*This Sweet Child*

Title ~ Remembering

Author ~ SunnyD

Disclaimer ~ All belong to Joss who Rocks!

Rating ~ I presume it will be PG~13

Summary ~ Takes place after ‘Grave’, Spike returns to Sunnydale human but when he is rejected by Buffy, he leaves. What surprises will he bring back when he returns 7 years later? (I hope that makes sense)

Spoilers ~ Yeppers, well some.

A/N ~ Well, I’m done with ‘ A New Year’ story and I wanted to do something else. I came up with this idea a couple of weeks ago from the speculation I heard about Spike and the whole soul thing, I don’t know if he is human but I am going to assume so, just for my enjoyment. Anyways…hope you enjoy!

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He couldn’t really remember what had happened to him last. Everything was so blurry and he could hardly see anything that was in front of him as he tried to pry his eyes open. All his body ached with pain, it hurt so much to even open his eyes. The dirt from the cave floor filling his nostrils, which caused him to cough frantically.

"Bugger," Spike muttered as he tried to sit himself up but was not that successful. "Jesus Christ what happened?" He growled, as a sharp pain began to throb through out his head. Spike then took his palm and placed it against his head, hoping the pain would go away. It was then that he felt a slight crick in his neck and began to massage it when he suddenly felt a steady pulse in his neck. Oh bloody hell, he thought. This can’t be! This is not what I asked for! He wasn’t supposed to do this to me!

Spike somehow managed to get up from his place on the floor and looked around the dark, dank cave, searching for the demon who did this to him, "where are you?" He asked out loud, hoping the demon would answer him.

"Do you like your reward?" the demon growled from the shadows, his green eyes glowing with mystery.

"No I don’t like my reward, you git!" Spike shouted, waving his arms furiously. "This is not what I asked for?"

"Oh, but you did." The demon said, still lurking in the shadows, away from Spike’s vision. "You asked to be returned to your former self."

"Yeah! I wanted to be the vampire I once was, not a sodding human!" The former vampire shouted. "Now, come out the shadows, lurky, I’m going to rip you a new one!" Spike growled at the demon that was moving farther back into the shadows.

"Killing me will not change what you are now." The demon told him as Spike only stared at him in disbelief. "I suggest you enjoy your humanity for as long as you can, life does pass by quickly for some mortals." And with that the demon disappeared before Spike could chase after him.

Spike shook his head as he stared down at his feet. He was human now, and he had a soul. Wait a minute! Spike perked up, if I’ve got a bleeding soul, why don’t I feel any remorse? I mean, peaches got the whole remorse thing when he got a soul. It must be a whole different thing with Spike though, now that he is human all the things he did when he was a vampire was wiped away.

It was then that Spike fell backwards on to the floor as if a huge wave had swept past him but instead of being hit by water, his mind was filled with thousands of faces. Faces of his past and his present, beginning with his first victim to his last and then came to Buffy and what he had done to her.

"No…no…no…" Spike began to mumble as he watched the faces cry to him, pleading that they not hurt him. "NO!!!!!!" He cried out like he was in serious pain and it was actual pain to him. He could feel the weight of all his sins cut through him like a blade. It hurt like nothing else had ever before, even more than all the pain he had obtained in the tests he had to perform to obtain his humanity. When it was too much for him, the former vampire slipped into unconsciousness.

~*~

"Dawn!" Buffy called from the bottom stair; "you need to hurry up! You’re going to be late on your first day!"

"I’m coming Buffy!" The brunette called from inside the bathroom where she was brushing her teeth.

Buffy smiled as she turned away from the stairs and made her way towards the kitchen where Willow was busy making pancakes. "Hey Wills, how you feeling this morning?"

The red head gave her friend a slight smile when she turned away from the pancakes, "I’m better than I was doing last week…" she sighed and flipped the pancake over on to it’s other side. The pan beginning to let out a loud sizzling sound, "I don’t know, it has been at least two months since…well, you know and I don’t feel like I’m getting any better. It didn’t take this long last time."

"Well, Wills you were in some pretty deep water this time. So, it is going to take a longer time to get back up to full steam." Buffy said, hoping that would make her feel better but she could tell by the look on Willow’s face that it really didn’t, "I promise, it’ll get better."

"Yeah…I hope so." Willow sighed as she took the pancake off of the pan and placed it on the plate that was sitting next to her. As if on cue, Dawn entered the room with a happy smile planted firmly on her face.

"Good Morning!" Dawn chirped to the both of them, sitting down by the Kitchen Island as Willow handed her the plate. "Thanks Wills." She thanked the red head and poured the syrup on the pancake, then took a huge bite out of it. "Mmm…very good." She said in between chews, smiling at them both brightly.

"Thanks," Willow smiled and then turned to Buffy, "I’m going to go lay down for awhile before I head off to classes." She smiled before heading off to go take a nap.

Dawn turned back to Buffy as she watched Willow leave the room, "still doing bad huh?"

"Yeah, she is." Buffy sighed and then sat down next to Dawn.

"I’m sure she will though, I mean she did it before, she can do it again." Dawn said reassuringly, taking another bite out of her pancake and it’s syrupy goodness.

"I hope so."

"Hey, you talked to Xander or Anya lately?" Dawn asked as she finished her breakfast and put the dish in the sink.

"Yeah, they were both at the shop yesterday. Well, on opposite ends anyway." Buffy said to her little sister, still seated at the Kitchen Island.

"I thought Anya was proud of Xander with the whole Willow situation?"

"Yeah, she was but I think it is going to take sometime before she fully forgives him, and I can understand that." Buffy said depressingly, propping her head on her hand.

Dawn nodded her head and then looked down at her watch and gasped, "crap! I have to head off to school!" The girl freaked out as she ran back to her seat and grabbed her bag and jacket, "hey, where do you want me to meet you after school?"

"Um…you could meet me here. I doubt we are going to get any patrolling done tonight, I mean look at the weather with all the cloudiness and no sun whatsoever." Buffy smiled as she waved goodbye to her sister.

Shortly after though Willow came banging down the stairs, throwing her coat over her shoulders, "have a great day, Buffy!" The red head shouted before she slammed the front door behind her.

Buffy placed her head down on the table after she heard the door shut, "well, guess it is just…well, myself." The blonde sighed as she sauntered to the sink and began to clean the dishes. She then looked out the window and sighed a depressing sigh as rain began to fall from the clouded sky. It is so dark out there that a vampire could be walking around. The Slayer thought, tearing her eyes away from the sky and back to the dishes. Suddenly there was a loud knock at the front door. "Ugh!" She growled, throwing the plate back in the soapy water, "who could that be?"

Buffy let out a breath as she turned the doorknob and opened the door. "Oh my god…" She trailed off when she saw Spike standing there at her door.

"Hello Buffy," Spike greeted casually. When he saw her standing right there, he felt the previous guilt that he had been dealing with for the last couple of months, rising in him. Those two months were like hell for him. He had spent the whole time in that cave, curled up into a small ball watching all those horrified faces pass through his mind. He thought about the faces all the time and tried his best to get rid of them. He tried not to show anyone the pain he was feeling. He masked it. He had never felt anything like that before.

"What are you doing back Spike?" She hissed in-between her teeth. She was angry with him now, he didn’t tell her where he went to and now expects to be welcome back with open arms. He wasn’t here for her when she needed him. When she needed him to help her fight Willow.

"Why do you think I’m back?" Spike asked, slightly confused by her attitude towards him.

"Where did you go?" She asked, still in the same manner that she had before, ignoring what he had just said.

"I went on a little trip, I needed to do some soul searching," he said with a smirk, finding that somewhat funny but his smirk faded when he saw the look Buffy was giving him.

Buffy titled her head to the side as she began to observe him, he was different, he wasn’t the same Spike she had known before he left, " there is something different about you…" she stated looking over him again. He looked the same, but the way he carried himself, the up front cockiness that he had when he didn’t have- "the chip…you got the chip out didn’t you!" She said frantically.

"Buffy, now wait…"

"NO! How dare you! You leave just out of nowhere when we really needed you the most! Then you comeback and I find that you got the chip out! How can I trust you with Dawn! How can I trust you with me, with the gang!" She shrieked at him. Obviously she really wasn’t thinking about what she was saying. First off, the chip had already stopped working on her when she had come back from the dead and another thing was that he loved Dawn, with all his being. He would never hurt her, chip or not.

Spike tried to explain to her what had happened to him but she wouldn’t let him because she just continued on talking, "You left! Warren, he killed Tara. And Willow, she went back to magic. And she killed Warren." Spike widened his eyes when he heard the news. Tara was dead, he actually liked the girl, yeah she was quiet and all but yeah he liked her, it hurt to hear that she was dead. But Red, now that was a hard pill to swallow, she actually killed someone. It wasn’t like her and Spike knew that.

"We needed you here! I needed you to protect Dawn but you weren’t here. And now I find that you have the chip out! How can I trust you? I can’t!" She said harshly.

"But Buffy, I love you." Spike choked back a sob as he heard her harsh words echo throughout his ears, "You know that I do. I wouldn’t hurt you or Dawn."

"But you already did, remember, when you tried to rape me." She said with a slight twinge of pain in her voice but you could tell the harshness of it. Spike could feel the tears well up in his eyes but he shook them away easily. "I can’t love you Spike, now that the chip is gone. There is nothing left to hold you back. I bet you fed the second you got it out. Jumped for joy as you got your spot of violence." She said harshly as she gripped tighter on the front door. The rain was now pelting down hard on the ground and you could count on that thunder and lightening would come soon after. "I will never love you Spike. So I would do what is in your best interest and leave because I don’t want have to force myself to stake you." She hissed before she turned away from his hurt face and shut the door.

Spike only stared in shock, as he remained planted on her front porch. It wasn’t supposed to be that way. She was supposed to find out I was human and then love me, he thought sadly. Be happy that I could give her something that she has always wanted.

Now able to move his legs Spike turned away from the door and began to walk back to his crypt as the rain soaked his body but he didn’t care. There is nothing else for me here; Spike thought sadly as he was about to head back to his crypt but then turned the opposite direction to where he kept his Desoto. Without even thinking he climbed inside and speed off, out of Sunnydale.

~*~

Elena grinned as she took another drink from her glass. Another wild night at the club, she thought, looking around the packed nightclub, which was filled with thousands of people dancing very closely. So closely in fact that it looked like they were having sex on the dance floor. This was nothing compared to it on the weekends because if it were the cops were already there to close the place up due to the loud noise. Well, that’s what you get for living in Boston, she thought to herself taking another swig from her glass.

"Can I have another one?" She asked the bartender who handed her another drink. She was surprised though because when she turned around she found a person behind her, causing her to spill her drink on him, "Shit!" She cursed out loud, grabbing a napkin from off of the bar and began to wipe his shirt, "I’m so sorry." She said as she pulled a strand of her auburn hair behind one of ears.

"S’all right pet," he said softly as he took the napkin from her hands and began to wipe the liquid from off of his dark blue shirt. "Don’t worry, shouldn’t have scared you like that."

"Don’t be all apologetic, please," she told him firmly, grabbing another napkin from the bar and handed it to him. When she looked back up at him, Elena was taken aback from how beautiful his eyes were, how bright and soulful they looked. They seemed to sparkle under the bright club lights.

"Why not?" He asked with amusement as he joined her at the bar.

"Because my last boyfriend was like that and he cheated on me with one of his co-workers. God, she was a slut." When he had heard her, Spike stared at her with wide eyes. She only smiled when she saw the look on his face.

"You’re a very outspoken girl aren’t you?" He smirked at her.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" She asked forcefully, taking her another big swig from her glass.

"No not really, I’m the same way." He said before turning to the bartender and ordered himself a drink. "So, what’s your name?" He asked also taking a sip from his drink, half draining it.

"Elena," she said extending her hand towards him. "What about you?"

"Well, my name is William but my friends call me Spike," he told her shaking her hand, firmly. He then took another big drink from his glass, finishing the entire thing.

"So, what did she do to you?" Elena asked him out of nowhere.

"What?"

"Well, I only drain a glass that quickly when I am depressed. And by judging the looks of you it is about a girl."

"Why is it a girl?" He asked.

"Because it always is a girl." She told him, taking another sip from her drink, "so, you want to tell me bout her."

"I don’t know," he said shyly.

"Oh come on! We can be depressed together!" She pleaded, placing her hand on his arm, which he noticed, "I’ll tell you about my old boyfriend." Spike smirked at her eagerness and how her blue eyes grew brighter as she got excited.

"Alright," Spike sighed with a smile, "well, her name is Buffy…"

TO BE CONTINUED…

Title ~ Welcome to your new home

Author ~ SunnyD

Disclaimer ~ All belong to Joss who rocks!

Rating ~ PG~13

Summary ~ Basically this leaves off where the last chapter did.

A/N ~ Thanks for the reviews, I can feel like this story is going to be really good! I might have the third chapter either up later tonight or tomorrow.

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"Wow, that was intense," Elena told Spike as soon as he had finished his whole story. She stared off into space with wide blue eyes, trying to digest the whole thing. "So let me get this straight, you are, or were a vampire who had a chip shoved up into his brain by this government cooperation. Then you fell in love with your mortal enemy who is Buffy. Then she died and came back from the dead, you guys got it on, she dumped you and then you became human. And finally, you went back to Sunnydale and she rejected you once again." Elena summarized and then she shook her head, taking another drink from her glass, "well, I give up you win, your story is far much worse than mine."

"You aren’t freaked out by the whole vampire thing?" Spike asked her with surprise as people began to file out of the club. It was about one in the morning and the crowd was beginning to grow tired of dancing, which made it easier for Spike and Elena to talk to each other. God knows that they couldn’t hear each other when there were hundreds of people surrounding them.

"Nah," She smirked at him, "I’ve lived in Boston all my life, trust me, I’ve seen more freaky shit than that." She snorted, as did he. "So what are you going to do now?"

"I don’t know, I mean I never thought that she would reject me like that." He said sadly, tracing his finger along the rim of his glass, staring into it’s swirling liquid. "I thought she would want me back, you know. I didn’t expect to drive across the country and be sitting in a bar with a girl I hardly know, telling her my life story."

"World sucks doesn’t it?" Elena said seriously as she began to trace the rim of her glass with the tip of her finger.

"Yeah it does," Spike nodded his head slightly, "so what about this bloke and you that got screwed, besides the slutty blonde." Spike smirked at his pun but it faded when he saw the hurt look on her face, "sorry."

"Hey, what did I tell you about the whole apologizing thing!" She shouted, pointing a warning finger at him, while he nodded at her. "Well, basically it all began last year when I met this guy named Allan. He was so great. He was handsome, kind, elegant, and smart and loved me. You could ask for no better guy to be with, well in my opinion. We went out for about a year and then about 3 months ago he got all distant, talking about how he was so tied up at his work. So, one day I decided to make him lunch and bring it to him but when I got there, he was screwing his secretary Laura, on his desk." She finished as she could feel a twinge of pain in her heart.

Spike could see the pain that she feeling at that moment and touched her arm lightly. He suddenly pulled back though as he felt his warm skin contact with hers. Spike didn’t think it would feel so weird. When he was a vampire, human heat use to warm him up but it didn’t usually last long because his skin was so cold. When he touched Elena’s skin, there was no feeling of intense heat it was just neutral. Elena turned her head to look at him and furrowed her eyebrows.

"You okay? You look a little lost?" She asked, looking into his eyes.

"Yeah, I’m okay, just getting use to the whole human body. Still kind of hard." He said, also knitting his eyebrows together like she did.

"I would think so," she smiled lightly at him, taking a sip from her drink. "But don’t worry, you’ve got your whole life to figure that kind of stuff out."

"Well, if I actually knew what I wanted to do with my life, that would be helpful," he smirked at her.

"There are lots of stuff to do in Boston, maybe you should try to go back to school, get a job. Make yourself a new life here, a life without any memories from your old one. It would be something that I would do, if I were you. " She suggested finishing her drink off with one big gulp while he watched in fascination as she did it.

"Well, how do you suggest I do that. I wasn’t even thinking about actually settling down here. I just thought I would breeze by for a little while and then leave." He told her, and then began to trace the edge of glass with his thumb.

"You don’t have to stay here forever, you know. I mean if you don’t like it, you could always leave." She shrugged her shoulders at him and then took another drink from her glass.

"You know what, I’ve got nowhere else to go, might as well stay here for a bit." He smirked at her, draining the rest of his drink. "I’ll get some education, you know. Find myself a good job, so I can have some money of my own. Might be hard for the first couple of months but DAMMIT!" He shouted standing on his feet and then slightly stumbled over but Elena caught him with ease before he could fall down on the ground.

"I think you’re drunk," she giggled, helping him back to his seat. Spike grabbed his head as the world around him began to spin around before his very eyes.

"Not the first time that has happened." He smirked back at her as the room had stopped spinning around and around, he then looked back down at his cup, "thanks for listening to me, Elena." He said softly, not looking up from his cup.

"Hey…" she said in the same soft manner, placing her arm around his shoulders lightly, "don’t be all moopey. Don’t like it when people are drowning in self-pity, it is annoying and bad for your health." She told him with a broad smile, "You know what, maybe until you get yourself settled here and get a job and all that, you could stay with me for a while."

Spike stiffened up as he turned to look at her, "what?"

"You could come stay with me, is what I said. You can’t go stay in a hotel here, because they are either really expensive or they are at a reasonable price but then really suck." Spike smiled at her little joke and then went back looking at his glass.

"Is there any room for me?" He asked shyly.

"Well, ever since I kicked my boyfriend out there has been some extra space." She smirked at him and he couldn’t help but laugh at her. "I wouldn’t mind either, I’m kind of don’t have a lot of friends here and well, it would be nice. To have some one around for a change," she smiled at him; her eyes seem to be sparkling under the club’s dim light.

"I don’t know, I mean, wouldn’t it be kind of weird living with me after you and your boyfriend just broke up." He said not sounding sure of himself.

"Oh, Jesus Spike! It is not like we’re going out or something! It is just going to be a friend helping out another friend." She said with an aggravated sigh.

"We’re friends?" He asked with confusion, knitting his eyebrows together.

"Well, I would think so considering we basically spent the whole night pouring our souls out to each other. No pun intended." She told him.

"S’ all right, pet." He smirked at her. "I just, this whole human thing is weird for me and there might times that I be all moody. It’ll be like living with a pregnant woman."

Elena giggled lightly at his joke but then her smile melted away and looked seriously at him. "Look, I promise you that you’ll be alright. That things will be better once you get your life sorted out for you. All you need is someone to show you the ropes." She smirked, standing up so that she could look at him in the eye. Spike hadn’t realized how tall she was; she was almost a couple of centimeters shorter than he was.

"And let me guess," he grinned at her, "that person would be you?"

"Who better than me?" She shrugged her shoulders at him and then turned back to the bartender and slammed some money down on the counter; "keep the change." She told the bartender roughly as she took off the other way, Spike following closely behind her. Since he had become human, Spike really hadn’t been as quick as he use to be which he thought kind of sucked.

"So where are we going?" He asked once they exited the nightclub. Spike watched as Elena stood there for a couple of seconds breathing in the crisp, Boston air. You could tell she loved this town, by the calm, peaceful look on her face. Elena seemed to blend in with its atmosphere and presence. Spike smiled at her and when she turned to look at him, she gave Spike a confused look.

"What are you grinning at?" She snapped playfully at him.

"Nothing, just you." he smirked as they continued to walk down the sidewalk, the heels of their shoes clicking on the pavement as they made their way to Elena’s apartment.

"So, what are you good at Spike?" Elena asked as she shoved her hands into her jean pockets.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, I mean how are we going to find you a job if I don’t know what your good at?" She told him.

"Well, when I was human, for the first time. I use to write poetry, but it was bloody awful, or so I have been told. So, you can scratch that option out."

"Well, that is good because we have enough poets in this town anyways…" She smiled at him, patting his chest as they continued to stroll down the sidewalk. "Oh, well, we don’t need to figure out what you want to do at this minute. We can always talk about it tomorrow. I’m too tired right now!" She yawned, stretching her arms high in the air.

"Me too," he yawned also, "whoa, that hasn’t happened in a long time." He commented on him yawning, shaking his head slightly to wake him up.

"Well that is what happens after being dead for over a century." She lightly joked with him, crossing her arms over her chest as the hairs on her arm began to stand up.

"You cold?" He asked as he observed the hairs on her arm.

"Sort of…"

"Well, here…" He said handing her his new duster that he had bought on his drive across the country. He had left his old one at Buffy’s; he was damn fond of that duster too.

"Thanks…" she said taking his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. "What a gentleman." She grinned, as did he. Suddenly, Elena stopped and turned her head to look at Spike, "we’re here."

"Really?" Spike said as she tilted his head towards the sky and saw a large building in front of him. It looked like a really nice building there were hardly any faults that he could see on the outside. He would just have to wait till he got inside.

"Yup. Welcome to your new home Spike!" Elena chirped as she took his hand and pulled him inside the building.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Title ~ Painful Memories

Author ~ SunnyD

Disclaimer ~ Well, you know the drill, all belongs to Joss who kicks ass!

Rating ~ PG~13

Summary ~ Basically it is seven years later and Spike returns to Sunnydale with a little surprise and it is not him being human. Hehe! You are just going to have to read and find out!

A/N ~ Thanks for the reviews, I can’t believe I have this much (well I think it is a lot). Oh and thanks for the criticism because it does actually help me. I am not the best writer in the world so I take as much help as I can get. Also Flashbacks are indicated with this- *#*

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Dawn crossed her arms over her chest as she continued to wait in Anya and Xander’s house. What is taking her so long? She thought with annoyance. It is not like I haven’t watched Jacob before? Dawn thought running a hand through her fairly long brown hair which was now almost turning a dirty blonde color from her being in the sun so much.

"Anya!" Dawn shouted from the couch. It wasn’t that Dawn didn’t enjoy baby-sitting Jacob. The kid just kind of freaked her out when he would just start teleporting around the place. There was also the fact that the kid would start to bounce off the wall when you gave him chocolate. But what kid isn’t like that when they’re 7.

"We’re coming!" Anya shouted from upstairs in Jacob’s room as she tried to dress him but he wouldn't stop teleporting around the room so that she couldn’t get to him. "Jacob honey, mommy needs to get to work! So please, lets just put on your overalls." She tried to reason with him but he wouldn’t listen to her.

"No!" He said stubbornly, waving his head back in forth, the mop of black hair on his head moving from side to side. "I don’t want to!"

"Dawn is going to take you to the park today. Wouldn’t that be fun?" She asked him sweetly, doing the best she could not to just grab him right there and shove the overalls on his small little body.

"But I don’t want to go to the park!" He whined, crossing his arms over his chest, sticking his bottom lip out at her. "I want to go to work with you!"

"Jacob, honey, but last time you came to work with mommy, you somehow managed to conjure bunnies into the shop and you remember how mommy doesn’t like bunnies." She said in the same sweet little matter, hoping that he would be easily convinced but the boy was just as stubborn as both Xander and Anya.

"Yeah, I remember," the little boy said sadly, "dad got very mad with me." The boy continued to pout as his bright green eyes became glossed over with tears.

"Oh honey, please don’t cry…" Anya’s heart melted as she saw the pain in her son’s eyes. He could break her just as easy as Xander could. It had taken them only a couple of months after Willow’s mishap for Anya to forgive him and then on their wedding day, Anya found out that she was pregnant with Jacob. Xander and Anya married and then had Jacob, all three of them have been happy since.

"But, I don’t want to go," the boy sniffled as his head laid against his mother’s breast. "I want to be with you."

"Look," she uttered as she tilted his chin up towards her, "if you go to the park with Dawn today, I promise that you can go to work with me tomorrow. Is that okay?"

The boy clapped with excitement as he jumped into his mother’s arms and kissed her cheek gently. When he pulled away, Anya felt a very sticky substance on her cheek. It smelled like…peanut butter. "Your father and you had one of your sandwich mornings, didn’t you?"

"We forgot to do it last week?" He told her shyly, his small round cheeks, turning a slight pink color. Anya beamed at the little face her son was making; he was a spitting image of Xander. Anya hoped when they had a girl, that she would look like her. It would be like a little version of Xander and Anya. Except you know, in some way or another, that would be wrong. If you took it the wrong way.

Anya shook her head as she pulled her son’s overalls on and combed through his hair with her fingers. "You look so cute," she observed as she stepped back to look at him. "Now, let’s head downstairs. I think Dawn is getting impatient."

Jacob nodded his head as he took his mother’s hand and made their way down the stairs. "Are we going to go fight the demons like last time?" He asked innocently.

"No, you’re not." Anya said in a somewhat overprotective voice, "that was a mistake, those demons just came out of nowhere."

"Yeah, but I’m glad that Dawn saved me!" The little boy chirped.

"Well, she saved you because she is the Slayer. It is what she does." Anya smiled at Jacob when they made it to the living room.

"It is about time." Dawn sighed with relief, standing up from the couch. "What took you both so long?"

"Well, someone decided it would be funny to teleport around the room while their mommy was trying put their clothes on!" Anya hinted at Jacob who was looking sheepishly at his mother.

"I’m sorry," He peeped.

"It is okay Jacob," Dawn reassured him, crouching down to the boy’s level and ruffled his hair, "now, we better hurry before there are no swings left to play on because that is what happened when we went last week!" She grinned as she pinched the boy’s cheek lovingly while he giggled with excitement.

"Alright!" He chirped as Dawn handed him his coat, "goodbye mommy!" He waved to Anya before the door shut behind him.

~*~

"Was that fun?" Dawn asked Jacob while she helped him off of the swings.

"Yes, it was bunches of fun!" Jacob smiled a toothless grin. "Can I go play in the sandbox?" He asked Dawn.

"Yes you can, I’ll just be over here on the bench reading, okay?" She informed him before Jacob skipped off towards the sandbox.

He then beamed with excitement when he saw a little blonde girl about his age playing in the sandbox. Yay, someone to play with! He thought happily, running over towards her.

"Hi!" Jacob chirped at the girl who looked up and smiled at him.

"Hello!" She greeted back, her voice soft and sweet, like a small silver bell.

"I’m Jacob." He told her, sitting down beside her in the sandbox. "Who are you?"

"I’m Erin," She smiled at him. "I’m 5 years old."

"You don’t look 5…" Jacob told her as he began to make a sandcastle with his hands.

"That is what my daddy use to tell my mommy all the time…" Erin said as she began to play with a strap on one of her white sandals.

"Is your mommy here with you?"

"No," Erin whimpered sadly, "my daddy said that my mommy got sick and fell asleep. He says she isn’t going to wake up, he was sad."

"Oh, I’m sorry about your mommy," Jacob told her sincerely, looking away from his somewhat finished sandcastle. "So where is your daddy?"

"Oh, he don’t know I’m here." Erin giggled with excitement, her blonde curls bouncing up and down with every movement she made. "I think we’re playing hide and seek again."

"He is probably worried about you."

"No, we’re playing a game. We play games a lot. It is fun!" She laughed some more and continued playing with her sandal, "is your mommy or daddy here with you?"

"No, they work." Jacob nodded his head.

"My daddy does that. He takes pictures and then people buy them. My daddy takes pretty pictures. He took one of me once, I was wearing a pretty dress." Erin told him proudly, her blue eyes shinning in the afternoon sun.

"My friend Dawn is with me!" Jacob told her with pride as he pointed to Dawn sitting on the bench behind them.

"She’s pretty." Erin grinned, tilting her head to the side as she observed the brunette; "can we go say hi?"

"Sure!" Jacob chirruped taking Erin’s hand and ran over towards Dawn who tore her eyes away from her book when she heard the two coming.

"Who is this?" Dawn smiled at little Erin who began playing with her flowery sundress.

"I’m Erin." She blushed at Dawn. "You’re very pretty."

"Thank you," Dawn thanked Erin and then pointed to her sundress, "I like your dress."

"Thank you, my mommy bought it for me for my birthday!" Erin grinned.

"Erin!!" A loud voice called behind the little girl. Erin jumped in surprise when she heard the voice, and her mouth broke out into a happy smile.

"Daddy!" She cheered, turning on her heels and ran towards the man, jumping into his arms. Dawn smiled as she watched father and daughter re-untie.

"Where were you? I couldn’t find you. I told you not to go anywhere." He ranted frantically; a worried look set on his face that didn’t seem to go away.

"I thought we were playing a game…" Erin sniffled, but stopped when her father kissed her lovingly on the forehead.

"Just don’t ever do that again. I don’t want to lose you, too." Her father told her as he hugged her once more and was about to say something when he heard a voice interrupt him.

"She was fine with me, sir. I didn’t know she was lost." Dawn told him as she was situated behind.

The man grimaced as he turned around to talk to the girl who had been watching his daughter, "well, thank you so much…" Dawn gasped when she saw the man’s face.

"Spike??" Dawn whispered in disbelief. He was here! Oh my God.

"Nibblet?" He said in the same tone of disbelief, letting his daughter drop softly from his arms. "Is that you?"

"IS that you?" She asked, he sounded the same but he, looked different. His hair wasn’t that striking white color anymore, it was a dark blonde, and his skin was now a nice tanned color instead of a milky white. And…Holy Crap, he was in the sun! "Spike get out of the light!!" She yelled and attempted to push him into some nearby trees, which caused a bunch of heads to turn towards her frenzied call.

"It is alright, pet. Let me explain…" Spike said but before he could continue, "Erin, could you go play in the sandbox for a bit, I have to talk to Dawn."

"Okay, daddy." Erin nodded her head and skipped off to the sandbox with Jacob.

"Daddy?" Dawn asked, "she is yours?"

"Yeah, she is." Spike nodded his head; it was then that Dawn looked down at his left hand and saw a wedding band decorating his finger.

"You’re married, too?" She asked with wonder, was she living in the twilight zone or something? Spike was married, had a kid, and could stand in the sun.

"Was…" He whispered sadly, feeling a twinge of pain in his chest when he thought of his wife.

"This is all so, much…I mean, what happened to you? Where did you go? How did this happen? Does Buffy know?" She asked in a rush but then Spike grabbed her shoulders gently to stop her from going on.

"Come, sit, and I’ll tell you." He said softly, guiding her towards the bench and sat her down. A cool, fall breeze sweeping past them as they sat down on the stone bench.

"Alright tell me…" Dawn said and began to listen with detail as Spike told her on how he became human and what happened when he came back to Sunnydale.

"Buffy, knew…" She whispered with sadness.

"She didn’t tell you?" Spike asked with amazement, "I thought she would."

"Please, continue…" Dawn shook her head, she would have to talk to Buffy later about not telling her that Spike had come back. Spike then told her about he drove to Boston and met Elena, then moved in with her. Dawn sat in silence for a few seconds as she began to piece things together.

"She was your wife wasn’t she?" Dawn anticipated as she finally came to the realization.

"Yeah, she was…" he whispered once more, stilling hurting from his wife’s death.

"If you don’t mind…I would like to know more about her." Dawn said, placing her hand over his.

"Okay…I first fell in love with Elena a few months after living with her. She was just like me and we understood each other. She was just an amazing woman. I was hoping that one day she would feel the same for me, but she had other boyfriends, and I didn’t think I would ever get to be with her, until one night…"

*#*

Elena let out a loud gruff as she slammed the apartment door behind her. When Spike heard it, he immediately jumped out of the sofa and turned to look at her. She looked upset and not the same happy, beautiful Elena he had grown to love over the past couple of months. Her eyes were all puffy and blood shot, her shoulders were sagged and she was crying.

"What happened this time pet?" Spike questioned her softly, walking over to her and placed his arm around her shoulders.

"Mike, he dumped me…"She sniffled, leaning on his shoulder for comfort as they walked back over to the couch and sat down together. "He thought I didn’t love him as much as I thought I did." She hiccuped, and then wiped her arm across her eyes, wiping her salty tears away from her olive skin. "I told him, that I did love him but he still didn’t believe me." She began to cry some more but it soon died down when Spike began to run his hand through her hair, soothing her with soft whispers in her ear.

"What happened next luv?" He asked against her lovely skin that he loved to touch as much as he could.

"Well, I called him a selfish bastard and we got into the this huge argument and it ended up with him dumping me!" She tried to finish before she began to sob erratically against his shoulder. "We went out for 4 months and he just dumps me out of nowhere!" She bawled against his shirt which was now soaked with her tears. "I actually thought I could make a commitment though, you know?" She continued to cry against him but he then pulled her face away from his shirt and cupped her cheek with his hand.

"Hey, don’t beat yourself up because that wanker can’t see what a wonderful woman you are." Spike told her lovingly, stroking her cheek with his thumb. Elena smiled brightly when she felt his touch.

"Don’t be such a loser Spike." She whispered to him and he grinned at her. She had always made fun of him for saying cheesy lines like that. Elena, for the first time tonight, did smile as she looked into Spike’s eyes.

They were so beautiful; she could just stare into them for hours if she had the time. And it wasn’t just his eyes that were beautiful; it was all of him. He had always been there for her for these last couple of months, knowing what kind of hell dimension he was going through in that head of his. She didn’t like dumping all of her problems onto him; he didn’t need to worry about her. She could take care of herself; she had been doing that since she was 17 when her parents had died.

"I can’t help it pet, it’s who I am." He smirked at her, still stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"I know." She said with a smile playing on her thin lips as she leaned forwards and kissed him gently, loving the feeling of his own lips upon hers. There was always a voice in the back of her head saying that she loved him but she hadn’t thought about how much she did until that moment as he deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Wait!" Spike shook his head as he suddenly pulled away from her; "I can’t do this."

"Why?" She asked with pain. Why didn’t he want to kiss her?

"I don’t want to do something, when you don’t feel the same way I do…" Spike sighed as he moved over closer to her, "I love you… and I-" Spike was then cut off when Elena’s lips came upon his for the second time, for a brief, loving kiss.

"I love you too…" She whispered happily to him and then wrapped her arms around his neck and began to kiss him passionately.

*#*

"So you were really in love with her?" Dawn asked with a somewhat tearful tone in her voice.

"Yeah, I’m in love with her." He thought sadly, it was hard for him to tell that story because of what happened to her in the end.

"What happened next?" Dawn asked. She was tempted to ask him if he loved Elena as much as he loved Buffy, but that was a bridge she didn’t want to cross right now.

"Well, we dated each other for about a year or so and during that time, I decided I wanted to become a photographer and I am a damn good one at that, let me tell you. At first I wanted to be a rock star but Elena thought it was too far fetched and I guess I did too." Dawn lightly giggled at Spike’s aspirations to become a rock star, seemed like a very Spike like thing to do.

"Then what?"

"Well, shortly after I sold my first photograph, I asked her to marry me. Then a few short months we were married and had Erin. We never knew what life could be like till we had Erin. She was our light, something to brighten our spirits. I love her more than life itself." Spike confessed, looking down at the ground hard and not at the girl who he considered to be his own sister.

"How did she die?" Dawn almost regretted asking that question. He probably hated talking about Elena. From the sound of it, he actually had a wonderful life. I wish I could’ve been there to see it, she thought.

Spike let out a brave sigh as he began to tell the story.

#*#

Erin swished her head back and forth, watching her pigtails flap in front of her face. The red lights from her father’s printing room caused her face to glow, she liked it.

"Daddy, you almost done?" She asked Spike who was hanging a photo out on the line to dry and nodded his head at her.

"Almost sweetheart…" He told her as he took another photo out and hung it on the line. "Where is your mother?" He asked his little girl.

"I tink she is cleaning up da kitchen." Erin scratched her head as she thought about it while her father just chuckled at her.

"Did you make a mess?" He questioned her suspiciously, quirking an eyebrow up at her which she found funny.

"I kinda spilt my finger paints." The little girl blushed as she told him this. She didn’t like it when her daddy was mad at her.

"Don’t you think you should go ‘elp her?"

"Maybe…but I want to stay down here with you!" She pleaded, "so I can see the pricture you took of me. I looked very pretty!"

"Yes, you did," Spike reassured her, walking over to her and kissed her on her forehead.

"I wuv you daddy!" The girl giggled as she threw he arms around his neck, picking her up off of the stool that she was sitting on.

"Me too, pet." He grinned, placing his forehead against hers and kissed her nose.

Both Spike and Erin jumped in fright though when Elena burst through the door with a worried look on her face.

"Oh bloody hell!" Spike muttered as he put Erin on the floor and ran to his pictures and checked them, all of them ruined.

"BLOODY HELL!" Erin chirped with giggles, playing with her dress.

"Erin, don’t say that!" Spike corrected, pointing his finger at her. Spike was then about to protest to his wife about ruining his pictures but when he saw the worried look on her face, his anger quickly melted away. "What is wrong pet?"

"Come look at something," she motioned for him to follow her. Spike nodded his head as he picked Erin off of the floor and walked after Elena who was leering out the window towards the street where a large white van was parked. "They’re back again." She said sternly. "That is the 5th time this week…you don’t think they know something? About you losing the chip?" She sounded worried and Spike didn’t like when she was worried.

"I hope not…but if it is them, I can’t protect you. I lost all of my strength when I became human. You know that." Spike informed also now peeking out the blinds himself.

"I do know that but William, you can’t do this alone. You need me." She wanted to help him so much.

"I know Elena but…" Spike trailed off when he saw several people with white lab coats exit the van and began to make their way towards the house.

"You’ve got to go!" Elena said as she turned to face him, "if they realized that Riley never got rid of you, they’ll be forced to do the job for him, human or not."

"I’m not leaving you and Erin by yourselves." Spike told her as he glanced between his wife and his daughter. Erin looked confused at both of her parents, she didn’t understand what was going on but she could tell that it wasn’t something good.

"Then take her with you. If they find her, they will take her away from us." Elena told him with anxiety struck deep into her voice as she began to push them towards the back door. "Go. And Hurry."

"Mommy?" Erin began to cry as she saw the sad look on her daddy’s face.

"Don’t cry sweetie, you’ll see mommy soon." Elena told her sweetly, touching Erin’s cheek with love. "You listen to your daddy, okay? You understand?"

"Yes," The girl whispered as she snuggled up against her father’s chest.

"I love you…" Spike told his wife as he leaned forward and kissed her with sweet passion.

"You’re acting like you’ll never see me again." She smirked at him and kissed him once more before pushing them both out the door. Locking it behind them.

*#*

"And when I came back to the house, she was…" Spike felt a tear run down his cheek as he saw a flash of his wife lying dead on the ground.

"I don’t understand…" Dawn murmured, "who was watching you?"

"The Initiative…" He said quietly, playing with his wedding band.

"I just don’t understand why they were watching you. How did they know you were still alive?" Dawn asked. Even to Spike the whole situation was confusing.

"I have no idea. It could’ve been other demons that had seen me after Riley left. Just one day this white van was parked outside our house. It followed me everywhere I went. The only people I could think that would be watching me were the Initiative. They are the only ones who would do something like that." Spike shook his head as he ran his fingers through his thick blonde hair. "Then I saw the people in the lab coats and that’s when I knew. Some of them I recognized when I was actually in there."

"What do you think they wanted with Erin?"

"What couldn’t they want?" Spike snorted, "I mean, she is the daughter of a former vampire. They would probably want to poke and prod her like they did to me. Elena wouldn’t want that to happen to her." Spike almost had a hard time saying that name. Words couldn’t express the way he felt when he had come home to find her dead on the floor, her blood in a puddle under her. She had been beaten to death. Spike was forced to shield Erin’s eyes away from the scene because it was so horrible.

"So, afterwards, you just, packed up and came here?"

"Yeah, I thought this would be the best place for us. I can’t protect Erin on my own, I don’t have the strength I use to." He said as he turned his head to watch Erin and Jacob play happily in the sandbox. "I need the Slayer."

"Well, you’re talking to one." Dawn told him proudly. As soon as Spike heard that he whipped his around to look at Dawn.

"You’re what?"

"The Slayer. About a year and a half ago, Faith died. Then I was called and Giles talked to council into paying Buffy for her services and mine, so we really don’t have to worry as much about money. And Buffy took over the gallery from mom." Dawn smiled at Spike who put his hand tentatively on her shoulder.

"I’m so proud of you Nibblet." He smiled genuinely at her.

"What about you?" Dawn smirked at him.

"What about me?"

"Hello, you got a nice job that you like and you got a pretty little girl." Dawn told him, pointing towards Erin who was now throwing sand vigorously at Jacob. "Ugh! I think we should break them up because I think Erin might actually hurt Jacob." Spike nodded his head as the couple walked towards the sandbox and broke the two apart. Spike was holding Erin and Dawn was holding Jacob.

"I think we should head home, don’t you?" Dawn asked Jacob who nodded his head at the brunette.

"Do I get to have dinner at your house?" Jacob asked Dawn, sometimes Anya and Xander both had to work late and Jacob was forced to eat dinner with Buffy, and Dawn and occasionally Willow, if she was home. Willow would sometimes spend time at Buffy’s and then some times at Giles’ old place, where she now lived.

"Yes you do and guess what? Spike and Erin get to come too! Isn’t that great?" Dawn chimed with a broad smile planted firmly on her face.

"Yay!" The boy cheered as he squirmed in Dawn’s arms and the foursome made their way to 1630 Revello Drive.

~*~

Buffy hummed cheerfully, stirring the macaroni that was in the pan. Jacob was staying for dinner and oh how he loved his macaroni and cheese. Today had been a great day, Buffy had actually sold two paintings and she was talking another couple into buying a really expensive piece.

"Things couldn’t get any better!" Buffy chuckled to herself when she heard the door open. "Dawn that you?"

"Yeah!" Dawn called from the entryway. Suddenly, Buffy felt two arms wrap around her legs.

"Hey Jacob!" Buffy greeted the boy with love, picking him up off of the floor and kissed him on the cheek. But when she put the boy back down he quickly wiped the kiss away. "Hey, you still wiping my kisses off?" She joked, poking him in the belly with her wooden spoon.

"Buffy," Dawn said calmly as Buffy directed her attention away from the little boy towards her sister. "I’ve got a surprise for you."

"And what is that Dawn!" Buffy beamed at her sister. But her smile faded when Dawn moved away and Buffy saw Spike standing there with a young girl tucked safely in his arms. "Spike?"

"Hello Buffy."

To be continued…

Title ~ Wonderful Night

Author ~ SunnyD

Disclaimer ~ All belongs to Joss who kicks ass.

Rating ~ PG~13

Summary ~ Well, basically this one leaves off where the last one ended. I think that made sense.

A/N ~ Thanks for all the reviews peoples! I can’t believe how many I have gotten already! I have never done this good before on only the 3rd chapter! Yay! I am sorry if I seem really giddy but I am so happy with how much attention my fic. has been getting. Anyways…on with the story!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Spike held his daughter closer to his body as he saw the smile on Buffy’s face fade away as soon as she saw him. "Hello Slayer." He said casually. She looked the same to him. It was weird. She looked exactly as she did when he left and yet he didn’t.

Dawn darted her eyes from Spike towards Buffy and saw the flicker of rage in her eyes, as if she was a predator stalking her prey. She didn’t want Buffy to do anything she would regret, so Dawn turned to Spike quickly, "Spike could you take the kids up to my room, please?"

Spike furrowed his eyebrows at her. Something wasn’t right with this picture but Spike did as he was told and walked up the stairs with Erin in his arms and Jacob tagging along behind them.

"What’s he doing here Dawn?" Buffy hissed angrily through her teeth, obviously she wasn’t happy to see him, even though it had been 7 years since he left and there was no clear reason why she should be angry with him.

"I found him, in the park today." Dawn whispered quietly, "look Buffy, I know you’re mad and everything, and I would like to know why but be easy on Spike, he hasn’t had it that great lately."

"Do you think I give a shit?" Buffy snapped at Dawn who was slightly startled from her sister’s sudden outburst. "He left Dawn!"

"Yeah but you could’ve stopped him from leaving the second time." Dawn retorted harshly, crossing her strong arms over her chest. Buffy only stared at her with wide eyes. "Why didn’t you tell me that he came back?" She asked with sadness from Buffy’s betrayal.

"Did it matter Dawn? Would it have mattered if I told you that he came back? No, because he still would’ve been gone!" Buffy argued her green eyes lit up with fire. A loud hissing sound interrupted their conversation; Buffy let out a loud, short growl as she marched over to the stove to take the pan off the burner. "That stupid vampire always gets me in a bad mood when he is around."

"That’s just it Buffy…he isn’t a vampire." Dawn told her, Buffy whipped around to face her sister with a question in her eyes.

"What do you mean?" She asked weakly, he couldn’t be. It wasn’t possible.

"He’s human Buffy." Dawn told her firmly. "When he left for the first time. He went to Africa and became human…"

Buffy’s jaw dropped down as she heard Dawn. He was human? "What…uh…where…?" Buffy stuttered. She couldn’t believe it, she was literally speechless.

"I would tell you but I think it would better if he told you instead of me." The brunette sighed as she took the pan from Buffy’s hands. "You go talk to him. I’ll take care of everything else." Dawn told her softly and Buffy nodded her head as she looked at Dawn once more before heading up the stairs.

~*~

Erin chuckled at Jacob’s drawing, "looks funny." She laughed while Spike shook his head at her, watching from the opposite end of the room for some reason he didn’t feel like he should go downstairs just of yet.

"Does not!" Jacob whined, snatching his picture and looked at it. It didn’t look like a puppy like intended it to be, looked more like a spider or something like that. She can’t make fun of me though, he thought angrily. "Well. You sound funny!" He mocked, talking about her slight English accent that she had obtained from her father.

"S’cause my daddy is fwom England!" Erin yelled at him, placing her hands on her hips, sticking her tongue out at him. Jacob slightly cowered away from the look little Erin was giving him. It was then that Spike thought this time to step in before someone got hurt.

"Erin, pet, be nice to Jacob there." Spike told his only daughter, picking her up from the ground and poked her in the stomach, which caused her to giggle.

"Why?" She pouted, looking away from her daddy to Jacob who was now back to coloring his picture of a dog. "He was making fun of me."

"Well, pet, you know, you were making fun of him too." Spike said as he gave her the ‘look’ which told her that he was right. "So, don’t you think you should go say you’re sorry?"

"Yeah," she sighed, and then removed herself from Spike’s arms and walked over towards Jacob. "I’m sawy Jacob." She said sincerely, looking into his green eyes.

"S’okay." He smiled at her, forgetting why she made him so mad in the first place, "you want to finish coloring with me?" He asked her, handing her the purple crayon that he had in his hand.

"Sure," she chirped, taking the crayon from his hand and began to color with him.

~*~

Buffy took in a deep breath as she entered the room and saw Jacob and some other girl coloring on Dawn’s bed while Spike was situated on the other side of the room watching them in great detail from the looks of it. He then saw her and drew his attention away from the children and to the Slayer.

"Buffy…" He said softly and sounded somewhat alarmed.

"Can I talk to you?" She asked him with no certain emotion in her tone of voice that made Spike very uncomfortable.

"Sure." He said quickly and walked over to the children lying on the bed, still coloring their pictures. "Hey pet," he said tapping Erin’s shoulder gently. "How ‘bout you and Jacob ‘ere go downstairs to see Dawn and color there?" He asked her nicely.

Erin scrunched her forehead at her daddy. He probably wants to talk with the pretty lady, she thought in her head. "Okay." She agreed grabbing her pictures in her hands and took Jacob by the hand as they ran down the stairs. Spike shook his head as he watched them go and then turned to Buffy who was leaning casually against the doorframe.

"So…" She said, still no emotion whatsoever in her tone, "you’re human?"

Spike let out a long sigh, looking down on the floor for a couple of seconds and then back up at Buffy, "yes…I suppose Dawn told you."

"Yeah, she did," she whispered, looking down on the floor also like he did and then back up at him. You could feel the tension in the room begin to thicken as they stood there, "and the girl, Erin?"

"She is mine…" he told her weakly, wondering how she would react to him having a daughter but Buffy only snorted at his response. Apparently, he wasn’t going to like it.

"So, who is the bitch that screwed you over?" She asked with slight resentment in her voice but somehow seemed amused by it. Immediately, Spike went on full defense mode.

"That ‘bitch’ you speak of was my wife!" Spike growled at her, "and I’m damn sure she wasn’t as much of a bitch as you are!"

Buffy only stared in shock, not being able to speak but after awhile guilt spread across her face. "Oh…" She said, looking down at the floor once again, away from his glaring eyes. He was married. She thought, he was happy or so I think.

"Yeah, Oh…" Spike hissed at her, still sore from the Slayer’s harsh words about Elena. "Listen Slayer, I didn’t come ‘ere to stir up past uglies with you. I came here because I needed help, from you and your lot."

"And why would you need my help, you’ve certainly done fine on your own." She said with a snobbish attitude. What a selfish bitch! Spike thought with rage as he shook his head at her demeanor towards him.

"Jesus Christ Slayer! Stop being so self-absorbed!" He ranted, leering at her; "I came here because the Initiative is after Erin and me." When Buffy heard the word ‘Initiative’ she was all ears. "They’ve found out that I’m still alive and kicking, I don’t know how but they do. They came to take me away last week but I managed to escape with Erin but in the process I lost the woman I love. And now they’re looking for me. And God knows I don’t have the strength to protect Erin from them, so all I ask of you is to do this one thing for me and then once you’ve done that. I will leave, for good and never come back." He said firmly as Buffy just stared at him. He may be human but he still had some of the old Spike in him. Buffy began to process her thoughts.

What should I say? Buffy asked herself, continuing to look at Spike but obviously not paying any attention to him. I’m still pissed off for him leaving because…oh, god I don’t know! But, I can’t let that little girl die or let Spike die for that matter. Erin couldn’t loose the only parent that she had left. She would be all-alone.

"Buffy," Spike spoke up when he finally noticed that she had finished her inner monologue she was having with herself, "can you please help Erin and I?"

Buffy stared deeply into his eyes as she was trying to formulate an answer in her head; "yes…I will help you and Erin…William." Buffy almost laughed as she heard herself say his human name out loud. The only time she had done that was when…okay that was a long time ago so need to think about that. She told herself.

"Good…" Spike said as he walked past her, "thank you," he whispered to her as he passed by her. Buffy turned her head to watch him walk down the stairs. Everything was weird now, Spike was back and he was married and he had a daughter. He had done what Buffy had failed to do for the past seven years. Yeah, she had dated off and on but never had fully committed to someone like he had. It kind of made her sad in a way. Maybe she wasn’t meant to get married. Maybe she wasn’t supposed to have a family of her own and instead always be known as the Slayer.

Dawn will get married though. Buffy knew it. Eventually Dawn would get married and leave her which would mean that Buffy would be all alone.

Everyone had his or her own lives nowadays. Xander and Anya had their work and Jacob to keep busy with while Willow was busy working at UC Sunnydale as a history professor. Giles was in England and Dawn was busy being the Slayer and teaching self-defense classes down at the gym.

Buffy did have a good job though, working at the gallery like her mother use to but that was something she didn’t have to do all the time. Plus, the fact that the council had paid her and Dawn a huge amount of money for their services which meant that a job wasn’t really a necessity for Buffy.

"Vuffy?" A little voice peeped from behind Buffy and when she turned around Buffy saw Erin standing there, looking at her with those cool blue eyes of hers, which seemed exactly like Spike’s. "Dawn wants you to come down."

"Oh, Okay." Buffy nodded her head as she observed Erin.

It was weird to see someone so little look exactly like Spike. She had the same eyes and hair as he did, maybe with time her cheekbones could be just as sharp as his. The only thing that didn’t seem to look like him was the girl’s perfect olive skin and the freckles that were stretched across her nose.

"Are you and my daddy friends?" The girl asked her meekly. Buffy almost laughed when she heard Erin called Spike her daddy. That would take some time to get use to.

"Yeah, I guess we are, why?" Buffy asked sweetly as she crouched down to the girl’s level.

"Well, once when I was in daddy’s pricture office at home, I found a pricture of you and that big girl Dawn, in one of his drawz. He got mad at me when dat happened." She giggled slightly, obviously the girl liked to make trouble. She was exactly like Spike; Buffy was now beginning to wonder if she got anything from her mother at all.

"Well, he had a reason to be," Buffy told the little girl. "No one like anyone going through their things."

"Really?" Erin asked, scrunching up her little nose which made Buffy laugh, "What you laughin’ at?" The girl questioned Buffy, sounding slightly offended by the Buffy’s amusement.

"You being funny," Buffy smirked at the little girl as she ruffled her hair, "now, how ‘bout we go downstairs and eat us some macaroni and cheese, eh?"

"Yay!" Erin cheered, throwing her small, little fist high in the air with excitement. "I wuv macaroni and cheese! Daddy, mommy and I use to eat it all the time, but that was before mommy fell asleep." Erin whimpered slightly which made Buffy want to cry. This poor little girl didn’t understand at all about what happened to her mother. The Initiative surely would pay for this.

"What’s wrong?" Erin surveyed the look on Buffy’s face and was beginning to become concerned, in a five year old sort of way. "You look sad."

"Don’t worry, Erin. I’m not sad." Buffy said as she forced a smile onto her lips to please her.

What a wonderful night, Buffy thought sarcastically as she and Erin entered the kitchen, just wonderful.

To be Continued…

Title ~ Nightmares

Author ~ SunnyD

Disclaimer ~ All belong to Joss who rocks! But you see Erin and Elena, they belong to me! Yay!

Rating ~ PG~13

Summary ~ Well basically picks up after where the last chapter left off.

A/N ~ Thanks for all the reviews you guys, they’ve been a major help for me. Oh and probably after Monday I will be forced to take a short break from writing because we have guests coming to stay with us and I am going to be occupied with that. But I may have time today to write another chapter but I’ll see how that goes. Also the dream sequence is known with this- *.

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Dawn grinned from the kitchen sink as she watched Erin and Jacob finish eating their macaroni and cheese. "Hey, maybe when you guys are finished we can watch a movie? You like movies Erin?" Dawn asked the little blonde girl who smiled at Dawn with cheese spread across her mouth.

"Yesh!" She answered a spoonful of the macaroni in her mouth.

"That’s good because Jacob likes movies, don’t you Jacob?" Dawn nodded towards Jacob who was now finished with his meal and was watching Erin eat hers.

"Where’s my daddy?" Erin wondered when she finally had swallowed food and then swept her arm across her mouth to get the cheese off of it. "Is he talking with the pretty lady?" Erin asked, indicating Buffy.

"No, he’ll be right back, he is getting your stuff together and bringing it here." Dawn told the little girl who was staring at her with wide eyes. "You guys are going to be staying here for awhile."

"Really?" Erin gasped with excitement, "you telling the truth? Because Daddy says it’s bad to lie!"

"No, I’m not lying. You’re really going to be staying here." Dawn giggled at the little girl and at what Spike had been teaching her. Spike telling a little girl that lying is bad, now that is something you don’t hear everyday.

"Where am I going to sleep?" She asked with even more excitement, she had never slept over at someone’s house before.

"I suppose you’ll sleep in Buffy’s old room with your daddy…" Dawn thought as she began to wash the pot that had the macaroni in it. Would Buffy want him to stay in her old room? It wasn’t like she slept in there anymore. So why would it matter? It wasn’t like she liked Spike like that anymore. So, yeah Buffy wouldn’t care that Spike and Erin would be sleeping in her old room.

"What about my room?" Buffy asked Dawn as she walked into the kitchen with some dishes in her hand that she, Spike and Dawn had ate off from.

"Well, I was telling Erin where she and Spike would be sleeping while they stay here…" Dawn replied with a nervous smile. Buffy really didn’t like Spike even staying in their house, now Dawn really should rethink the whole Spike sleeping in Buffy’s old room, in her old bed where they use to…ewww!! She really didn’t want to think about Buffy and Spike sex right now.

"Oh," Buffy simply said as she looked at her sister suspiciously, "and where that would be? On the living room couch, where there is a pull out bed?" Buffy said a little too nicely for Dawn’s and even the children’s liking.

"Um…actually no. I told Erin that they would be sleeping in your old room…" Before Dawn knew it Buffy was at her side with an angry look in her eyes.

"Dawn, I don’t want him sleeping in there. It is my old room and only a few feet from my own room which is too close for comfort." Buffy whispered harshly in Dawn’s ear so that the children couldn’t hear.

"Buffy, would you stop being a bitch to Spike! It isn’t like he’s had it hard enough with his wife dying but then he comes here and has you riding up his ass about whatever the hell you’re mad at him for." Dawn whispered back in the same manner as Buffy did. She wasn’t going to let Buffy be mean to Spike no matter what the cost. He didn’t deserve being treated that way even when he was dead.

"Vuffy?" Erin spoke up and caused the sisters to turn away from each other and at the little blonde girl who was looking at Buffy curiously, "do you not like my daddy anymore?" She asked sweetly.

"What…no honey. Your daddy is a nice man." Buffy told her, she didn’t want to make the little girl mad because from what Buffy could tell, Erin was very protective of him.

"Then why you so mean to him?" She asked even more curiously. But you could tell the anger in her voice. Jacob then touched her shoulder with comfort; he didn’t want his new friend to be mad with his Aunt Buffy.

"Honey, what are you talking about? I’m not mean to your daddy." Buffy tried to tell her, even the little girl knew that Buffy treated Spike unfairly. Erin was about to respond to Buffy when Spike came into the room with a confused look on his face.

"What’s wrong?" He asked softly, Erin turned to look at him and then looked at Buffy.

"Come on Daddy," Erin said as she continued to look at Buffy. She wouldn’t let the lady be mean to her Daddy. She then turned away from the Slayer and walked over to Spike taking her hand in his, leading him out side on the front porch.

~*~

Spike looked down at Erin when he shut the front door behind them. "What is the matter with you pet?"

"Why is Vuffy so mean to you, Daddy?" She questioned him curiously; she really wanted to know now.

"It’s kind of complicated, luv." Spike sighed, sitting down on the porch step. "Very complicated."

"Did she use to be your girlfriend?" Erin giggled at Spike, beginning to play with her sundress. Spike only smirked at her question. She was a nosy little nipper.

"Yes, she was…I think." Spike smiled at her as he watched his little girl turn up her nose in disgust.

"Did you kiss ‘er?" She asked with her nose still turned up and looked like she was in pain, which made Spike laugh at her even more.

"Yes, I did." He chuckled, poking her in the stomach.

"EW!" The girl cried, shutting her eyes and turned up her nose even more. "That’s gross, daddy!" She shrieked in a child like manner.

"You won’t think it’s gross in a couple of years, pet." Spike informed her with a smug look on his face.

"No Daddy! Boys are yucky!" She squirmed, shaking her head at him with her face contorted with disgust. Why does daddy say things like that? Erin thought in her head while thinking of her daddy kissing Buffy.

"Hey Erin…" Dawn said from the doorway, interrupting the father and daughter conversation. "You wanna come watch that movie now?"

"Yeah!" Erin cheered and then turned to Spike and took his hand, "you want to watch the movie?" She asked him, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Sure pet," He smirked at her as he stood and picked her up, so that he was carrying her gently in his arms as the threesome made their way back inside towards the living room where Buffy and Jacob were waiting. Spike then sat down on the couch while Erin snuggled easily into his lap, Jacob and Dawn sitting next to them while Buffy sat in the chair next to the couch.

~*~

Buffy let out a loud yawn as she heard a soft knock at the door. Before answering it she looked over at the couch, both Dawn and Jacob were wide awake, their whole attention on the screen that was in front of them while Spike and Erin were fast asleep in each other’s arms. Buffy couldn’t help but smile as she saw the two cuddled up together on the couch. Shaking her head she turned away from father and towards the door.

"Hey Buffster!" Xander greeted when Buffy had opened the door from him and Anya, "whatcha up to?"

"Well Dawn and I were watching a movie with Jacob." Buffy smiled at the married couple while she was wondering how to tell them how Spike was back and human and had a kid.

"Oh, that’s good." Anya commented as she came up behind her husband. "I was afraid he was going to give you all a hard time." Anya told Buffy, placing a loving hand on Xander’s shoulder. "He didn’t conjure up anything dangerous this time did he? Like Bunnies per se?"

"No!" Buffy chuckled as she opened the door wider to let the couple inside. Before both Xander and Anya could make their way into the living room, Buffy thought this would be the best time to tell them. "Guys, I’ve got something important to tell you…"

"You’re not pregnant are you?" Anya interrupted her with worry.

"It better not be that Justin guy!" Xander commented, waving a finger in Buffy’s face, "because if it is, I’m going to give him a good talking to. No way he is going to leave my friend high and dry with a baby! And further more-"

"XANDER!" Buffy yelled at the couple, a frustrated look fitted on her face, "I’m not pregnant. But there is someone…"

"What’s going on in ‘ere?" Spike asked as he walked into the conversation with Erin in his arms and Jacob and Dawn behind him with confused looks on their features.

"Oh my god…" Anya gasped as she saw Spike standing in front of her. "You’re back…"

"Nice to see you too Anya," he said weakly looking away from the vengeance demon and towards Xander who had a blank look embedded on his lineaments. He was speechless, and couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Captain Peroxide was back only he didn’t have so much peroxide on him now. "Whelp…" He nodded his head at Xander.

Anya furrowed her eyebrows at him. She could suddenly feel a wave pain, anger and remorse radiating off of Spike. "You’ve got a soul now." She spoke up and received an exasperated look from Xander.

"I’m human…" Spike corrected to her in a soft spoke voice, bowing his head towards the ground and waited for their reaction but then snapped his head up when he heard a loud thud on the floor and saw Xander sprawled on the floor, unconscious.

"Dad?" Jacob said as he nudged his father’s body with the toe of his sneaker. "Yup, he isn’t going to wake up." The little boy told his mom who was shaking her head at her husband.

"So…you’re human." Anya summarized, turning away from her unconscious husband and towards Spike. "When did this happen?"

"When I left, for the first time…" He answered weakly. Somehow he didn’t like the way she was reacting to him being here but that could be just Anya for you.

"You came back?" She interrogated, looking at him quizzically.

"Daddy, who is this lady?" Erin stirred his arms, finally waking up from her deep slumber. She then began to study Anya, running her light blue eyes up and down her body, wondering who this woman was.

"Daddy?" Anya choked when she head what the little girl had called Spike, "she’s yours?"

"Yeah." Spike whispered, adjusting Erin in his arms. "She is my daughter."

"Erin is really nice mom! She likes to watch movies just like I do and she can draw really pretty pictures!" Jacob pleaded to his mother, tugging on her dress. For some reason he thought Anya was mad at Erin than shocked by her presence.

"That’s good…" Anya breathed as she also collapsed to the floor like her husband, lying across his body.

"Oh brother!" Jacob shook his head, smacking his small hand against his forehead. "They’re never going to wake up now!" He whined, looking at his parents with disappointment.

"Don’t worry Jacob," Dawn told him reassuringly. "I’ll drive you guys home and we can wake them up then." Dawn sighed and then turned to Buffy. "Can you help me take them out to the car?" She asked her older sister who agreed and took the couple out to the car. "You’ll be alright here?" Dawn asked Spike when Buffy had returned to the house.

"Yeah. I’m just going to take the girl to bed, she is tired and so am I." He nodded his head while Erin wrapped her amrs around her father’s neck and let out a big yawn.

"Daddy, I’m tired now…" She yawned once more. "Can we go to sweep now?"

"Yes my love," he whispered in her ear lovingly, stroking her blonde curly hair as she fell fast asleep while in her father’s arms. When Spike saw her asleep, he looked towards the two Slayers. "So where are we sleeping?"

Dawn gave Buffy a nervous smile wondering what she was going to say. Please, don’t do something stupid! Dawn pleaded inside her head. She loved Spike like he was her own brother and she loved Buffy and desperately wanted them to get along while he was here, for Erin’s sake and their own.

"My old room." Buffy sighed before turning on her heels and walked out the door in the direction of the car. Spike stared at her with confusion.

"She is a little mixed up today, you understand that right?" Dawn asked him. "You being back and all has gotten her a bit high strung and crazy. Don’t worry," She patted his shoulder lightly, "things will get better between you too. I promise." Dawn placed a gentle kiss on Spike’s cheek before following Buffy out to the car with Jacob running after her.

"Yeah…" Spike spoke silently to himself, watching Dawn run out to the car. Shaking his head, Spike walked up the stairs towards Buffy’s old room. A room, which they had…done something he didn’t want to think about right now.

"Mmmm…Mommy is that you?" Erin moaned as her father put her pajamas on, holding her tightly. Spike felt a tear roll down his cheek as he heard his daughter mention Elena. God, he hadn’t realized how much he missed her. It was hard not to think about her and the love they had shared together. At the beginning of their relationship together, Elena had been reluctant to it because she thought she would always be second best when it came to Buffy. That Spike would never let her go from his heart. But Spike reassured her that was not true and she believed him.

"No, pet…" Spike whispered in his daughter’s ear, "s’just me." He purred sadly, and then laid her down on the bed so that he could remove his shirt and change into his flannel pajama pants that he had received from Erin for father’s day last year.

When he had climbed into bed, Erin immediately snuggled up against Spike. Both of them falling into a very deep sleep. Spike then began to stir as faces and dreams filled his mind.

*

Elena laughed while Spike ran his hand across her stomach, which was now swollen from her pregnancy. "You’re so beautiful; glowing." He mumbled against her hair, kissing it lightly. She smelled so sweet like honey.

"Oh you are so making that up…" She swatted his shoulder playfully as they lay in their bed, the early morning sunlight bouncing off of their bodies. "I know that I’m fat."

"You are not fat, precious." He purred into her ear, "you look gorgeous. And I would know, wouldn’t I?"

"I love you…" She whispered, a tear rolling down her rosy cheek. "I miss you. I’m sorry for leaving." She breathed, indicating her being killed by the Initiative. "I was only…" She sobbed but Spike shushed her by planting a chaste kiss on her eyes.

"I know," he whimpered, feeling like crying himself. "I miss you too and so does Erin." Spike found it weird because here she was pregnant and yet they were talking about Erin as if she were already born, if that made sense.

"Protect her for me William." She told him as tears still continued to flow down her cheeks. "Please…"

"How could I not? I love her…" he stifled a sob, "and you."

"But you hold me second William. You will always love the Slayer…" She continued to cry.

"But I don’t Elena!" He told her while he cried, "I’ve love you! I always will! You are the one who knows me, knows my heart, my body and my soul! Not her!" He sobbed, grabbing the sides of her face with desperation and gazed lovingly into her deep blue eyes.

"I know this William, I know you love me. And I you. I just miss you and want you!" She sobbed; he then pulled her against his body and let her cry on his shoulder.

Suddenly, Elena gasped and then Spike pulled her away from him to see blood running down the sides of her beautiful red lips that Spike loved to kiss so much.

"God no!" He whispered in pain, kissing her forehead as he could see the heaving of her chest begin to slow down, "please don’t go. Please…I love you! Don’t leave me just yet! I need you! I LOVE YOU!" He begged her as Elena’s eyes began to roll into back of her head and she was gone.

*

"No!" Spike panted as he sat up quickly in bed, sweat beads flowed down his body. Once he had been able to catch his breath, Spike looked down at Erin who was still sound asleep, holding onto the bed sheets for dear life as she slumbered. He rosy cheeks now a somewhat pinkish color, her breathing normal, and you could hear her sigh every couple of breaths. She looked so innocent and peaceful. She was all he had left of Elena.

"I need something to drink…" Spike whispered to himself as he climbed out of the bed and made his way downstairs towards the kitchen. Successfully he found himself a glass and filled it with water from the sink.

That was the first time he had a dream about Elena since she died. It was haunting to him to see her in his dreams. He tried his best to forget about how much he loved her but every time he heard Erin speak it just brought back those feelings. Until Spike had kissed her in his dream, he hadn’t realized how much he loved and yearned for her to be with him again. She was so gentle and kind to him from the first time she met him. It didn’t matter to her that he use to be a vampire.

"Elena…" he thought sadly, tracing the rim of his glass like he did the first night he met her. And that was when the tears came spilling from his eyes. He couldn’t push them away; he had done that to many times these past couple of weeks. He wouldn’t mourn in front of his daughter but now he could. He was alone and no one was watching him.

Before Spike new it though, he felt a warm hand gently touch his shoulder. Spinning around he saw Buffy standing in front of him with a sympathetic look on her face.

"What are you doing up Slayer?" He huffed, shaking the tears away from his eyes but that didn’t make the ones on his cheeks disappear.

"I went out for a midnight stroll after Dawn and I got back." Buffy whispered sadly as she looked into his eyes. She could see the pain in them and the anger that consumed them. Anya probably could feel his vengeance coming a mile away. "You okay?"

"Yes! I’m fine…" he huffed, turning away from her touch and put his glass in the sink. "I just needed a drink."

"I know you’re hurting Spike…" She told him, placing her hand on his tanned shoulder once more, his back was facing her as he stared out the window. "It is okay to mourn her." She breathed in his ear as he bowed his head and then turned around to look at her, tears now trailing down his cheeks once more. It was then that Spike grasped onto Buffy for dear life as he began to sob on her shoulder. He knew it was weird to be crying in front of her. But he didn’t care, he just wanted someone to hold him and tell him everything was going to be all right.

"Shh…it is okay, William." Buffy soothed him as they sat down on the kitchen floor and began to rock him back and forth, running her hand through his hair while he continued to sob into her shoulder.

"Don’t let me loose her…please Buffy! Please…I can’t…!" he grieved into her cotton shirt as she continued to hold him.

Buffy sighed and could feel her own tears roll down her cheek as she listened to him cry.

"I promise."

To Be Continued…