Title: Blue (The Peacemaker Prophesy, pt 21)

Author: Nimue

Rating: PG-13

Feedback: Yes, please

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN, Fox... Just Borrowing.

Summary: Buffy returns from the ether, leaving Spike with a choice to make. A friendly face returns to help Buffy understand.

Blue

Buffy awoke, curled in her bed, wrapped around Spike, as she had been every day since Emma was born. Her arm was draped over his naked chest, her leg thrown over his thighs. Somehow, he had been dressed in a pair of deep royal blue silk pajama pants. Buffy looked at him oddly for a second, wondering where they had come from and who had cleaned him up and redressed him. She scanned herself, now wearing the blue top that matched his pants and her underwear. Ok, she thought, her brow furrowing. The idea of someone, hopefully two different someones, seeing them in various states of undress was a little creepy. Suppose it was nothing to worry about, she thought.

Besides, she kind of liked how the blue pajamas looked. How they draped

over him and clung in all the most glorious spots.

Buffy shook her head, deciding shallow might be better left until later.

She pressed her nose to his cheek and felt his warmth. Spike groaned,

rolling over and trapping her under one strong arm and pressing himself

against her legs. Shallow was returning with a bang.

Still, her relief at the feel of his warmth, the slow, steady rhythm of his heart, *knowing* he was just sleeping the sleep of the dead but not actually *dead*, made her whole body sigh with gratitude. Buffy craned her head from under his wrestling grip and scanned his chest. A thin, silver line threaded delicately where the wound had been, but no other trace of the battles were visible. She sank back into the pillows, scooting herself in tighter and feeling his body shift to accommodate her.

A soft rap came at the door. Buffy sighed, exasperated, disentangling

herself from the heaven their bed had become. "Hang on," she whispered as loudly as she could without being rude to the sleeping Vampire in her bed. She freed herself, grabbing a pair of shorts from her drawer and nearly tripping over herself while trying to put them on and walk at the same time.

Buffy opened the door with an exaggerated air of annoyance. Just want to go back to bed and... In front of her stood Giles with Emma balanced on his hip.

"Giles," Buffy squeaked, still trying to whisper. She threw her arms around both of them at once. He wrapped his free hand around her, patting her back softly.

"Hello, Buffy. Sorry to interrupt but I thought.."

"No, I'm glad you're here," she bubbled, relieved at the sight of the man she saw more as a father than as a Watcher.

"Not to mention," Giles continued, "I thought you might want a visit." He lifted Emma and handed her softly to Buffy. Buffy enveloped the baby in her arms, cuddling her close and raining kisses on her soft head.

"How long have I been out?" Buffy asked, stepping back into the room and moving over to the chairs against the wall, near the window. Giles followed hesitantly.

"About ten hours."

"Ten hours?" Buffy gasped. "My poor girl. You OK?" she asked Emma,

raining more kisses on her face and arms.

"I arrived just as ... as it was ending. As soon as you came back, she just returned to normal," Giles said, wiping his glasses. He scanned the room nervously. "Buffy, are you sure you wouldn't like to talk elsewhere?" he asked, nodding at the bed.

Buffy thought for a moment. "I don't want to leave him," she answered

quietly.

Giles nodded. "Understandable."

"So, what happened?" Buffy asked. Giles smiled at her.

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing."

"You first," Buffy quipped, returning the smile.

Giles repeated the story that Willow had told him. About Spike collapsing into Buffy's lap and Buffy's spirit disappearing with him. Willow trying to help him. Angel coming with the news. Then Emma. The blood and the mercury and silver thread. Giles told her he arrived just as the shimmer was fading and Emma was returning to her human self, absolutely unchanged except for being exceedingly sleepy. Soon after, Buffy flickered to life long enough to look at Dawn and her daughter and then fainted back into the carpet.

"Nice and super strong Slayer-y of me," Buffy joked, yawning.

"It was a long journey. All three of you should be tired." Giles

commented.

"How did, well.. how...?" she asked, pulling at the pajamas.

"Not long after I arrived, Tara came with a doctor. The doctor checked

Spike and said he was asleep."

Buffy had to chuckle. "Bet he charged an arm and a leg for that

brainstorm."

"Taken care of," Giles said quietly. "None the less, he carried Spike

upstairs and I carried you."

"Did you.." Buffy asked, sheepishly.

"*Heavens* no," Giles answered, blushing. "Dawn came up and dressed you in Emma's room, then she moved you next to Spike herself."

"Dawn?"

"It's not as though you are very large," Giles quipped.

"And I slept through all of this?"

"As did Spike. As did Emma."

Buffy was quiet, mulling it over. "You know Emma was there. With me and

Spike."

"I had figured as much," Giles answered, sinking back into his chair. " I am assuming that your souls, well *your* soul, was in ether."

"Our soul," Buffy said oddly. "Well, almost."

Giles leaned forward, clasping his hands over his knees. "Buffy, what did you learn?"

Buffy recounted every detail that she could remember from the time that a nearly grown Emma appeared in the ether, to the story, to the little she said about the Council and the future. And of course about the One.

The Watcher sat, looking pensively at his charge. "Emma," he whispered,

gesturing at the half asleep baby on Buffy's lap, "knew all of this?"

"Yes," Buffy replied. "Like she'd been there."

"Buffy," Giles sighed tentatively, "The Peacemaker, if the prophesy is

correct, is older than this dimension. Her human form, Emma, is mortal, but her... well... her essence... is part of the Powers themselves. A direct connection, so to speak."

"So what she said ... it was true?" Buffy stuttered.

Giles thought about how to answer. "It is more accurate than any prophesy. A prophesy is that which men write about powers to come. Her knowledge is the power of which they wrote. It is truer than the story."

"So then I know, I need to... he won't...," Buffy riddled.

"What is it that you are *not* telling me, Buffy?" Giles asked, reading her nervous gaze.

Buffy fidgeted with Emma's loose socks, pulling them up, tugging them

straight. The baby thrashed and thudded into a dead sleep against her

chest. Sleeps like Spike, she thought.

"Buffy?"

"What do you know about the One? Besides what I told you," she asked, her head cocking in interest.

"Frightfully little," Giles replied. "Only that the two together were the single most powerful mortal force in creation. Had they not been separated and tampered with, they'd have likely been the driving force in unification."

"So they were good?"

"No way of knowing. But they were a gift of the Powers and demonic forces saw them as a threat rather than an ally, so I would say that, in your terms, yes."

"In my terms?"

"Buffy, you have a very simplistic view of good and evil. You've had to in order to stay alive. Only Spike has budged you even the slightest bit."

"Which brings me back to the not telling part," she said, deciding not to take offense at Giles' comment. Mostly because he was right.

"What is it, Buffy?"

"The Peacemaker.... Emma... said that the convergence is just beginning.

Spike has done everything. Embraced the light, I think she said. Anyway, he's done. But I..."

"You what?" Giles asked, trying to coax it out of his charge.

Buffy went back to her nervous adjustment of Emma's socks. "She said I

needed to accept the beast to truly even the scales and return the One."

"Accept the beast?"

"Love not just the man, but the Vampire. I thought... I thought I did,

Giles."

"But you don't know?" Giles asked, watching her closely.

"There's no doubt I love Spike, but I haven't... I never. He's never like that around us. Not unless he's fighting and even then it is *so* not happening anymore."

Giles thought a moment. "How do you set it right, according to the

Peacemaker?"

"Let him claim me. Drink," Buffy whispered. "Love the demon."

A chill tore through the Watcher. He had grown to trust Spike in his own

way, and even to respect his opinions and his judgement. Entrusted the girl who meant the world to him, the *girls* who meant the world to him, into Spike's care. Still, the idea of encouraging this, even letting it happen, repulsed the Watcher. He thought about what Buffy had told him. Pulled the story together in his head. "Love the demon," Giles muttered, "and the demon will be gone."

"What?"

"Part of the scroll. The Slayer gives herself both to the man and to the beast with only love. With no fear. Then the beast and the man are one. The evil is undone."

"Would he lose the strength of the Vampire? The senses?" The stamina?, she thought to herself.

"In a way, yes," Giles answered, "But he would gain a power much greater. As would you. No longer would you be simply Vampire and Slayer. You would both gain the strength of the other. There would still be a difference in your personalities, but your souls.... Buffy, do you understand that by reuniting the halves, you must give him half of your very soul?"

Buffy was silent, cradling Emma closer, listening to her tiny snores.

"Haven't I already?" she asked, watching her daughter breathe.

Giles looked at Buffy. "Think about this. It isn't about starry-eyed

soulmates. This is about the yin and the yang. One whole with two distinct halves. If may sound very romantic, but it is very permanent and very real."

"I'll think about it," Buffy agreed, still studying Emma. Giles knew that her reaction meant that her decision had been made.

"I'd like to talk to Spike about what happened in the ether before you make any rash decisions."

"Why?" Buffy asked, raising her eyes to her trusted Watcher.

Giles chuckled. "You have never been known for your startling attention to detail."

Buffy smiled back. " I should be offended," she said, yawning like a cat, "but I think I am too tired."

"Well," Giles began, slapping his knees and standing, "I am going to my

hotel and was feeling rather generous, so, if you don't mind, I'd like to take Dawn and Emma with me."

Buffy looked at the Watcher in shock. "Why? What's wrong?" Her entire

body tensed, wondering what was coming for them this time.

"Not everything is apocalyptic, Buffy," Giles answered, smiling. "You need to rest and so does Spike. Babies can be.. unpredictable."

"What do you know?" Buffy joked affectionately.

"Which is *exactly* the reason that I am taking your sister as well.

Assuming that she has the requisite helping skills," Giles answered, very professionally.

"Old pro," Buffy commented. "But I really don't know if I want to be away from her now."

"You will be *much* more use to her after a good," he looked at his watch, "day's rest. I'll bring her back tomorrow. I promise." Giles stretched his arms forward towards the little girl in Buffy's lap.

Buffy turned Emma, beginning to hand her to Giles when she caught sight of it and gasped. Giles lurched forward, steadying Buffy's hands. "What is it?" he asked in a worried rush of words.

"Her... her neck," Buffy stuttered. Giles slowly eased the baby from her shaking grip and Buffy stood, pulling down the neckline of Emma's pink pajamas. On the nape of the child's neck was a tiny star, burned into her flesh. Giles inspected it carefully, as Buffy's face contorted into a sad grimace. "What..what happened to her?"

"It's the mark."

"The mark Gwydion talked about?"

"I am not sure, but it was expected," Giles answered, letting his fingers brush the star. The little girl did not flinch.

"The Prophesy?"

"Yes."

Buffy was on the verge of tears. Anger and compassion for her baby were

fighting it out in her mind. "Will it.. does it.. hurt her?"

"She doesn't seem to be in any physical pain, but I really don't know much more," Giles answered.

"Will you... can you find out?" Buffy asked, nervously running her delicate fingers over the tiny mark.

"I promise," he answered, tugging up the girl's pajamas and cuddling her

close to his chest. Emma's head plunked onto his shoulder, obviously

feeling utterly safe.

"Alright," Buffy said, calming a bit. "Take care of her. Call me if..., " she pleaded, kissing Emma's cheeks.

"We've got it all taken care of," Giles said, reassuringly, patting Buffy's forearm. "Please rest." He started for the door.

"I'll try," Buffy answered, yawning and stretching like a cat. Giles smiled back at her, pulling the door closed.

Buffy slid the shorts to the floor, climbing back into the bed next to

Spike. He shifted again, groaning, his body drawn to hers like a magnet.

"Buffy," he muttered in his sleep as she eased in next to him.

"Go back to sleep," she whispered, her mind still on the star. Her arms

wrapped around his neck and he rolled onto his side, face to face with her. Slowly, she felt the fear and anger melt away. Spike was still fast asleep, but knowing he was there just made it better. Made everything better.

Always had.

"Love," he said softly, eyes still closed tight. She moved closer, brushing her lips against his, pressing her body to his so that they touched at every point.

"I'm right here."

To be contd.

Title: Snap (The Peacemaker Prophesy, pt 22)

Author: Nimue

Rating: PG-13

Feedback: Yes, please

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN, Fox... Just Borrowing.

Summary: Buffy tries to talk Spike into reclaiming the One. New and

interesting perks are discovered.

Snap

When Buffy awoke again, she could not tell if it was night or day. The

blinds were drawn and the room was dark save for a candle on the bedside

table and the warm, red glow of the alarm clock. When had her life become normal, in a supernatural kind of way?

He was stroking her face softly with the back of his hand. "Welcome back, Love," he whispered, his eyes caught in hers.

"I should be saying that to you," she answered, smiling up at him.

"Right as rain, Pet," Spike said softly, etching her face into his memory along with the thousands of other freeze frames he'd taken along the way.

"Please don't almost die again," Buffy whispered, reaching up to feel his cheek under her palm. His soft skin. His chiseled cheekbones. "Don't go."

"Not leaving. You know that," he responded. She smiled again. That pretty schoolgirl smile that melted him time and time again.

"I know," she answered. His hands slipped to the back of her head, pulling her up to meet him. His lips pressed to hers softly, gently, like butterfly wings. He could feel all of the hurt and desperation left in her as she returned the kiss with more fire, pulling him against her, making them one.

One.

"Spike?" she said softly, pulling away. Her tone became serious. "You

know... what Emma said..."

He looked away, not willing, not able, to deal with this. "It can wait."

"It can't," Buffy answered in her resolved-Slayer voice.

"It can," Spike replied. "You need to rest. We can deal with the rest of the bloody universe tomorrow."

Buffy was quiet, wanting to agree. Wanting to just fall back into his arms and nestled down in the warmth of the bed. Maybe make love for an hour or five. Maybe just touch until she absorbed him through her skin. Some little itch in the back of her mind prevented it. It wasn't about the world. It was about him. For years she had hated and taken. Time to make good.

"Spike," she started, sitting up. "It's not about the universe. Not

everything is apocalyptic," she continued, remembering what Giles had told her. Spike sat up next to her. She turned to face him, legs folded neatly under her. "What Emma said... it made me feel.. guilty."

"Guilty? Why? Pet, you've nothing to feel guilty about," Spike answered, furrowing his brow.

"Because she was right."

Spike was silent, staring at her closely. "How so, Love?"

"I never. I didn't. I thought I knew what it meant to love the Vampire in you. But I don't. It's part of you and it isn't right that I don't understand," she stuttered nervously.

"It's not *in* you to understand, Buffy," Spike countered. "You're the

Slayer."

She raised her hands to his face. "And I love a Vampire," she said slowly. " And I have something that belongs to you. It's time I gave it back."

"Buffy," Spike sighed, his eyes burning, wanting to cry. "I won't.

I...we... have enough."

"I don't care about the power," Buffy answered. " I need to know. I need.. I need to try."

Spike was silent again. Finally, her looked at he. "Pet, I don't know if I could handle you... What if you don't love the monster?"

Buffy's turn to be pensive. Her hands still caressed his cheeks. She could see the big, wet tears pool in his beautiful eyes. Never spilling, but there, waiting. "Spike," she breathed. " I can't imagine not loving any part of you."

His head dropped. Fear and dread were sinking his heart. Not this. Not ever. The master had done it. Angel. That ponce Dracula. But between them, she wasn't the Slayer. He wasn't a Vampire. Between them, they just were.

"Change for me, Spike," she whispered.

"Buffy, no," he pleaded.

"Change for me, please," Buffy pleaded, pressing her lips to his. He

swallowed nervously then allowed his features to morph as her lips still

touched his. She felt his fangs graze her mouth and pulled gently away.

Spike was naked, desperate in front of her with the face of a monster and the heart of a man. Buffy studied him closely, tracing his mask with her eyes, then with her hands. Her fingers brushed the ridges in his brow, slid over the eyelids shadowing glimmering yellow eyes, let her palms rest upon stretched cheeks, her index finger tracing full red lips and sharp pointed fangs. Spike's heart sunk by the moment as she touched him, saw him, naked and alone in the one persona he could not escape.

Softly, Buffy began to cry.

"Buffy," Spike whispered, touching her small hand still pressed to his

cheek. "Buffy, I can go back."

"No," she answered, the tears still drizzling down her face. "I didn't get it... not until now."

"What?" He asked, still in game face.

"You look the same," Buffy answered. He stared at her quizzically. "You are what you are, Spike. I love that about you."

"Buffy, I..."

"Shh," she whispered, softly kissing him again. Her fingers dropped to the buttons of her top. Spike watched her unbutton each one delicately. He felt himself caught between excitement and dread. The blue silk slid to the bed behind her and she scooted towards him, shifting gracefully into his lap. Her legs wrapped loosely around his waist.

"Buffy," Spike sighed, stroking her shoulders, letting his fingers trail

down her bare arms. "I..."

"Spike," she whispered, pulling her hair behind her. She tilted her head to the side, exposing a vast stretch of beautiful bronzed skin, her pulse jumping in her veins. The skin she offered was unmarked. The opposite side from Angel.

"I can't," he said, the tears falling from golden eyes.

"Spike," she whispered, breathlessly, scooting closer, her bare chest

pressed to his. "I love you. Please." Buffy pleaded. " I need to

understand."

"How can you? How can you accept... this?"

"Give me the chance."

Spike leaned forward and Buffy felt the tears drip softly on her skin.

Gently, like a cat cleaning its paws, he ran his tongue along her neck,

lapping gently. His breath was warm and sweet, setting off every alarm in her body. Fear. Fight. Flight. Pleasure. "Please, Buffy," he whispered against her skin. "Please don't ask me to do this."

"Spike, I need you to take what's yours. I can't live with myself if you don't."

The monster was raging, desperate to feed, to take, to claim, but the man fought it. No. If he had to do this, he would not, could not, hurt her.

"I trust you," Buffy said, raising her small hand as if in pledge. He

raised his hand to hers, letting their palms press together, his fingers

threading between hers. Spike stared once again into those beautiful green eyes. "Claim me," she said, her voice a throaty whisper. He leaned forward once again, hand still caught in hers. She could feel his hair brush her cheek, his fangs scrape her skin gently, almost imperceptibly.

"Mine," Spike whispered.

"Yours," Buffy responded, her eyes slowly closing.

At first the pain was sharp, intense, as if a hole had been bored into her very core, releasing everything inside of her. Buffy gasped and could feel Spike shudder, the muscles of his back tensing to pull away. "No," Buffy whispered, her fingers trailing up his back, gracefully sliding over his skin. She cupped a palm behind his head, holding him against her as one would a child.

The pain faded and she felt a fragile warmth crawl into her, simmering her blood, meandering through her veins like a slow moving stream. The pain was gone completely and all she sensed was the warmth. There was no savagery, no ripping skin, angry movements, reckless taking. Buffy felt her blood moving and felt him sipping her essence, but he suckled as gently as a baby >to its mother. More gently. The warmth spread and she felt It pump into her heart, burning and exploding until she rocked back from the feeling. It felt as if her heart had been frozen in ice for so long and he tenderly thawed it, moment by moment, until the ice shattered into rain.

Buffy felt Spike tense again at her movement, pulling back, but she held his head to her. "No," she whispered again. "Don't."

His arms wrapped around her waist, one sliding up her spine, cradling her against him, steadying her. She felt his fingers press to the back of her neck, supporting her as the stars began to dance in her eyes. The demon raged inside of him, desperate to take her, drain her hard, agonizingly hard. But he fought it, taking only what he needed. Softly, slowly. Never hurt her. Never again.

She felt it start like a million tiny feathers brushing her skin, caressing her until her body tingled and her heart ached with love. Buffy felt surrounded enveloped, hopelessly entwined, almost as she had in the ether. This time it was more intense. She opened her eyes and saw only silver. Glittering silver, shining all around, dancing over them, around them. His tears had stopped and she could feel him relax into a slow, steady rhythm, their hearts synchronizing, their minds and spirits melting into the silvery glow.

Spike felt her relax, give in, melt into him. She mewled and whispered

against his shoulder, assuring him she was all right. As her muscles

slacked, he let go. Stopped fighting the demon. Just held her against him, hoping, feeling, it was the right thing to do. His eyes flickered up and he saw only the flesh of her neck below him and a sparkling silver glow. Spike closed his eyes again, tasting her blood flow into him. Her heart. Her soul. Her life and it dawned on him. He wasn't fighting it anymore, but the killer did not rise.

"I love you, Spike," she whispered quietly, before falling silent for what seemed like eternity.

Buffy gasped, her entire body shuddering, rocking back, pulling against him. Spike panicked, but found he could not move. Could not release her. She trembled and gasped and he felt a snap as his body absorbed her movement like the aftershock of an earthquake. He felt a tremble from the roots of his hair, shooting down his spine and branching into every limb, igniting every cell, making his heart cry out in love and agony. Then a sharp snap as if pieces of a jigsaw puzzle had found their proper place.

Buffy floated above herself, wrapped in silver. She felt Spike there.

Around her. Passing through her until they were face to face, body to body, life to life, hovering above themselves.

"Mine," he whispered, pressing his palms to hers.

"Yours," she answered, stepping forward and snapping into One.

*****

Buffy awoke slowly, letting the tingle of her skin, the scent of his warm body, the feeling of completion, swirl around inside of her. Taking her time coming to the surface. She felt a coolness on her lips, then the sensation of water drizzling down her throat. Buffy let her eyes drift open.

Spike had her cradled against him on his lap, her head resting on his

shoulder, feeding her water. Taking care of her. Always.

"You alright, Love?" Spike asked as her eyes focused lazily on him. The concern. The sweetness. But something else. Buffy thought that nothing in this world could have made his eyes more endless and meaningful, but now she knew differently. Those beautiful, crystal blue eyes.

Buffy smiled up at him. "I feel..."

"Stronger," he answered.

"Yeah," she said, grinning up at him sweetly. God, did she know what that innocent grin did to him? They had been together hundreds of times in countless ways and had a child together, but that grin turned her into a virginal schoolgirl and he into the helpless bloke trying to ask her on a date.

"Close your eyes. I've something to show you," Spike said with a sly grin of his own. Buffy furrowed her brow as if deep in thought.

"Nothing naughty. I know what you're thinking."

"What?" Spike asked.

"I know..." A lightbulb nearly appeared above her head. " I know what

you're thinking!" she exclaimed.

"What, you can read my sodding thoughts?" he stuttered.

"No!" she giggled. " I can just sort of feel it."

"Oh," Spike said, relaxing a bit. "Hate to burst your bubble, Pet, but it is pretty bloody obvious that I might be having naughty thoughts with my beautiful, mostly naked, ... you.. in my lap. Not much of a leap."

"Right," Buffy commented, blushing, then deviously moving up his lap before stilling again.

"Not fair, Love. And quit stealing my bloody thunder," he quipped.

"Alright, alright," Buffy whined, still grinning.

"Now close your eyes."

Buffy complied, shutting her eyes. She felt him shift under her and then felt his fingers trailing lazily up and down her arms. She hummed, warming everywhere all at once. "I've seen this trick," she said, her eyes still closed. "Not that it's not one of my favourites."

"Then open your eyes."

Again, Buffy complied. She still felt the warm sensation of his hands

running up and down her bare arms, but he was sitting on his hands like naughty child. "Wha...?" Buffy said, wide eyed, looking around her for

whatever it was that was touching her and making her legs turn to jello.

"Pretty handy," Spike said, slyly smiling at her.

"How.....?" Buffy stuttered.

"Think this One bit has a perk or two."

"That's not fair!" she squeaked. But why not try it. She closed her eyes, seeing herself nuzzling his ear, licking it teasingly, giving it a little nip. He shifted uncomfortably beneath her.

"Buffy," Spike gasped.

"Handy," she repeated with an enormous grin painting her face.

"Much more interesting than your little mind meld."

"Oh *really?" Buffy responded, imagining something *very* naughty.

"Buffy!" he gasped, pushing her off his lap into a giggling heap on the

comforter. "Good God, woman! And I thought I was creative."

" I wonder what the range on this is," she said, rolling onto her stomach and beginning to crawl back towards him on her elbows. " Like if you were downstairs and I was up here, do you think...?"

"God forbid you have a naughty dream," Spike snarked, covering his own

chuckle.

"Ooooh! And I wonder if... well... if we were already doing one thing, but thinking of another..."

"Double the fun, Pet?" Spike asked. "Hate to burst another bubble, but

neither of our capacities for coherent thought are running on high at that point."

"True," Buffy answered, back to the schoolgirl grin and creeping ever closer on those beautiful bare arms until she was stretched along him, elbows planted on either side of his chest. "Why did you say my beautiful...'you' before?" She asked.

"What, Pet?"

"When you thought I was reading your mind..."

"No, *you* thought that."

"Whatever," she waved off. "But you said 'my beautiful... 'you.' 'You' the best you can do nowadays?"

Spike regarded her. Her pretty green eyes staring up at him with love and sweetness and a good dollop of desire. "Not always sure how to refer to you, Love."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I never thought 'my baby's mutha' had much of a ring," Spike joked in his worst American ghetto accent. Buffy collapsed onto his stomach, laughing so hard that it began to hurt and feeling his body shaking with laughter under her. After several minutes of near hyperventilation, she wiped the tears from her eyes and managed to look at him again.

"Thank God for that," she finally said, still giggling.

"And," he said, smiling smugly at finally being able to make her lose

herself in more that just one way. "I think that we are well beyond

girlfriend."

"Not to mention that it sounds very high school," Buffy commented.

"You do understand that I am exercising endless restraint in not pouncing on that comment."

"Understood," she answered, giggling again. Suppose I do whine about the glory days of high school once in a while, she thought.

He looked at her again, taking her in, his tone changing subtly. "And I

could call you ..."

"Wife?" Buffy asked.

"You know where I stand," he answered, turning the ring on her finger back and forth against her skin.

"That works for me," Buffy said softly. Spike looked at her wide eyed,

cocking his head, trying to wrap his mind around that one. "I think we

might be beyond that too," she continued.

Spike looked at her, knowing, feeling. " I could call you Everything.

Because that would be the truth," he said softly.

She slid up his body until they were face to face. "You are my Everything," Buffy whispered.

"My Everything," he repeated, kissing her softly. "Always."

"Every day."



Final - Epilogue to follow

Title: Lost and Found (Peacemaker Prophesy, Epilogue)

Author: Nimue

Rating: PG-13

Feedback: Yes, please

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN, Fox... Just Borrowing.

Summary: It is six months after the first attempt on Emma's life. Buffy

and Spike have reunited the One. Giles is still in town, but will he be for long? Dawn is taking on more responsibility with the help of Spike and Buffy.

Special thanks: Here we are, at the end. I want to thank *everyone* on ff.net and on BAPS who has sent me *loads* of feedback on this story. I could not have done it without you. I never would know when to quit and when to continue were it not for all of you. So, thanks. I have not made any decisions on book four, but if you would like to see it, please let me know. If no one says anything, I will be happy with what I have written and grateful for what I have received from you all and from my muse. Thank you all again

Also, I especially want to thank my wonderful and talented beta, Elizabeth, for being a great second set of eyes, and a fabulous friend.



Lost and Found

"Right then. Let's try it again," Spike said, assuming fighting stance. The Magic Box training room had become a second home in recent months. Between playing with the new powers that they had been given and training for what was to come, it seemed as if they were in that one room as much as they had been at home.

"Was it bad?"

"No, no, Pet. Try it again," Spike encouraged. She landed a quick right hook, followed by a pretty decent left jab and a round house planted straight and true into Spike's gut. He let it hit, although he probably could have blocked it and flipped her into the mat. "Ooof," he grunted,

stumbling back a few steps quite dramatically.

"I...I'm sorry. Was it better?" she stuttered.

"You're coming along like a pro, Nibs," Spike answered, walking towards her, sizing her up. She had been learning fairly quickly. Form was solid and there was something to the whole Slayer blood theory as a teenaged girl usually didn't pack such a wallop.

"But?" Dawn said, crossing her arms and cocking one leg to the side. Train with Spike to fight. Train with Buffy on attitude, he thought, watching her tap her foot impatiently.

"But," he continued, letting the word drag out. Dawn fought off a giggle. "Something's missing, Pet."

"Like what? Don't try to get me to wear leather. Very passé this year."

"What, now you're the sodding fashion police?" Spike huffed.

"We did alright with you. Well, as best we could with what we had to work with," Dawn quipped. She and Buffy had taken it upon themselves to re-vamp Spike's wardrobe a bit. Today they got him to wear a royal blue button down with a white t-shirt underneath. The black jeans... he wasn't giving up that easy. Almost as hard to get him dressed as Emma. Dawn smiled. Buffy was right. The blue set off his eyes.

"Can we get back to the battle?" Spike asked with an air of annoyance, teasingly pushing Dawn.

"What?" Dawn asked, shaking her head to clear it and blushing a little.

" I believe we were discussing a missing piece of your fighting style," Spike repeated.

"Fine, fine, what?" the girl snapped, annoyed.

"You just don't look... mean. Or even angry," Spike said, contorting his face and gesturing wildly, not sure how to explain it.

"I'm not!" Dawn whined. "I'm training with you. I don't need to be angry."

"Training to fight big bad evil," Spike responded, coming at her with hands raised and a grimace on his face.

Dawn giggled madly. "*So* not you," she commented. "Bad puppy evil, maybe."

"Sod off," he huffed in mock offense. Not being the baddest of all evil in town, or even in their house sometimes, was now a badge he wore with comfort. Still, the entire world did not need to point it out at every opportunity.

"Not *mean*?" Dawn whined. "I can fight without being mean-y faced."

"Not unless you intend on relying on your super abilities to whine a demon to death," Spike shot back. Dawn smirked. "Now *that*'s better."

"Why?"

"Because!" Spike uttered in frustration. "Watching you spinning around and kicking with all that flouncy soap opera hair and little girl face in a sodding flash of lip gloss... feel like I'm sparring with Holly Hobby."

"Holly who?"

"Sod off."

"What?"

"Argh, Buffy?!"

"You always call Buffy when you get flustered."

"Do *not*."

"Do *too*."

"Then stop looking at me like bloody Cindy Lou Who while you're attempting to kick me across the bloody room."

Dawn smirked again, then flipped topics as if she had never started down this road. Another talent inherited from her sister. "Will you do the wall thing again?" she asked, smiling. Dawn lived for getting Spike riled up. Now she got why Buffy and Spike had so many stupid verbal sparring matches and then Dawn got to baby-sit while they patrolled for five hours at a time.

"Dawn, it's just a thing..."

"You couldn't do it before."

"Fine," Spike responded, giving in. There was no victory when it came to any of the Summers girls. He had a feeling Emma would be no exception when old enough to finish wrapping him around her little finger. Not that she hadn't done it already, but he could avoid admitting it until she could speak and remind him of it.

Spike looked at the far wall of the training room then took a hard run at it, darting straight up the wall, turning to catch the adjoining wall, then spin kicking down into the punching bag.

"Yay!" Dawn squealed, jumping up and down in place and clapping. Despite his unaffected facade, Spike had thought it a pretty neat trick as well. Many new little interesting abilities had come out of the One. Every day there was something new, most of which he and Buffy had had much fun trying out.

"We get back to work now, Niblet?" Spike asked, feigning frustration.

"Fine. And I'll try not to be so Holly whoever."

"Hobby," Spike corrected as she caught him off guard with a right hook.

"Ooof."

*****

"As much as I would like to, Buffy, you know it's best I go back," Giles said, leaning over a stack of volumes at the long suffering wooden table of the Magic Box. "I never intended to stay this long."

"Why did you, then?" Buffy asked, pulling a crawling Emma back into her lap.

"Because I," Giles began, "I thought I should help." Buffy looked at him incredulously. "Alright, fine, Buffy. Because I like it here. I like being around you and Emma and the others and strike me down for saying this, but I have even enjoyed Spike's company."

"What? The great Watcher admits to consorting with evil Vampires?" Buffy sighed dramatically, hiding a smile. Giles blushed, wiping his glasses.

"I think we both know that he hasn't managed a good spot of evil for some time now. The Vampire bit is a little dodgy as well at this point," Giles defended. "Besides, he has proven quite useful at research. Did you know he could read in twenty seven languages?"

"Why yes I did," Buffy answered. Because suddenly I can too, she thought. And English as a first language had been taxing enough. "That's exactly why I am with him," she joked. Tara had been dusting the books behind Giles and shot Buffy a glance that screamed "liar". Buffy blushed. "Well, it's part of it," she sighed. "You know I'm all about the research."

"Oh, please, Buffy. The One has not changed anyone that drastically," Giles responded. Buffy smirked at him. "Still, I need to return to the Council. If what Emma said is correct, then one of us needs to be monitoring them."

"Do you think it's the entire Council?" Willow asked, pulling up a chair next to Buffy.

"Well, if history is indeed reconstructing, then no. Spike had told me that Emma mentioned Draconious being the only one involved in starting the divergence. The remaining members of the Council attempted to right his wrongs. She also said that Draconius was rising again. My guess is.."

"Quentin," Buffy said, shivering. He'd always managed to give her the creeps.

" I tend to agree," Giles commented.

"Won't they... don't you think he might suspect something... you know, since you've been here with us for six months?" Tara asked, still straightening the book shelves.

"He may be wary, but he'd have no reason to suspect that a baby managed to thoughtfully explain her own prophesy," Giles countered. "It does, however, explain why all of the information that he had given me on the translation of the Prophesy had led me to faulty conclusions. Only Jenny's portion seemed to be mostly correct."

"Quentin was purposely hindering your translation," Willow added, adding up the pieces in her mind..

"I would have never known had Spike not recognized the language and mapped out a translation matrix."

Xander reached down to Buffy, gesturing for Emma and Buffy handed the wriggling bundle to him, straightening her sweater after Emma let go. "Little creepy that the guy reads ancient tribe-speak," Xander commented, sitting down next to Willow.

"It's a One thing," Buffy commented.

"She understands it as well," Giles said, tilting his head towards Buffy.

Xander shuddered. "Spooky, much?" Emma was crawling up his shirt on a mission to tug his ears, so Buffy refrained on tossing some object from the table at him.

"Still, I think I can convince Quentin that I, that you, know nothing more that what I had told you originally. We will have to play it close to the chest, though. It may seem that I have taken sides with him."

"I think we all know where your loyalties lie, " Buffy responded, smiling softly and patting his arm. Giles smiled back at her, wishing he could just stay. For once, he felt as if he too had found a home.

"When do you plan to leave?" Anya asked, stepping from behind the counter and towards the crew at the table.

Giles sighed. "Don't fret, Anya. I won't keep you from sole control of the store too long."

"No," Anya said, shyly smiling. "Actually, I think this time I might miss you."

*****

Lenora sat in the circle, surrounded by candles. A celtic cross laid out in front of her. Slowly, she flipped the cards one by one. Fingering the warn images as they played through her fingers. A door opened behind her. Her blindness never seemed to effect her ability to see.

"You know the Lovers have become One. The Chariot has been unleashed," Lenora said in a cracked, dry whisper.

"Yes, Mistress," he said, standing just outside the ring of candles.

"The power is devastating. They have no idea the sword they wield. It is as if... as if a wall has been built around them."

"Then tell me, Mistress. What shall I do to shatter the wall?" Quentin asked, standing still outside the circle.

"Oh, the One will not be broken. Not this time," Lenora answered, still feeling the slippery cards slither through her fingers.

"Ah, but Mistress, you must know a way," Quentin said, soothingly.

"What the armies of Hell could not do, one amongst them can."

"But you said that the One could not be broken," he asked, furrowing his brow.

"It cannot," The whisper sounded like a howling desert wind. "But there are others within the wall. The spell has been cast. The enemy lies within."

"I am in your debt, Mistress," Quentin said, bowing.

"Mind your desires, Draconious," the sorceress hissed. "For every seed you sow that does not come to flower, the One becomes stronger."

"Then I must succeed soon, mustn't I" Quentin asked, a wicked grin spreading across his face.

"It is done," Lenora answered, her voice laced with annoyance. "Leave me."

Quentin watched her flip the final card. The Wheel of Fortune. He turned, letting the door click softly shut behind him.

*****

Buffy stood in the doorway watching silently as Dawn threw punch after punch, kick after kick, and Spike either moved to block or valiantly took a hit. His blue shirt was now untucked and his hair a little ruffled, errant curls beginning to ease their way out of the sleeper hold of styling products. She smiled, watching them both. Like a lion teaching a cub to wrestle.

"Hello, Pet," Spike said, grunting as he took a hook to the shoulder. Buffy no longer found it odd that he knew she was there even when, like now, his back was to her.

"Hi," she answered, still smiling and leaning against the door frame. Buffy let a little thought of mentally unbuttoning his shirt fill her mind. Spike stopped dead.

"Niblet," he said, a little out of breath. "Why don't we take a break?"

"Tiring you out?" Dawn joked. Spike turned towards Buffy with a devious grin. Had to avoid telling Dawn that her sister was currently mentally undressing him and that was the cause of the sudden loss of breath.

"No, just think your sis'd like to take a crack at me," he answered, raising an eyebrow at Buffy. Buffy's smile turned into a grin. *That* grin.

"Fine, fine," Dawn said in mock annoyance. Legs are killing me, she thought. Must not limp from room. "Know when I'm not wanted," she sighed dramatically, as she stepped past Buffy and pulled the door closed behind her.

"Drama queen," Buffy muttered, walking towards Spike.

"Gee, wonder where she gets that?" Spike asked, smiling and letting his hands settle on Buffy's hips.

"Couldn't be from the 'Shudder, the bloody apocalypse' Vampire that lives in the same house," Buffy joked in her pathetic London accent. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer.

"Or the 'OoohmmmyyyGGGGoooodddd, the world is ending and I must rush in to save it' Slayer," Spike responded, letting his voice creep up at least ten octaves and twice the speed. Buffy punched his shoulder, pulling back away from him.

"But I didn't come in here to talk about Dawn," Buffy said, assuming fighting stance. Spike stared at her oddly for a moment. Don't think you came here to train either, Spike thought, instinctively getting in position to do battle as well. Then it dawned on him. She fights when she has to, when she needs release, and when she is upset.

"So, what then, Pet?" he asked, deflecting a blow that would have just caught his palm anyway. She was silent, sparring aggressively. If he could read her next move before, since the night they joined, he could anticipate her every move and she his. It was more a dance than ever. Neither of them could win. Didn't matter. The point was the dance.

"Slayer?" Spike asked, raising one eyebrow and throwing a lazy left hook which she tossed to the side and answered with a quick jab.

"You know that Giles is leaving tomorrow?" Undercut. Right hook.

"He had mentioned it, Love. At least he got to stay for Emma's birthday." She ducked under a sweeping swing of his right arm.

"Yeah, she won't let that stuffed bunny go," Buffy panted as he leapt over her leg sweep.

"Think Anya would have liked to butcher him for giving it to her." Spike let Buffy make contact with a slow jab to the chest. If it makes her feel better, he thought.

"I think Giles has really started to like you," Buffy said as Spike came at her. She threw an absolutely flawless back flip over the pommel horse from a stand still. Spike stopped, looking at her for a second with a cocked head and wondering eyes.

"That was bloody *brilliant*," he commented, staring at his tiny partner in awe.

"Thanks," she answered, tugging down her shirt and hopping back over the equipment. "Not as good as the wall thing, though."

"Why, is that a compliment?" Spike asked, hoping to elicit a reaction.

"Don't let it go to your head," Buffy answered, tossing another jab and starting the dance anew.

"It means a lot... to me at least... that you two get along," Buffy said, spinning from an errant punch.

"Finally won daddy's approval?" Spike snarked, ducking.

"I'm serious, Spike," she answered, her face slacking, her eyes losing their sparkle. He could see the tears begin to pool behind her eyes and shuddered as if her sadness was his own. Spike caught her wrists as she jutted them forward for balance and stopped her mid kick.

"What is it, Pet?" he asked, tugging her towards him. "Just say it."

"I don't want him to leave," she whispered, looking like a little girl. She stared down at her sneakers, shuffling her feet. " I like the way it's been. Since, well, since what happened between us... happened... and Giles stayed and... I like it. It seems... normal and happy in a sort of come home from work covered in demon goo kind of way."

"It's as if you had your dad back?" Spike asked, lifting her face with his fingers.

" I missed him. I miss my mom. My real father."

"Your *real* father should be shot from a cannon for leaving you and the Niblet in the lurch," Spike said, annoyance in his tone. "And for what it is worth, I miss your mum too. Wish she could see you now. See you with Emma. Think she'd like that."

"Yeah," Buffy said wistfully, the tears dribbling slowly down. "But she left. Dad left. Giles is leaving..."

"He'll be back, Love. You can count on that," Spike replied, wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her tight against him. She rested her head on his chest, her fingers toying with the hem of his shirt.

"I know," Buffy whispered, "But I'm still tired of people leaving."

"You've had more than your share, Pet. I'll give you that. But it's part of life. People come and go. They leave. They die. Most *don't* come back," he said, kissing the top of her head. She chuckled through the tears. "Guess you just hold on to what you *do* have and make the best of it."

Buffy pulled her head back and looked up at the eyes she had known since the beginning of time. They danced like crystal blue water in the sun. "But you won't leave me, right?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Fraid you're stuck with me for all eternity. Being the One and all," Spike said melodramatically.

"Heaven help us," Buffy snarked, still drizzling tears from huge green eyes. He touched her face with heartbreaking gentleness, brushing the tears off with his thumb.

"Well, at least we will never be bored," Spike said, smiling softly at her. She chuckled again.

"How is it that you always know, that you have always known, even when I *hated* you you knew, how to make me feel better?"

"Because I loved you then and I love you now and always. You truly are my Everything," Spike said, kissing her nose. She closed her eyes, feeling him everywhere. Around her, in her mind, in her heart, swirling around in her soul.

"I love you," she whispered, shifting onto her toes and kissing him gently. He lifted her onto the pommel horse, setting her gently on top, her lips still pressed to his. Her legs dangled loosely around his waist.

"Say it again," Spike purred, raising his hands to her face. Every time she said it, he felt his heart sing. He kissed her once again with a little more fire.

"I love you, Spike."

She nibbled his bottom lip as he held her face to his, his mouth softly searching hers. Buffy pulled him closer, her legs wrapping tighter around his waist. "I need you," she whispered softly.

"Buffy, you are my World," he said, catching her pretty eyes in his gaze.

"Love me," she said softly, her hands caressing his face.

"Always," he answered, her lips sealing his in a kiss.

Every day, she thought as she lost herself in him and he in her.

Lost and found.



End Book Three

(Not her note--Site-owner's message) Right now, it's up in the air whether or not she is going to continue this series with a Book Four. If you'd like to see Nimue write a 4th part to this great series, e-mail her or let her know @ fanfiction.net and say you'd like to see a 4th book!