed through her mind. Horses. Long dresses. Daggers and swords. Fighting. Always fighting. But when your eternal mission is Peace, there must be conflict everywhere you go.

"Take me home," she whispered to the sky, her eyes squeezed shut and her hands reaching up toward the Heavens like a toddler waiting to be picked up. "Home," she repeated. ~~~~~

"You're so beautiful," he whispered, letting his fingers slip inside hers. She smiled up at him, her eyes shining in the pale light of the moon.

"Bet you say that to all the girls," Buffy answered, her hand reaching up to touch his handsome face.

"Only my girls," Spike answered, lowering to plant a soft kiss on her nose. "And one or two down at the Bronze. Right crop of stunning coeds this year, Pet," he snarked, cringing even before the gentle palm on his cheek whipped away and cracked back at him. But her giggles underneath him told him she knew it wasn't true. His chuckle confirmed it.

"No one as beautiful as you," he whispered again, his lips pressing softly to hers, tasting the sugared nectar of her mouth. Drinking her in. Feeling her nude body captured underneath of him, making his body hot again, wanting more. Always wanting more of her.

"I love you," Buffy said quietly as their lips parted. "No matter what happens, I'm always proud of you. Always glad for you."

His heart nearly burst out of his chest as the long forgotten Victorian poet inside of him jumped for joy. This was the moment. This was what he lived for. Those tiny fragments of time when everything is perfect. When Emma first fell asleep in his arms. When William wrapped his little arms around his father's neck and pressed their cheeks together.

And when Buffy looked at him like that. When she said she loved him. She needed him. She was *proud* of him.

"Mind if we skip another go on that contraption, Love?" Spike asked, nodding towards a black nylon swing that was hanging from a pull up bar against the wall.

She quirked her eyebrows and pouted. "No more swing? No . no more yummy research?"

Again, his lips met hers and he tensed his body against her hot skin. "Always more, Pet. Much as you want. Just... I want.I."

A small smile broke across her face. Those occasional moments of shyness in her love were nearly as endearing as his vast physical abilities and near perfect fathering skills. His endless blue gaze stared down at her, wanting her to understand. Wanting her to say it. Say it, Buffy.

"Make love to me, William," she whispered, arching underneath him, kissing his lips as softly as butterfly wings. "Make love to me." ~~~~~

When she opened her eyes, all she could see was a beautiful misty white. Looking closer, she could see all of the colours imaginable swirling in that mist. Reflecting from one spot to another. A beautiful spectrum of time and place and light.

Home.

Emma smiled as she walked the lighted stepping stones along the familiar path. The world was smaller now. No, she thought, stretching her arms out in front of her, she was larger. The Peacemaker in her true form. Lithe, young woman, strong and mighty and beautiful. The way she was meant to be.

The door lie ahead of her and she ran at it like her Earth-self might have. Like an over-enthusiastic child greeting her daddy at the door. She loved her life below. But it was just this one life. This one duty. *This* is the place she would come back to. This is the place that, once her parents down below had finished their missions, she would bring them back to. The place among the Gods. The Kings and the Queens. And they would take their rightful thrones.

One day. When they were done.

Emma pushed the door open gently, and then genuflected before even looking ahead. Her Mistress sometimes stood on ceremony. But not this time. Not this visit.

"Peac. Emma," the Queen announced, delighted to see her daughter. "Come to me, child. Don't waste your time on such gestures."

Slowly, Emma looked up to see the beauty of the Queen of the Sky. The radiant, perfect woman. Long and lean, golden locks cascading down her shoulders. Huge, reflecting eyes filled with compassion and love. Love of the World. Love of the Universe. Love of her emissary. Emma smiled. She had missed this place.

"Your highness," Emma answered, barely concealing a smile as she stood and stepped carefully towards the throne. The Queen was standing now, a smile as bright as the sun across her pale, perfect skin.

She was.effulgent.

"What brings you here, my sweet?" The Queen asked, taking Emma's hands and pulling the girl into an embrace that made her feel almost as safe as her father's down below. A sweet, kind, loving feeling. Like coming home again.

Emma smiled again and took a step back. "It is not for me, My Lady. Nor is it for my Mission."

The Queen quirked an eyebrow and her smile faded to concern. "Is everything all right with your Earth family? Is there something you need from us?"

Just as she said the word 'us', her handsome King walked through the mist behind the throne and glided up next to his mate, planting a kiss on her cheek and wrapping one strong arm around her. He leaned forward, kissing Emma's nose and touching her hair. "As beautiful as always," he whispered to her in his best paternal tone, smiling. "Nearly as beautiful as my Queen."

Emma blushed. "Never, my Lord."

"We created your physical form," the Queen corrected, smiling again. "So, suffice it to say that we think we did quite well."

Emma's blushed deepened. "Thank you," she answered, nodding politely.

"Now about your visit," The Queen said, backing towards the throne, Emma's hands still in hers. "Tell me why you came back so suddenly. If it is not the Mission and not your family below."

The King and Queen sat in their golden thrones and Emma slid gracefully onto a pale blue velvet pillow at their feet, pulling what was once her little girl flannel nightgown, and was now a flowing dress of white silk, under her legs. "It is," Emma stuttered. "Well, it's . it's complicated, my Lady."

The King raised an eyebrow. "I've never known you to be at a loss for words, Emma. We will not judge you. Say it."

Emma looked from Queen to King and back again. "It is not part of the Mission. Not part of our Destiny."

"Oh?" The King asked, an amused lilt in his voice. "Sounds interesting enough."

"Earthly desire?" The Queen answered, her voice carefully neutral.

Emma nodded slightly. "Yes, My Lady."

The King sighed. "We created a utopia for them down there. Gave them everything they needed to live like kings. But yet they are always wanting.."

"It's not *like* that," Emma pleaded. "I mean, they never asked."

"You come voicing their wants for them?" The Queen answered, a little annoyed. The flushed, desperate look on her child's face made her soften. "What is it that they want, my sweet?"

"They never said anything," Emma repeated, looking down at her knees. "But I know they want it. And for what they do, what they will do, for Humanity, it seems a small price to pay."

"Well," the King said, his tone more jovial now. "Out with it."

Emma looked up, dewy eyes staring at her Mistress and Master. "Lady. Lord. They would like another child."

The Queen laughed at first, then slowly chuckled her way back to a more serious tone. "And here you had me thinking that this was some crisis of faith in the One. Some cosmic confluence that would interrupt their duty. Yours. But another child? For Stars sake, why? We gave them you. We even gave them back William. "

Emma sighed, looking down again. "Because they miss us when we were smaller. Mum, I mean the Slayer. you can feel her emptiness. That feeling like your body, your soul, is missing a piece. And Spike. he won't admit it, but he wants that too. He loves us. He loves us so much, my Lady. But they have more to give."

The Queen sighed. The King chuckled, watching the Queen's resolve break for her favourite emissary. Her child, of sorts. "Are they good parents, Emma? Not do they feed and clothe you and teach you and protect you, but..."

"They love us. All the time, we know they love us. Always. " Emma smiled to herself as her father's words ran through her mind. 'Everyday', she could hear him say. To her. To her mum. To Will.

Another dramatic sigh escaped the Queen's pouty lips. "Do they have a choice of whom?"

Emma thought for a moment. "I'm not sure. I mean, I know the Slayer misses her mum. But I mean. I didn't ask."

"You've got time," the King answered. He looked over at his Queen. "They are equipped to take care of more."

"I don't remember asking you for your opinion," the Queen snapped, and then grinned. It was fun exercising her power when she could. The King grinned back at her, loving that powerful streak in his chosen partner. The Queen then looked down at Emma. "Do *you* want this? Will this interrupt your Duty?"

Emma shook her head vehemently. "No, My Lady. They didn't love me any less when Will came. They didn't protect me less. If anything, it was more."

One last long sigh from the Queen. "Very well." Her hand raised in the air. "But don't come back in a few years asking for another. We don't need an army. " She paused, thinking. "Well, we do. But we also need the One in fighting form. We have time yet before then. Time."

"Yes, My Lady." Emma answered smiling.

"Now, come tell us about your life," the King said, standing, helping his Queen and Emma to her feet. "I always love the crude tales of Humanity."

~~~~~~

Her eyes were caught in his. Blue mixing with green as they slowly moved. Danced. It was always a dance. It started as a heavy metal mosh pit and was now the most elegant waltz the world had ever seen.

"Love," Spike whispered, his eyes closing as he felt his body become one with hers in every way. Mind, spirit, heart, soul, body. Felt her around him, beneath him. One. One.

"William," she whispered back, sliding her eyes closed as well, letting their minds mingle as their bodies moved on their own. "I love you, always."

"Everyday, Pet," he whispered, finding her mouth instinctively with his.

It was warm. Different. Like a white light wrapped around them and it was as white as day. Their minds wove through their spirits and their hearts burst with joy. Everything about them became fast and slow, light and heavy and perfect and perfect and perfect.

They'd never felt it before. Maybe because they'd never. they'd never paid attention. But both of them did this time. Their eyes shot open as their bodies exploded and their hearts bled warmth into each other. That second when life occurs. That tingle. That blessing. That one moment in time when it all comes together and the World is suddenly only what is happening inside of you.

She stared at him in awe and wonder, feeling it. That void being erased. That empty spot in their lives suddenly becoming full again. His head tilted, wondering if she knew as well. A fragile, tentative smile broke on her face and his arms relaxed, settling down onto her, resting his head against her chest.

Buffy stroked his hair, feeling whole, content, amazed. Her heart thudded under his ear like a drum. Spike put his hand over it, just to feel the rhythm of its race.

It took a long time for either of them to speak.

"Did you feel...?" Buffy stuttered.

Spike slid down her body, resting his head on her flat stomach. "I did, Pet."

"Do you think.?" She asked, her voice wavering between fear and excitement.

Slowly, he looked up at her, tousled hair and sparkling blue eyes. "No, Pet," he answered quietly.

Her face dropped, her heart slowing for a moment. Watching the disappointment wrap around her like a blanket, he decided this wasn't the best time to play word games. He crawled up the length of her body and stretched out next to her, pulling her small, nude body into his arms. "I know."

Suddenly, her face brightened. "You know? What, could you hear something?"

He shook his head. "Too early for that, really. But I know all the same."

Buffy thought about that for a moment, remembering that. indescribable feeling. "Yeah," she whispered, nuzzling his cheek softly. "I know."

To be contd.

 

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