Chapters: | 2| 3| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |Epilogue|

Chapter 1 - "Walking, Waiting…"

"Woo Hoo!!!!"

The shout of triumph rang across the cemetery, echoing among the tombstones and mausoleums. It was followed by the sound of flesh impacting flesh and an answer of "Oh yeah! Cordy rocks!" in a second female voice.

"That makes five, five, I have gotten tonight," Cordelia Chase informed no one in particular and everyone in general. She slid her katana back into its sheath and draped her arm over Wesley Wyndom-Price's shoulders. "So, am I good or what?"

Baby scanned the area quickly for more vampires. "You the bomb, girl," she answered. "Vamps do not stand a chance against us," she added.

"Indeed, they do not." Wesley paused to settle his battle-axe on his shoulder more comfortably before the three set out across the dark graveyard. Baby wrapped her arm around his free one and the three continued their search.

"So how many dimensions does this make, Wes? I lost count of the number of dimensions I've crossed and the number of demons I've killed."

"I believe we're in our sixth, Cordelia." He grinned at her. "And you know exactly how many demons you've killed. I know for a fact that you keep a running tab in your hand-held."

"Yeah. All right, I do. Thirty-three," she admitted. "That beats you by three and Fang Girl by eighteen."

"Ungh! No one told me this was a competition!" Baby considered a moment, "Besides, you've been all protective and oh-the-fledgling-might-get-hurt. I've had to shoot most of my kills. Now where's the fun in that?"

Wes patted her hand. "But you're so good at it. Your sniper skills have been most valuable."

She allowed herself to be placated by this.

Cordelia had already gone back to the original topic. "Six different realities. No wonder I'm getting tired. The not knowing what time period you're going to end up in is hairy. Though that Gay Nineties one was fun!" She grinned in remembrance.

"You just liked it cause you looked good in the clothes," Baby said. "I looked like pregnant goldfish."

"Well, you have to admit that the one where it was 1952 was fun," Cordy countered.

"Oh it so was not! It took forever to get the smell out of my truck!" Baby protested.

"That was because of the demon goop Wes made us carry around for three days." Cordy shuddered expressively.

Wesley was not intimidated. "It worked, didn't it? And here we are, in yet another beautiful Sunnydale, year unknown."

"Well, the cemeteries in Sunnydale don't get any prettier no matter how many levels you jump," Cordy observed. A light ground fog was building and admittedly the ambiance was a tad grim. They walked on in the quiet.

Baby managed three minutes of silence before she released Wes and leaped onto a low mausoleum. "So, do we keep looking for Wes' portal-thingy or do we go find something to kill?" she said as she circumnavigated the edge of the structure, arms outstretched for balance.

Wes shook his head. "You know, you're turning into Spike."

Baby laughed. "That's not an insult, Watcher." She leaped off the tomb and bounced a few more times.

It was Cordelia's turn to laugh. "You know, being a vampire has made you hyper. Do I need to get Spike a supply of Ritalin?"

"I just feel so good," the red head explained with a huge grin. "You have no idea what it was like before. I didn't even realize till after I was undead. You can't understand. You haven't aged, Cord; you may be immortal now that you're part-demon. Your body is still 21. I was 58! There wasn't a day that something didn't hurt somewhere. Some days everything hurt. I'm sure the lifestyle didn't help. But I loved hunting with the pack and keeping up with Spike. I couldn't give it up and sit home playing the little old lady."

Wesley grinned. It was not a role he could picture Baby in, ever, and said so.

"Naw, the strange-colored fingernail polish alone would keep that at bay," she agreed. "Man, Wes, you have got to try this. You need to get turned soon, honey. It's great. The strength, the energy…" Her expression changed to a leer. "The stamina."

"Do you ever think of anything but sex with Spike?" Cordy asked.

Baby bounced some more and took Wes' arm again. "Sure, I think of hunting with Spike, talking to Spike, cuddling with Spike, sketching pictures of Spike, taking care of Spike, watching Spike eat--Oh wait, that leads to sex. There's also taking care of the childer, Internet technology advances, killing things, and mutual funds. Oh, and annoying Angel."

"You're so strange," Cordy observed. "But I have to admit that the being-a-vampire thing works for you. You look great. In fact, I think you look younger than you did."

Baby nodded while Wes explained, "I think she is. Probably another side effect of being from a different reality. I'd say that physically she's in her late thirties, maybe early forties. I theorize that she has reverted to whatever age she was when she first drank from Spike."

"Forty-one then," Baby supplied. "Cool! I aged well so I can probably pass for mid-thirties. Still look older than Spike but at least I don't look like his grandmother." She was about to say something else when she detected something with her vampire senses. She stopped her companions. "Demon. Nearby."

The bantering attitude immediately ceased and three very serious, very deadly individuals emerged. The consorts of the Scourge had hunted together before and were adept at reading each other's smallest gesture and signal. It didn't take them long to locate the five gray-green spiny demons. The creatures were snarling and gibbering at each other as they devoured a freshly-dug corpse. The shattered coffin lay on its side nearby.

The three regrouped at a bit of a distance from the demons.

"Gross!" Cordy observed. "So what are they, Book Man?"

"Hvershim demons. Rather nasty characters. They prefer fresh human flesh and will kill to get it." Wes wrinkled his nose in disgust. "As you see, they are also not opposed to digging up the freshly dead for a meal if they can't find a living victim."

"So, not the ones we're looking for but still in need of killing?" Baby asked hopefully.

"I would say so. The scar markings on this group indicate that they have killed numerous humans. They like to make a slash scar for each… Mm…fresh feast," he explained. It didn't seem to disturb him that he was condemning these demons for doing something that his vampiric companions did regularly. Baby and Spike, unlike Angel, didn't subsist on bagged blood alone. Baby, even before she was turned, was notorious for the mutilations she could inflict on her victims. In life her human soul hadn't stopped her murderous impulses and keeping her soul after becoming a vampire hadn't altered that. But then, in their defense, Wes had to admit that Baby, Spike and their childer hunted only those humans who were as murderous as the vampires were themselves. Spike and his childer weren't souled as Baby and Angel were, but they fought and occasionally died to protect the innocent; therefore to Wesley they were part of the good guys. Just as there were numerous demons who were peaceful and harmless, so there were humans who were evil and deadly. And they were the bad guys. Species didn't matter. It was all the same to the Scourge, they didn't divide people into human and demon, souled and unsouled, but into good and evil. They themselves would be the first to admit that they lived in the gray area somewhere in between, with Cordelia living more in the light than any of them even as Baby and Wesley walked the knife-edge of darkness. Strangely enough, the vampires fell somewhere between with Angel seeking his redemption and Spike searching for some sort of balance while Drusilla battled to find her sanity after decades of blood and anarchy. They had all set their own standards and lived happily within their own bounds of right and wrong. They had their own code of honor and morality.

The women nodded as Wes outlined his strategy, then the three moved silently toward the demons. With the ease and grace of a coalition of cheetah, they circled their prey. With weapons drawn and battle cries ringing, they ran at the demons. The battle that followed was brief, bloody, and effective. Cordelia added two more to her body count. Wes did the same, and Baby had a joyous hand-to-hand with the largest of the creatures. She finished him off by tearing his head from his sloping shoulders.

The sound of clapping greeted their victory.

"Angelus!" Baby shouted before colliding forcefully with the dark figure. They went down with an "oof" from Angel. She ended up astride him. "Did you see? Did you? I killed it! All by myself. I ripped its head right off!"

Angel looked up at his youngest childe and wondered if she was part of his atonement. Spike and Drusilla had been bad enough but this one…! He sighed. "Yes, I saw. You did it quite… gruesomely."

She wiggled, and half of Angel wished she would get off him while the other half wished she'd wiggle some more. "Come on, Sire. Admit it. You liked it. You're into gruesome."

Cordelia rolled her eyes. She was used to this by now. Angel-baiting was one of Baby's favorite hobbies. Innuendo and physicality generally entered into it prominently before Angel threatened to beat the redhead to death, at which point Spike generally intervened. In Spike's absence, Wesley could perform those honors.

Baby moved her hips intentionally, pleased with the physical reaction she was getting from the normally stoic vampire. This was going to be easier than usual. She could feel just how displeased he really was with her by the bulge she felt growing and hardening beneath her. She dropped her voice to the sultry. "You like it when I hurt things. When I kill things. You like it when I'm baaaad." She leaned forward so her body was pressed against his chest.

"Well, what have do we have here then? Thought making out in the cemetery was beneath you, Peaches."

"Spike! Honey!" Baby was off Angel in a flash, and another "Oof!", and had her lover pinned to the wall of a large mausoleum. Angel climbed to his feet with a shake of his head. She kissed Spike deeply for a few moments before releasing him in horror. She backed away from him, her eyes huge and staring. She bumped into her older sire's solid mass without ever taking her eyes from the blond vampire before her.

"Sweetie, what is it?" Angel's voice rumbled in her ear.

Her lips moved in an abortive attempt to answer him. Finally she managed to stammer, "N…not Spike!" She felt Angel's hands on her shoulders. "That's not Spike. It looks like Spike and smells like Spike but that's not Spike!"

Angel heard the metallic sloosh of Cordelia drawing her sword as he eased Baby behind him. Wes stepped up with his axe ready. "Another Klackshov demon?" Angel could feel Baby shivering against his back. This had to be particularly traumatic for her.

Meanwhile, the man she categorized as 'Not Spike' wiped a hand across his lips. "Well, I have say that was fun," he said with a leer. He looked at the vampire peeking from behind Angel's large form. "She's got a good tongue. Pity she's a flaming loony."

"Hey!" Cordelia protested. "Watch with the insults, mister! Want me to practice my sword skills on you, you fashion disaster?"

While Baby appreciated the thought she couldn't be happy with the way it was phrased. "Ah, Cordy honey, he looks just like Spike."

Cordelia rolled her eyes in a 'duh' expression. "Yes, and Spike is a fashion disaster. It's just that somehow it works for him."

The Not Spike shook his head. "Alright then, so you're both flaming loonies. What's going on then, Angel? What brings you to fair Sunnyhell? Hunting down escapees from the asylum, I gather." The look he gave Angel was so purely Spike that Baby shuddered and hid her face in Angel's leather-clad back.

"Find out what he did with Spike. Find out if he hurt him," she said. That thought wiped her previous fear away and replaced it with a new one. However, the new one was tinged with glowing anger and she stepped from behind her sire. "Because if he's hurt Spike, I'm gonna make him pay dearly."

"We all will," Wesley said from beside her. She hadn't heard him step up beside her. The glint in his eyes was frightening. If pushed to it, Baby would admit that Wesley was quite possibly the most dangerous member of the new Scourge. He possessed a core of darkness and rage that not even Angelus could rival. He and the English vampire had become close over the years and Wesley was quite willing to participate in whatever retribution might be necessary on Spike's behalf.

"Oh yeah," Cordelia agreed. "In spades."

Wesley advanced on the black-clad stranger. "So, the lady asked a question. What do you know about Spike?"

The bleached blond shook his head. "You're all as friggin' mad as Drusilla and Satan knows that bitch was an absolute…"

He never got a chance to finish. No one, not even Spike and Angelus, insulted Drusilla in Wesley's presence. Wes swung the axe with the ease of long practice. The other man barely dodged the stroke.

"Bloody hell, Watcher! What's your problem?" The Not Spike bobbed and weaved, avoiding Wes' attack until finally in desperation he swung and hit Wes on the chin. The taller man staggered back but the blond dropped to the ground clutching his head.

A terrifying thought struck Baby. "Wesley! Wait!" He had pulled the blond man up by the front of his shirt. She lifted the blond's chin with a trembling hand. Tears of pain glinted in blue eyes. "Oh my God," she breathed in horror. "He's chipped!" Her legs dropped from under her. "It is Spike. It's just not my Spike." Deeper horror settled in her gut. "And we nearly killed him. Oh God." She hadn't known that vampires could become nauseous but she felt like she was going to lose the contents of her stomach any second.

"Baby?" Angel wasn't sure he was following this but if he was then they'd nearly made a very terrible mistake.

"Alternate dimensions," she said and actually smacked herself in the forehead. "I should know; I'm from one!" She looked up at Wes and saw that he had made the leap with her.

"Alternate dimensions, alternate versions of us."

She nodded. "Yeah. We just haven't run into any duplicates before." She turned her attention to the man still kneeling on the ground beside her. "I'm so sorry. I thought… well, that's the problem. I didn't think; I reacted."

She read the look he gave her. After all, she'd had years and years of practice at it. "Yes, I'm a complete lunatic. And an idiot. But I'm also a very apologetic one?" She tried the go-ahead-and-smack-me-'cause-I'm-stupid-but-I-love-you-so-much look that usually worked on her Spike. Apparently it worked to some degree on this one, too because the death-glare lightened to simple mistrust. "You don't know me at all, do you?"

He shook his head. "Not from Adam's cat, luv."

She smiled. "I'm called Baby and in a different reality I'm consort to William the Bloody, my sire, Spike." She pulled her collar away and showed him her mark.

That scarred left eyebrow climbed up in a questioning expression she knew all to well. Spike sniffed slightly. "Yeah, that's my mark and you sure as hell smell like mine. And weirdly enough, his." He jerked his head toward Angel.

"Yeah, she's my childe, too," Angel admitted reluctantly. "It's… complicated."

Baby favored her elder sire with a look that clearly said he was a moron. "Ya think?" She followed it up with an eye roll. Cordy snickered.

Angel growled deep. A warning.

Baby's head shot up. "Oh, don't take that tone with me."

He growled again and bared his blunt teeth. "I'll take any tone I want with you. After all, you're mine now. Childe."

Baby shot off the ground and pushed her forefinger into his chest. "Oh, don't you dare. I'm not your chattel. I don't belong to you, you fucking Irish bastard!" she spat.

Angel grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground. "That mouth is going to get you another beating one day, girl." He drew his free arm back threateningly. "And I'm just the man to do it."

She vamped and bared her fangs menacingly.

"Hey! Hey!" Cordelia protested. "Cut it out, both of you. No hitting and no fangs!"

"You heard the Prom Queen. Stop it right now!" an authoritative voice cut through the gathering ground fog. "I can't leave you two alone for half an hour without you trying to kill each other, now can I?" Spike, Baby's Spike, glared at them both. Drusilla moved out of the fog and went to Wesley's side. Three other vampires emerged from the dim mist and flanked Spike. "Do we need to have another talk about not ever hitting her, Angel?"

Angel released his stranglehold and Baby landed lightly on her feet. "No. No, we don't. Sorry, Spike," Angel muttered. He looked apologetically at his consort. "I'm sorry, Cordy. She makes me crazy." He tried for his best abused little boy look. She thumped him lightly on the chest. "That's for being a big bully." She completely destroyed any impact her action might have had by hugging him.

"I'm sorry, honey," Baby said to her younger sire. "But he was trying to be all dominate again."

Spike sighed. "We've been through this. At least a hundred times! Angel, don't order her around and she won't try to chop your head off. Baby, don't torment Angelus and he won't…" He suddenly found his arms full of his trembling consort. "Here now, what's this?"

Drusilla smiled in a secretive way. "It's him." She glided over to the Spike who, now that the pain from the chip had subsided, was rising from the ground. "He's my Spike, yes he is. He was once all mine. Then the Slayer came and danced into his head. She broke his heart. She's a naughty, wicked girl." She ran a loving hand across his cheek. "Then Spike's dove came and she took his mind back to an old world. And he took her away and the world divided just like a peach. The same and different." As she looked deeply into Spike's eyes, he had the familiar feeling that she was crawling about inside his mind. "My poor, sweet childe. So much pain. So much hurt. It sings. It aches. It screams." Her midnight eyes saw into that place that only Drusilla could see. "You're not mine anymore. There's another, as alike as crumpets we are. But you aren't hers either. You belong to the cruel Slayer."

She turned back to her familiar childe where he stood holding her grandchilde/sister. "You made it all right again. You left the wicked Slayer behind. You gave me back to Daddy so I could find my sweet Wesley."

"Yes, pet. That I did." The rest of the group might be confused, but the man holding a still-trembling Baby had followed most of Dru's discourse. "I tried my very best to make it right for all of us."

Dru turned to the new Spike and kissed his cheek gently before withdrawing from him with the saddest of expressions. She wrapped herself around Wesley, seeking comfort. "He's all shattered, Wesley. Like a broken doll. They splintered his mind and now they've shattered his heart." She peeped out at her Spike. "All shattered and scattered like pages ripped from a book. How did you put yourself back together, my precious? It must have taken a great deal of glue and twine."

Spike hugged his consort more tightly to him. "It did, pet. It did."

The chipped Spike gave Drusilla a considering look and vowed silently to get her alone and see if he could get her to talk a bit more sense. He had the feeling that she had just said something very, very important. Right now, the ex-Watcher was making shushing noises and sending dagger-sharp glares at anyone who dared ask the psychic vampiress a question. From long association, he knew that Dru had reached that point where she just wouldn't talk anymore. He also felt that it would be counterproductive to try and pursue his questions with so many people around. "So, what's going on then?"

In broken and disjointed segments with many repeats and sometimes unnecessary explanations they managed to sort out what had happened. The Spike who belonged in the current reality finally summed it up. "Let me get this straight. You lot," he pointed to Baby, the other Spike, Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Drusilla, and Spike's three childer. "Are chasing some demon who can hop from reality to reality like a freaking rabbit." They all nodded. "Now your ex-Watcher does some mojo spell that lets you follow the demon." They nodded again. "You've followed it through several alternate Sunnydales already. And you've never run into a … a duplicate of yourselves till me."

"That's about it." Spike stuck out his hand to his doppelganger. "Sorry mate, looks like you ran into the insanity that is my family without warning or a safety net." He tilted his head in a conciliatory manner. "We, ah, had a bit of a problem with a shape-changing demon a few months back. It killed Baby, in fact." He held out his hand for his consort and pulled her close. "That's why she's vamped now. Probably why she went all round the twist when she realized you weren't me."

Now that the two Spikes stood side by side the resemblance was eerie. Only their hair provided any clue as to which was which. Baby's husband had allowed his dark roots to grow out and only the ends of his locks were bleached. He also wore it in a longer, more tumbled, curlier style than the other's all-bleached, slicked-back style.

The all-blond Spike shook his hand. "If you weren't standing here and if I hadn't heard the stories of the other Willow, I wouldn't believe you."

Baby's Spike nodded. "Understandable. I've had some experience with the whole alternate reality thing and it still messes with m'head every time it happens. Sorry we had to drop it on you like this. We have no way of knowing what time period we're going to land in when we hop the portals, much less what we'll find on the other side. So far it's always been Sunnyhell. I think its getting to us all. But it's got to be done; we intend to stop this demon bastard cold."

"What'd it do?"

The darker-haired Spike's voice went hard and cold, and golden flashes crept into his blue eyes. "He wants Connor. Wants to sacrifice the kid for some ritual that'll increase his power. He nearly got him; he hurt the boy. Not bad, thank God, but he killed one of my grandchildren and damn near killed one of my childer trying to get to the lad."

Angel's growl rumbled up from deep in his chest, the low sound reverberating through the cemetery. His eyes flashed yellow.

The other Spike recognized that tone. Someone was going to die in a violent, painful, and bloody fashion. He hoped he got to see it. He hadn't seen his sire take someone apart in quite some time. He saw that the woman on Spike's arm had vamped and was growling, too. Her brow ridges were delicate things but her fangs were as impressive as any he'd ever seen. The Cheerleader's grip on her sword was so tight her knuckles were white and her lips were drawn back in a snarl. Dru had vamped, too, and was hissing in anger. The three younger vampires had gone game-face and added their growls to the mix. Even the ex-Watcher looked murderous. His duplicate remained silent, only his yellow eyes showing that he shared the sentiment of his pride. Oh yeah, this group meant business. Spike was sure the sound of their displeasure had cleared every lesser vampire and demon for a square mile. It had been a long time since he'd seen a pride of vampires, not since his own days with the Scourge of Europe. But this was obviously more than some loosely-knit hunting party. They were feeding off each other's emotions, each other's body language. The communal reaction screamed 'family.'

The two humans were the really odd part of the mix. Spike wondered briefly where this other Spike fit in the pecking order. Beta still to Angelus' alpha?

And how the hell had he and Angel both sired the same childe?

"So, who's Connor then?" he asked nonchalantly.

"My son," Angel said simply. "He's thirteen. He's just a human kid." Cordelia scooted under his arm and they latched onto each other as if they were the only source of life for each.

Baby looked at the pair. "It's alright, sweetheart. The children will protect him and you have Charles, Lorne, and Fred to take good care of him. Faith's there, too. So you've got your people, a ton of pissed-off vampires, and an overprotective Slayer keeping an eye on him. We'll get this son of bitch and make Connor boots and a jacket out of his hide." Baby's face said she was serious about the boots. "No one messes with the family."

Blond Spike was still processing the 'Angel's son' bit. "A kid? You have a kid? A thirteen-year-old son? That would mean… wait a minute. I'm confused."

"No more so than I was. Short version: me, Darla, prophecy. It's a Powers That Be thing."

"Guess it must have skipped my Angel since he didn't say a peep about a kid when he was here helping the Slayer or when he was trying to suck the world into Hell, either. Besides, he dusted Darla and I don't think Peaches could do that to the mother of his children. He'd go straight into a centuries-long brood."

Wesley caught the implications of what was said and thought for a moment. "What year is it?"

Blond Spike looked at the Watcher. "It's 2002."

"Shit." Baby looked at her Spike. "I thought I recognized that shirt. And the jewelry. Been here, seen you wear that. That's what Dru meant, right."

He nodded. "Yeah, that's what she meant, rose. That's me."

She considered the blond Spike carefully. "Yeah, I remember when you wore your hair that way."

"Yeah, then I got my reflection back. This way looks better," her Spike said with a cocky grin. "I was gorgeous before but now I'm bleeding incredible."

Yellow flashed in her eyes. "Yeah, you are…"

Cordelia stepped between them. "Cut it out. You two start up like this and we won't get any sense out of you for at least an hour. Besides, I'm not in the mood for seeing any of your body parts." She grinned suddenly. "Maybe later."

"Cor…delia!" Baby protested. "He's been gone hours!"

Cordy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, two hours. Her libido was overactive enough and then you had to vamp her," she said to Angel, who looked nonplussed at her accusation.

"But you told me to!" he protested.

Cordelia ignored him as she relented and laid down rules for the other two. "Okay, holding is alright but all clothes stay buttoned and zipped!" She stepped away and addressed the blond Spike. "It's 2015 for us. Connor, if he exists here, is just a baby."

"Yeah, he was a cute little bugger," Spike said as he nuzzled Baby's hair. "Didn't look a thing like Peaches. Or the Bitch Queen either, come to think of it." Baby gave a snort of laughter and pulled his arms more closely about her and wriggled her back more comfortably into his chest.

Angel debated whapping him on the head but decided ignoring him would be more irritating. "Speaking of Connor, I have some information on the demon. He's trying to get something together here. Wants to use the Hellmouth for one of his little rituals, I think. He's supposed to be at the Bronze, of all places, later tonight meeting some suppliers."

"Cool!" Baby grinned. "Then we find him and kill him."

"That's pretty much the plan," Angel agreed. "I don't have an exact time so let's go. Now."

The Master of New Orleans turned to this dimension's Spike. "You want to ride along? You're local; you could probably help us out. There's bound to be food, booze, and bloodshed involved."

The other smiled, "Yeah, why not. You're all nutters but it sounds like fun."

Chapter 2 - "Taken In by Surprise"

Baby parked her crew-cab in the slot clearly marked 'No Parking' and turned down her stereo. As both Spikes and the childer climbed out, she scanned the area quickly and snagged a pair of vampires from behind a nearby dumpster. "I need someone to watch my truck."

"Screw you," one of them answered.

Baby snapped his arm, making sure that she heard both bones break before she said, "Wrong answer. Wanna try again?"

"Fucking bitch!" he yelled.

Baby shrugged and dusted him. She looked at the second vampire. "Okay, let's try this one more time. I need someone to watch my truck."

He nodded emphatically. "Yes ma'am. I can do that."

She grinned. It wasn't pleasant. "Good, you get to unlive for another night. Any scratches or damage and I'll do equal damage to you. Understand?" Her fangs appeared, long and pearly.

"Yes, ma'am," he said just as Angel pulled up and parked beside Baby.

"That one, too. No one touches them. No one goes near them. If you have to, you come get me."

As she walked away she heard him muttering, "Old ones! Always ordering us around just because they have a few decades on a guy!"

She laughed. "Idiot! I'm only six months old; I'm just a bigger Bad than you'll ever be." She approached the door just in time to hear the bouncer demanding the cost of the cover charge from Spike. Before her sire could respond, Baby was on the much larger man. His feet dangled six inches from the ground as her tiny hand held him against the wall by his neck. "The Master doesn't pay for anything, ever. Understand? We're going in now. I don't want to see any of you or your associates bothering him. Are we clear on that?"

He nodded as well as he could manage and Baby released him with a simply-stated, "Good."

Spike, version 2002, looked at his doppelganger. "Damn. Where'd you find her?"

The older Spike smiled. "In front of Sunnydale High School."

Once inside, Baby and the childer had no trouble making their company comfortable. A flash of fangs or yellow eyes and soon comfortable chairs and a pair of sofas were vacated and at the group's service. Baby sent the childer for food and drinks while Angel went to find his contact and see if the demon had arrived yet. The food arrived just as the Master of Los Angeles returned. "He should be here in a couple hours. We just wait now."

They talked for a while, trying to familiarize themselves with the new Sunnydale they found themselves in while allowing the new Spike to accustom himself to them. Though Baby and her spouse knew the events that led to the tragedy that was the current Scoobies, the others were shocked. Jenny Giles and Joyce Summers both dead. Willow addicted to dark magicks. Faith in jail. Dawn a troubled teen with a shoplifting habit. It was terrifying to see just how bad things could get. Neither Spike mentioned how deeply troubled the Slayer was or how destructive a relationship she'd developed with the vampire. Baby kept her own counsel as well.

Likewise, the new Spike was amazed at how very different the lives of the alternate Scoobies had been. He was very pleased to learn that Joyce was alive and both her daughters were relatively well-adjusted women. Buffy still had her internal demons but they weren't as harsh as what the current Slayer had to deal with. She'd never fought Glory, never died a second time. Willow had been properly trained and her power was in a very large part responsible for Buffy becoming the longest-living Slayer on record. The pair made a formidable team. Faith had suffered much the same fate as the current version but Angel had intervened. After a short jail term, she had worked with Angel Investigations. Technically, she had no watcher, but Wesley had been recording her efforts and on the rare occasions when he felt like it, sent very edited versions to the Council.

Spike was amazed at this group that called themselves the Scourge. He was particularly intrigued by the sight of Drusilla happily draped over Wesley Wyndom-Price. Cordelia and Angel were less of a surprise. Angel admitting to being Master of L.A. was something else again. Seeing himself being waited on hand and foot by devoted childer and a consort was a revelation. He wondered what had happened to make their lives so similar and so very, very different. He would have been depressed had not Spike's female childe sidled up to him. She was a beautiful creature with café au lait skin, long masses of ringlets, and gimlet green eyes. In a slushy accent she introduced herself as Claudia and placed herself as his disposal. 'Well now, that was more like it,' he thought as the black girl pulled him from his chair and onto the dance floor.

"What's up with that?" Cordelia asked the younger of Spike's two male childer.

Rene swept the room with a watchful eye. "You know Claudia, grandmere. She has a crush on the cher papa and always has. Papa, he only has eyes for the petite maman so Claudia she never have a chance to be more than his daughter. This her chance to be more for a while." The handsome Cajun winked at a nubile brunette as she walked past and was rewarded with a giggle and a blush.

Cordelia thought for a moment. "I'm not sure but I think I should be grossed out by that. Strangely enough, I'm not." She turned to Angel. "Should I be worried?"

He smiled and kissed her hand. "Nope. In any normal vampire household, Spike would regularly have had sex with Claudia and all his other childer. It's just our family that's weird."

"Thank God!" she answered.

Rene agreed. "Hey, I'm mostly straight, you hear what I'm saying, Angelus? Though my pere is a one fine looking man, the cheri amies they suit me better."

Cordelia had a hard time pushing away the intriguing visual of the black-haired Rene and his light-haired sire together. They were both very beautiful men. 'Okay, lived with the undead too long now,' she told herself.

Baby stood and pulled Spike to his feet. "I hope Claudia has fun. And don't you pick on her," she ordered Jean Claude and Rene. "She asked first and I told her it was okay. I told her to take him hunting, too. The boy's too thin. See, they're leaving now." She watched as her eldest daughter led her sire's duplicate toward the door. Claudia had been instructed to find someone in need of death and see that Spike got the lion's share of the meal. Anything else that Claudia might want to share with the man also had Baby's approval. She could feel the aloneness rolling off this dimension's Spike in booming storm-surge waves. She better than anyone knew the therapeutic effect a little affection could have on Spike. "She'll take good care of him. Now you two make yourselves useful. Get that DJ to play something decent. I wanna dance with your daddy. You guys coming?"

Angel settled Cordy more comfortably on his lap. "Maybe in a few minutes. You go ahead."

Cordy kissed his nose. "Oh, like you could stop them. You know that a dance floor just screams 'come and have sex in public' to those two." However, at that moment Angel made a sonorous 'Mmm' noise in her ear and she completely forgot what was supposedly wrong about sex in public. At the very least there certainly was nothing wrong with seriously sucking face with her sweet demon lover in the middle of the Bronze. And if there was, she didn't want to know about it.

Wesley kissed Dru briefly, "Do you want to join them, dear?"

"Oh yes," she answered. "I like the music. It makes my toes tingle and it makes blue lights come from your hair and your eyes. It makes me want to tie you down and lick you all over."

Wes smiled wickedly at his half-insane lover, "Then by all means let us dance, sweetheart."

~~~~~

Buffy Summers scanned the front of the Bronze for any sign of trouble. "Are you sure, Xander?"

"Look, all I know is that I got a call from a friend, who should know, telling me that there was trouble at the Bronze. A group of vampires strong-armed the bouncer at the door and then did an intimidation thing on half the people inside. They were pretty bold, flashing the fangs around and everything," her friend answered.

"Okay, okay." She had really wanted to just finish patrol and go home but it looked like she was going to be Bronzing it for a while. "We'll go in. It looks fine out here."

Inside, the Bronze looked pretty much as it always did on a Saturday night--packed. They maneuvered between groups and couples trying to spot any trouble. She and Xander split up to see what they could discover. Thinking that she might be able to see better from the catwalk, she skirted the edge of the dance floor. She had nearly passed all the dancers when a couple caught her eye. The pair was locked in a lascivious embrace and what they were doing could hardly be called dancing. It was nothing short of backseat-of-a-Chevy, your-father's-gonna-come-after-us-with-a-shotgun making out. The girl had her head thrown back on the man's left shoulder as she ground her derrière against him. The man had one hand under her shirt obviously fondling her breast while his other rubbed her jean-clad crotch. His platinum head was bowed, one of her arms wrapped around it, as he sucked on her exposed neck. Their bodies moved in time with the heavy back beat. He moved the hand from between the woman's legs and undid the top button of her jeans and slid his hand deep inside.

That couldn't be….

Even as Buffy watched, the man lifted his head long enough to move his mouth from his partner's neck to her lips. It was! The man blatantly making out on the dance floor was Spike! Well, she shouldn't be surprised. She had always known he was a pig.

The music changed to something more sultry, erotic and dangerous, and Spike removed his hands and turned the woman so she was facing him. He wrapped one of her legs around his and began to grind against her. He wasn't wearing his duster and Buffy could plainly see that the other woman had her hand all the way down the back of Spike's jeans. She could see the kneading motions of that one hand. The other hand was underneath Spike's shirt on the bare skin of his back. Spike had to use one arm to hold her to him but with the other he pushed up her shirt and clamped his mouth to her exposed nipple. The woman threw her head back in ecstasy. His now-free hand caressed the other breast. What sort of ho wore a bra that left her nipples bare anyway?

Buffy couldn't move. All she could do was stare as Spike, her recently ex-lover, made it with some bimbo on the dance floor. It couldn't get any worse, she thought. She was wrong. Long thin arms reached out and wrapped around the pair as Drusilla began to kiss Spike's hair.

Buffy's first instinct was to leap onto the dance floor and stake the dark-haired vampiress, but she knew just how dangerous Drusilla could be. Visions of the slaughter Drusilla might cause if disturbed kept the Slayer rooted in place. She'd wait and follow the insane vampire when she left the club. Dru wouldn't be killing anyone else after tonight, Buffy promised herself. And if Spike had gone back to that ho, well, he might have to be reintroduced to Mr. Pointy as well. She shifted position so she could better observe the trio without being seen.

Drusilla swayed hypnotically to Marilyn Manson's voice droning over the too-loud sound system, her arms skimming over her childe's body. Dru leaned in toward the couple. Buffy was sure she was going to kiss Spike again when to Buffy's everlasting shock, Dru kissed the other woman square on the mouth. Deeply. Passionately. Then the brunette was lifted away and a dark-haired man took her place at the redhead's mouth. Dru was now kissing the back of Spike's neck. He had not slackened his pelvic thrusts against his partner nor lifted his head from her chest but he somehow managed to include Dru in the embrace. Dru was rubbing herself against him and the other woman. He had removed his hand from the redhead's breast so he could caress Drusilla, but the brunette man's hand had immediately taken his place. Buffy's knees nearly gave way when she realized who the second man was.

"Wesley?" she stammered. When Wesley's head dipped to the breast opposite the one Spike was suckling, she knew she was in some other world. Wesley Wyndom-Price, stuck-up, prudish, repressed, English ex-Watcher, did not make out on dance floors and for damn sure didn't make out in a foursome with Spike and Drusilla and whoever the redhead was.

She was sure she was about to suffer a complete mental breakdown. If Spike had just put a hand on Wesley where she thought he did, then she was sure she'd gone crazy. Spike was kissing Drusilla while the woman he held used one hand to pet Drusilla as she slipped the other inside Wesley's shirt as Spike massaged Wesley's crotch. Angel stalked up to the quartet and shook a lazy finger at them. They reluctantly broke apart, Drusilla kissing Angel before she pulled Wesley away. Spike laughed at whatever Angel had said. Angel picked up the redhead, who wrapped her legs around his waist. He placed a lingering kiss on her open mouth before carrying her off the dance floor, a laughing Spike following closely in his wake.

~~~~~

Spike threw himself onto the couch beside Dru just before Angel deposited Baby in his lap. He kissed his consort. Drusilla laid her head back on his shoulder and reached up for her lover. Wesley stretched himself across Drusilla's length and kissed her fiercely even as his hand stole out to rub Baby's thigh.

"You four are a menace," Angel said mildly. He bent over Cordelia. "You're going to get us all arrested again." He didn't really sound angry at all. He sounded… aroused.

Baby grinned. "Come on, papa. You and Cordy should have joined us. Hmm, a sixsome. That would be fun. Sixsome? Is that even a word?"

Spike chuckled, a low pleasant sound. "The correct term is orgy, dove."

"Oh yeah." This display of massive intelligence demanded that she unzip his pants and reach inside to give him a reward. She slid down till she knelt before him and buried her face between his sprawled legs. Wesley transferred his hand from Baby's now unavailable thigh to Spike's. Angel didn't notice, he was too busy kissing Cordelia, his hands doing a bit of fondling themselves. Spike leaned back and rested his head against the back of the dilapidated couch. He allowed one hand to drift down and around and inside Dru's top to stroke her breast while the other smoothed and twined in Baby's hair. 'Damn, my unlife is good,' he thought.

"Oh yeah, pet, just like that," he murmured. He closed his eyes and let the feeling build. His body jerked a couple of times as he spilled himself into his wife's mouth.

"Oh. My. God!" There was untold depths of outrage in the exclamation.

He opened somewhat glazed eyes. A shark-like grin gracing his face, he softly growled, "Hello, Slayer."

Chapter 3 - "Hoping. Hating."

Baby tucked Spike away and zipped his jeans. She turned her head to look at the Slayer. With a feline air, she licked her lips slowly, sucking her lower lip into her mouth before releasing it with a faint smacking sound. She eased herself back into Spike's lap, pausing to kiss Wesley along the way. She laid her head on Spike's chest beside Drusilla's. "Angelus, lover. We have company," she said in dulcet tones. "Angelus?"

Buffy flinched at the name. 'Please don't let it be that. Please,' she thought.

With a faintly muttered "Damn it!" Angel lifted himself off Cordelia, trying to give his wife time to straighten the clothing he had just so studiously rumpled.

"Angel?" Buffy breathed. It certainly looked like her sweet, souled vampire, not the nightmare demon Angelus. She felt an undulation of relief and longing. If Angel was here then everything would be better. Then she caught sight of the woman beneath him buttoning her shirt. "Cordelia!?!" The Slayer looked decidedly faint; as did a white faced Xander Harris who stood directly behind her. "What's going on here?" she demanded.

Baby simply couldn't let an opening like that go by. "What does it look like, honey? Thought you'd have some idea of what we're doing. It's called sex."

Spike hugged her to his chest with one arm. "Babe, be nice," he ordered softly.

"Don't wanna." She grinned and caressed Drusilla's face. "Wanna play." She licked Dru's cheek delicately. "Wanna be bad."

"Well, you're doing a fine job of it, pet. Now stop," Spike ordered still gently but with enough force that'd she'd know he meant it. She felt her jaw muscles clench but she moved away from Dru and laid her head on Spike's shoulder.

Angel had managed to make himself decent enough to perch on the arm of Cordelia's chair. He pulled his coat into his lap. No need to annoy the Slayer more with evidence of his arousal. "Wesley, we have company. Wes."

Baby leaned and whispered in Wesley's ear. He reluctantly lifted himself from Drusilla and sat down primly beside her. The proper façade was rather marred by the two undone buttons on his jeans and Dru's lipstick smeared across his face. His physical state was quite evident as well. Unlike Angel, he didn't bother to hide it. He twined his fingers with Dru's as he observed, "Ah yes. Quite. Good evening, Buffy, Alexander." He spoke without the least trace of embarrassment. From the tone they might have interrupted him when he was about to have tea rather than about to have Drusilla where half of Sunnydale could watch.

"When did you take up with the crazy undead ho?" Buffy asked. Only Spike's restraining hand kept Wes on the couch.

"And speaking of… looks like your taste has gotten worse, Spike. This whore's even more awful than the last one." Buffy's tone was particularly ugly. She was confused. She was hurt. So much so that she had to lash out. And Spike was always convenient for that. She didn't even want to think about Angel in a clinch with Cordelia Chase. "So how much did she cost you? You never have any money so she has to be cheap. But then, I couldn't expect you to be with anything but a cheap whore, could I?"

Growls came from each side of her.

"It's all right, boys," Baby said. "Besides, the Slayer should know." She sat up and slid to sit beside Spike as Jean Claude moved to stand protectively behind the couch. He placed a hand on her shoulder. Rene came and stood by her side. Menace radiated from both men. Rene waited for his sire to say something but was disappointed.

"She's all cold," Dru observed. "Hard and cold. Like a locked chest. She makes the puppets dance." Drusilla's head swayed to music only she could hear. "Words and words and words. And they have only her meaning. Cruel and hard like a winter's storm. It looks so pretty. All white and soft but its cold and it freezes. It will kill you with its pretty frost."

"Shhh," Spike said to Dru. "Don't worry about it, luv."

Dru looked at him. "You must be careful of the storm, my Spike. It will freeze you. You've only just thawed. It will freeze your sweet flower and you'll will never thaw then." The startling clarity of her gaze cleaved Spike's tongue to the roof of his mouth. "You should listen to me, Spike. You know I'm always right. She could make you drown in your own tears."

Terror touched him for just a moment. Dru turned and laid her head on Wesley's chest. "We'll all drown in your tears," she said.

Cordelia's social instincts kicked in. "Jean, why don't you get some chairs for our guests?" She smiled a cold, brilliant smile at her former schoolmates. "Hello Buffy, Xander. Please, won't you join us? Would you like something to eat? Can I have Rene get you a drink?"

Jean thumped a pair of chairs near the two humans and stalked back to his mother's side. He pulled his lip back in a disdainful snarl. Rene's expression clearly said that if he got the drink he'd dump it over the Slayer and set the alcohol alight. He'd killed people for lesser things than calling Baby 'whore'. He growled ominously.

"Boys, that's enough. I can take care of your mum," Spike said evenly.

"Then why aren't you?" Rene demanded coldly.

"Rene!" his Master snapped, soft and dangerous.

His childe backed down. "Yes, sire." His sire's displeasure didn't stop him from returning to his position beside Baby. He took her hand and patted it. Physical contact had always been used for comfort in Spike's household. Her hand in his was soothing. Possibly the only soothing thing in the room at the moment.

"That's better then." Spike stared at Buffy.

This was his Slayer. He had no doubt of it. He recognized the hurt, the need, the rage that had become Buffy Summers. He had forgotten the sheer intensity of her. She fairly flamed with the power of her emotions. She had once filled his every thought, waking and sleeping. She had permeated his very being. She had been his reason for existing. She was still beautiful. She was quite possibly the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. The demon who'd impersonated her had been a pale copy created from his flawed memories. This was the real thing. She burned bright as the night.

Even damaged and broken, she was glorious.

"It's good to see you, Slayer," he said.

Before Buffy could form an answer, she receive yet another shock; a second Spike walked up. He was holding hands with a light-skinned African-American girl. "Well, now isn't this cozy?" he said. "Slayer, Xander, I see you've met my new friends." He didn't miss the smell of sex that was heavy in the air. What had this lot been up to while he was gone? From the look on Buffy's and Xander's face whatever it was, they'd gotten an eye-full. Damn, and he'd missed it. On the other hand, he'd just had the first full meal he'd had in many a day and was feeling quite mellow, so he couldn't really complain. A quick shag in the alley had only added to his feelings to good will.

"Actually, we haven't gotten around to introductions yet," Wes said tensely. A muscle in his jaw was jumping.

'Now what's pissed off the Watcher?" Spike 2002 wondered. Since the other Englishman was glaring lightening bolts at the Slayer, it wasn't hard to figure out. "Well, let me handle those honors." He grinned. "Slayer, Whelp, meet the Scourge."

Buffy drew her stake.

"There won't be any need for that, luv," Spike observed. "This lot's as goody-goody as you could hope for."

"Am not!" the other Spike responded. "I'm semi-evil. I'm only as good as I want to be."

Drusilla giggled. "Oh Spike, you're always good," she said, innuendo heavy in her voice.

Wesley chuckled. "Yes, he is. Consistently." He leaned across Dru and quickly pressed his lips to his Spike's. Baby giggled. Wes baiting the Slayer could be lots of fun, she decided.

Xander's ears turned a bit red and he quickly took the chair Jean Claude had provided. Buffy's mouth curved down in distaste.

"Behave," Angel warned with little threat in his tone.

"Apparently I missed something." Buffy's Spike shook his head. He was going to have re-evaluate his opinion of the ex-Watcher. Who'd have thought the toff had the brass! "Any way, back to introductions. They're from another dimension where it's 2015. They're chasing some bad-ass demon what's after Angel's kid. Thought I'd give them a bit of hand then they'll pop on back to when and where they came from." He sat down in the chair Claudia provided and pointedly pulled her into his lap.

Angel decided to play peacemaker. "Buffy, we're sorry to have caused you any inconvenience. What your Spike says is true. We finish the mission here, hopefully tonight, and then we're out of your hair."

Buffy wasn't placated. "Not wanting to cause me any 'inconvenience' is why you rousted the doorman and harassed half the people in here? Is that why there was a triple-x sex show going on in the middle of the dance floor? We won't event talk about what's going on over here with these two and you and Cordelia of all people!"

Angel sighed. This wasn't going to be easy at all. "Perhaps we were a bit overwhelming. I'm sorry."

His grandchilde grinned. "Damn right we were overwhelming. We bloody well always are."

"Why are you apologizing?" Baby asked coldly. "We are what we are. We're the Scourge." She looked at the Slayer. "We save the innocent, we kill the bad guys, and in between we try and have a little fun, 'cause, hey! life and unlife can be really short where we're from. If a few feelings get hurt along the way, well…" Her shrug said 'That's just tough luck.' "We're a little different than the people you know. We do what we want, where we want, when we want." She had never really liked Buffy Summers and the memories she had inherited from Spike hadn't helped. She couldn't see the Slayer the way he did. She wanted the self-center, immature warrior princess to know she wasn't dealing with people who'd jump when the Slayer snapped her fingers. " Cordy's Angel's consort and has been for twelve years. They have the right to do whatever they want. Angel is Master of Los Angeles. That means he owns the town. That means if he wants to fuck Cordy on stage in the middle of the Oscars no one is going to say anything to him about it."

Cordy looked up at her husband. "No!" she said before he could get any ideas. "Maybe at the Emmy's."

Angel looked at her in shock. "I would never…"

Wesley somehow managed to convey an eye roll without actually rolling his eyes. "Paris, the Louvre," he stated flatly. "Sydney, the Opera House. New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Natural History."

"Oo!" Baby suddenly interjected. "Don't forget that thing that got us thrown out of Buckingham Palace."

Spike shook his head. "Absolutely disgusting. I've never been so embarrassed in my life." Wesley nodded his agreement. "The House of Lords is one thing but the palace! I mean, really, Angelus. The Queen lives there!" As Englishmen, Wesley and Spike had certain standards.

"All right! I get the point." Angel glared at his family.

The blond Spike shook his head. "They're all completely barmy, Slayer. As near as I can figure out, it works this way. Angel and Cordelia fight the big evil from L.A. They have the usual people we know, along with Faith, helping them. Wes and Dru hooked up when Wes went to work for Angel. Been at it ever since. This Wes is heavily into magic and can do some fairly scary stuff. They been getting Dru some sort of treatment. She's not sane but she has moments now and again. She's not out rampaging any more. Angel apparently keeps her on a short leash." Wes didn't like the simile and snarled. Spike's eyebrows shot up. "Wes, here is a tad on the overly protective side. He's also apparently a major bad-ass now." Yeah, definitely going to have to rethink his opinion of the other Brit. He indicated his duplicate. "And the other me rules New Orleans. Helps Angel when the Pouf gives him a call. Got his own thing going on down there, terrorizing evil, building some sort of friggin' dynasty. The redhead's his consort, in case you haven't figure it out. The other three are his childer."

"Childer?" Xander asked. He had never heard the term. Or he couldn't remember. His brain felt like mush at the moment. He was still trying to get past Wesley kissing Spike. The vampire had lived in his basement! And he'd never suspected that Spike might be… Okay, not going there.

"Vampiric children," the Spike on the couch answered. "Mortals I've turned into vampires. They're smarter, more powerful than minions. This is my eldest son, Jean Claude. He helps me rule New Orleans. Takes care of things when I can't be home. Jean has been my good right arm since I turned him." Jean nodded stiffly. He was fairly tall, with an athlete's build and brown hair and eyes. He looked like he had been nearing thirty when he was turned. He had the serious, almost studious good looks of some of the young college professors Xander had seen. "This is Rene, my next son. He's Master of Mobile these days. Keeps the nasties out of the Bay City. It was his childe the demon killed." Rene Beaumont was an incredibly handsome man similar in height and build to his sire with black spiky hair and blue/green eyes blazing from dark olive skin. The combination was striking. He had a small diamond imbedded in one nostril and radiated an air of rakish danger.

"Always willing to help the family, papa," he said. He had a thick Cajun-French accent.

Spike nodded to the dark girl now standing beside the other Spike. "That's my eldest daughter, Claudia." He held out a hand and she ran to take it and climbed into his lab. "She her daddy's favorite baby girl. Rules Mississippi from Vicksburg to the coast, she does. Her and my other girls," he said proudly. "They're hell on wheels, just like their mum." Baby relaxed enough to give him a half smile.

Buffy was fuming. "So, you're not evil but you're out murdering people and turning them into vampires."

Claudia's eye glowed yellow for a second. "Papa didn't murder us. He saved us." She decided that Spike's orders or not, if she got a chance, this would be one dead Slayer. "I was a college student on my way home from a party in the Quarter. I was attacked, beaten, assaulted. I was on the edge of death with mama and daddy found me. They turned me. Took care of me. Helped me track down the scum who did kill me. Gave me a new life. It's the same for us all. Jean was a mugging victim. Addict knifed him for his wallet. Rene belonged to the wrong family, got caught up in a hit. Got shot." She glared razors at the Slayer. "You can say what you want to about us but you mind your tongue when you talk about Spike and Baby. We don't take kindly to anyone disrespecting them."

Buffy refused to relent. She turned to Baby. "What about you? Are you one of his children, too? What's you're sob story?"

"I am," Angel said before Baby could answer. "She ran into Angelus. It wasn't pretty. Spike saved her life."

"I don't call turning someone into a vampire saving their life," she countered.

Baby was getting really tired of this. "He didn't turn me, not then. Not for a long, long time. He did literally save my life. Then he gave me a new one. Gave me everything." She locked eyes with her spouse. The rest of the room faded away for them. Suddenly she was speaking only to Spike. "Gave me a reason to live. Gave me his love."

The expression on Spike's face cut through Buffy's heart. He wasn't suppose to look at anyone like that. His expression was all soft, intense, and … beautiful.

"Always, dove, always," Spike said gently. He didn't notice when Claudia stood and wrapped herself in Jean Claude's arms. Rene breathed deeply as the tension flowed out of his body leaving him peaceful and relaxed. He joined his siblings and put an arm around his brother's shoulder and one around his sister's waist. He could feel the calm radiating from them. Their parents were happy and nothing else much mattered. Family.

"Forever and ever," Baby countered. Her earlier temper was forgotten. These moments, when Spike looked at her with that certain light in his blue eyes, when his voice turned husky and tender, these were what she lived for. He turned and gathered her into his arms, whispering so softly in her ear that only she could hear, half covering her body with his, leaning her back against the arm of the sofa. He covered her mouth with his.

Cordelia sighed. "Oh well, we won't get any sense out of the two of them for an hour." She turned to the flabbergasted Slayer. "So what's been happening with you?"

~~~~~

Buffy sipped her cola more to have something to do than because she was thirsty. She had finally yielded enough to sit down and accept a soda. Xander was talking quietly to Cordelia. She hoped he was getting some more information. She couldn't bring herself to ask any more questions of these odd, familiar strangers. They chilled her in some deep, nameless place inside. Spike, this new, apparently unchipped Spike disturbed her more than she could express. He was dancing with his ho again though they were keeping it more PG13 this time. She had sat for the last forty-five minutes watching the two. They had a million signals that screamed togetherness. She was reminded of the few times she had seen Dru and Spike together. The woman catered to his every whim, apparently. Of course, in all fairness, Buffy had to admit that Spike treated the redhead the same way. It was the looks, though, the little touches that got to her. Of course, the blatant making out had gotten to her, too.

Angel pulled his chair up beside hers. "Baby and Spike have been together a long time. Don't let that weird talking without talking thing they do get to you. You get use to it."

"How long?" she asked.

"Hm? How long what? Oh! How long have they been together? Seventeen years. Baby was only turned a few months ago," he explained.

'And you've been with Cordelia for twelve years,' she thought. 'Six times longer than you were with me. If you were ever with me.'

"Were we ever… I mean did we…?"

"Were we ever a couple, you mean?" he supplied. At her nod, he continued. "Yes. I met you right after you came to Sunnydale. I was waiting here for you, in fact. We were… close for a couple of years. I don't know exactly when everything changed. When our world separated for yours."

"I do," Spike said as he led Baby back to their seat. "Our reality split off from Buffy's the night you killed Jenny Calendar."

"But I never killed Jenny!" Angel protested.

Buffy looked at him in wonder. "Yes, you did."

Spike nodded. "See. There's your split."

"But how?" Buffy tried to figure out how to phrase the question. "What caused it?"

Baby smiled softly. "I kissed Spike."

His answering smile was devastatingly tender. "Yeah, you did. And I bit you. All thunderbolts and lightening, it was."

"Has been ever since."

Buffy didn't want to understand. "Our realities split because you bit the ho?"

Before Baby could retaliate, a man signaled Angel. "It's my contact. Get ready. Maybe he's here." They all knew who 'he' was. The demon.

Though no one stood or changed their seats, a sense of readiness settled over the group. Positions were shifted ever so slightly so that weapons could be reached more easily. Instincts and senses reached out, preparatory to battle.

They saw the contact shake his head at Angel and point toward the door and then back to their group. Angel nodded stiffly and walked back. He picked up the chair he'd been sitting on and tossed it against the wall shattering it. The table went next. His grandchilde was beside him in an instant.

"Angel? Angel!" Spike demanded. "Come on. Tell me what happened." Angel ignored him and smashed another chair against one of the concrete support pillars. Spike grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket. "That's enough. You're not helping anything when you get like this. Stop it now!" He forced his sire to look at him. "All you're doing is frightening Cordelia." Angel's chest was heaving with emotion and unneeded breaths. "Tell me what's going on and if need be, I'll help you rip the place apart. We all will. You're not in this alone."

Angel nodded. "We almost had him! He was on his way in the door! We were so close."

Spike nodded back. "And something spooked him? Did he know we were here?"

Angel pulled himself from Spike's grasp and reached for Cordy. He hugged her tightly. "No. He heard the Slayer was here." He buried his face in Cordy's dark hair.

Buffy gasped. "I… I'm sorry. I…"

"It's not your fault. It wasn't like that. His suppliers wouldn't come in when you're patrolling the place. Afraid you'll shut them down probably." Angel raised his head. "We'll have another chance if he hasn't left town." A sudden fear gripped him. "Wes, is he still here? Has he jumped?"

Wesley reached into his pocket and pulled out a small quartz sphere. It fit perfectly in his palm. "Dru? Darling, give me your hand. I need your help, my love."

She obliged by placing her slim fingers around his. She looked deeply into his blue-gray eyes. They reminded her of a summer's storm. "Be in me," she said softly. "Be in me." Together they began to chant ever so softly, Latin flowing around them. The crystal glowed, golden and muted in their hands. Dru gasped softly, a tiny sound of pain and ecstasy, as she threw her head back. Wesley's eyes began to glow, matching the radiance of the tiny globe in his palm. His breathing quickened till it was that of man in the throes of deep torture or passion. Through gritted teeth he demanded, "Show me! Dru! Show me now! She wailed, a high keening note that set the hairs on Buffy's arms jumping. "Yes! Yes! Dru! Dru! NOW!" She screamed and collapsed against her lover's chest. He clasped his arms around her, the crystal ball held tightly in one fist. His fingers glowed with it's light.

"The one you seek is still on this plane." His voice sounded peculiar, like several voices blended into one. The glow faded from his eyes and he sagged a bit. "You were wonderful, my love. You did a fine job, sweetheart," he told her weakly.

Angel released the breath he had been holding. "Thank you. Thank you, Wes." He couldn't continue and buried his face once more in Cordelia's hair. Spike placed a supportive hand on his sire's back.

Baby threw her arms around Dru and Wes, hugging them both. "They'll need to rest now."

Spike helped her guide the pair back to the couch, Wes murmuring comfort and encouragement to Drusilla the entire time. "Right. Claudia, take a cab and get us some rooms for the night. There's a Hilton off Main Street." Spike dug about in his pocket and pulled out a credit card. "See if this will work here. The number may be active in this dimension. If not, here's some cash." He quickly counted out several hundred-dollar bills, it looked like a couple of thousand dollars to the shocked Buffy. "Get the usual, a room for Angel and Cordelia, one for Wes and Dru, one for me and Baby, and one for you three." Baby whispered in his ear and he nodded before turning to his double. "You still on board for this fight?" At the affirmative answer, he turned back to his childer. "Get a room for him, too. Make sure the rooms all face north and get them all on the same floor if you can." He looked at the pale, exhausted Watcher and his mate and at the emotionally drained Angel and Cordelia. "Jean, Rene, let's get these four to the cars. You'll need to drive Angel's car, Jean." Rene had already approached the couch and was scooping Drusilla up.

"It be alright, Wes. I take good care of her, hmm? You lean on Jean. We all getting out of here, heh?"

"Come on, Angel. Why don't you ride with us? It's time we all got some rest." Spike pointed the other vampire in the direction of the door before turning to Buffy. "Look, I know you still have some questions, so why don't you meet us tomorrow…well later today. Come to the hotel at two. We'll meet in the main dining room." Without waiting for her reply, he gathered up his consort and his double and headed for the exit.

Buffy felt has though she had just been told to stand down by a general.

Chapter 4 - "Alone Without A Care"

Spike was awakened by the sounds of orgasm coming through the wall. Bloody hell. Sounded as though his duplicate and the she-witch were having way more fun than than any pair of vampires should at… he looked at the clock, "Bloody hell, eight in the morning." He drew the pillow over his head and tried to go back to sleep.

You would think the Hilton would have thicker walls, he mused to himself as the sounds from next door continued to bleed through the wall as though the Masonite was paper. Damn vampiric hearing anyway, he thought.

"Oh God, Baby. Yeah. Do it again, luv." He heard the male voice saying. It had gone husky with desire. Did his voice sound like that? Not bad. No wonder the birds all went gaga when he talked to them.

"Spike. Oh honey! That's so good. Ah! Oh! Spike! *gasp* You're so good." Sounded like, duplicate or not, the boy next door knew was he was doing. 'Yeah, who's the Big Bad?' he thought with a grin.

Well, if he was going to have to listen to someone else having a good shag at least the bint was calling his name. He removed the pillow from his face. Hmm, there might be possibilities here. Some bint, all hot and bothered, calling his name, asking him to do delicious things to her. Well, if a fellow who happened to have the same name and just coincidentally the same body was in the next room all alone, well, who could blame said fellow for having a bit of a wank. He listened as Baby moaned and ordered and begged. Damn, the little vamp was hot for him, well the other-him. Same difference. Yeah, she was about to come any second now. That should do it for him, too, he thought.

"Spike! Oh Jesus God in Heaven! Spike!!!" Yeah, the other-him had definitely rocked her world. He had just reached a nice plateau of sensation and fantasy, just about ready to go over the edge with her when her voice coming though the wall shattered it.

"Oh God, I love you, Spike! I love you so much." The truth of the statement was in her voice. She was way beyond jonesing for the other-him. "You're everything to me. I adore you."

That destroyed his euphoria. Ended his desire like a bucket of ice water over his privates.

He heard his other-voice chuckle deep and low, satisfied, content. "I know, Baby. I love you, too. Forever and ever, dove. You're my girl. You're mine forever. I want to hear you say it, pet. Tell me you're mine."

"Always. I'm yours always. You're my world, William. Spike, I love you."

Though he couldn't hear it, he knew the silence that followed was due to a deep kiss. He could feel it. Despair settled over his heart. Did they have to sound so damned happy? So fucking blissful? He felt lonelier than he ever had before. He could still hear them, murmuring about love and caring and forever with each other. He felt nauseous with envy. And anger. Supposedly that was him over there. Him! So how come that other-him was so bleeding fucking happy and he was so miserable. How come the other-him had his bit of fluff all over him in public? She obviously wasn't ashamed of him. Bloody hell, if what he'd heard was true, she given him head in front of God and the Slayer and anybody else who wanted to watch! Hells bells! He couldn't get his lover to even hold hands with him in public. He couldn't get her to even admit they were lovers in the first place. She wouldn't admit it to herself, much less to her friends. She wouldn't even admit he was as much a man as he was a monster. That one next door apparently got told how wonderful he was and how much he was loved on a regular basis. Got treated like a flipping lord and master by everyone around him. Hell, he even had Angelus listening to him. Now that was mind-blowing. Yeah, the other-him was surrounded by respect and love. Bugger him.

Not that he was all into that slush but it would sure as hell be nice just once in a bleeding while.

Finally the sounds died down and he figured the other two were finally asleep. No doubt holding on tight to each other. He debated putting his fist through the wall.

He knew his sleep was done with for the rest of the day. Oh well, he was used to it. He seldom slept much any more. At least he had a nice room and a belly full of fresh blood for a change. Maybe he should ring up the mulatto girl. She'd be all over him just like she was in the alley behind the Bronze. Yeah. That had been nice. She'd be more than willing. Of course, she'd be fantasizing that it was other-him the whole time. He wasn't fooled. She had it bad for her sire. He just happened to be next best thing. Just like always. No, he wouldn't call her. Not now. Maybe later. When he was in a mood not to care. He lit a cigarette and turned on the TV.

The connecting door between his room and the other eased open. The vamp-girl -- What was her name? -- peered around the jam. "Can I come in for a second?"

"Why not." Beat being alone with his current thoughts.

She came and sat on the edge of the bed. She was wearing a too big silk kimono that had to have cost a fortune and not much else if Spike had to hazard a guess. She smelled of bourbon and blood and sex and him. It was disconcerting.

"I heard your TV and realized that, well, you had to have heard us earlier. I'm sorry." She smiled deprecatingly.

Well, now, that was unusual. No one apologized to him. No one much cared what he thought or felt. "It was alright. Had a bit of wank listening to the two of you." Her eyebrows shot up into her mussed red hair. "What? Come on. Can you blame me? Besides, you don't strike me as the shy type."

The sadness behind the hard facade sliced through to her soul. How many years had it taken her to get that same look off her Spike's face? Seeing it again made her want to find Buffy and strangle her slowly. Or maybe string her up and torture her for a few weeks. She pushed the anger away. It was more important to do what little she could for this man who was in such deep pain. She couldn't help but wonder if she and Spike had added to that pain. She could hear his TV plainly through the wall even though the sound was soft and low. He had to have heard everything that passed between them earlier. What had he felt like hearing them making love, really making love, not just having sex? Damn. And now he was doing the cover-up thing that Spike did so often. The one that she could always see right through. He was putting up a good front with his talk of masturbation but she didn't smell any semen. She made a pretty educated guess about what had actually happened. She'd do what she could now. She'd pretend she bought the lie. For now. She grinned. "Oh, I'm not. If I had been, living with you for 17 years would have cured it any way."

He couldn't help but grin in response. Her smile was infectious. "Yeah? Has it been that tough?"

She snorted. "It's been great." He was far too thin. If nothing else, she'd see that he ate properly while he was with them. Damn the Initiative and their chip to Hell! Even after weeks and weeks in a wheel chair, her Spike hadn't looked this thin, this exhausted. And the God damned Scoobies weren't helping; they were letting him starve slowly. She'd see that he was paid well for his help. Maybe set up a little something to keep the money coming in. She bet she could hack into Wolfram & Hart's bank accounts. She bet the passwords were the same they'd been in her world. It'd be easy to siphon off a tidy sum into an account for him. Set up a stipend so he didn't just give it all to that damned Slayer. She was careful not to let her concerns show on her face. "But you are an over-sexed exhibitionist. I could tell you stories that would curl your hair if it wasn't already all ringlets." She flicked a sleep-tousled lock from his forehead.

He took a draw off his cigarette. "Well, but that wasn't me now was it? It was him."

Maybe he'd let her do something after all. She pulled one leg up onto the bed, getting more comfortable. Her knee bumped his hip. The bone was sharp and protruding. "But it was you. I figure there are maybe two weeks, a month at the most between the Spike I met and ran off with and you. You're the same man I fell in love with." All the more reason it hurt to see him like this. He had to realize that he was capable of being loved. That had been her greatest hurdle. It had taken years. She had to reinforce it daily still. "You're different now, of course, or rather, the you that's sleeping next door is. But the guy I first met, you're the same." This was her Spike. She had this man's memories. She knew him emotionally, mentally, physically. It was killing her to see him like this. She wanted to roll him up in soft blankets and take him away somewhere safe. She knew his pain. It lived in the memories she shared with her Spike. It lived in her memories of their first years together watching her Spike pull himself together. Seein him try to find some sort of healing from all the little cuts that the hurtful words and actions of others had caused, the gashes that Angelus, Cecile, and Dru created, the gaping wounds that Buffy dealt daily; he bled from a million places. God damn them all, any way! She reached out and patted his arm. "You're exactly the same as you were when we left this hell hole and ran off together. And in all that time, you haven't changed…" She tapped his forehead, "In here…" She laid her hand on his bare chest just above his heart, "Or in here. You haven't changed where it counts."

"That's… scary," he admitted. She had the most peculiar expression on her face. He couldn't identify the look in her eyes.

"Yeah, but in a neat sort of way." She smiled, a soft, ironic expression. "I always wondered what you'd think of what we've become. Guess I get to find out after all. There's been a lot of whiskey under the bridge since I met you. Other-you. Whatever."

He grinned. It could get confusing. Something she'd said earlier struck him. "You've been together seventeen years? I thought you said you were only six-month-old." Spike didn't know why he was encouraging this conversation. Something about the way she was staring at him made him want to keep her here for a while longer. He'd never seen a look quite like that before. It made him feel… something. He wasn't sure what. She smiled again. He could see how the other-him could be attracted to her. She had a nice smile. It felt warm, like firelight on his skin.

"I was turned because I was dying. In mythology, don't the mortal lovers of immortals always come to a bad end? A tragic death always waits for those foolhardy enough to be the beloved of gods." Spike stared at her. Is that how she felt? That she was loved by a god? Damn. He felt a shiver crawl slowly up his backbone. She sensed his unease and shifted gears. "My Spike and I were together for a long time before that ever happened though. I was his human consort long before I was ever his vampire one." How could she possibly explain those years to him? What they meant. What they were like. How could he or anyone else understand? Only Wes and Cordelia could possibly begin to comprehend what meant it meant to be the human consort of a vampire. She allowed the hand that rested on his chest to remain there, comfortable, familiar. "I've been a vampire for a little over six months. I've been with Spike for just over seventeen years."

A look of pride and accomplishment settled on her face. "I've been Consort to William the Bloody for over fifteen years and wife under Louisiana law to William Roxton for over twelve." He arched a brow at the name. He'd never told anyone his surname. Not even Dru. Apparently Other-Him had not just told her the name but had given it to her all upright and lawful. He experienced another moment of envy. He could remember when the thought of giving his name to a woman had been the most important thing on earth. But that was before he had been claimed by the blood and the darkness. Before Dru.

"We have fifteen children and twenty-two grandchildren and assorted great-grandchildren of the vampire sort." She wondered how she could get him to understand what he was capable of. How she could show him that he still had the greatness Drusilla had spoken of on a London night long ago? That he still walked in worlds that others couldn't even dream of. "We own South Louisiana from Slidell to LaFayette and halfway up to Arkansas. Spike is Master of New Orleans and the Atchatalafya Hellmouth. Has been for nearly fifteen years. We have a good life," she said proudly. She closed her eyes for a moment. "You have options. Don't ever forget that. There's other ways to live. I'm proof of that."

Spike took another drag off the cigarette. He might actually finish this one for a change. "Sounds like it." He didn't really want to hear about how happy Other-Him was. He looked at her closely instead. Not too bad, he had to admit. But then, he'd always had good taste. The red hair went well with the pale skin. The devilish light in her golden green eyes contrasted nicely with the pre-Raphaelite face. Good body, all hourglass curves. Lush. Reminded him of the women of his youth. Yeah, he could understand how he could go for this one. Especially if she kept looking at him like that. Damn, what was the woman thinking?

He could see the consort scar where her shoulder and neck met. It was deep and prominent. Created in life, it would never fade in her unlife. There was something peeping from the other side of her kimono. He twitched the silk from the other side of her neck. He skin was warm from feeding and sex. "What's this? Angel did a bit of nipping, too; it looks like. That's a claim mark." He didn't remove his hand but traced the silvery bite mark with his index finger.

She actually blushed. "Yeah, well, Angelus and I have had our history. That was eleven years ago. It was… complicated."

"I was dead." The other-Spike stood leaning against the open doorway. "Wouldn't have happened otherwise."

The Spike lying in the bed raised an eyebrow.

Other-Him sauntered into the room. He paused to kiss the woman on the top of her head. "She brought me back. Interesting story. Get the Pouf to tell it to you sometime. He turns all sorts of lovely colors. Chokes a lot, too." He came and sat down on bed next to his doppelganger, not really between Spike and Baby but more with them. "Gets all excited about blowing up the lawyers." He smiled.

Baby looked at the two men. Except for the clothing and the hair they were indistinguishable from each other. This dimension's Spike lay comfortably stretched out on the bed, the thin sheet only covering him to his waist. It was obvious that he was wearing nothing. Her Spike was draped only in a sapphire silk robe, his chest plainly visible. The pale, nearly white tips of his hair gleamed against the inch or two of dark roots he'd cultivate. His hair looked softer, curlier than his twin's completely bleached locks but both were nicely rumpled with sleep. Identical sets of cobalt eyes looked at her. Her brain went into immediate overload.

Her Spike looked at her wide eyes and felt rather afraid. "Babe? What is it? What are you thinking?"

She swallowed but didn't blink. "Sorry. Having an Anya moment here." She thought for a moment more and tilted her head. Was such a thing even possible? Could she even get Spike to consider it? The implications were just astounding. "Having a major Anya moment."

Identical left eyebrows lifted at her.

She whined, a tiny high-pitched noise. She'd always been a sucker for that lifted eyebrow. "Oh God. She was right. I mean, two of you, but you're the same." And was everything the same? It would have to be. Implications again. Damn, Anya was a genius. "It wouldn't be cheating. Oh God. Two Spikes." Just thinking about it gave her shivers. "Two. It would be… Aw man!!" Awe inspiring. Earth shattering.

It suddenly dawned on her Spike what she was talking about. "Good God, woman! You can't mean you want to… with both of us?!?"

She still had that far away look in her eyes. "Uh huh. Think about it. I mean, you've always liked to watch us do it. That's why you put up all those mirrors in our bedroom once you got your reflection back. I mean, even over the bed, for godsake! Now that doesn't work, of course, since I don't have a reflection any more." 'Rambling now,' she told herself. 'Stop it.' Focus. Would he even contemplate such a thing? "But think about it. It would be like that… only better." Oh, yeah, way better.

Spike looked at his darker haired twin. "Is she saying what I think she's saying?" If so, he might just be interested. That might very well be the kinkiest thing he'd ever tried, philosophical connotations considered and all.

The other nodded. "Yeah. She wants to shag the pair of us at the same time. I may have to beat her after all." He didn't really sound angry.

Baby made a moue of mock disappointment. "You know I'd never do anything you'd dislike. All you have to do is say no," she said in a small voice as she ran her hand up her Spike's chest. She could tell he was seriously considering it. She glanced at his lap for a second. Yep, he was seriously considering it. "But think about it, precious." She eased closer to them both. She allow her mouth to form a pout and a heavy hank of hair to half obscure her left eye. She looked up at her husband through her lashes. She knew that look drove him crazy. "Wouldn't it be fun to watch me do this to him?" She ran her other hand across the blond Spike's chest, tweaking his nipples. She bent over and began suckling her Spike's breast. The voice turned sultry as an August day in the Quarter. "And wouldn't it be hot to watch while I do this to him?" Her hand slid below the sheet and suddenly the younger Spike was arching his back, nearly coming off the bed. She grinned wickedly. Spike thought it might very well be the sexiest expression he'd ever seen on a woman's face.

"Christ woman! Where did you learn to do that?" he cried when she released him.

She smiled and rubbed her check against her Spike's chest while she slipped her hand below his robe and did the same thing to him. "Seventeen years of exploring this body. Of finding out what you like." 'Of going through all your memories and your fantasies, looking for ways to make them come true,' she thought but didn't say. Time enough to explain that connection to him later. She leaned over and kissed the blond Spike. "Of knowing what turns you on."

'She definitely knows how to do that,' he thought. Back in the cemetery he'd told Angel that she had a good tongue but that apparently had been a polite peck on the cheek compared to this.

Her Spike was panting in her ear. He knew better than anyone just how impressive her talents a la boudoir were. Especially when she set her mind to it. And she had definitely set her mind on this. He couldn't tell her no and found that he didn't actually want to. She was right; this other Spike was him. As surely as if he had traveled back in time, this other man was himself. Now, that was a head trip if ever there was one.

The Spike who lay on the bed was shivering as her hand ran up and down his inner thigh, nails digging in at just the right places with just the right pressure.

"Look at each other," she ordered in that steamy, Spanish moss draped voice. "Look at what I can do to you."

Both Spikes were surprised at the level of arousal they saw in each other's faces. And they both admitted that seeing his own face that aroused, that excited, only increased the feeling. He'd never realized his eyes could turn so very, very sapphire with passion, each thought. This had to be the ultimate narcissism. Watching himself making love to the same woman, perhaps making love to himself.

"She's good," the Spike lying on the bed said brokenly. He wondered if he had slipped into waters too deep to swim out of.

His twin grinned and then jumped as Baby found one of his more favorite erogenous zones. "She's better than good. She's fucking fantastic," he said once his eyes uncrossed.

She smiled. "So Mama gets to play?" she asked in that voice, the one he'd never been able to resist. That soft, breathy drawl with just the slightest edge. Razors lurking hidden in molasses.

Her Spike nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. When did you turn so evil?"

She grinned while continuing to sweetly torment both men. "I think it's my demon talking."

Her Spike bit his lower lip, waiting for one of the waves of sensation she was creating to crest and subside before he answered. "We haven't heard a peep out of your demon since you were turned, love. I don't think you're suddenly channeling your inner Angelus. I think this is just you being evil. Deliciously, decadently, pervertedly evil." Oh, yeah, definitely delicious. Definitely evil. God! He was a lucky man.

Her grin bore out the truth of his statement. "Isn't that why you married me?" The razor floated to the top of the molasses for an instant.

"I bloody well hope so!" the Spike lying on the bed said, gasping from the sensations her fingers were creating. "If not, I was a bloody idiot."

Baby continued to grin happily, wickedly, removed her kimono and then slipped the robe from her Spike's shoulders. She reached out to the man lying on the bed and drew his head up and to her breast. Spike didn't have to be told twice; he latched on to her nipple. She gasped and looked across at her husband. "Come here and I'll show you exactly why you married me," she growled with a truly evil gleam in her golden eyes. 'Oh yeah, all molasses and razors,' he thought before he abandoned himself to her embrace.

Chapter 5 - "Things That I Can't Bear"

Buffy watched as Cordelia directed the waiter with the air of a general directing a campaign. "Okay, we'll need a carafe of orange juice and one of pineapple. We'll need coffees all around. Just bring the pot. Make it three. Lots of cream, the real thing not that fake powder stuff! Oh, and some chocolate syrup. Dru likes tea, so, English Breakfast if you have it. In a pot, not a just a cup. Bring an extra cup in case Wes wants some later. And a dish of lemon. We'll order as soon as everyone's here." She shooed him off and turned to Buffy. "So, how's slaying?"

Buffy blinked. "Ah, fine?" She wasn't really sure why she was even here. When she'd gotten up that morning, she sworn she was going to stay out of it. Let these people handle their own problems. They apparently didn't need or want her help. But then, as the time Spike had specified drew closer she'd rationalized that this was her town and it was up to her to keep tabs on a group that had the potential danger this one did. She didn't trust them. She was very happy Xander could accompany her. She wasn't sure she'd have been able to handle this alone. She smiled over to where he sat across from Cordelia, looking stoic and withdrawn. One leg kept jiggling. Cordelia was making him nervous, she guessed.

Angel plopped himself down at the head of the table muttering something that sounded vaguely like "Good morning."

Cordelia kissed his cheek. "Good morning, grumpy. Coffee's on the way." She grinned at the Slayer. "He's a big old bear when he first wakes up," she explained brightly. Buffy wanted to hit her. "Is everyone else on their way down?" Cordy asked as the waiter brought the beverages. She quickly prepared Angel's coffee and set it before him.

"I think so," he said. "Thanks, hon." Buffy really, really wanted to hit Cordelia. Xander just watched with big eyes. This was a side of Dead Boy he'd never thought existed. And Cordelia! Well that was just… surreal.

Wesley and Drusilla's arrival followed quickly on the heels of the coffee, Wes carefully steering Dru around any errant patches of sunlight that penetrated the mezzanine. Dru kissed Angel gently and they both kissed Cordelia's cheek before he seated Dru with the grace and elegance that only years of application could produce. Like Angel and Cordelia, their demeanor exuded stylishness and self-confidence. Buffy suddenly felt drab in her work clothes. Even Xander looked professional today. He had a meeting to attend later in the afternoon and so had dressed to suit the occasion. The fact that the waiter nearly fell all over himself trying to serve Drusilla's tea didn't help Buffy's feelings. She'd forgotten just how beautiful the vampiress was. Spike's three 'children' appeared as Cordy was handing Wes his coffee. One after the other they kissed first Angel, then Cordelia, then Wes and Dru before taking seats as far from Buffy as possible. Jean prepared and passed out their coffee. Buffy felt that all it needed was for Angel to start reading the morning paper to recreate a scene from "Life With Father." That need to hit something was growing.

"Did you see the calamity twins on your way down?" Angel asked. His brain was starting to wake up finally.

Wes nodded. "They should be down directly and Spike's twin with them. Does that make them a trio now? Frightening thought first thing in the morning," he mused. "They were trying to sort out something or another. Ah, here they come, in fact."

A very sleepy-looking Baby, flanked on each side by identically-dressed Spikes, made their way to the table. Like the group before they exchanged morning kisses with everyone around the table except Buffy and Xander. Xander had steeled himself and was ready when Spike kissed Wesley but when he kissed Angel, brief, ephemeral thing though it was, he nearly spit. Then when his Spike shrugged and kissed the Watcher, too, he choked.

"You alright, Whelp?" Spike asked with eyebrow at half-mast.

"Yeah, coffee went down the wrong way," Xander lied. He had convinced himself that it was the whole being-from-another-dimension thing that was the difference. After all, Vampire Willow had been very… aggressive and very bi. But now he was beginning to wonder if it was a vampire thing rather than a dimensional thing. If so that would mean that Angel… okay, visuals he so didn't need.

The tables were arranged in a long row with chairs on one side and booth seats on the other. Spike 2015 slid into the booth seat beside Xander. Xander had to resist the urge to slide further away from the vampire, particularly when he slung on arm across the back of the booth behind the human. Spike was now directly across from the Slayer. Baby threw herself into the booth and curled up beside him with her head on his shoulder. "I hate mornings," she stated groggily. She reached out and pulled Spike 2002 down beside her. She retained her hold on his hand until Cordelia passed her a cup of coffee heavily laced with cream and chocolate. Baby sniffed and took a sip. "Oh God, Cordelia. You're a saint. A miracle worker! Will you bear my children?" She offered a taste to the blond Spike, who was amazed at how good it was.

Cordy laughed. "Sorry, you have the wrong equipment. And the one child I have is enough, thank you. My son is going to drive me crazy yet." She copied Baby's coffee and passed it to the new Spike and turned to Buffy. "Well, you know how it is. You're Dawn's parent now so you have a teenager, too!" Buffy hadn't ever quite thought of it that way. "They're so hard to keep up with. And then there's keeping up with who their friends are and who they want to date… well, it keeps me up nights. Then there are grades and worrying about the right college. And drugs and gangs and everything! It just never ends," she finished brightly.

"Ah, yeah," Buffy said and retreated into her coffee cup.

Angel's brain hadn't quite caught up with Cordelia's mouth. "Conner wants to date someone? Who? I told him he couldn't date till he was fifteen."

Cordy patted his leg soothingly. "Yes, dear, he knows. But he thinks Lauri Brannen is cute."

Angel frowned. "Is she the one with blue hair?"

Cordy sighed. "No, dear. That's Cloe. She thinks Connor's cute but Connor thinks she's too stuck up. Lauri has the rose tattoo and the pierced tongue."

That woke Angel up completely. "He can't date any girl who has a pierced tongue!"

Spike grinned. "I don't know, I always heard that tongue piercings were really good for…"

"Exactly!" Angel cut him off. "He's too young for that. He needs a new set of friends. Maybe a different school."

Both Spikes cracked up. Wesley chuckled along with them. "Really, Angel. He lives in our household, surrounded by… well, us. The poor boy has fought demons since the day he was born and you're worried about a girl with a bit of gold in her mouth," the Watcher tsked.

Buffy realized that she didn't know if any of Dawn's friends had tattoos or pierced tongues. And they'd never talked about drugs… Her head was starting to hurt.

"So can I go back to bed now? Is there a reason I'm up in the middle of the day?" Baby asked no one in particular. She had settled back with her coffee cup clenched in both hands. Her Spike had one hand on her thigh and the other Spike had an arm around her shoulders.

"Well, if you three had gotten some sleep instead of making enough racket to keep the dead awake, you wouldn't feel so rotten," Angel sniped.

She opened one eye. "I wouldn't talk about noise, if I were you. What with Cordelia screaming her head off at ten a.m. while we were trying to sleep… well, I'm surprised that hotel security didn't pay you a visit."

Cordy grinned. "They did. Angel had to bribe them." She missed the look on Buffy's face but Baby didn't.

Neither did Wesley. He still owed her for last night. "Yes, you were all quite vocal. Honestly, CordeIia, I would never have taken you for a screamer."

"I would've," Xander muttered to himself. Angel frowned at him.

Wesley continued, "As for you three…" He raised his eyebrows expressively and straightened his glasses. "I wasn't entirely sure if we should simply ignore you, call the authorities…" He winked at Baby conspiratorially. "Or join you."

"Ooo, joined us? The five of us? That could have been fun!" she stated.

"Five!" Buffy exploded. That had been easier than Wesley thought. She glared at her Spike. "What does he mean 'the three of you'? Do you mean that you and those two…Ew!" She shook her head. "I don't know why I'm surprised. I always knew you were a filthy pig. A pervert. You're nothing but a disgusting animal."

Baby came straight across the table at her. Luckily for Buffy, the Master of New Orleans managed to grab his consort's waist as she lunged and so the Slayer ended up with a lap full of coffee rather than a face full of enraged vampiress. His childer were on their feet ready to follow Baby's lead. Wesley had to restrain a hissing Drusilla.

"Stop it!" Spike ordered.

Baby either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him. "Fucking bitch! Let me go. I'm gonna kill her."

Buffy looked up from her stained and wet shirt with blazing eyes. "Yeah. Let's do it, then." She pushed her chair back so hard it fell over as she stood.

"Whoa, Buffy. I don't really think you want to do that right now," Xander said placatingly. He righted her chair and tried to guide her back into it. Four enraged vampires might not be too much for the Slayer but he wasn't sure where either Spike would stand in that fight. He happened to glance at Cordelia and realized he wasn't sure where she'd stand either.

"That's enough!" Angel shouted just loud enough to echo through the otherwise empty restaurant. "Both of you. That's enough." Wesley was whispering soothingly to Drusilla, who glowered at the Slayer with dismemberment in her eyes.

"Let it go, pet," Spike ordered. "All of you. Let it go." The childer looked from their mother to their grandsire. Their sire glared at them. "I mean it. All of you. Sit. Down." he grated. Baby sat down reluctantly and the childer followed her example. "That's better." Spike took a moment to calm himself. "Look, you lot can't go off each time Buffy says something. She's just like that. It doesn't mean anything." He ran his hands through his half-dark, half-light hair.

Baby drew herself up. "The day I sit by and let someone call you names is the day I stake myself," she said without ever taking her eyes from the Slayer. She growled menacingly. "It means a hell of a lot and you know it." Her Spike placed a hand on her arm. The other sat, wide-eyed and frankly flabbergasted. No one had ever stood up for him before.

Buffy snarled back. "Truth hurts sometimes. I don't know why I even said anything! You want to have kinky, disgusting sex with him? I could care less. I just don't want to hear about it. It nauseates me."

Baby laughed. "Covering up, much?" she said in her best Sunnydale accent. "Didn't nauseate you when you brought a house down around him. Didn't nauseate you all those nights you came running to him to make you feel alive. Want me to tell you what's really bothering you, Buffy? You just can't stand that I'm getting a piece of what you want."

"Hey!" Xander stood and waved a finger in Baby's face. She batted it away without even looking at him. "Don't you insinuate that Buffy would even look at Spike that way. She's so far above him till…"

"Sit down, Harris," Angel ordered. He didn't like the other man shouting at his childe. Besides, Baby could kill him with one well-aimed slash of her hand. He wasn't interested in blood all over the breakfast table.

Xander turned on him. "Shut up. Look, lady, I don't know what Spike's told you but chip or no chip, I'm gonna beat the shit out of the lying little bastard."

"Oh yeah? Try it, mate." Spike decided he didn't have to take shit off Xander Harris, chip or no chip. He could pound the boy into the ground with one good punch. He might have a headache for a month but it would be worth it.

"Sit down, Harris. Now." Angel stood and tossed his napkin onto the table. If there was any beating to be done, he'd do it.

Wes winced. This was not exactly what he'd had in mind when he started his game.

"You weren't here to see Spike go all stalker. He'll say anything to make Buffy pay attention to him. This is all just so typical of the crap he pulls all the time. So just stay out of this, Dead Boy."

"You know, I hate it when you call me that. I always have. So, I'm gonna say this just once. Sit down and shut up!" Angel growled. Cordelia was on her feet now, a hand pressed to Angel's chest where he leaned toward the human.

"Make me. You come riding in here all 'Oo, I'm Master of Los Angeles' and expect everyone to jump when you snap your fingers…"

"Stop it! Both of you!" Cordelia ordered, as she pushed them apart. "Cut it out! Right now!"

"You claim you don't want him but you don't want anyone else to have him either." Baby snarled at Buffy as their confrontation continued unabated by the others around them. "You can't stand the thought that he's screwing someone else. It's alright for you to fuck him but if anyone else shows an interest you…"

"Stop it, all of you," Spike roared. The man who ruled New Orleans crashed his fist into the table, nearly cracking it. "Angel, Xander, Spike, sit down. Baby, leave Buffy alone." He took a steadying breath. "For God's sake, we're not here to kill each other. We're supposed to be working together." Xander and Angel cautiously seated themselves again. Cordelia dropped into her chair with a sigh of relief.

Fear settled in Buffy's gut. Had Xander realized just what the whore had said? She glanced at him quickly. He seemed to have been too caught up in his fight with Angel. If he knew, he'd have exploded by now, right? How could Spike have told that red-haired bitch about them! She'd kill him. She'd beat him to a pulp when she got him alone. "You know, you're right," the Slayer said to her Spike. "I should just let it go. You're not worth it. I don't know why I was shocked; it is typical of the way you always act. I don't care. Do whatever you want; you three are just soulless monsters anyway."

Wesley snarled. If Spike was a monster, then so was Dru. "I'd be careful with that designation if I were you," he warned.

"And ah, technically it's not true. Baby has her soul, just like Angel," Cordy said.

Buffy looked shocked. So did the blond Spike. He'd had no idea.

Baby grinned a lopsided, ugly smile. "Yeah, by your definition I'm a person, not a monster." She might not be allowed to kick the crap out of the Slayer but she'd teach her a thing or two about the truth hurting. "You see, that's how Buffy and her precious Scoobies judge personhood; by whether or not you have a soul. By whether you're a demon or not. Angel, you and I, I guess we're sort of half-people. Don't know what you'd be, Cord. So, Wes, I guess you're the only full-fledged person among us." Baby looked at Angel. "Didn't know that did you, Sire? Didn't know your sweet Slayer was a total hypocrite, did you? The Scoobies ragged on Spike for years about not being a person because he was a soulless demon. Didn't matter that Xander was living with someone who'd killed and maimed more people than you and Spike and the rest of the old Scourge put together. Didn't matter that she'd never shown one minute of remorse over it. She was human with a soul. Didn't matter that Ripper's a stone-cold killer when the need arises. Didn't matter he'd been all bad and evil in his youth. He was human and could change. There are different rules for different people. And none of them apply to her. She's been…"

"Baby, stop," Spike ordered. "This isn't helping. I told you. This is how Buffy is. She doesn't really mean it."

Baby jerked her arm from her husband's grasp. "Yes, she does. You want to go back to letting her treat you like shit? Fine! I don't have to hang around and watch it." She stalked off.

"Crap!" Spike banged his head on the table.

"Maman, she have a good point," Rene said coldly and left.

Spike ignored him. When he lifted his head, he found his twin looking at him peculiarly. "Shouldn't you go after her, mate?" the blond asked.

Spike sighed. "Not right now. She'll have my head if I do. I'll let her cool down some. You can talk to her if you want." He leaned his head back on the booth and looked up at the atrium ceiling. "Bloody hell," he sighed.

The other Spike considered for a moment. "I think I might just do that." He followed Rene.

Cordelia looked from Xander's pale lips to Angel's clenched jaw to the Slayer's flushed face. "Ah, Buffy, let's go get you cleaned up. I have some blouses that should fit you," she said as she stood and led an unresisting Buffy away. Xander followed. He'd had about all the quality time with Angel that he could stand.

Drusilla's eyes followed them. "I don't like her. She brings winter wherever she goes. I told you to beware of the frost, Spike." She stood. "I'm tired, Wesley. Take me to our room."

Wesley paused by Angel's chair. "I'm sorry. I never meant… I'm sorry." He supported Dru as they left the mezzanine.

"Well, that was just lovely, wasn't it?" Spike breathed. "Maybe it's best that we not involve the Slayer in this, Angel. We don't need this. And she doesn't need it, either. It'd be better for all concerned."

Angel nodded. "You're probably right. I'll go talk to her." He stared at his grandchilde. "There's more going on here than I know about, isn't there?"

"Honestly, Angel, I don't know what's going on around here." Spike waited till he could no longer see his sire's retreating form before turning to his two remaining childer. "I suppose you two are going to yell at me, too?"

Jean shook his head. "Nope. Wouldn't dare."

Spike harrumphed softly. "Yeah, right."

His son continued. "Angel's right, though. There's a whole lot going on here that we don't know about. Mama's temper is quick on the trigger but not like this. This goes deep. She's feeling whatever it is hard." Claudia patted his hand. "So are you. So is that other Spike. You don't let people talk to you the way that Slayer did. I've seen you rip their throats out for less."

"Jean is right, Papa." Claudia stared at the vampire who was now her father. "Whatever it is, you better work it out fast. Baby isn't going to just let this go on. She's not made that way. I'm not made that way. Nobody talks to you the way that Slayer did." She rose and held out her hand to her brother.

Spike looked at the cup of coffee before him. Somehow it had survived the battle. "She always talked to me that way," he said to the bit of porcelain. "Buffy doesn't mean it. She never meant it."

Chapter 6 - "Playing Games With This Old Heart"

Spike watched Baby pace back and forth. He wondered if she was like this all the time or if this was an aberration. The woman he'd met last night was certainly passionate and, yeah, volatile but that had to have been the most delicate of hair-trigger tempers he'd ever seen. She was still simply seething. "Ah, pet?" he said hesitantly. "Now, don't take m'head off. But what was all that about just now?"

"I can't stand it when she talks to you like that," she said through clenched teeth. "Makes me want to just…" She spread her fingers wide in an expression of complete anger and frustration. "Just hurt her."

"I gathered that much, pet." Spike sat down on the foot of the bed. "So you want to tell me why? I can understand you getting a bit bent out of shape about it if it was directed at your old man but most of that was aimed at me."

Baby continued to pace. "I just can't stand it. I never could. It just infuriates me that she thinks it's okay to come running to you whenever she wants a quick fuck but it's not okay to treat you decent in public. Hell, I'd settle for her treating you decent in private! Bitch!" She forestalled any comment he might make. "Look, I know she's your old lady and you don't like for people to dis her but it just drives me crazy to see her treat you like shit. We won't even talk about when she hits you."

"Alright, that's it!" Spike was off the bed in one smooth movement. He grasped her shoulders. "You said your reality split up when Angelus went after Jenny Calendar. So what's going on here? You talk like you've seen Buffy and me go at it more than once but you told me yourself that you and your Spike split town right after you met. How do you know about Buffy and me!?! Why do you care? I'm not the same as your husband."

"Yes you are!" Baby nearly yelled. "You are him. Up until two or three weeks ago you were the same person. The same body, the same feeling, the same miseries. Everything in your life happened to my Spike, too. It was identical up till a while after Captain Cardboard blew up your crypt. And I know it all because I have your whole life in my head. All your memories, all your feelings, everything." She pulled out of his grasp and turned away from him. "A spell went wrong. I know everything about you from your earliest memories all the way through when she broke it off with you. I could quote you her parting words if you want me to. Tell you how it made you feel. How dare she call you William!" She threw herself on the bed. "I can tell you how it feels to be inside her. I can tell you how it feels when she looks at you like she hates you. When she says you're disgusting." She closed her eyes. It hurt too much to think about it. "Bloody bitch. I could kill her," she said softly.

Spike felt as though he'd been punched hard right in the solar plexus. "My whole life? In your head?"

She tapped her temple. "Yep. Right here, honey-baby. Safe and secure forever. Just like you lived it."

He collapsed beside her. He couldn't think of anything to say. "Damn." There was too much to ask, too many questions. "You said something like that last night but I didn't get it. What about Other-Me, what does he think of all this?"

She laughed sardonically. "He has all my life in his head. Didn't you wonder why we got together so easy? We know each other completely in a way that nobody else I've ever heard of does. Sometimes, especially if we're really near a Hellmouth, I can feel what he's feeling and he can feel me." Her face softened and the anger drained away. "It's glorious. I love being inside your head." She had forgotten that this was a different man than her Spike. They kept bleeding into one in her mind. "I love feeling what you feel. Feeling what I feel. Being one like that…"

Spike swallowed convulsively. "That's got to be the most frightening thing I've ever heard in my life." He didn't want anyone knowing everything about him. A man needed some secrets. Then it occurred to him that it was already too late; he didn't have any secrets from her. He couldn't speak for few moments. "You mean… you're telling me that you know everything about me? Everything?" He wondered if he could get away with dusting her. Only the fact that he had no stake handy and the thought of her mates coming after him stayed his hand. He could take her, no problem, but he was sure he couldn't take on Angelus, Drusilla, and an enraged version of himself. Particularly if they came at him together. At worst, they'd send the humans after him, too, and he'd seen enough of this new Wesley to worry him. Wesley wouldn't care whether Spike was able to defend himself or not. And the man was damn good with that axe last night.

She heard the anger in his voice. "It wasn't my idea. It just happened. Don't worry. I've never told anyone your secrets and I'm not about to start now." She turned on her side and stared at him. She made a guess. "It's nice inside your head. You have nothing to be ashamed of." He turned to look at her. "Why do you think I love you so much," she said.

"You love him," he clarified.

She smiled, a Mona Lisa thing, barely there. "You are him. Isn't any of this getting through that thick skull of yours, sweetheart? You are him. The same person. You're the man who lives inside my head. You're the one I originally fell in love with. Its that simple." She turned back and stared at the ceiling. "And that's why I get so pissed off when she treats you like shit."

The implications of what she was saying finally began to sink in for Spike. "Damn," he muttered.

~~~~~

Buffy sighed in relief when she noticed the table they'd all shared was empty. Returning to the restaurant had not been easy. She really didn't want to talk to anyone right now. She just wanted to leave. On top of everything else, she felt stupid for leaving her purse at the table. As she gathered up her bag and turned to leave, she froze. Standing, lost in thought, staring out the big plate glass windows at the small hotel garden was one of the Spikes. A Spike perfectly positioned in the center of a huge beam of bright, warm California sunlight. Surrounded by it. Bathed in it. Sunshine glinted off the blond tips of his hair, sparked from his jewelry, glistened on his skin. There wasn't so much as a wisp of smoke. He looked like any other man, albeit a more handsome one than was usually encountered in hotel restaurants, just standing in the sun.

She found herself unable to breathe. On shaking legs, she managed to make her way to him. After a couple of futile attempts she managed to whisper his name. He turned to her immediately but his eyes were still a bit unfocused, still lost in contemplation. "Buffy?"

She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. "Spike? You're standing in the sun." She sounded as awestruck as she felt. The light danced in his eyes, turning them ocean blue.

He turned back to the window. "Oh. Yeah. Been able to that for a long time now. Years."

"Years," she repeated and felt foolish. Surely she could manage more conversation than that. "Anything else? I suppose you can see yourself in mirrors, too."

He turned back to her and smiled. "Well, now that you mention it, yeah, I can. I have a beautiful reflection," he said with a minimal amount of cockiness in his voice. He kept the invulnerability to stakes, fire, and holy objects to himself.

"Wow." She realized how lame that sounded the instant it left her mouth. "I mean, that's amazing. I…" She couldn't think of anything else to say. That pretty much summed it up.

Spike took pity on her. He sometimes forgot how very young she was. "Yeah, it is fairly amazing. Took me a bit to get used to it myself." His smile was as blinding as the sunlight. "Still don't tan but I don't burst into flame, either. Fair trade, I think."

"I'd say so," she answered and couldn't help smiling back at him.

Spike suddenly realized that he'd had this dream before; just standing in the sun smiling at Buffy. Watching the way the light played on her hair. She had always represented sunshine and light to him. It was hard to realize it was real. "So, what are you doing back down here? Where's the Whelp?"

She tried to pull herself together. "He had to leave. That meeting thing he had. Work, you know."

Spike nodded. "Yeah, I hate meetings. Spend too much time in them nowadays," he said ruefully.

She nearly snorted. "Meetings? You?"

He cocked his head at her. "Yeah, meetings. I have a city to run, you know. Unfortunately, that means dealing with people and that means meetings. I hate 'em. Send someone else whenever possible. Jean likes 'em. Claudia's good at them. Baby's born to 'em but she hates 'em, too. Rex is great with the financials. Shelley does the whole communications thing. I send her if they're gonna talk about connecting up to outsiders. I only show up for prestige. And when they need someone to majorly kick ass."

Buffy grinned. "I just got a visual of you in a suit and tie."

"Hey, I don't wear a bloody tie. Ever!" he protested. "Man's got to have some standards."

Before either could continue, Angel called out to them. He stood well back from the sunlight but didn't seem too perturbed by Spike's ability. 'Maybe he's used to it,' Buffy thought as they joined him.

"I'm glad you're both still here. One of my contacts called. He has some news on what the demon's up to but you'll need to meet someone. Unfortunately, this someone insists on meeting in the middle of some field way outside town. Not vampire friendly, exactly." He looked at his grandchilde. "Dru isn't feeling well and Wes would rather not leave her. I don't want to send Cordelia alone, could you…?"

Spike nodded. "Sure, Sire. Just point me at 'em."

"I'll come, too," Buffy surprised herself by saying. "Extra muscle. We were wrong about me not getting involved. If this guy wants to open the Hellmouth I want to stop him, too."

Angel nodded. "All right. Good plan. You two can take care of it then." He handed over the keys to his car and gave them directions on where to go and what to ask. He felt no qualms about sending them out. If the answers were to be had, Spike would get them.

~~~~~

Spike watched the redhead stare stonily at her non-reflection in the mirror over his dresser, telephone still clutched in one hand. "Pet, what did the Pouf say to get you upset again?" He's just spent nearly two hours talking to the woman and they had both finally calmed down. He wasn't comfortable with her having his whole being stored in her head but he was neither homicidal nor suicidal about it. Then she'd started worrying because her mate hadn't reappeared. Finally, she'd called Angel. Whatever he'd said had set her off again.

"He left. He's gone off somewhere to meet a snitch. With Buffy," she said with a deadly calm.

"Yeah, so? Peaches sent your old man off on a mission. What's the big worry?"

She took a deep breath before she answered. "He never goes off without telling me where he's going or at least that he is going. Not ever. Not since that one time…" she trailed off. "He never leaves me alone without making sure everything's okay before he goes. I do the same for him. Always."

This apparently was a big thing for them. "Look, he told me he wanted to give you some time to cool off. Maybe that's it. Hell, he probably told Angel to tell you and the big ponce forgot."

She smiled slightly and shook her head at him. "Yeah, maybe so." She yawned.

"Here now. You'll all worn out and it's only a bit past four. Why don't we have a bit of a lie down." She looked at him consideringly. "Come on. Keep me company for a nap?"

Her smile broadened. "Sure, why not. I could use a couple hours sleep. Someone kept me up all night, I mean morning," she stated as she curled up beside him.

"Oh right? And whose idea was that?" he quipped as he settled himself, comfortably spooned around her. Hmm, nice.

"Mine. And bloody brilliant, if I do say so myself," she retorted and placed her arm over his where it rested across her waist. "I am tired, though."

"We both are, pet." He closed his eyes. This was very nice for a change. Good bed, soft form snuggled against him, prospect for more of the same later tonight. "'Night, luv."

"Love you. 'Night," she muttered sleepily, already drifting off.

He smiled into her hair. "Yeah, luv. I think maybe you do, just a bit." He drifted away into pleasant, comfortable dreams.

~~~~~

Spike glanced over at Buffy and smiled. With the top down on Angel's convertible, the wind blowing her hair helter-skelter, she grinned back. They had met the informant, though the meeting place had taken longer to get to than Spike had thought it would. It was nearly an hour and a half from Sunnydale to the farm where the snitch lived. Not that he was complaining, the drive down the coast had been nice and it was a beautiful day. And Buffy had been good company. Surprisingly so. He'd expected her to snark at him the whole drive. Instead they'd talked. Actually talked. About what he was doing now. About the Bit. About how much he'd missed her mum, so much so that he'd done everything in his power to become her friend and convince her to see a doctor early. Well, he and Giles. Ripper could be damn persuasive when he wanted to. They'd talked about the scenery, about the ocean, about Angel's caddy, about anything and everything. He thought it might very well have been the most pleasant day he'd ever spent with her.

But now she was looking at him oddly. "What? I got a bug on my teeth or something?"

She grinned again. "No! I was just thinking how different you are. I mean from well, what you are… were… you know what I mean!"

He laughed. "Yeah, pet, I know what you mean. But it's been damn near twenty years since I first met you. People change."

The look she gave him was full of consideration and realization. "Yeah, I guess maybe they do after all." She turned back to the road before her. They were nearly back in Sunnydale. She suddenly wished that they had twice as far to travel as they just had. She realized with a start that she didn't want this day to end. This Spike, he was so different, so … forceful, in control, happy. She felt alive just sitting next to him. His laugh was infectious; it felt like the sun glinting on his hair, bright and beautiful. 'This Spike doesn't live in the darkness,' she thought. 'He's found the light, the sun.' Maybe people, even vampires, changed. Maybe he was a creature of the light after all.

She couldn't know that it wasn't that simple. She was perhaps too young and still possessed too superficial an outlook on life to realize that nothing was that clear cut. Seeking the Light had nothing to do with it. Spike had accepted his Darkness and in so doing, he'd discovered that there was light there as well. He'd discovered that no one lived completely in the light and no one lived completely in the dark; everyone lived in the gray shadows. Everyone. What he'd found wasn't Light, it was Peace. For the first time in his existence, he was at peace with who and what he was; he was at peace with himself. He was secure in the knowledge that he was worth something both to himself and to someone else.

Their easy banter kept her busy until they reached the hotel. She followed Spike up to Angel's room to give him the results of their mission and sat through a mini planning session. She noticed that even Angel listened when Spike had an opinion. The two seemed to get along for the most part, their insults more in jest than in seriousness. Cordelia obviously liked Spike and treated him with an ease and familiarity that Buffy couldn't help but envy. She wasn't sure what had happened to change Spike so very much, but she found that she liked this new Spike. He was … interesting. Intriguing. Attractive.

She felt a not completely unexpected relief when they discovered his hotel room was empty, that his girlfriend wasn't waiting. Spike wasn't concerned. Angel had mentioned that he'd told Baby about the mission so he knew she wouldn't be worried. She was probably with the childer or helping Wes take care of Dru. He'd just ring the other rooms and have her pop back over. He reached for the telephone.

"Spike?"

"Hm?" He put the receiver back down and dug about on the dresser for the note listing all their room numbers. Suddenly, Buffy's arms were around him. "Here now, what's this?" He turned to face her but she didn't loosen her embrace.

She smiled up at him, a bright, breezy, happy-Buffy smile. "I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed today." She tightened her embrace. "How wonderful it was, just driving and talking. I never thought it could be like that… not for us."

Before he even realized what she was planning, he found himself in the middle of a passionate kiss. He pulled back in shock, "Buffy?"

She smiled at him again. "Hush. I just want to thank you for being so wonderful today." She gently pulled his head down so she could kiss him again.

For just a moment the rest of the world slipped away. This was what he had always dreamed of, a gentle, loving Buffy treating him like he meant something. Her body was warm where it was pressed against his, her lips was soft and warm, her tongue seeking entrance between his lips. He allowed her access to his mouth, allowed her to rifle his mouth, his senses. He felt engulfed by the moment, by the fantasy. He didn't realize she'd removed her top till she placed his hands on her bare breasts. They felt so good under his touch. Just like he remembered. So good. Her hands felt good where they were touching him. Her voice sounded good in his ear as she moaned and whispered, "Yes, Spike. Oh yes. I want you so much. I've always wanted you. You make me feel so good." He didn't realize she'd removed her clothes as she kissed and caressed him. Her hands were everywhere at once, all over him. Pushing up his shirt so she could touch his skin, loosening his pants so she could have access to him. She pulled him back, leading him slowly down with her till she was stretched out on the bed with him hovering over her.

~~~~~

Baby stared at the tableau before her, frozen, colder than the grave Spike had refused to bury her in. Buffy and Spike. Her Spike. Her husband. Buffy leading him back toward the bed. Spreading herself below him, her hand on him there, their mouths locked in passion.

Baby couldn't see this. She wouldn't see this. Soundlessly she picked up her keys from the chest of drawers by the door and retreated through the connecting door back into the younger Spike's room. Without a word she left the room, the door clicking closed softly behind her. As she climbed into her truck and drove off into the dark streets she felt something she hadn't felt since she had been turned. She felt dead.

~~~~~

Spike looked deeply into Buffy's eyes. He could feel her hands on his body, drawing him to her, wanting him inside her. It felt… wrong.

As gently as he could, he pulled back, trying to disentangle himself from her grasp. "Buffy? Buffy, stop." He managed to pull free of her. He pushed himself fully upright.

She looked confused. "What's wrong?" she asked reaching for him.

He caught her hands in his and held them tightly, half restraint, half comfort. "This is. This is wrong, sweetheart."

"No. No, it's not. It's right. It's finally right," she insisted. "Please Spike, I want you."

He closed his eyes for a moment. He didn't want to hurt her but he didn't want what had nearly happened either. "I know you do, pet. And I thank you for that. It means a lot to me. More than you probably know. But that doesn't change anything. It's not right." How could he make her understand? "I'm not a free man."

She frowned at him. "What? You're saying we can't be together because your ho won't like it?" An ugly note crept back into her voice.

Spike released her hands and marveled at how badly he wanted to slap her, as though she was a spoiled child. He quickly zipped his pants and straightened his shirt. "Don't call her that."

Buffy was starting to get angry. She didn't like the cold way he was looking at her. "Why should we care what that whore thinks?"

This time he didn't resist the urge to grab her by the shoulders. "Don't ever call her that again!" He suddenly regretted ever even touching Buffy. "Baby's not a whore. That's the one thing she's never been." He looked directly into her hazel eyes. "You just don't get it do you? I will not cheat on my wife. I'm not that sort of man."

"Wife?" Buffy nearly shouted. "You don't have a wife."

He took a deep breath and bit his lip to keep from lashing out at her. "I certainly do. I have a good wife. She loves me. And I love her."

Buffy recoiled as though he had struck her. "It's not true. You can't be married! You're… you're vampires!" 'And you're mine,' she wanted to yell.

"Yeah, well, you know there are vampire marriages and there are human marriages and Baby and I have both." Spike felt like someone waking from a pleasant but unlikely dream. This was the Slayer he remembered. Dru was right; Buffy was hard and cold as a killing frost. "And she was human both times she gave me her vows. There's a license in the state of Louisiana with our names on it saying we're all official, all legal. I'm hers. And she's mine. Body and soul."

The other Spike spoke from the doorway. "Not anymore, mate." He stepped into the room pointedly not looking at the still-nude Buffy. He held out his hand to his twin. "She left these in my hand while I was asleep."

Spike had once had a stake driven into his heart by henchmen of Wolfram and Hart. He had turned to dust. This felt worse. There, lying in his doppelganger's palm, were Baby's wedding rings.

Chapter 7 - "How'd It Get This Far?"

Spike's hand trembled so violently he could barely take Baby's rings from his twin. As far as he knew, she'd never taken them off for anything more than cleaning or repairs. She slept with them on, cleaned with them on, bathed with them on. She put them on a chain around her neck when she swam so she wouldn't lose them. She valued them beyond anything she owned.

What had she seen? What had she heard to bring her to such an action? He was afraid to speculate. He unclenched the fist that was holding the bits of gold and diamond. Obviously she'd seen both too much and not enough. She shouldn't have seen anything at all. Why hadn't he pushed Buffy away the instant she kissed him?

'Because I'm a bleeding idiot,' he told himself. 'Because I'm a soddin' git.'

The rings mocked him with their glitter and promise. He slid them carefully onto his little finger where they'd be safe till he could put them back on her finger. Back where they belonged. "I have to find her," he told the other Spike.

The blond looked at him coldly. "Yeah, I'd say you do. I don't know exactly what happened here." He looked briefly at Buffy, who was pointedly ignoring them as she dressed. "But I heard enough to have a pretty good idea." His face was a study in disgust and loathing. "All I can say is that you're a bigger idiot than I thought I was. Looks like no matter how much time passes, I'm still a pathetic tosser."

The other Spike sighed. "Yeah, pretty much." He looked around the room, his eyes finally settling on the bureau. "Her keys are gone. Damn, she could be anywhere. I'll have to get the others to help." He headed for the door.

"What are you going to tell them?" the younger Spike asked. Buffy listened intently for his answer.

Spike paused with his hand on the doorknob. "The truth. That I'm a fool who may have just made a complete cock-up out of the best thing that ever happened to him." He opened the door. He jerked his head toward Buffy without looking at her. He didn't see the look of hate and disenchantment she threw him. "See she gets home alright, will you?"

"Yeah, I'll do that." As his older twin disappeared down the hall, Spike turned to his ex-girlfriend. "What the hell did you think you were doing?" he spat.

She tugged on her shoe. "I don't have to listen to this from you."

"Oh really? Don't want to tell me why you were trying to get a piece of the Other-Me? Since when do you go after married men, anyway?" he demanded contemptuously.

She snapped the strap on her other sandal, breaking it. "Damn," she muttered before addressing him in a louder voice. "I didn't know he was married, okay?" she snarled.

Spike shook his head. "How the bloody hell did you miss it? We told you she was his consort and he wears a wedding ring, for God's sake!" How blind could she pretend to be, he wondered.

She ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know what a consort is," she sneered. What was she supposed to know about demon hierarchy and titles? She was the Slayer. She killed demons; she didn't hang with them. "And I didn't notice the ring. I thought it was just jewelry." She looked about for her purse. "I don't need to hear this from you." She curled her lip at him derisively.

"Well, you need to hear it from somebody," he said decisively. "Consort means that under vampire law and tradition she's his wife, his mate, forever. They've shared blood. And he's marked her for the whole demon world to see. She belongs to him." He looked at her. He could tell he wasn't getting through at all. She just wasn't getting it! "I take things like that seriously. I was with Dru for over a hundred years and we never marked each other that way. If he's marked her--and he has; I saw it--then he's dead serious about what they have together." She'd never really understood him at all, had she? He didn't know which he wanted to do more, strangle her or stake himself. He was fighting very hard not to hit her. He was afraid that this time, he wouldn't stop himself if he let the anger out.

"Then why did you fuck her last night? That doesn't sound so very married to me." She scoffed as she located the purse half under the bed.

He breathed deeply, fighting for control. He should have seen that one coming. "That was playing. And he was there and he gave his approval before we ever laid a hand on each other." His voice was level but hard. He couldn't keep this up for long. "Let me tell you something; if he'd have said no then nothing would have happened last night." He knew he wouldn't win this one. He never did. But he had to try. Just one last time. "It's a vampire thing, alright? We're vampires. Its how we play." Why wouldn't she understand the difference? Why couldn't she see what she'd done? Why didn't she ever see? "It wasn't the same as sneaking around and screwing your ex-girlfriend behind your wife's back."

The look on her face told him that she either didn't understand or didn't care. He was beginning to believe that it was more the latter than the former. He caught her arm as she tried to sweep past him. He wasn't done with her yet. Not by a long damned shot. "What the hell was that about anyway? Thought you didn't want to have anything to do with me. Thought I was killing you. I thought you hated me." He stared into angry hazel eyes. They were as bright and frigid as icicles in the sun.

She swung her fist, catching him squarely on the jaw and sending him to the floor. "I do hate you," she said and stomped from the room.

~~~~~

The first person Baby saw when she entered Willy's bar was the vampire that'd stood guard over her vehicle outside the Bronze. "You!" He flinched and nearly spilled his drink. "My truck's out front."

He jumped to his feet, quickly swallowing his shot of liquor. "Yes, ma'am. I'm right on it."

"You remember the rules?" Her face brooked no argument.

"Yes, ma'am," he answered quickly. "Any damage to it and I get damaged."

One corner of her mouth lifted in a parody of a smile. "Good boy. Maybe I won't kill you when I leave town." She sat down at the bar. "Whiskey. Crown if you've got it. Leave the bottle," she told Willy without really looking at him.

Her new minion scampered toward the door only to be halted by a larger vampire just before he made his escape. "Where are you going?"

With the look of a man caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place, the minion stammered, "I'm going to guard her truck."

The larger vampire didn't like the answer. "Since when do you take orders from anyone but me?" he snarled.

The minion's eyes darted from the vampire who had hold of his arm and the back of the woman at the bar. He decided she scared him more. "Look, don't mess with her, Shay. She's some sort of master. She dusted Chuck last night for mouthing off to her. I saw the crowd she was with. They were all major players, dude."

Shay wasn't impressed. "Yeah, well all I see is one little vamp girl who doesn't look tough at all." No, the red-haired figure in dark jeans with rectangular magenta sunglasses perched halfway down her nose looked more like a beatnik literary critic than a supposed master vampire. She certainly didn't look like a threat to his position as Master of Sunnydale. He'd just have to show his minions that he wasn't afraid of some chick who talked big and bad. Shay released the minion, who scurried out the door while he had a chance; he was smarter than the average minion. He was smarter than Shay.

Willy put a highball glass of Crown Royal in front of the woman. She was staring blankly at the bar top. "That'll be three-fifty," he said.

She pulled some wadded bills from her pocket. "I said leave the bottle." Her voice was expressionless, as dead as she felt.

"I really don't think that's a good idea. You see, I don't usually …"

She peered at Willy over the top of her glasses. He swallowed nervously. He'd seen dangerous individuals in his place often. It had been smashed up by some of the most famous demons in existence but those eyes scared him. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Shay intervened.

"Hey! What's the idea of ordering my boy around?" He settled into his most intimidating stance.

She turned her head just enough to look him up and down quickly. It didn't take five seconds. She dismissed him as any threat immediately and turned back to her shot glass. "What's your problem? I'm not stealing him. I'm just borrowing him for a little while."

He grabbed her arm. "He's mine. That's the problem."

Baby wasn't in the mood for his mouth, but she was in the mood to hurt something. Underneath the dead feeling was something else: red, seething, boiling anger. Raging pain. It flitted, carmine and bright at the edges of her vision, coloring everything with a sanguine aura. Before Shay even saw her move, he found himself stretched out on the floor. The bones in the center of his chest felt cracked. She'd never even moved from the barstool. "Leave it alone, boy. Don't make me kill you."

He pulled himself to his feet with a hand pressed to his hurting chest. He motioned to his other minions. "Get her!" he ordered.

Baby stood slowly. "Now, why do they always say that?" she asked as she slid one hand behind her, pulling her baretta from the holster at the small of her back. She cocked it quickly, easily, and shot the first minion square in the forehead. It wouldn't kill him, of course, but it was hard to attack someone when your brains were leaking out through a three-inch hole in the back of your skull. "It's not original at all." She shot a second minion twice, once in each knee. He rolled on the floor howling in pain. "And what does it mean anyway?" She reached behind her head and pulled her knife from the sheath strapped between her shoulder blades. It glinted silver in her hand. "What are you supposed to 'get her?' A drink? A seat? What?" She caught Shay in the gut with the dagger as he leaped at her. She jerked it upwards, slicing his abdomen open neatly. She pushed him off the blade with her other hand. She brought her leg behind him at the same time, sending him onto his back, his blood and innards spilling onto the floor. "I promise you, Joss Whedon did not write that line."

His other two minions backed off, hands raised, submission evident. Their loyalty to Shay was based on his ability to kick them around. It looked like the woman's ability was way better than Shay's. Shay was a minion playing at being a master. The woman was the real thing.

She pulled a second dagger from her boot. The blade of this one was brown and thick. Wood. She plunged it into the heart of the vampire she'd shot in the head. "Sorry, living with half your brain gone is really not fun. It's better this way," she said as his dust settled onto the floor. The one with two busted knees scuttled backwards from her as well as he could. She squatted down so her eyes were level with his. "Who do you answer to now?" she asked him.

"Y..Y…you," he said in terror.

She flipped the wooden knife in her hand and sheathed it in one easy motion. She patted his cheek with her free hand. "Good boy. You'll heal." She looked up at the two still-mobile minions. "You two!" she said as she stood.

One of them nodded. "Yes, Master?"

She almost smiled. "Smart. I'm impressed. Usually minions in Sunnydale are dumb as rocks." The second minion nodded agreement. "Get him out of the middle of the floor. Put him wherever. I don't want to hear him whimpering. It annoys me." They swiftly dragged the injured vampire away to a booth in the back corner.

"Speaking of annoying," she said and turned to where Shay lay on the floor. "You shouldn't have messed with me. Not tonight." She straddled his fallen form and proceeded to prove why she was gaining a reputation for torture and dismemberment second only to those of Angelus the Cruel and William the Bloody. When Shay had been reduced to a quivering mass of body parts barely hanging on to unlife, she stood and walked back to the bar. She stabbed her knife, the knife Spike had given her as a wedding present, into the top of the bar. Its split blade bit into the wood like the fangs of a vampire. She sat down and looked at Willy. "Now, you gonna leave me that Goddamned bottle?" she grated between clenched teeth.

He hurried to comply. Her face had never changed from its human aspect and the stony expression had seldom altered. The bar was completely silent.

~~~~~

The bottle in front of her was only half empty when she felt him sit down beside her. Baby didn't need to look to know that it was Spike. She even knew which one. They smelled just the tiniest bit different. You had to know what the difference was, though, to be able to recognize it. This was the younger Spike. The one she called S6 Spike in her mind. She took a sip from her glass. "What are you drinking?" she asked.

She felt more than saw Willy sidle up to him. "You really don't want to mess with her, Spike. You really, really don't. And you shouldn't be here anyway. You know that!" she heard the slimy-looking human whisper to him. "The others, they told you that you're not welcome here."

Baby snarled, a feline noise. "Bring Spike a bottle of Jack Daniels and a bottle of O Neg. Human. The best you've got. And anything else he wants." She continued to stare at the golden liquid in her glass.

"That mess on the floor yours?" Spike asked, gesturing with his head toward the barely-connected pieces that were once Shay. Brown eyes looked up pleadingly into his blue ones. Damn, it was still conscious.

"Yep." She took another sip. "He pissed me off."

Spike considered her handiwork dispassionately. "Not bad. Bit messy."

She shrugged. "I was in a hurry. Didn't feel like messing around with him. Mostly he's just an object lesson."

Spike nodded and looked around the bar. Though it hadn't emptied after the fight as Willy had feared, everyone--vampire, demon, and human--was giving the two vampires at the bar a wide berth. They were giving the nearly dismembered vampire on the floor an even wider one. It was very quiet. Everyone was speaking in whispers and frequent looks were cast toward the pair. It looked to them as though Sunnydale had a new Master. A Master such as they had not seen since Angelus went back to being Angel and Spike went soft. "Looks like it worked," he said. Actually, bets were being placed on how long before she killed the bleached blond.

"Well enough," she conceded.

Willy placed a glass, a bottle of JD, and a bottle of blood in front of Spike. "That'll be twen…" Her hand was around his throat before he could finish.

"What is it with this town and people wanting your money?" she asked Spike before turning to the gagging human in her grasp. "Listen close. The Master doesn't pay for anything. Ever." She released him with a shove that sent him back against the liquor shelves. "You should be honored he even comes into a shit hole like this." She took a sip of her drink.

"M…Master?" Willy gasped, trying to breathe. Damn but she was strong.

Baby sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, Master! Jesus!" She turned and looked around at the rest of the patrons. "Spike is still Master of the fucking Hellmouth!" she announced. "Any questions?" she snarled.

"But he's a traitor," someone in the back muttered. "He kills his own kind."

Baby growled but she didn't get up and kill the speaker. She was ready for another fight now but she wasn't necessarily looking for one. He could come to her if he wanted to die that badly. "Yeah? And? Your point is?" She gestured at the pile of body parts on the floor. It still twitched occasionally. "So do I."

Whatever demon it was who had protested backed down. "If you say so. Spike's Master."

She waited till the sentiment was echoed by the various creatures around the room. Then she turned back to her drink. "Damn straight he is."

Spike couldn't help but grin. She was a little treasure. No wonder Other-Him ruled a whole fucking metropolis. Thinking of Other-Him reminded him why he was there. Why he felt rotten. "They're all looking for you," Spike said as he poured himself a shot. "Spike's going nuts. He wants to talk to you. Make sure you're alright."

Willy's ears pricked up. Had Spike just said… a low growl from Baby sent the bartender as far from her as possible. Eavesdropping wasn't worth dying for at the moment.

"Well, I'm not alright. I'm about as far from alright as I can get," she said and downed the contents of her glass.

"I sort of figured that. Look, he says--and from what I know he's telling the truth--that nothing really happened. He stopped before they really did anything." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself as much as her. Maybe he was.

"Yeah? Well, my husband's dick in your girlfriend's hand sure as Hell looked like something to me." She poured herself another drink. "Her with her fucking legs open underneath him looked like something to me. And her saying 'Spike fuck me' for damn sure sounded like something to me." She downed her drink in one gulp. "Goddamned bitch."

This time he was the one who threw back his drink. "Fuck." That sounded more like something than nothing to him, too.

"That's about the size of it," she said. She swallowed half of her glass and considered throwing it at the mirror behind the bar. What sort of idiot put up a mirror in a bar that catered to vampires, anyway? She decided against it, she'd just have to get a clean glass from Willy and he was hiding at the other end of the bar. She was trying desperately not to think of what she'd seen at the hotel but her mind had a will of its own and nothing else would play on her mental VCR. She was pretty sure she'd be stark, raving mad before the week was out. Maybe Wes and Dru would take her in. She and Spike sat in glum, depressed silence.

Baby finally spoke. "You know, I knew it couldn't last. Knew if from day one. It was too good. Nothing that good could last." She took another drink. Even as a human it had taken a hell of a lot of booze to get her buzzed. As a vampire it took ten times more. She wasn't even feeling it yet. "What the hell is it about her that gets you men so tied up in knots? What is that makes her so different, so much better than the rest of us?" She had seen what Buffy did to Angel, to Riley, to Xander. To Spike. The misery she had caused. "Is she that good a lay? Is what she's got between her legs so much better than what I got? God knows it's not the way she treats you 'cause she treats all of you like shit." Spike realized it was a rhetorical question. "I did everything I could. Everything I knew how and it still wasn't enough." She still didn't look at him. She just stared off into someplace else. "How come after all this time it still wasn't enough? How come I'm still the substitute? Still second choice. How come I'm still not good enough?"

Spike drew a deep, trembling breath. "Pet, in a hundred and forty-eight years I've never been good enough." He turned to look at her. "I've always been second choice."

She finally looked at him. "Not to me, you weren't."

He stared back at her. She was telling the truth. It was there in her face, in her eyes. "Well luv, if that's the case, then I was a fucking idiot to ever go near the Slayer again." He picked up the bottle and downed half of it before he set it back on the bar. Other-Him wasn't the only idiot, of course. "She's screwed me over more times than I can count and I still go back to her. I don't even know why." He turned back to her. He decided to answer her rhetorical question after all. "Yeah, she's a good lay. Damned good. Fucking fan-bloody-tastic. But you're just as good, if last night was any indicator." He reached out and took her hands in his. "And the afterglow is a hell of a lot better with you." The continuing confusion and agony of his fucked-up love life bled through his sapphire eyes. "Like you said, she treats me like shite under her boots. Day after day. And it doesn't matter what I do, how much I do; it's always the same. And I go back for more abuse. I don't know how she does what she does to me. You got m'life in your head, why don't you tell me?"

She looked down at their clasped hands. His nails were bare of polish and the knuckles were still skinned from his last fight. He wasn't healing as fast as he should on that pig's blood diet of his. And no one seemed to notice or care. Her own hand looked peculiar without her wedding and engagement bands. Though she was too pale for there to be the traditional white ring, the indentation where she had worn them for so many years was evident. "I've had seventeen years to figure it out and I still haven't."

~~~~~

Baby sensed the Childer as they walked in. They were her brothers and sister and she shared a bond with them now. She knew when her family was near. "Spike send you looking for me?" she asked. "He afraid the fledge'll get herself hurt?" she stated coldly.

Rene grinned. "No. Angelus, he sent us." The grin broadened. "He afraid you might burn the town down."

She had never been able to resist that impish grin of Rene's. She smiled back ruefully. "I might just do that. Do you think it'll piss him off? Angelus is cute when he's pissed off."

"You have strange ideas of cute, Maman," he countered. "But Angelus, he is worried about you. We all are." Rene's face turned serious. "You need to come home. This not right. It's so not right that I can't even say it. When Papa he tell us… well, let me just say we not exactly talking to our daddy right now."

Baby tilted her head and looked at him. For a moment Spike was reminded of his own mother and Joyce Summers. "Rene? You didn't hit him, did you?

The Cajun shook his head. "I thought about it. I really thought about it, Maman. But I didn't get a chance. Jean Claude did it first."

"Jean!" She looked in shock at the other man. Jean was the most even-tempered vampire she'd ever known. Of all the children, his was always the voice of reason and restraint. She loved him dearly. Of all the children he was perhaps her favorite. That didn't stop her from slapping him sharply across the face. "Don't you ever raise your hand to your daddy again," she snapped coldly. "You may be a decade older than me, Jean Claude DeValliere, but I am still your mama and I will beat your ass if you ever hit your daddy again." She took a long, deep breath. "What happened with Spike and me, it doesn't concern you. Not any of you. Not that way. It's strictly between me and Spike."

"Mama?" Claudia put a hand on her arm. "We love you, Mama. We just couldn't believe that Daddy would do something like that. It's just not… possible." Spike could have sworn the dark girl was in nearly as much pain as the redhead was. 'Makes sense, in a way,' he thought. She worshipped the other Spike. Hurt when your idol had feet of clay. He knew all about that. Problem was that Buffy's feet of clay were about up to her neck now. Shit. He took another drink.

"It's that whore of a Slayer," Claudia continued. "She's done this to our family. I hate her."

Baby looked at her sadly and patted a hand on her arm. "The Slayer wasn't in that room alone. It takes two to have an affair, sweetie. I'm sorry but your daddy had his part in this, too."

Jean rubbed the cheek where Baby's handprint still shone red on his pale skin. "That's why I hit him."

Baby gave him a warning glare.

For once, Jean didn't back down. "I love you, Baby, and I respect you and I'll obey you in all things but this. If I find out Spike really did fuck that blond piece of trash, I'm gonna beat him half to death. Then I'll hand myself over to you for my beating. But he'll get his first."

"You'll have to stand in line for that, childe. And I think I have first place in that line," his great-grandsire said.

Baby looked up into the face of her sire. He had that tender, soulful, sad look of empathy that only he could manage. "Angelus!" she cried and threw herself into his arms.

He folded his arms around her and laid his head on the top of her head. He might want to beat her an average of five times a day but she was still his childe and she was hurting so badly at the moment. He let her cling to him, let her have that comfort that could only come from her sire. Besides, this time he felt for her. He, more than anyone else, knew what she had sacrificed for the sake of Spike's love. It hurt him to see them both so miserable now. He gathered her up and carried her away into the back hallway away from her childer and the other Spike.

He sat down on the floor and cradled her as she clung tightly to him, just wanting to be held, to be near her sire. Finally she looked up at him. "Did he tell you?"

He tightened his embrace. "He said he fucked up. He said he hurt you. Said he did something awful."

She stuck her chin out, an expression of hurt and anger. "Did he tell you what it was?" Had he been man enough to admit to Angel what had happened?

"He said…" Angel paused. It hurt him to even say it. "He said you probably saw him and… Buffy in a very compromising position."

Baby's face went hard. "Oh yeah, you could put it that way. If you call seeing him fuck the slut a compromising position, then yeah."

Angel swallowed. "I thought it hadn't gotten to that point." Spike had sworn that he and Buffy hadn't actually had sex though it was a close thing.

"Yeah? Well, she had her legs open and his dick about an inch from her pussy. If he didn't shove it in her, it was as fucking close as you could come." She suddenly shivered. The full impact of what she had seen broke through the wall of disbelief and shock she had built around herself. "Oh God, Angel, I'm gonna be sick." She pressed her hands to her mouth. He felt rather nauseous himself.

He held her hair from her face as she vomited into a corner. A second pair of arms reached around her, supporting her. Angel looked into the Other Spike's blue eyes. He looked as ill as the woman did. Angel held out a handkerchief to Baby as she sat back, gasping. "You need to come back to the hotel now. You can stay with Cordy and me tonight."

She nodded weakly.

"Let me call Cordy and let her know you're alright," Angel continued. "She's been worried." The pay phone was only a step away. He spoke to his wife for a few minutes. "She wants to talk to you, Baby. She won't believe you're okay till she hears it from you. You know how Cordy is."

Baby nodded and allowed Spike to help her stand. She took the receiver from Angel. "Cordy?… Yes… No…. I'm okay…. Alright, I'm not okay but I'm still here…." She looked tired. Then her face changed. It was obvious that Cordelia wasn't on the line any more. "I don't want to talk to you, Spike." He must have taken the phone from Cordelia, Angel deduced. The mood Cordy was in when he'd left, she certainly wouldn't have given it to Spike. Anger settled onto Baby's face. "I don't have anything to say to you right now that you want to hear….Yeah? Well you should have thought of that first…. No. NO! Spike, I mean it. I'm not talking about this now…. Love me? You love me! Well apparently you love that fucking whore more!" Her eyes sparked with cold fire. "Fine. Why don't you go find your little slut then?…. Screw you!" She drew a deep breath. "Yeah you heard me. I said: Screw! You! Spike!" Angel's eyes had grown large and round. She never talked to Spike like that. Not that he could blame her, of course, but he just never thought he'd hear it. "Well right now I think you're a fucking bastard, okay?" She gritted her teeth. "Goddamn it, Spike! What was I supposed to think?…." Her eyes filled with angry tears and she sniffed. "I don't care…. Oh! What do you care if I'm crying or not?!?" she yelled. "Well you should have thought of that before you fucked that whore!" She sniffed again, her voice thick with tears and anger. "Spike, I can't do this right now…. No… I don't know. I don't know if I can ever come back." The tears were pouring down her face now but her eyes were full of rage. "That's not fair. I'm sorry you're miserable but how the hell do you think I feel?…. Spike…. Spike…. No…. No!…. I am not coming back there tonight so you can just forget it!…. Fine!….Fuck you!… Yes, I said fuck you, you son of a bitch!" She slammed the phone onto the hook then grabbed it and ripped the entire unit from the wall. She flung it down the hall.

"I take it that didn't go well," Angel said softly.

She wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand. "You could say that. I'm getting out of here."

He nodded and stood.

"I thought you were coming back to the hotel," Angel said. He looked worried. Baby out on her own in this mood was not good.

"No. I can't go anywhere near Spike right now." She sighed. "I'll be fine and I won't destroy Sunnydale. I just need to be out for a while."

Angel nodded. "Alright. But will you come back tomorrow? You're going to have to talk to him at some point. I'm sure there's a reason for what happened."

Baby looked at him in disbelief. "Yeah, there's a reason. He's so fucked up by that manipulative bitch that he lets her lead him around by the fucking nose. That's pretty much the reason." She looked at his shocked face. "Jesus, you're still as fucked up by her as Spike is." She shook her head. "Just go back to your wife, Angelus. I don't need you."

She looked at the blond Spike sitting with his back resting against the wall. "You coming?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Why not?"

She walked out into the bar and gathered her childer. "I'm gonna find someone to eat. You want to hunt?" she asked. Her question was directed as much at the bleached blond vampire as at her children. He nodded again. "Alright then." She paused long enough for Claudia to stake what was left of Shay, ending his misery. The four of them swept out into the California night.

~~~~~

Spike let the receiver fall from his nerveless fingers. "She hates me." He slid down the front of the dresser till he was sitting on the floor. "She's not coming back. She'll never come back now."

He lifted his tear-streaked face to Cordelia. "What'll I do without her, Cordy? What'll I do?"

Even though she had been so angry at him she'd tried to kick him in the balls earlier, her heart was now breaking for him. She knelt and wrapped her arms around him. She rocked him back and forth like a child as huge sobs wracked his body and he asked over and over, "What have I done?"

Chapter 8 - "Touching You Makes Me Feel Alive"

Spike had seldom seen a tighter, more controlled hunting pack than Baby and her childer. They took full advantage of their vampire abilities, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, scaling walls and fire escapes with ease and an eerie, supernatural grace. Baby was only a few yards ahead of him when she froze, crouched on the edge of a roof. Soundlessly, her childer joined her. Spike looked down at the couple in the alley and was surprised when the man looked directly up at him and smiled. One by one the five vampires dropped two stories to the ground in front of Wesley and Drusilla.

"Hunting?" Wesley asked quietly.

"Mm Hmm," Baby answered. "Want to join us?"

Spike was surprised when the ex-Watcher grinned. "Of course. We've had no luck on our own. Come along, Drusilla darling. We're going to hunt with your sister and the children."

"Oh goody," Dru replied. "It's always more fun when it's a party." She accepted the hand Rene offered and joined him halfway up a fire escape. The expanded group moved out with, much to Spike's surprise, Wesley Wyndom-Price leading the hunt.

The two younger male vampires took the outer perimeter while Dru and Claudia scanned ahead with Wesley, Baby, and Spike fanned out between. Their stylized arrowhead moved across roofs and through alleys heading toward the docks. Spike was amazed at how well the Watcher kept up with the vampires. He and Baby moved well together, she seeming to know just when he would need a hand. He didn't hesitate to take the assistance. Spike had no way of knowing that they had hunted together when they were both human or that Wes and Dru now spent a fair portion of the year in Louisiana and the Englishman joined Spike's pride nearly nightly when they were there. He had no idea that Wesley planned on becoming a vampire himself in the rather near future.

Dru made the tiniest signal and the entire pride froze, Baby's hand on Spike's chest, stilling him. He could feel the pent-up excitement radiating from her. The whole group was tensed, poised, ready. Another tiny signal and they all moved toward a spot Dru indicated. Silent as the corpses they once were, the vampires converged on the alley. Spike could hear the Watcher breathing and his heart beating but other than that he moved as quietly as the Undead. From his perch on the edge of the roof Spike could see three men laughing as a pair of middle-aged matrons cowered against a wall. With a few carefully chosen hand signals Wesley directed the pack into position. Baby motioned for Spike to simply watch. He was content to do so. Jean Claude and Rene flanked the muggers while Claudia circled and appeared on the roof of the building across from Spike. As soon as they were in position, a matter of less than a minute, Dru and Baby dropped from the roof into the alley behind the attackers.

"You know, Dru, it's getting so a girl can't take a walk without some scum interrupting her stroll," Baby commented. The three humans turned toward the vampiress. She smiled.

Taking advantage of their distraction, Baby's childer placed themselves between the human women and their attackers. Spike could hear Jean murmuring comforting words as he and Claudia ushered them away from the scene. He noticed that one of the women had a bruise on her face and the other's jacket was torn. It appeared as though the vampires had arrived just in time. He grinned. Now if that wasn't a kick. A pride of vamps saving a pair of mortal biddies from big bad criminals. He nearly laughed.

Dru nodded at Baby, an almost snake-like motion. "It's true. So sad. But then, if they didn't, we wouldn't have any fun." She moved closer to the men. The humans suddenly noticed that not only had their victims fled but now they were confronted by two more women and a lone man. Wes was making his way down the nearest fire ladder.

Baby addressed the Watcher. "Do you want to kill them now or should we have some fun first?" she asked.

Wesley paused halfway down the ladder. "Hmm, I believe a chase would be most enjoyable this evening. Drusilla enjoys the adrenaline and the fear. She says they taste better if they've run a bit."

Spike blinked. Damn, the Watcher must already be part vamp.

Baby grinned. "Oh yeah. Definitely sounds like a plan, Wes." She turned to the confused humans, who began to advance on the women threateningly. Rene growled and they turned to him. Jean and Claudia appeared, blocking the alley egress. Drusilla moved to Baby's side, leaving a path into the tangle of allies and loading docks free.

"Hey!" Baby called. She allowed her face to change, long fangs gleaming in the dimness. Dru changed along with her. The childer vamped and growled. "Boo!" she said. The humans ran, Baby's laughter chasing them into the darkness before the vampires took chase, whooping and laughing.

"Come on, Spike!" she called. "You can help us scare 'em to death."

He leaped from the building and joined the chase.

~~~~~

It was quickly over. One after the other, the thugs were trapped. The first was given over to the childer and was quickly dispatched, his drained body left where it had fallen. The second and third were taken shortly after and brought to the older vampires. They were hurled at the feet of the three master vampires.

"Which one do you want, Wes?" Baby asked.

The dark-haired man considered for a moment. "Do you have a preference, Drusilla my love?"

Dru looked at the two men forced to kneel before them. "Hmm. This one," she said. "He's hurt so many people. He'll taste like melon."

Wesley nodded and Rene flung the man up, trapping him against a wall. Jean took one arm while Rene took the other, holding him outstretched against the brick. Spike and the women looked on in interest.

A knife appeared as if by magic in the Watcher's hand.

"Oh Wes," Baby breathed. "You brought the switchblade." A look of such desire and anticipation settled on her face that Spike felt himself stirring.

Wesley considered the other man with a look that was at once as burning as a lava flow and as chilling as a glacier. Scorching frost. Spike could feel the arousal coming off the whole group. Baby and Drusilla both fairly pulsated with it. "Oh Wesley, make him hurt for us," Dru asked softly.

"As you wish, my darling," he answered her before addressing the human. "My Drusilla says that you're a very evil person who has hurt a great many people. I'm afraid the time has come to pay your dept to society."

Spike completely revised his opinion of the other Englishman. Wesley Wyndom-Price was quite possibly as cold and calculating a killer as any Spike had ever seen. With the demeanor of a lecturer, he proceeded to cut and punch the robber while demonstrating to the young vampires the various fashions in which an attacker could be immobilized. All the while, Drusilla watched with glowing eyes and a beatific smile. Finally, he stepped back. "Dru, my sweet? Are you hungry, love?" He held out fingers covered in blood to his lady. She delicately licked the ruby liquid from her lover's fingers. He placed a hand beneath one of the wounds and gathered a palm full of blood and offered it to her. Spike had never seen anything quite so erotic. One human killing another slowly so he could feed his vampire lover. He felt his loins twitch in response.

"Spike?" Baby called softly. Her eyes were hot, burning in the darkness. "Come. Share this one with me," she whispered.

He joined her but shook his head. "I can't bite, luv. You know that."

She kissed him softly. "It's alright. I'll take care of it. I'll take care of everything." She pulled the same knife she'd used in the bar and deftly sliced open the artery in the remaining thief's neck. Blood began to spurt in time to his heartbeat. "Drink, sweetheart," she murmured. "Drink."

For the second time in forty-eight hours, Spike tasted fresh human blood. It had been so long. Too long, since he'd fed the way he was created to. It tasted so good. He could taste the fear and the violence in the man as he sucked at the wound she'd made. He could taste the sheer terror. God, it was good! He felt her arm around his waist holding him both to her and to their shaking victim. He heard the faintest of sounds as her fangs pierced the man's throat opposite where he fed. He could hear delicate sucking sounds as she ate. The screams of the humans still echoed in his mind. They made him feel warm, aroused. Watching Wesley had sent adrenaline surging through his system. He felt free, aware, and alive. This was how he was meant to be. This was what he was. The chip had denied him this for far too long. He'd denied himself for far too long.

He reached out and wrapped his arm around her as well. When the mortal was empty, they allowed him to fall unheeded to the ground and Spike drew his other arm about her. Her lips were warm with pillaged blood when they met his.

~~~~~

Spike lifted his mouth from hers and looked about the alley. Drusilla was feeding on the remaining mortal, Wesley pressed tightly against her back, his arms locked around his ladylove, nuzzling her neck. Jean was already buried deep in his sister, thrusting into her as she kissed Rene. "Is it always like this?" he whispered in Baby's ear.

He felt rather than heard her chuckle. "Pretty much," she answered. "Sex, blood, and rock and roll. It's how we live."

He heard the mortal's body thump onto the pavement and glanced at the other couple. Drusilla held her arms open to him. At the barest nudge from his partner, he went to her. "My precious boy," Dru murmured and opened blood-stained lips for him. Over her shoulder he saw Wesley nod. He smiled at his fellow countryman before kissing his sire. This all felt so right.

He heard Wes murmuring to Baby as the other man ran his hands over her body. It was the redhead's hand that slipped between his body and Dru's to squeeze the brunette vampiress' breast. The hand that stoked him through his jeans was warm and since Wes was the only person nearby with a pulse, it had to be him. He broke from Dru's kiss to find eyes nearly as blue as his own staring at him. Baby took his place at Dru's lips. "Damn, Wesley. I had no idea," he said. "I completely underestimated you, mate."

Wesley squeezed with his fingers causing Spike to jerk. "Everyone always does. Of course, the only times you ever met me I was a complete burke."

Spike laughed. "So you were, mate; so you were!" And he finally did something he'd been wanting to do for a day and a half now. He kissed the Watcher.

The sound of a scream in the distance caused the pride to lift their heads. "A couple blocks away," Wesley guessed. Spike nodded.

Baby smiled and gave Dru a quick peck on the lips. "Looks like the fun is just starting tonight. Let's go rescue the helpless or whatever." She ran off in the direction of the scream. "Come on! Sunnydale is a bad, bad town. There's more blood to be found tonight!" The prided headed out after her.

Wes kissed Spike once more. "Come on." He pulled Spike by the coat sleeve. "You want to know what it's always like? Come and see." The light in the ex-Watcher's eyes was scary. Spike thought it was beautiful. "Come on, Spike! Come see why whole cities live in terror of us!"

With a laugh, Spike ran after his fellow countryman.

~~~~~

Dawn was a couple of hours away when Spike and Baby fell laughing into a room at the Holiday Inn. The remainder of the night had been spent marauding the streets of Sunnydale. Human, vampire, or demon, it didn't matter; if they were committing a violent crime and were luckless enough to fall into the path of the pride, they died. Spike hadn't felt such exhilaration in years. He had always lived for the fight, for the blood, for the violence. He'd found a group that shared his joy in the chaos of it all. They got off on it as much as he did. It reminded him of his best nights with the Scourge, only without Darla's bitchiness and Angelus' meanness. The pride was cruel and vicious, true, but to outsiders, not to each other. Damn, he'd had a good time.

He kicked the door closed and grabbed Baby. Picking her up, he jumped onto the bed. "That was fun!" he declared.

She giggled up at him. "Yes, it was. Lots of fun."

She looked so good. Cheeks flushed from the chase, her eyes bright from the rush of the kill, her lips were red with plundered blood and her body warm from feeding. She was glorious. He had not bothered to turn on the light, they could both see well enough and in the dimness she positively glowed. Spike kissed her deeply and was gratified to find her passion matched his own. As he moved his hands around her torso, he encountered three different weapons, not counting the gun stashed at the small of her back. He laughed. "Good God, woman. You're a walking arsenal!"

She laughed back and helped him free her of weapons and clothes. He found two more knives, including the wooden one, and her back-up automatic in her boots. He ran his hands quickly down her nude form before beginning to undress himself. He looked up from untying his boots to find her staring at him strangely. He tossed his boots in the corner and sat up. He placed a hand on the bed on either side of her. "Do you want to do this, pet? I don't want you to feel I've taken advantage."

She placed a hand on the side of his face. Her eyes were sad. "You haven't. If anyone has taken advantage, its me." She sat up to kiss him. She tasted of blood and unshed tears. "Spike, I don't want to be alone. I think it might kill me."

He turned his head and kissed her palm. "I know, pet. I don't think I could face it so well tonight m'self. I'm tired of being alone. I'm just so tired of it."

She pulled him down to her. "Spike? Make me forget? For just a little while, make me forget that it hurts so much? I'll try to make you forget, too."

Spike was used to being used as comfort. They just never offered to be his comfort as well. "I'd like that love. I'd like to forget for just a little while, too."

He kissed her and didn't argue when she slipped his jeans off. Her body felt warm under his. Her hands were gentle and soft where they touched him. The time before had been playful, giddy; this was something very different. This was an aspect of love. There was caring in her touch, in the soft words she whispered to him. She truly was offering him comfort as much as she was taking it from him. And when he finally entered her, he did forget, for just a little while, how very, very lonely he was.

~~~~~

As they lay together watching the thin line of dawn on the wall opposite them, Baby had no regrets. There was an emptiness inside that he hadn't filled but she had not expected him to. Spike had been everything she'd wanted him to be but he couldn't be her Spike. No one could replace her husband. But this Spike had offered up his body as solace for her broken heart. Just as he always did, he had subjugated his own feelings for someone else's comfort. That was one of the many reasons she loved him. She feared that she had hurt him, however. "I'm sorry, Spike. I shouldn't have used you that way," she said as she lay with her head on his chest. "You deserve better than that." She ran a pale hand across his abdomen. "You should have gone to Claudia or Drusilla, to someone who could have given you some enjoyment last night. Given you a good night."

"I didn't complain, now did I?" He petted her hair. "I seem to recall having quite a nice time. It felt good."

"But it wasn't fair to you," she protested.

"I wouldn't say that, luv. You've given me the best night I've had in many a year." He slid his hands across the smooth skin of her back. "Reminded me that I'm a man. Reminded me that I'm a vampire. Gave me a taste of what it could be like if I didn't have this damned chip."

She lifted her head and looked at him. "You've got to get rid of the chip, Spike. You'll never be whole, never know who you really are as long as that thing is in your head." She kissed him gently. "I know, I know. You're afraid of what will happen when it's gone. What you might become. What she might think." She didn't want to talk about Buffy. "Don't. Don't be afraid of that. I know what's inside you. You are in control, Spike, not some little piece of silicon. You. You need to take back control of your life, Spike. Stop letting the chip and Buffy and that damned insecurity of yours run it for you. You can be whatever you want and you can do whatever you want. You've seen the proof of that."

He nodded. "Yeah, I have. I never would have thought it possible. But I see you and children that for all intents and purposes are mine… Angelus showing me some respect. It's been, well, eye-opening; if you'll pardon the cliché." He took her hand in his. "And you gave all that to me… Other-Me."

She pulled his hand up and kissed it. "No, you did that. I was just along for the ride." She placed her hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look at her. "Promise me that you'll do whatever it takes to get that thing out of your head!"

He wasn't sure why this meant so much to her but he was touched by her concern. "I promise I'll look into it, alright?" He kissed the palm of first one hand and then the other. "Why do you care so much, pet? Hmm?"

Her face was so melancholy when she answered that his heart hurt. "Because I love you."

He hugged her to him. "Oh pet. You love him so much. I hope I did something to deserve it." She clung to him, fighting back sobs. "Luv. Sweetness. Say the word and we're out of this town. We can go away if you want."

Those words, so nearly an echo of what he'd said to her seventeen years earlier, shattered her control. She wept. Spike held her as all the pain and anger and hurt flowed out with her tears. Held her as her body was wracked by the misery of a shattered heart. When at last she was exhausted and had no more tears to cry, he tucked her into bed, pulling the blankets carefully over her. He stood and began to dress. In a tired voice she asked, "Where are you going?"

He shrugged into his duster. "I'm gonna go have a bit of a talk with myself."

~~~~~

Spike was met at the door with a fist in his face. The younger version of himself stomped in, slamming the door behind him. "I ought to kick your face in," Spike 2002 said.

Spike 2015 removed his hand from his nose and checked for blood. There was a bit on his fingers. "Yeah, well I might just let you do it."

The other Spike snarled. "If I want to do it, mate, you won't be able to stop me."

Spike resisted the urge to get into a verbal sparring match with his double. He wiped the blood from his nose with the back of his hand and sniffed loudly. That's when the scent hit him. Her. His mate. His consort. The scent of his wife was all over the other man. And not just any scent, either, it was the scent of her arousal, of her sex. He growled softly and felt his fangs lengthen.

"Oh shut up!" his other self ordered. "I'm here to talk to you and by God, you're going to listen."

Spike was in no mood. He couldn't bear to smell Baby on someone else. "You fucker! You slept with her."

Spike 2002 rolled his eyes. "There wasn't any sleeping involved, mate." He batted his duplicate's hand away. "I made love to her, if that's what you mean. And then I listened to her cry her eyes out over you for the next hour and a bloody half."

Spike froze with his fist drawn back. "Cried? She cried."

The blond threw himself onto the bed. "Yeah. She cried, mate. Cried like she was dying. Cried like her heart had been ripped out." He looked up at his doppelganger. "Which I guess pretty much describes the situation." He dug about in his pockets. "You ripped her heart out, mate. Ripped it out and stomped on it. I don't think she's gonna make it though this." He pulled out his cigarettes. "That's why I'm here."

Spike collapsed against the wall and slid down to the floor. "How bad is she?" he asked softly, fearing the answer.

His twin located his lighter and lit the cigarette. "Pretty bad. As bad as any I've ever seen. Remember how we felt when Dru would cry over Angelus leaving? How it felt when Buffy left? Worse than that."

Spike closed his eyes. "Shit."

The other Spike took a draw on his cigarette. "So what I'm here to say is this, being away from you is going to kill her. Thinking you want Buffy more than you want her is tearing her up."

"I know. She… we talked on the phone. She'll never have me back now."

Spike blew a stream of smoke into the air. "So that's it then? You're giving up?" He looked at his older self. "I guess she was right after all. You do want Buffy more than you want her. I've been after the Slayer for three years now. She's never given me so much as a crumb. And I have never given up! And you're going to give up on your Goddamned wife after, what? Twelve hours?" He shook his head. "I'm gonna tell you something, you stupid git, since you're obviously too dense to see it for yourself. She'll have you back. You'll have to work for it, though. She isn't going to just let you off with an 'I'm sorry'. You're going to have to prove to her that she's the one you want." He stood and ground out the cigarette on the carpet. He walked past his double. "Let me tell you something else, brother, you better make up your mind and do something about it quick-like. Suss out what you want. Because she's not gonna wait forever."

He opened the door. "One last thing, mate. Know this; she will get through this. Because I'll be there for her. Because if you don't want her, well, I think I just might." He closed the door firmly behind him and headed back to the Holiday Inn.

Chapter 9 - "It's Tearing Me Apart, Too"

Baby looked at the number on the hotel room door as though it was a prophecy written in Sanskrit.

"Are you ready for this, pet?" Spike asked softly.

She shook her head. "No. But I have to do it. I can't just run away."

Spike took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. "It'll be alright. He does love you, you know."

She looked at him. "No. I don't know. And that's the problem." She took a deep breath and knocked on Angel's door.

~~~~~

Seeing them there like that, hand in hand, hit Spike as hard as any fist Angelus had ever thrown at him. The only solace was that the man holding his wife's hand was an aspect of himself. If it had been anyone else, he probably would have ripped their face off. He fought for control. Losing it and going on a rampage now would only drive Baby away and that was the very last thing he wanted. He stood when she stepped over the threshold. He wanted to rush to her but her face was so forbidding, so stony, that he didn't dare. Not running to her and carrying her off somewhere where he could lock her away for, oh, a century or so was the hardest thing he'd ever done. But he had to make sure this worked out. He needed Baby so desperately and he was terrified of saying or doing the wrong thing. There was far too much riding on this particular draw and Lady Luck had a habit of being unkind to Spike.

Besides, Cordelia had sworn to kick him in the nuts if he messed this up. Hell, if he couldn't get this right, if he let Baby slip away because of some stupid fuck-up, he'd just ask Cordy to cut them off because he for damn sure he wouldn't be needing them anymore. He knew now that there was only one woman he wanted and he seriously doubted if he could ever want anyone half so much as he wanted her. Bollocks, he'd just ask Cordelia to cut off his head if he couldn't get Baby back.

He had to clear his throat before he could speak. "I'm glad you came, love. I… Can we talk?" He looked at his clone. "Alone," he said pointedly.

She nodded. He didn't miss that his double patted her hand before he released it. Spike wondered briefly if it would be considered suicide if he staked his other self. He was gratified to see Angel approaching his double with death in his eyes. He'd let his grandsire handle the interloping little bugger.

Baby ignored the hand her husband held out to her but preceded him through the connecting door into Wesley and Drusilla's empty room.

He was glad they were here rather than their room. He didn't want her staring at the bed he'd nearly shared with Buffy. This was better. Wes being Wes, the room was immaculate, with none of the clutter that seemed to accumulate wherever Baby and he were staying. Nothing threatening here, neutral ground. He indicated a chair by the bed and she sat down primly, ankles crossed, hands clasped in her lap. She wouldn't look at him. Maybe she couldn't. He wasn't sure which would be worse. She hadn't said a word, not one, since Cordelia had opened the door. Silence from Baby was a very bad thing. Sort of like one of those flashing red indicator lights on the dash of your auto. Meant something was either going to blow up or melt down.

He realized she was breathing, short little gaspy breaths, the sort she did when she was trying not to cry. Oh crap! If she cried he knew he'd completely lose it. He wouldn't be able to stand it. He'd been awake all day worrying about her. Wondering if she was crying. Wondering if she was hurting. '"Well, of course she's hurting, you moron," he'd told himself. "You broke her heart." 'Broke her heart,' that phrase broke his. He couldn't believe he'd hurt her. Again. Jesus, why couldn't he manage to do anything right? It would serve him right if she did walk off with his other self. It would serve him right, but it would also kill him. He had no doubts on that score.

All his well-planned scripts now seemed completely useless. Everything he'd planned to tell her was worthless. He threw himself down on the floor before her and took her hands in his. He could feel how tightly she was clasping them. It's a wonder she hadn't broken her own fingers.

"Don't leave me," he managed to say, the words pulled forcibly from him as if by an outside force. "Please. Please stay." He laid his forehead on her knees, tears stinging his eyes. "I need you. Please come back to me." He looked up hopefully but she was still staring off into space, not meeting his gaze. Shit. He'd always prided himself on being man enough to take anything but he didn't think he could take this mournful silence. All right, then. He'd do what he had to.

"I fucked up, dove. I know that. I did an awful thing. There's no excuse, love; there's no defense. I know it was wrong." He tugged on her hands just a bit, hoping for any sort of reaction. "I don't know what you saw. I don't know how much you saw. But if you had stayed you would have seen me push her away." He wanted to pull her into his arms and just hold her forever. He could feel the tears begin to slide down one side of his face. "I didn't… I never…" Bloody hell! He was a grown vampire; he should be able to say this. "I didn't have sex with Buffy. I came close. But I didn't." He placed a hand on either side of her face and forced her to look at him. "Do you know why? I came as close to … having sex with her as it's possible to come but then at the last instant… Just when I was about to… It. Felt. Wrong." There was the tiniest something in her eyes now. Not much but it beat the hell out of the emptiness that had been there since she'd walked in. "I don't mean morally wrong, though there's that, too. I mean that physically and emotionally it wasn't what I wanted. She wasn't what I wanted. Because she wasn't you!" He was nearly shouting now. Nearly sounded angry. She flinched just the tiniest bit and he remembered that she had a sire/childe bond with him as well as a consort/master one. Any emotion he felt would hit her as his childe more than it did as his consort. Fine then, as the man said, all's fair in love. "I'm your sire and I'll use that to make you stay with me if I have to." Oh yeah, there was definitely a touch of fire in her eyes now. He'd rather she was angry with him than hiding away from him. At least she'd be here and then maybe he'd have a chance of getting through to her. "And if it takes me a hundred years or a hundred hundred years, I will prove to you that you are the one that I want." There it was then. He didn't know what else he could say.

She finally spoke in a tiny voice, almost a whisper, that seemed to come from somewhere very far away, from that place, wherever it was, that she was locked away with her pain. "That may be what it takes, Spike." She reached up and with the gentlest of tugs pulled his hands away from her face. When she was free she returned her hands to her lap but at least she was looking at him. "I've done a lot of thinking since yesterday. And I've come to a realization." She drew herself up straighter and lifted her chin and Spike was reminded that, regardless of whatever she was now, she had been raised a lady. "I love you, Spike. I always will." He felt relief flood though his body. "But I can't continue to live as second choice." She silenced him with a miniscule shake of her head. "I knew when I left Sunnydale the first time with you that you loved Buffy. I knew that you would always love her and that I was, well, like the demon said, the substitute. I thought I was okay with that. I thought I could live with that as long as I had some piece of your heart. But I was wrong."

She placed her finger over his lips when he started to protest. "Listen to me, darling. I can't keep looking over my shoulder for the specter of Buffy Summers. I can't keep wondering if you're thinking of her and wanting to be with her when you get all quiet and sad. I can't be the substitute anymore. I can't be second choice." Tears were very close to the surface but she pushed them back down. Crying would achieve nothing. "You know what it feels like to always be second choice, Spike."

He paled, if such a thing was possible. He did indeed know that pain. Dear God, had she felt as though… Satan and all his demons, what had he done to her? All those years had she actually believed that she was just a comfort because he couldn't have the Slayer? That she was some sort of consolation prize? He had to admit that in the beginning that had been at least partially true but it had been years since he'd thought of her that way. Years since he had really thought of another woman. He would never have asked her to be his wife if he'd felt the way she thought. "I've never said…" he stopped himself. Had he? "Well maybe I did say some things about Buffy. But that was in the beginning. After we'd been together for a while, well, it didn't matter that she wasn't with me. I stopped thinking about her."

The blankness on Baby's face had turned to sadness. "Did you? You never told me."

"I… I guess I didn't," he conceded. "I suppose I should have done. It didn't happen all at once, you know. It was just sort of gradual."

"And when did you realize it, Spike?" she asked. "When did you realize you'd stopped thinking about her?" She knew the answer even if he didn't. He thought for a moment but couldn't answer so she did it for him. "Was it when she looked up at you and said 'Please fuck me, Spike' and you didn't want to? Is that when you finally decided you might want me a little more than you want her?"

With a sigh he laid his head back on her knees and nodded. "Yeah, I'm afraid so. Why didn't you say something, dove?"

"Why? What was I supposed to say? You made it perfectly clear from the very first. You laid the cards all out on the table. You told me 'I love Buffy and I always will.' Your exact words, Spike. I knew that going into the game. And I thought I could live with the hand you dealt me. But I was wrong. I can't. Not anymore." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "Now you tell me the game's changed. That you don't want her anymore. Fine. If that's true then I'll be happiest woman in this or any other dimension. If it's true. And that's the big question, isn't it?" She took a deep breath, taking the time to release it slowly before she continued. "If you really, really want me, I'll stay. But this is it. No more playing the substitute. No more being second choice. I have to be your first choice. I can't play second fiddle to Buffy or anyone else. I don't want just a piece of you. If you really want to be with me then you need to come to me with a whole heart."

He squeezed his eyes closed and wondered if it was possible for a vampire to pass out from sheer relief and joy. "You'll give me another chance then?"

"Your last one, Spike." He might dominate their lives but he knew it was only because she let him. On the rare occasion, she made the law. "If you mess this up again, I'm gone for good. I can't go through eternity waiting for the Slayer to pop up and seduce you away. I'll take a walk in the sun before I live like that."

Spike grabbed her shoulders. "Don't say that! Don't ever say you'll greet the sun because of anything I might do!" He pulled her off the chair and held her close to his chest. "I'm not worth that."

The stress of control was too much and she finally broke down and began to sob into his shirt. "You are to me, Spike. You are to me."

He lifted her face to his. "I love you. I love you so much I feel like my gut is on fire just thinking about you. So much that it makes my heart want to beat. That I feel like I'll die if I don't have you beside me. I wish you could be inside my head like you were once so you'd be able to feel it, too. And I'm sorry I was such a git that it took nearly losing you to make me realize it." He kissed her. And no kiss had ever felt quite so right to him.

~~~~~

"Hey!" Spike shouted. "Put me down!"

Angel had the blond man pinned against the wall, the younger vampire's feet dangling about a foot above the floor. He could smell Baby all over the other man. This little prick had taken advantage of his childe while she was hurting. Baby had never cheated on Spike and Angel could only believe she'd been manipulated into sex with his grandchilde's clone. If this little piece of shit thought he could contribute to the break up of her marriage and get her for himself, he'd find himself on the sharp end of a piece of wood. After Angel had the pleasure of beating the shit out of him, of course. Angel drew back his arm, his fist clenched. "I oughta…"

Wesley put a restraining hand on his arm. "Angel. Please. This is complicated enough as is. Shall we find out what's happened before we stake him, hmm?"

Cordelia added her plea to his. "Please, honey. Let's talk first, okay?"

Angel growled but released Spike who straightened his duster with typical Spike bravado. "You know, you're a prick regardless of what dimension you're from. What's your problem, anyway?"

Angel reached for him again but Cordelia was between him and the other vampire. It was Cordy who answered. "His problem, dip shit, is that you don't sleep with a woman who just broke up with her husband! Are you trying to fuck with her head or are you just stupid?"

"Hey!" Spike suddenly felt very angry. "Look, she needed me! Alright? Your boy in there screwed her over and you lot were all 'Oh come home and it'll all be alright.' Well, you know what, it wasn't. And if she'd have seen him last night what with the way she was feeling and all, she'd have been in another state by now 'cause she'd have left his ass permanently." He glared at them all, including Drusilla who sat watching quietly. "It's only thanks to me she even came back here this morning," he half growled, half pouted. "Made her come here when she didn't want to, now didn't I?"

Cordy sighed. Regardless of whatever else the black clad figure might be, he was still Spike and she recognized the nobody-ever-believes-me-on-those-rare-occasions-when-I-actually-tell-the-truth look. "Okay. So why don't you tell us what happened," she said. "Angel, sit down and stop glowering. If I don't like what he says, you can kill him."

Dru patted a spot on the bed beside her. "Oh no, Daddy can't kill this Spike. Baby would be very upset. Buffy will die and the world will end. He's needed." Angel had one of those confused looks that he only got when Dru gave an offhanded prophecy.

Cordy took it in stride. She looked at her husband pointedly. "See. You can't kill him yet." She turned to Spike. "Start talking, Bleach Boy."

Spike snarled but complied. "Look, I don't want her to leave that git next door. He may be a clueless gob but he's still me, you know. Besides," he sniffed needlessly. "I like her. She treats me decent. I don't like to see her all… heartbroken. And she wants him. Besides, they're good together."

Cordy's expression softened and she grinned at him. "Yes, they are."

"Disgustingly so," Angel added. Wesley nodded.

Spike nodded. "Yeah, I noticed." He fished about in his coat for a cigarette. "And yeah, I had sex with her, alright. Not like it was the first time and not like it was something all 'Oh please run away with me'," he said in a falsetto voice. "She was miserable. I was miserable. It was… consolation sex, alright!?!" His face twisted up. "Don't know why I'm telling you lot this any way!"

Dru placed her hand on his leg. "Because we all care about her. Just like you do."

Spike lit the cigarette and patted her hand. "Yeah, I guess so. Look, we spent most of the time talking. About him." He jerked his head toward the next room. "She cried a lot. Talked some. Then cried a lot more."

Cordelia sniffled a bit and climbed into Angel's lap. Spike continued, "Then I came over here and gave him a bit of my mind. Told him to make up his feeble mind 'cause if he didn't want her, I did." He grinned. "That got him going. Nothing I hate more than having someone take what's mine. Figured it would work on him same as it works on me." He took a long drag on the cigarette. "Looks like it worked a treat, now doesn't it?" he said with a grin. "If I was him, and I am, I'd have thrown myself at her feet by now. If he even half way grovels, she'll have him back," he said confidently.

~~~~~

Spike leaned back against the bed and just held her, soft and yielding, in his arms, her weight welcome in his lap. It felt so good to just hold her. He knew that everything wasn't fixed. He knew that she still had doubts, serious doubts. He could feel a hesitancy when he kissed her. She was holding back a piece of herself. He didn't like it but he knew that only time and considerable effort on his part could change that. He desperately wanted her to give herself to him fully, the way she had always done, without reservation, without doubt. But he knew he'd have to work for that trust again. So, he'd just have to get started right away, then, wouldn't he?

"Do you know what the sexiest thing you own is? The hottest piece of lingerie?" he asked.

He felt her head move against his breast and knew she was looking up at him. "There's that red silk thing you bought me in Paris," she answered tentatively.

"Nah," he said. "That's just a bit o' flash," he said, dismissing a fifteen-hundred-dollar designer negligee like it was a K-Mart blue light special. Cordelia would have fainted. "And it's not that burgundy leather thing; though that is hot." He ran his hand over her hair and smiled to himself. "The sexiest thing you own is that white cotton number with the little pink rosebuds embroidered on it."

He could feel the surprise radiating from her. "But Spike, we paid two dollars for that in Juarez, Mexico years ago! It covers me from collarbone to ankles and all the way past my wrists! I only wear it when it's cold because I don't have anything else with sleeves!"

Spike grinned. "I know. It's one of the reasons I love winter." He knew in his heart that this was the right track. This was what she needed to know. The truth. "You want to know why I love it? I'm gonna tell you. It's got all those bits of lacy stuff and embroidery and those little what-do-you-call-'em, tucks, all over it. The cotton is so soft; I want to just run my hands over it. And those tiny rosebuds. I can feel them all raised under my fingertips. Like they're real. Like you're wrapped in roses." He ran his hand across her hair again. Cradling her face gently. "And it's got those little pearl buttons all the way down the front. They just beg me to undo them one at a time." Running his hand down the front of her blouse. Not really even touching her, just demonstrating. "And it's got that ribbon tie at the top. I've never seen ribbon that tiny. Whenever I tug on it, I'm afraid it'll break. It's so delicate. So dainty." Hand moving down the outside of her thigh now. "I can just barely see the tone of your skin through the cotton, just barely." Hand coming back up her body again. "I can almost but still not quite tell where the white of your breast turns to the dark of your nipple." His hand hovered over her breast. Just close enough that she could sense it through the fabric of her shirt. "It's that not quite being able to tell for sure that gets to me." He swallowed. "Every time I see you in that, I get so hard you could use m' dick as a cricket bat." He breathed deeply; just remembering was having a profound effect on him. And she felt wonderful in his lap.

"But the hottest thing about it, is that it's not the sort of nightgown that a woman would wear for a lover or a boyfriend, it's not flashy enough. It's not the sort of thing that a tart wears to entice a man to her bed." He took another breath, almost a sigh. "The best thing about that bit of cloth is that it's the kind of gown a wife wears for her husband. It's the sort of thing a lady wears." He brought his lips to the top of her head. She could feel her hair stir with each word he said. "It's real. It's not a lie. It's not some slutted-up piece of trash that tries to make a bird look better than she does." He placed his hand gently on the side of her head. "It's not a thing to make a man want to fuck a woman; it's the sort of thing that makes him want to make love to her." He ran his hand down to her jaw line, cupping it with his palm. "Makes a man want to find the skin hidden under all that to see if it's as soft and smooth as that cotton is." His fingers brushed her neck gently as they traveled downward. "Makes him want to undo those little buttons one at time and kiss each bit of her as it's revealed." His palm caressed the curve of her shoulder in passing. "Makes him want to find out if that really is her nipple that causes that darker patch on the cloth." He ran his hand up and down her arm. "Makes him want to untie that tiny, delicate, little ribbon and see if she feels as delicate and satiny as it does." He tilted her head back and looked into her eyes. "Makes him want love her forever and ever and never leave her side as long as there's any sort of spark of life in his body." He gently brushed her lips with his. "Makes him breathless." Again, just barely touching her. "Makes his insides melt." Lips against her cheek now. "Makes him feel like all the bones have been ripped out of his body so that he couldn't stand if he had to." Brushing her eye, her temple. "Makes him go all soft and limp." Lips barely grazing her ear now so that she could hear his smallest panting breath. "Except for that one part of him that's so hard and stiff that it actually hurts."

Finally, he claimed her mouth the way she had been wanting him to.

~~~~~

"Here. Let me do that," Spike said and began to button Baby's blouse.

She smiled softly at him. "Are you gonna be like this for a while?" she asked.

"Like what?" he said without looking up from his task.

"All sucky-uppy and smushy," she answered.

He grinned. "Yeah. I probably will."

She grinned back. "Good."

Finished with her shirt, he fluffed her hair on one side so it looked a bit more like he'd just shagged her into oblivion. He needed the world to know she was his. "Oh, one other thing, precious," he said. "If you ever shag that poor excuse for me in the other room again, I'll kill him."

"Spike…" she said warningly but she was smiling.

He smiled back. "I mean it. I'll stake his skinny little arse regardless of how cute it is."

She kissed his cheek. "Yes, Spike. No more shagging of Other You." Then she pulled his head down toward hers and whispered in his ear, "But if you hurt him, I'll have to kick your skinny little ass, regardless of how cute it is."

"Well, so long as we understand each other." He couldn't help but smirk. "So, you think my arse is cute?" He threw an arm over her shoulders.

She laughed. "You know your ass is incredibly cute. That's why you wear your pants so friggin' tight. You like to show it off." She slipped her hand into his back pocket and let him guide her to the connecting door.

He growled softly as he opened the door and looked down at her. "Hmm, I like it when you do that. Your hand should always be right there." He pulled her other hand around and put it on his crotch. "Or right there."

They stepped into Angel's room and came face to face with Buffy Summers.

Spike felt Baby stiffen just before she snarled, "What the Hell is she doing here?"

Chapter 10 - "I Hate You"

Angel looked from the angry face of his youngest childe to the equally angry face of his ex-soul mate and wondered if sunlight was really such a bad thing. "Baby, it's okay. Buffy just got here and she was just about to tell us what brings her here for a visit." He glared at his daughter. He understood her feelings in this matter but he knew just how volatile she was and he wanted to avoid trouble. Buffy's timing really sucked. He just hoped they could all get out of the room without any violence.

Spike moved his hand from Baby's shoulder to her waist, allowing him to hold her closer. "It's alright, dove. I'm right here," he whispered in her ear. He could feel her trembling with suppressed emotion. "I'm right here with you." He reached across and took her free hand, the one that he had earlier placed on his crotch. She pulled away slightly and he released her immediately. He knew that he didn't dare push just yet. She removed her hand from his pocket and sought his fingers with that hand instead. He sighed in relief and squeezed her fingers. She held on tightly enough to have crushed the bones in a normal human's hand.

Buffy looked at the pair and tried to keep her expression neutral. She wouldn't let that son of a bitch see how much he had hurt and humiliated her. Looked like he was already back with his whore. Fine. She could deal. She had before and she probably would have to again. She and Spike, regardless of what reality he was from, seemed to do nothing but cause each other pain. It just proved she had been right to end their affair. It was just so wrong, she told herself. Just like everything else in her life at this point. She addressed Angel, deciding that ignoring the others in the room would be the best plan. "There was a lot of trouble in town last night. Several bodies were found drained. The odd thing is that about half of them had been cut up pretty badly before they died. You have information on that?" she asked. She knew it had to be Spike's …what? Wife?

Angel's jaw clenched. "How many?" he asked sharply. "How many were slashed?"

Buffy thought back to the reports Willow had pulled up on her computer. "There were 11 victims altogether and over half of them showed some sort of torture. At least five would have died from cuts. Coroner's reports say it looks like the killer used a small dagger or…"

"A switchblade," Angel interrupted. It was obvious he was trying not to explode. It didn't work. "Wesley!"

The ex-Watcher looked up from his contemplation of Drusilla's palm. He seemed unmoved by Angel's outrage. "They were all engaged in some sort of murderous activity, Angel," he said softly.

"Goddamn it, Wes!" Angel was nearly shouting. "You can't just go out and play vigilante any time you feel the urge to kill someone! My God, Wesley! Five in one night?!?"

Buffy looked at the dark-haired Englishman in shock. "Wesley killed all those men?" She was stupefied. The coroner had been quite plain in even his initial reports that the murderer had been both methodical and brutal. Wesley Wyndom-Pryce was methodical, yes, but brutal? A killer? Wesley?!?

Wesley looked at her mildly. "Oh yes," he admitted as though he were taking responsibility for spilling a glass of water. Buffy suddenly felt chilled. There was something in Wesley's eyes that she couldn't really identify, something cold and burning. Perhaps she had been wrong about him after all.

"He was beautiful," Drusilla said. "I could feel the pain coming from inside him. It was all green, like cucumber vines. And then it exploded like fireworks all about his head. Yellow and green blossoms of fire. It felt so good, Angel. It made me all shivery and soft." Wesley kissed her palm gently. "My sweet is all peaceful now."

Angel ran his hands through his hair. "Wes, you can't keep doing this. It's just…" He couldn't even begin to verbalize what he was feeling. It was one thing for someone like Spike to go on a rampage. Spike was a vampire; he was supposed to pillage and destroy. "This isn't right. Wes, you have to think of your soul."

"I'll worry about that, if you don't mind, Angel," Wesley replied coolly. They'd had this discussion before and Wesley wasn't going to go over it again. Angel was neither Wesley's father nor his employer and he needed to be reminded of that occasionally. "You don't worry about Baby's soul so much."

Angel sighed. "She's a vampire, Wes. And even if she wasn't, she picked her path a long time ago. She is what she is."

For just an instant, the simmering cauldron of rage that existed just below the surface of Wesley's cool façade boiled over. For a fraction of a minute his true face emerged. Buffy had never seen such hate and anger. She almost felt afraid. "And this is what I am," Wesley snarled. "Get used to it." With a deep breath and roll of his shoulder, the monster vanished and the mild, contemplative Watcher returned. Buffy suddenly wasn't sure which one was more terrifying.

Angel sought his last court of appeal and looked at Spike helplessly. "Isn't there something you can do?"

His grandchilde shook his head. "I wasn't even there, Angelus. Beside, I'm not his sire or his master. Wes does as he pleases."

Buffy still couldn't conceive of Wesley Wyndom-Pryce behaving as some sort of serial killer. A killer whose actions were so vicious that even Angel was appalled. "Wesley? I can't believe it." She addressed the room at large.

Her Spike nodded. He was still blown away by the ex-Watcher's actions the night before. The first victim had been a shock, the second a revelation, and each one after had just increased his admiration for the man. Not to mention that Wes turned out to be a damned good shag. "Neither could I. Never seen anything like it. Would have bet good money that he didn't have it in him. But you should have seen him. He was as good as you ever were, Angel."

"You were there?" Buffy asked.

Spike suddenly wished he'd kept his mouth shut. "Ah, yeah."

"You stood by and let some sort of psycho-Wesley kill five people and did nothing?" she demanded. He never changed. No matter how many times she thought she had discovered the absolute lowest point he could reach, Spike found a way to dig a little deeper, reach a little lower. She felt ill. And this soulless monster was the only one she wanted to touch her. She was just as bad as he was. Just as degraded. How could any decent person even want to be in the same room with such a conscienceless thing much less want to have it inside her body? And she did want him inside her. Even now in this instant, knowing that he had participated in the killing of at least five people just the night before, she wanted him. She lashed out, punching him as hard as she could, and suddenly found the muzzle of a gun pressed coldly between her eyebrows.

"Buffy, don't move!" Angel ordered. "Please. Let me handle this." He knew how quickly both the Slayer and his childe could move and it was a toss-up as to whether Buffy could get rid of the gun and possibly kill Baby faster than Baby could fire. The hammer of her revolver was already cocked and Angel knew the gun had a sensitive hair trigger. "Baby, put down the gun. You don't really want to kill Buffy."

"Yes, I do. I really do." Her voice was deceptively quiet. It was the exact same voice she'd used to tell him she hoped he never achieved redemption right after she'd half-killed him with a sledgehammer.

"Baby, please. Do what Angel asks." Spike picked himself up off the floor. He didn't like the look on Angel's face. Or Cordelia's. There wasn't a lot in the world that could frighten Angelus but he looked afraid.

"Come here," Baby ordered. "Let me see your face. If she's put a bruise on you she's dead."

"Pet. It's alright. I'm fine." He didn't move. His other self was radiating just as much fear as Angel and Cordelia, maybe more. And that frightened Spike. If Other-Him was that afraid then there was a good chance that either the Slayer or Baby would die before this confrontation ended. Dru was simply watching with big, calm eyes. Spike often wondered if she even saw the world remotely as everyone else did or if knowing as much of the future as she did altered her perceptions of what was happening in the now. There was a look of almost anticipation on Wesley's face. It was unnerving.

There was a light in Baby's eyes that dared any of them to move. She wanted an excuse to kill the Slayer. "I mean it. If she's hurt you I'm gonna blow her head off."

"Baby, please! You know how I feel, pet. About both of you. I don't want to see you kill her." He let her hear the desperation he felt. "I can't bear the thought of seeing her dead body again. You know what it did to me last time."

The other Spike shuddered. He remembered that as well. "Please, pet. Don't do this," he said softly.

Baby stared hard into the Slayer's eyes. Her lips slowly drew back in a look that was half sneer, half disgust. She emptied three shots in rapid succession into the wall beside Buffy's head with a roaring shriek of frustration. Buffy was stunned by the sheer sound of it so close to her ear. Baby stalked a few feet away. Out of reach of the Slayer but still close enough that she couldn't miss if she fired the gun she still held pointed at the other woman.

"Now you listen to me, girl, and you listen good. Don't ever hit him again. If you ever lay a hand on him again, I'll kill you. If I ever find a mark that you've put on him, you're dead. And he won't stop me and Angelus won't stop me. And your Slayer senses won't save you 'cause you won't even know I'm around. I'll take you out. I can put a bullet in your brain from a hundred yards away." She surveyed Spike's jaw closely. "I mean it, honey. She's not going to hurt you ever again. Not as long as I'm around."

She turned her attention to her older sire though her eyes still bored into Buffy's. "I don't care what you have to do to, Angel, but you convince this bitch that I mean what I say. Mine or not mine, I ever find another bruise that she's put on him and I'll find her and put a bullet in her brain." With one smooth motion, Baby returned the gun to her shoulder holster.

Angel nodded. He knew when there was a chance of winning a battle and when it was a complete lost cause. He kept his mouth closed. With luck Baby had had her say and Buffy would leave and he could stake himself in peace.

He had forgotten that Buffy's temper was as volatile as Baby's. Or perhaps he didn't know. He hadn't been a part of this girl's life. His Buffy hadn't dealt with the trials that this one had. "You little bitch!" Buffy said. "I'm going to…

"What?" Baby interrupted. "Steal my husband again? Since when were you a whore who goes after married men? You used to have morals. You used to be a hero."

Baby's invective cut right to the heart of Buffy's own fears. The vamp bitch was right, she did used to have morals. She was the hero. What was she now? What sort of person was she? Was Spike right? Did she belong in the Dark? Was she as bad as any of the demons in this room? Was she as bad as she thought herself to be? Buffy's face began to crumple.

"Oh, don't even primp up and cry," Baby snapped. "That looked a whole lot better when you were sixteen than it does now." Angel took a step toward the Slayer. Baby stopped him with a look. "I know, I know. Poor, poor Buffy. She has such a hard life. Well you know what, honey?" she asked, addressing the Slayer. "Life's a bitch and then you die. And if you're lucky, you come back!" Baby indicated both herself and the Slayer in her gesture. "Oh I forgot, you didn't want to come back! Well, it's so sad that you had people who cared enough about you that they'd take on Hell to get you back. But you couldn't appreciate that, could you? You were too busy with the self-pity party."

"You don't know anything about it!" Buffy said. "You don't know what it was like! I was in Heaven! And I came back to… to… everything. A sister to take care of. Bills I can't pay. A job that sucks. You have no idea. So don't even start to…"

Baby interrupted. "And you're not the first person who's ever had money problems. Ask Cordy about suddenly being without money or a home. Ask Cordelia about not having money for food sometime. She can tell you all about it. But she never whined."

Buffy was surprised to see Cordelia looking at her coldly. "No, I bitched but I never whined."

Drusilla laughed.

"Poor Buffy has a sucky job flipping burgers," Baby continued. "Well, so did Xander. More than once. And all you ever did was tease him about it. But he's supposed to feel sorry for you. So you don't have a bunch of money to blow at the mall? You still got a house and food. Your friends, the ones that you can't tolerate anymore, see to that."

Buffy took a few steps toward her. Spike, Baby's Spike, carefully placed himself between the two women. "Maybe you should go, Buffy," he said gently.

"Maybe I should rearrange your girlfriend's face," Buffy snarled.

"Any day you feel up to it, little girl," Baby countered. "And that's 'wife,' not 'girlfriend.' Get it right."

Angel intercepted Buffy. "The two of you need to stop it."

"I haven't even started," Baby grated. "I got a whole list of things the Slayer needs to hear. If she's got the balls to listen."

"Oh yeah?" Buffy drew herself up. She was spoiling for this fight. "Let her rip."

"You mentioned taking care of your sister?" Baby said. "Damn shame you're so pitiful at it."

"Hey!" Buffy's Spike protested. "She does the best she can. It's hard being a single mom."

"Yeah it is. Ask any of the other single twenty-one-year-old moms out there. You know Joyce was a single mother for a lot of years and she didn't whine about it."

Buffy glared at Spike. "I don't need your protection."

He flopped down beside Drusilla. "Fine. Suit yourself." In anyone else, the look on his face would have been called a pout.

Buffy turned back to the red-haired vampire. "You got any more, Baby?" She sneered the name.

"Oh I got a ton of 'em, sweetie. Pick your topic. Worthless parents? Your dad's a worthless jerk who doesn't care about his kids? Well, so was Xander's, and so was Willow's. Did you even notice? At least your mother cared. They didn't even have that."

"Neither did I," Wes muttered. Dru laid her head on his shoulder and cooed to him.

Fine, Buffy could take whatever the slut threw. "Keep going. I'm sure you have better than that."

"Oh way better," Baby assured her. "How about addiction? You're addicted? So's Willow, but you expect her to go cold turkey while you're still getting your rocks off fucking Spike any time you feel like it. Yeah, she got your sis in a car wreck but you leave the kid alone all night so you can screw Spike in secret." Baby curled her lip disdainfully. "Oh I forgot, it's not your fault you go to his crypt. It's his. He makes your life so hard."

Buffy turned on Spike. "You told them! You worthless piece of…"

Baby headed for the Slayer but was intercepted by her husband. "Pet. You don't want to do this right now."

She glared at him. "Don't you dare take her part!"

Spike raised his hands in a sign of defeat. He had made his choice and he wasn't about to jeopardize his marriage, not even for Buffy's life at this point. He knew Angel would protect the Slayer.

Drusilla hissed at the Slayer. "Maybe my sister won't kill you, but I will," she said softly. "He's my Spike, too. My childe." Dru was as rational and clear-minded as she had ever been. "I've seen what you did to him. Seen it here." She touched the younger Spike's forehead. "And here." She touched his chest. "You're cold and hard, you are. Just like frost. Just like ice. You kill whatever you touch. Kill the love in it. Kill the caring. Because you're afraid to let it grow." She reached for Wesley's hand. "The only reason I haven't already killed you is because you're needed. The world will end without you. But I'm beginning to think it's not worth it."

A muscle was twitching in Spike's jaw and his face was as pale as his hair. "I didn't tell them anything."

"He didn't have to. I already knew." Baby's face was twisted with anger and distaste. "I was there. I saw it. I felt it. Everything you did to him, you did to me."

Buffy looked at her in shock, as did Cordelia and Wesley. Dru had seen the link between her sister and her son and was not surprised and Baby herself had told Angel about it.

"Get your jollies beating up your boyfriends, don'tcha?" Baby said. "You like it when you make 'em hurt. Really gets you off. Beat 'em up and then fuck 'em. Or sometimes, it's beat 'em up while you fuck 'em. Because it makes you feel good. Makes you feel alive." She glared at the other woman. "And Spike's supposed to wait around till you need him for fighting or sex. But he's not supposed to feel anything unless you tell him he can. He's not supposed to love the woman he's having sex with. He's not supposed to care. He's supposed to be like you. Besides, he's just a thing to you. He's just supposed to be convenient! He lets you damn near kill him on a regular basis just so you can get your rocks off but he's still just an unfeeling thing. He's good enough for sex but not to hang around your little friends. Doesn't matter that you damn near killed him the last time you beat him, does it? Doesn't matter that he was just trying to save your ass. So how many times did you come while you were pounding his face?"

Buffy swung at Baby but the dark-haired Spike pulled his wife away just in time. "Stop it!"

"You are one sick, fucked-up little girl," Baby observed. She never moved her gaze from the Slayer's.

Buffy was trying not to hear anything the redhead was saying. She couldn't help it, though. The pain felt so good in some way. Tara was wrong, Buffy was suddenly sure. She had come back wrong. Why else would she secretly welcome this abuse? Why would she want to hear someone say such horrible things about herself? Horrible things that just might be true. She could see Angel's face. He looked so shocked, so horrified. Well, he probably had a right to be. She felt shocked and horrified by what she'd done but she couldn't stop. There had to be something wrong with her. She wasn't like this. This wasn't her!

She wanted to scream, to hit, to hurt. But all the ugly things the vampiress was saying seemed to have shackled her. Some perverse part of her wanted this punishment. Wanted to know how horrible she was. Didn't want to be forgiven. In some perverse way, Buffy wanted this pain. And Baby was far from finished. She had seventeen years worth of hurt to vent. "Poor Buffy. We don't want to forget the big hang-up: every man you love leaves you. Well, yeah, they do. And you're right, it is your fault!"

Baby heard Angel gasp and saw Cordy hold him back with an outstretched arm. Cordy felt it was past time Buffy heard some home truths. Cordelia had her own 'second choice' issues to deal with.

"'Cause, honey, if you push hard enough, they'll all leave. And you push pretty damn hard. You have to fuck them up as badly as you're fucked up before you let them go, though, don't you? And let me tell you, you are one fucked up bitch, baby. 'Cause it's all about you. It's always all about you. Sex is for your pleasure, not theirs. All the give in the relationships has to come from them, not you. All you do is take." Baby went to the heart of the matter. "You knew Angel couldn't touch you but you still came around, tormenting him. Instead of having your friends out looking for a cure to the curse, you were whining 'cause he wouldn't kiss you. And when he finally couldn't take it anymore and told you he was leaving, you made him into the bad guy. Angelus, you stay out of this! Sit down." With Cordelia pulling on his arm Angel backed off but he didn't sit. The grim line of his mouth promised that Baby would pay for this later.

Buffy was going to kill the bitch, she promised herself. At some point, Buffy firmly intended to stake the vamp ho for this. If she could only stop that hateful voice. But some perverse demon had taken up residence inside her. It made her push the issue. "Is that so? Then why did Riley leave? All I ever did was try to protect him. He cheated on me!"

"You knew Riley had issues with your Slayer strength but you kept comparing him to Angel. He knew you didn't love him. He told Xander so. But he was willing to live with that as long as you'd let him." Baby hated the sliver of hypocrisy that existed in the whole Buffy/Riley breakup. "And it was okay for Angel to bite you and it was okay for you to moon over your former love but the minute Soldier Boy showed a weakness, he was a horrible person and not worthy of you. Honey, you and I both know that you'd have fucked Angelus right in front of Riley Finn if Peaches had said he was coming back to stay."

Baby's husband reached for her tentatively. "Dove, you don't really want to go into all this."

"I'm almost done," she promised him. "You push them away. That's why they all leave."

Buffy felt as though someone had punched her hard enough to knock the breath from her body. She literally couldn't move. Couldn't speak. The pain was too great.

Baby was winding down but she had one last point to make. "Of course, if you'd really wanted any of them to stay, you'd have done something about it. When Angel told you he was leaving, you should have sat him down and told him he wasn't going anywhere. That if he did, you'd just follow him and bring his Irish ass home. Riley was just waiting for you to say you wanted him to stay. Spike is willing to subsist on crumbs of your affection. But you couldn't give any of them anything. You expected them to give it all to you." She was ready to wind this up. "You need to just get the fuck over it! Life ain't picket fences and Prince Charmings, sweetheart. You have to work and claw for it. And it don't come easy. But like the man said, it's living. And, honey, if you want love, you have to give it. And sometimes you have to fight for it."

Baby had an epiphany. She suddenly knew what she wanted from her life. She wanted Spike. Wanted him more than immortality. More than unlife. Buffy was not going to take him away. Not without a fight. "In fact, that's so good, I think I'll follow my own advise."

Baby turned on her husband. "You!" She pointed a finger at him. "Our room. Now!" She whirled and headed for the door.

Spike's voice stopped her. "Pet, I'm not going anywhere with you when you're in this sort of mood."

She rounded on him. "Fine! I just thought you'd like a little privacy. But we can do this right here." She advanced on him with a predatory style that even Angelus could appreciate. "You listen to me. William. Arthur. August. Roxton." Each of his names was punctuated by a step. "You don't belong to that twisted little tramp anymore. You belong to me. I'm not about to give you up without a fight. And I'll use every dirty trick I know to keep you. If she thinks she can have you back, she's got another think coming. I'll take her down hard if I have to. She's nothing but a worthless little…" She tried to think of the worst word she knew. "Cunt. And if you ever, ever, let that skinny bitch hit you, I'm gonna make you wish that you had let her kill you. And if you ever have sex with her again, if you ever feel you might possibly be falling back in love with her, if you ever even think about fucking that anorexic abusive whore, I'm gonna screw you into next week."

Spike blinked. "Beg pardon?"

A predatorily seductive look had settled on Baby's face. "I'm gonna love you so fiercely you won't be able to see straight. I'm gonna fuck you so hard you won't remember that there's another living being on this earth but me." The anger gave her voice a beautiful edge. One finger dug into his chest.

Spike swallowed.

"I'm gonna prove to you just how much I love you." She pushed him a step backwards.

"Just how much I need you." Another push.

"Just how much I adore you." Another push.

"Every single, solitary minute of every day of your unlife. I'm gonna make you forget that skinny little twat ever existed." She was toe-to-toe with him. "Are we perfectly clear on that?"

Spike's mouth moved but no sounds came out. He managed to nod.

"You're mine! No half ways about it. No more second best. No more substitute. Got it?"

Angel was still angry but now he was also confused and it showed on his face. Cordelia had a huge self-satisfied grin on her face. Wes and Dru looked equally pleased. Buffy's Spike simply looked miserable.

Spike looked down into the most evilly delicious smile he had ever seen on the face of his consort. He knew she meant every word. "Mine," she repeated.

He swallowed again, "And, ah. If I, ah, told you that I might be feeling a bit confused right now?"

Her grin was definitely predatory now and the gleam in her eyes was dangerous. "Then I guess I'd just have to show you that I mean what I say." Her attack carried him through the connecting door and halfway into the next room. All Angel could see was one of Spike's boots. There were some grunts and growls and rustlings, a rip and what sounded suspiciously like a zipper opening followed by a somewhat pleased cry of "Bloody hell, woman!"

Wesley glanced at the pair on the floor. He had a better view than Angel did. "Oh good lord," he muttered. "I suppose Drusilla and I will have to find other quarters for the duration?"

"I guess…" Angel found himself slammed against the wall by his consort. "C…Cordy?"

"You know, you, Buffy, that whole 'ex' thing?" the brunette grated.

"Ah, yes?" Was that a squeak? The leader of the Scourge did not squeak. Cordy grabbed the front of his pants. Okay, so maybe the leader of the Scourge did squeak.

"What she said," Cordelia ground out, pointing toward Spike's twitching boot before pasting her mouth to his. "Mine!"

Buffy closed her mouth with a snap. "You people are all crazy." She addressed Wesley because, serial killer or not, he seemed to be the only remotely sane person in the room. "Get out of my town. I don't care why you're here. Just get out. I find you or any of your 'family' on my streets and I'll kill you. You're a danger to this city and everyone in it." She glanced briefly at her Spike and started to say something but no words could convey her feelings. She shook her head and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Chapter 11 - "To Take My Life and Fuck It Up"

Spike sat down beside Wesley and looked at the closed door. "God, what a cock-up." He observed.

Wesley nodded. "An accurate summation of the situation, I'd say."

Spike thought of Buffy. "Well, if she might have been talking to me before, she surely isn't now."

Dru patted his hand and scooted so she could lay her head on his shoulder. "It will be all right, my Spike."

"Vision, pet?" he asked.

"No. But you deserve to have some happiness," she answered. Spike realized that this was the sane Dru.

"Thank you, luv. I'm not so sure of that." He seemed to collapse inward, looking smaller than he normally did. For just a moment he was simply a tired and lonely man.

Baby walked back into the room wiping her mouth. She looked more than a bit satisfied with herself if the smirk on her face was any indication.

Angel gently disengaged himself from Cordy's arms and walked over to his childe. He looked at her carefully for just a moment before he backhanded her as hard as he could. Baby flew across the room, slamming into the wall before sliding down to land in a heap. Cordy pressed her hands to her mouth, too shocked to move. Angel wrapped on hand around Baby's throat and lifted her off the floor. Baby was a good inch shorter than Cordelia and her feet kicked uselessly well above the carpet. "If you ever do anything like that again, I will beat you half to death," he growled. "That was cruel and uncalled for." His face was set and hard. He slapped her and followed through with another backhand that knocked her from his grasp. The back of her head hit the wall with a resounding thump. He ignored Wesley's outraged shout and pushed the blond Spike away sending him tumbling over a chair.

Angel picked Baby up with a hand on each shoulder and shook her. "Firing that gun could have brought half the police force down on us. Thank God this is Sunnydale and everyone suffers from an excessive case of minding their own business." His eyes flashed yellow. "Do you want to see us all dragged out into the sunlight?" He was so angry he couldn't stop himself from shaking her again. Had she been human, her neck would have snapped. "You will learn to control that damnable temper of yours. You will learn some self-restraint if I have to beat it into you."

He dropped her back to the floor and turned only to meet her husband's fist. Angel went down. His grandchilde straddled his fallen form and gathered up a handful of Angel's shirt. He pulled back his fist. "I told you what I would do if you ever hit her again." He punched the larger man right in the nose. The other Spike was gathering up Baby from the floor and looking as though he'd like to have another go at the souled vampire. Angel gained his feet and reached for Spike. Wes put himself between them. He didn't seem concerned that placing his very human, very mortal body between two enraged vampires wasn't exactly a good idea for the average person.

"God damn it, Spike," Angel grated and pulled back his fist, so enraged he didn't even notice the blood pour from his nose. "If you can't control our childe, I will!" Cordelia grabbed his arm and held on for all she was worth.

Spike reached around Wes trying to get to Angel. Only a wish not to hurt the human kept him from his grandsire. "You touch her again and I'll fucking kill you."

"Stop it!" Wes ordered. "Spike," he said addressing the younger of the two versions. "Take Baby and Drusilla into the other room. Now." He pushed Angel toward the bed. "Cordelia and I will handle this."

Dru was curled in a ball on the bed. She had placed her hands over her face. Baby pulled herself from the blond Spike's hold and rushed to Dru's side. "It's okay, sweetie," she told the dark-haired vampiress. "It's okay." She looked at the blond Spike. He seemed more interested in joining the fight than obeying Wes. "Spike, please help me." He shot her a confused look. "Dru can't stand for us to fight. She has a real problem with it. We need to get her out of here like Wes says." She sounded slightly desperate. With obvious reluctance he abandoned the fracas and went to her aide. Together they got Drusilla on her feet and carried her not into the next room as Wes had requested but two more away to Baby's room. The less Dru could hear, the better off she would be.

Baby climbed into the bed with Dru and held the other vampiress as though she was a child. She crooned softly to her sister, rocking her gently. "It's okay, Dru. Angel just gets all stupid sometimes. He didn't hurt me. It's okay." She looked up at Spike. "It's been really hard for her sometimes. Angelus used to hit her a lot. Before the whole soul thing."

Spike nodded. He remembered. Angelus, when angered, had been quick to use his fists, or his boots for that matter, on his childer. "Yeah, he did. He hit all of us a lot."

Baby nodded back. She remembered, too. "Dru is afraid that if we all start fighting that we'll split up. That the family will fall apart. That Angel will go away and Spike and I will leave and she'll be alone. Family is really important to her." She could dimly hear Wes shouting though she couldn't make out the words. Angel and her Spike were probably both getting a reaming for upsetting Dru. She could hear Cordy, too. Cordy had a hard and fast 'no hitting' rule.

As for herself, she wasn't surprised at Angel's actions. She had more than half expected him to knock the shit out of her. She had seen his face when she'd been venting on Buffy. She had read the rage building in her sire accurately. She expected a beating and had already decided to accept it. She hadn't fought back when Angel was rampaging though she could have tried to kick and hit. He hadn't been restraining her arms or legs. She figured that would only get her broken bones. And to be honest, having Angel hit her hadn't hurt half as much as a vampire as it had when she was human. It still hurt like hell, though. Her jaw was throbbing.

Her Spike stomped into the room muttering, "Motherless bastard." Both she and the other Spike assumed he meant Angel. He looked at his double. "Could you take Dru next door?" he asked. The younger Spike raised an eyebrow but complied. Without another word, Baby's Spike went into the bathroom returning with a hand towel. He filled it with iced from the bucket on the dresser before coming to sit on the bed facing Baby. "Let me see your face," he ordered gently. He looked at her cheek a moment before placing the icepack on it. "Could have been worse," he said more to himself than to her. "Could have broken your jaw." He drew a deep breath. "The son of a bitch is right, though; you shouldn't have done that."

Baby stuck out her jaw obstinately. "That Slayer bitch…," she started.

"Could have killed you!" he interrupted. He gentleness with which he held the icepack to her cheek was in direct opposition to the anger on his face and in his voice. "She could have dusted you without a second thought! She is the Slayer, damn it, and a better one has never been born." He silenced her with an upraised finger. "I know you're good. I know you're strong. I know I've taught you as well as I possibly could and I know you have all my knowledge and experience in your head. I will bet good money that you can take almost anyone, vamp or human, out there. But you can't take her. If you go up against the Slayer again, Buffy will kill you." He looked at her set face and damned his wife for being the most stubborn, obstinate creature ever born. "I'm almost glad Angel hit you because, Satan knows, for the first time in my life, I wanted to hit you. I'm still tempted to turn you over my knee. And if you ever, ever, do anything that stupid again, I will!" He forced her to look into his eyes. "I mean it. If I ever think you are about to willfully put yourself in that sort of danger again, I will beat you senseless." He grabbed her to him and his voice changed. The anger fell away and fear replaced it. "Because if you die, if you get yourself killed, well, they might as well cut off m'head because they'll have already ripped out my heart."

Baby put her arms around him and held on as they rocked together. She honestly hadn't thought of the danger to herself. Perhaps the demon within had taken over and allow her anger full reign. Perhaps the insecure adolescent part of her had lashed out. She couldn't be sure. Baby wasn't stupid nor, recent actions to the contrary, was she impulsive. She normally knew exactly what she was doing. She often didn't care what the rest of the world thought of those actions but she seldom entered any confrontation without a firm knowledge of the odds and how she could use them to her advantage. However Buffy Summers was her Achilles' heel, her blind spot. She couldn't seem to think when she was in the same room as the Slayer. What self-restraint she possessed fled. She realized that Spike was right. She could very easily have gotten herself killed. Baby knew what awaited her when she finally died; she'd experienced it. She had no particular wish to return to Hell. She also had no wish to leave Spike. She knew that was the greatest torment that awaited her in Hades: existence without Spike.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think," she murmured into his ear. "I won't do it again."

He simply held her closer and tried not to think about how close he had come to loosing her forever.

~~~~~

Wesley, while no vampire, had an innate sense of Drusilla at all times and it wasn't difficult for him to locate her. The Spike who belonged to the current dimension opened the door in response to his somewhat exasperated knock. Wes headed straight for his lover. "How has she been?"

Spike shrugged, unsure how much he really knew about this Drusilla. "I've seen her worse. Much worse."

Wes nodded and spoke softly to Dru for a few moment, soothing her and reassuring her than no one was leaving. He feared that the events of the last forty-eight hours were going to be a set back for her. He wasn't entirely sure who he felt the most anger toward, Spike, Angel, Buffy, or Baby. He was rather put out with all of them. He could understand Spike's reaction to Angel's violence. He'd had to punch Angel a time or two or twelve before he'd been able to convince the master vampire that he was very serious about protecting Drusilla from anyone who would harm her. He could understand Angel's reaction to Baby's and Buffy's fight. Though if he had to be perfectly honest with himself, in Baby's place he wouldn't have wasted his bullets on the wall. He'd have killed the Slayer. He understood Baby's reaction perfectly. If he thought for even a moment that Angel would ever try to seduce Dru away from him the way he had seduce her from Spike, the world would find itself less one vampire. He could even say that he understood how Spike nearly succumbed to Buffy's attractions. He could understand. That didn't mean he forgave them. They had upset Drusilla. That was not going to happen again. Not if he had to knock heads together to prevent it.

He looked at the bleached blond. "Thank you for looking after her."

Spike shrugged. "Not a problem, mate. Not the first time I've done it."

Wesley nodded. Dru lifted her head from his shoulder. "I want him to stay, Wesley," she said imperiously.

Wes gave her a quizzical look. "Yes, my love?"

Dru nodded. "Yes. He has a part yet to play." She smiled and Spike didn't think he'd ever seen that soft and content look on her face before. "Besides, I like him and he needs us. He should be with us for a while."

As ever, Wes complied with her wish. "Of course, my dearest." He looked at the other Englishman. "You will stay," he said. It wasn't a question.

Spike grinned. He was used to being told to leave, that he wasn't wanted. He wasn't used to being told to stay, that he was wanted. It might be interesting to see what it felt like for a change. Dru held out her hand and as he had for over a century, he took and sat beside her. It felt almost like coming home.

~~~~~

Spike snarled when he opened the door and saw Angel. "What do you want?" he demanded.

Angel beat back the impulse to clock his grandchilde one. "I'd like to talk to Baby," he answered.

"Not gonna happen," Spike said and attempted to close the door. Angel used the time-honored method of sticking his foot in the doorway to stop him. Spike rolled his eyes. "That's really infantile, you know. I could just stomp on it."

"Let him in," Baby said gently from her perch in the middle of the bed.

Spike arched that expressive left brow at her. She arched both of hers in reply. "Oh alright then," he conceded in exasperation. "Come in. But be quick about it," he told Angel. He threw himself down on the bed beside her.

Angel summoned up the last reserves of his self-control. He would not get in another fight with Spike. Cordy would kill him. He closed the door gently behind him. "Could I talk to Baby alone?" he asked.

"Nope," Spike said without looking at him.

"Spike…"

Before Angel could say anything else, Baby interrupted. "It's okay, honey. I'll talk to Angelus."

Spike considered her statement for at least a full minute before he pushed himself off the bed. "All right. But I'll be next door," he said by way of warning. Angel knew that what Spike actually was saying but just in case he wasn't clear, Spike verbalized it. "I hear you hit her or shout at her and I'll come back in here and kill you."

Angel didn't bother to answer. He merely glared back at his grandchilde. Not enough to provoke an argument but enough to let Spike know he wasn't afraid of the other vampire.

"Stop with the alpha vampire testosterone," Baby ordered. "I'll be okay, Spike."

Her spouse reluctantly left with a growl, closing the connecting door behind him. She could hear him speaking to Wes, Dru, and the other Spike. She looked up at her sire. "Well?"

Angel fidgeted with his wedding ring for a moment, turning it round and round on his finger. Baby waited. Finally, in her most pronounced drawl, she said, "Well, you going to say something or you going to just stand there?" With her accent it sound more line "Way-ell, you gone say som'un, er you gone jus' stan' they-ar?" He almost smiled. Baby sighed. "Don't tell me Cordy sent you in here to apologize."

He sat down on the bed. "Ah. Yeah. Actually she did."

Baby shook her head and laughed. "You know she has you completely pussy-whipped, don't you?" It was an old joke in the family that Angel might be leader of the Scourge but Cordelia was the boss of Angel. Cordelia was pretty much the boss of everyone.

He ruefully nodded. "Yep. She does. And I love every minute of it."

Baby chuckled again. "Well, I know you're not sorry you hit me and you know you're not sorry you hit me, so it why don't we just pretend we made up and move on. Cordy'll be happy that way."

Angel nodded. "It's just…. Sometimes you…. And I want to…." He gave up. "You make me so mad sometimes," he finally said. "I used to think that Spike would be the death of me but now I think it may be you."

She nodded. "Probably. If you don't kill me first."

He looked at her. She had her head tilted slightly to one side and the look on her face caused him to laugh. "Yeah, if I don't kill you first." He noticed the make-shift ice pack lying on the bedside table where Spike had tossed it. He reached over and picked it up. He applied it tenderly to her jaw. "How bad is it."

She shrugged. "Medium, I reckon. Not broken but hurts like hell."

"I wish you wouldn't make me so angry," he said. "I don't like hitting you." She raised her eyebrows. At the look in her eyes, he relented. "Alright. I do like hitting you. It feels good. I don't know why; but it does." He had never been able to figure out just what it was about her that set off his demon. "I just enjoy it. Are you happy now?" he groused.

She smiled back at him, half apology, half imp. "Glad you finally admitted it. I can't say I enjoy the hitting but I do like to make you mad. You look good when you're angry." Somehow she managed to make 'good' a two syllable word. "To be honest, sometimes I make you mad on purpose just 'cause you look so cute. But I didn't mean to make you angry this time. I didn't set out to make anybody mad. It just sorta happened." She looked at him sorrowfully. "I've had a bad couple of days."

He nodded and felt some of the tension drain away. He hadn't hoped she'd be reasonable. He had expected shouting and recriminations. He suddenly remembered why the very sight of Buffy set her off and how very close her life had come to falling apart. How very close everything had come to falling apart. A rift within any of the couples could tear the Scourge apart. Shatter the family. He opened his arms. "Yes, you have. Come here, childe." She'd faced a lot in the last six months. Things that, regardless of age, could break a person. No wonder she acted crazy half the time. He should be surprised that she wasn't crazy all the time. She might be nearly sixty in human years but she was still so very young in vampire terms, he reminded himself, and he was still her sire.

She crawled into his lap and rested her head on his shoulder. "I don't want to fight, Angelus. Not today. I think I had about all the fighting I can stand."

He wrapped his arms around her and smoothed her hair. "I know, sweetheart. And I am sorry for everything that happened with Buffy. I should have sent her away when she showed up at the door." He wished they'd never met this dimension's Slayer. She disturbed him greatly.

He felt Baby shrug. "Maybe it's better this way. I got some things out of my system. Made me realize that I really do want Spike and I'll fight to keep him. Cleared up a lot of things in my own head."

He tilted her head up with a hand under her chin so he could look into her face. "How are you and Spike? Are you going to be okay?" Spike was certainly acting like his usual overly protective self, Angel thought. And Baby was still here.

She smiled, a tiny ephemeral thing. "Yeah, I think we will. I want him. He wants me. I think maybe for the first time in our lives, he knows just what we have together." She looked in to Angel dark eyes and he realized that this was the serious Baby. The one he seldom saw. The one who could and did act like a grown-up. The one that scared him. "I've told him that I'm tired of worrying about being in Buffy's shadow. Something like that eats away at a woman. Kills her a little bit every day." The look she gave him was fraught with significance. "You can't always be thinking that someone else is your husband's great love."

He realized where she was going. "Cordy. That's what all that 'mine' thing was about? That's silly. Cordy has not reason to feel that way. I love her with all my heart."

She looked at him with eyes that showed fifty-eight years of living. "And have you actually told her that? That she has your whole heart, not just part of it?" She doubted if the subject had ever been broached. She was pretty sure that Buffy was a taboo subject between the other couple as much has it was between she and Spike. Maybe more so since she knew everything that had ever happened between Spike and Buffy. She wondered if Angel really knew the importance that the world attributed to his past relationship with the Slayer. "You and Buffy… well, that whole thing was so… unique. A legendary romance. Its even been written up in the Watcher Chronicles and everything."

Angel frowned. "Cordy and I are in there, too," he said.

"Yes, but Cordelia's never referred to as your 'soul mate'. There's never been any sort of great mystical phenomena attached to the two of you." She watched as her words sunk in. "No comparisons to great romances, no Romeo and Juliet metaphors. It always says that Cordy loved you enough to let herself become a demon. They never say that you love her." Angel started to protest but she stopped him by placing her fingertip gently over his lips. "They say things like 'devoted' and 'affectionate' and 'faithful'. One actually said, 'Angelus seems to show a marked fondness for his current consort'. 'Marked fondness.' The bastard."

He brought his hand up and wrapped it gently around the fingers still pressed to his lips. "Does Cordelia know that?" He kissed her fingertips.

Baby nodded. "You know me and her and Wes keep a close eye on what the Watchers have to say about the Scourge. Know thy enemy and all that. We read the reports and things or Wes reads them to us. I saw her face when Wes read it." She remembered it well. "She didn't say a word, Angel. Not one word. But I understood what she was feeling. I belonged to Spike for a long time before Spike ever belonged to me. If, in fact, he belongs to me yet."

He nodded. "He does." He thought about what she'd said and saw the truth in it. "Damn. So, I'm a blind idiot?"

"No." She suddenly smiled. "Just male and clueless."

He twisted up his face. "I did tell you that I enjoy hitting you, didn't I?"

She grinned. "Yes, you did. Oh and Angel…." And before he realized her intent she kissed him. Passionately, ardently. Without conscience thought, he returned the kiss. She allowed him free rein of her mouth for a couple minutes before she pulled back and smirked at him. "That's why you enjoy hitting me, sweetpea."

He blinked dazedly for a moment. Then he grinned in response. "Bitch," he said without rancor, laughter in his tone.

"Till the day I'm dust, Angel-Baby," she grinned back. "Now, don't you think it's time you stopped being a blind idiot?"

His grin broadened and he looked nothing like the master vampire feared by half the demonic world. He looked like a little boy who'd been told he could have a treat. "Yes. I think it is." He flipped her onto the bed and landed on top of her. He kissed her, hard and quick. Then with vampiric speed he was off her and opening the door. "There are days when I'm glad I haven't killed you yet, childe," he said and headed out to find his wife.

Chapter 12 - "He's Mine"
By Ten - Spikette

Cordy lay in the king-size bed alone and naked. Her skin was still tingling with anger and frustration at what Buffy had done and how Angel had ultimately handled it. Though she understood the sire/childe relationship and that Baby's actions had warranted discipline, she couldn't help but empathize with her. Cordy herself had wanted to lay into Buffy more times than she could remember, and though some of what Baby had said was cruel, it was also true. It was time SOMEONE told Buffy the way of things and exactly what a spoiled, manipulative tyrant she had been... especially to the men who had loved her.

She felt that familiar twinge again, that little constricting of her heart which reminded her that she had not been Angel's first choice, that she could never be, for all intents and purposes, his soul mate. The disappointment that the love of her life had a part of himself which would never belong to her was sometimes overwhelming. For the most part she had come to terms with their relationship long ago. They belonged to each other, but there were places she couldn't go with him. They never, EVER talked about Buffy. That part of their lives was over; as if Sunnydale had been a dream and then life began anew in Los Angeles. They never had to deal with how much he had loved her. Angel had simply admitted to himself that he and Buffy could never have one another, so they separated, and things eventually cooled. However, even after all these years, she had a recurring nightmare wherein Buffy came to Los Angeles and claimed Angel as her own. In her heart of hearts, Cordelia was plagued with the aching doubt that if that happened, Angel would go to Buffy...and abandon her.

Cordy knew it would break her heart to even hear him talk about Buffy in such a personal way, but she also knew it would break Angel even more to have to say it to her. She had no doubt that he loved her. She also had no doubt that there was a piece of him which would always belong to Buffy and would be vulnerable to her, no matter what time or dimension they were in. She had seen it flare up in the adjacent room only an hour or so ago. She had felt herself strangling at seeing Angel look "back" at the Buffy he'd still loved in 2002.

Cordy swallowed down that memory, storing it away to deal with later or not at all. Then she got out of bed, tinkering around the hotel room in the nude, lighting candles, adjusting the curtains for maximum shielding from the sun, adding more candles, brushing her hair. It was all busywork. She needed Angel, needed to touch him and feel him inside her and know they were all right and that the Slayer hadn't come between them. She needed to know that what she had said in the room with Baby, Wes, Dru, two Spikes, and Buffy had been true. That he was hers. Mine.

In the bathroom mirror she examined herself with a small smile. "Still a stunner Cordy, ol' girl," she said to herself. Even though she was 34, because of her demon aspect she still appeared as if she were 21. She was physically a perfect match for her perfect husband. She was soft and curvy where he was hard and sculptured. They were the perfect height, she fit perfectly in his arms standing, sitting, and lying down. A sly smile crept across her full lips. Especially lying down.

She heard the door open and fought herself to stay where she was. Her first instinct was to run to Angel's arms, but she didn't want to seem too eager right now, she didn't want to appear insecure, even though she desperately was. Every fiber in her being was insecure right now, needing validation, affection, and adoration from him. Reassurance that he was indeed hers.

She pretended to brush her hair and quietly waited for him to find her there in the bathroom. It didn't take long. In only a few moments she felt his presence in the doorway. He stood there, casually leaned against the doorframe, watching her. His eyes half-closed as his thoughts became apparent to her. Even after all this time, it still bothered her that she couldn't see him in the mirror, particularly right now when she wanted to see his expression and watch him watch her. She didn't say a word. Neither did he.

Slowly Angel moved toward her, his deep sable eyes turning smoky with passion and anticipation. He didn't touch her at first, he simply stood impossibly close to her and inhaled deeply, savoring her scent and searching it for the unmistakable muskiness of her arousal. It was subtle but it was there, and that brought a sly smile to Angel's lips. He buried his face in the back of her hair, letting the dark tresses caress his face and fill him with the heady scent which could only mean "Cordelia" to him. She stopped wearing designer fragrances long ago, at his request, because he much preferred her natural scent to something artificial and manufactured. It was intoxicating. SHE was intoxicating.

In the last few years, Cordy had become the epitome of a woman in her prime. Not just physically, but also spiritually and emotionally. She had come so far from the spoiled little rich girl she had been in high school that it was hard to believe it was the same person. He wondered momentarily what the Cordy of 2002 was like in this dimension ... certainly nowhere near the glorious creature he had before him now.

Still not touching her, he began to sniff her in an almost animalistic way, starting with her hair and working his way down her back, waist, buttocks, and legs. Cordelia could feel the movement of air around her body as he pulled it into him. Without seeing him in the mirror it was that much more exciting. On his way back up, he blew softly across her bare skin, the counterpoint to breathing her in. Every tiny hair on her body stood up, begging for more attention from him. They didn't have to wait long.

Angel took both his hands and gently grabbed handfuls of her hair, pulling his fingers through, feeling the texture and weight of it. From there he lightly touched her neck and shoulders, running his fingertips down her arms. His touch was like a whisper of more love to come. As he reached her waist he slipped his arms around her and pulled her to him, tracing the tiny curve of her navel as he pressed his full, hardening length into her back. It was a tease. He pulled back almost immediately as he lightly dragged his nails back around to her back once more.

Cordy shivered as her eyes closed and a moan crept away from her before she could stop it. Damn. She had wanted to withhold it from him as long as she could. She should have known. No one could so completely possess her body as Angel could. She was his, from the first glance to the final shuddering orgasm; there was nothing she could really hold back from him. He drew love from her like a magnet. She knew it. He knew it.

As he reached the back of her knees, cool lips butterfly kissing their way back up her thighs and hips replaced the tiny touches. When her reached her waist again, strong hands turned her around to face him as his tongue mirrored his fingers' actions around her navel, dipping into it to taste her more fully before dropping slightly to nuzzle her dark curls. Her arousal was unmistakable now, and Angel felt himself harden almost to the point of pain. But what a beautiful pain. All for her.

With a long, slow stroke of this tongue, he moved up her body, through the valley between her breasts and up to her neck. He hovered over his mark on her, the two-holed scar at the joining of her neck and shoulder that claimed her as his mate. Not just his consort. Not just a temporary human companion. His mate. For always. She smiled and sighed into him as he gave her that tiny reminder, and then he punctuated it with a whisper across her ear, his voice low, rich and full of passion and sincerity. A single word that made Cordelia crumble inside.

"Mine."

Suddenly she couldn't breathe. It was as if everything in the world had stopped for them, for this one moment so they could reassure and claim each other again. No Slayer, no family conflict, no hidden, aching doubt in either of their minds. The one word said it all. Cordy had proclaimed it herself, just a while ago in the other room, in front of Buffy and the family. A proclamation that no part of Angel belonged to the Slayer anymore. Even as Cordy had said it, she wasn't sure she believed it entirely herself. But now, with one word, Angel had validated everything they were, are, and would ever be. Mine.

She opened to him, searching for his lips to engulf them with her own. Tasting him, drawing his tongue deeply into her mouth, holding it there, her own dancing with it in silent movements of love. Their moans mixed within each other, tandem and simultaneous, a joining of spirit as well as hearts as he shook himself free of his clothing.

Angel lifted her onto the bathroom counter, admiring her back and the curve of her ass in the mirror, then caressing them, as his body parted her legs so that he would step between them. Hugged by her soft, pale thighs, he pressed into her, his hard, throbbing cock just touching her wet, welcoming entrance. She squirmed toward him, wanting to feel him inside her and he held back as long as he could. It wasn't long. As Cordelia moved from his lips, across his jaw line and onto his neck, she bit his flesh softly and a surge of desire coursed through both of them as he plunged into her. She licked at him, sucked him into her mouth, devouring his neck as their bodies joined in the deep, carnal embrace.

Cordy wrapped her legs around his waist, he lifted her and pulled back from the counter, turning instead to the adjacent wall and pushing her into it. He lowered her slightly so that with each stroke, he caressed her clit, delighting her inside and out. This incredible man with his vampire strength was able to be so gentle and thorough in their acts of mating, seeing to it that they shared every single sensation together rather than two random bodies pleasuring each other separately. Each slow stroke went deeper into her, filling her, seeking out the core of her being as well as her sexuality. She began to work with him, thrusting toward him as he pushed further into her, each stroke building in intensity to the point of no return and an inevitable, explosive conclusion.

They began to slide down the cool, tile wall; Angel allowed it, letting them both be pulled down to the ground, almost as part of the Earth itself. They were one with it and with each other. He fell to his back, Cordelia taking the top, riding him alternately with shallow and deep strokes, even with her urgent need so desperate to be released and his hovering near hers. She could feel him almost there when she pulled away, standing over him, her legs straddling his hips. She looked down at him, her chest heaving breathlessly, and she licked her lips slowly as she moved back to the counter.

Angel was on his feet like a shot, his rigid cock seeking her again, wanting to be engulfed by her. He enveloped her in his arms once again, returning them to their original position. Cordy adjusted to stretch one of her long, slender legs up over Angel's shoulder and wrapped the other around his waist, pulling him in even further as they began their coupling anew, each stroke filling the other with urgency and passion. Harder and harder he pounded into her, as she arched her back and worked with him until an urgent, intense shudder of pleasure overtook them both, crashing and swallowing them in wave after wave of prolonged pleasure. They both cried out with indiscernible words of release. Their intent was plain as they fell together onto the floor entirely spent and intertwined like the rings of a delicate chain....Mine.

* * * * *

Down the hall, the younger Spike looked up quizzically at the echoing sound of passion. Drusilla glanced at him impishly. "Mummy and Daddy have made up."

Chapter 13 - "I've Killed A Million Petty Souls"

Baby reached over and picked up the phone, her movement causing Spike to first gasp and then moan. She smiled down at him wickedly as she handed him the receiver. He sent her a look that promised retribution. The smile grew as she raised herself slightly and slowly lowered her body again. Spike made a noise that sounded remarkably like "Gah!" as she purposefully tightened internal muscles.

"Oh God," he breathed. The voice coming from the receiver caught a portion of his attention. "What? No, Peaches, I wasn't talking to you." He found it very, very difficult to concentrate on what Angel was saying. He found it difficult to concentrate on anything other than his wife's purposeful up and down motion and the equally purposeful ministrations of her talented hands. "Look, Angel. This isn't *gasp* really a good time, mate.…Oh gawd!…. Could you… Oh shit, Baby!… Call back later?" He concentrated on breathing for a minute. "Yeah, that's exactly what… oh! … wh-what I'm doing. Yeah, well you should be on this end of the phone. I'm… Oh honey! Do that again.… Yeah, yeah. In an hour. *unh* Better make that two… Uhmmm… Yeah, whatever." He could hear Cordelia giggling in the background. "Look, Peaches, I don't care if you listen. I… Baby! Holy Hell!… For all I care, you can come over and watch! Just shut up for now, alright? I… Jesus, sweetheart!" He dropped the receiver onto the bed and turned his full attention to his lover.

Sometime later when his vision returned and he regained partial use of his limbs, he picked up the phone and listened for a moment. Grinning, he placed it to Baby's ear. She giggled up at him.

"Yeah, good thing I told Peaches two hours. Sounds like he and the Cheerleader'll barely make it," he observed.

His bride laughed. "Oh honey, sounds to me like they're making it just fine." She made a pleased noise as Spike reached over her to hang up the phone. The motion caused most of his torso to lie across hers. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him there. "So what does Angelus want to talk about anyway?"

"Don't know. Wasn't exactly listening," Spike admitted. He kissed her nose. Sated, they were neither one in the mood for anything vigorous at the moment but cuddling was always on their list of 'things to do right now.' He checked the clock. "It's after five. The kids will be up soon."

Baby reached out with her vampiric senses. She was still amazed at how very much she could feel and sense. It was all so new, still. If she concentrated, she could hear Wesley's soft breathing even though he was a room away. It was easier to sense the other vampires. Bound by blood, she could feel them all if she tried. Drusilla was a dark blue-purple vibration, strong and yet somehow more fragile than all the others. Wesley, as her consort, was faint and a reflection of his mate. The children, as her brothers and sister, were easier to sense. Jean Claude, a brighter blue than Dru, was alert and she knew he was already awake. Claudia shimmered in a soft violet, still sleeping. Rene pulsed with red-purple and was on the edge of wakefulness. Angelus, as her sire, was as bright and red as a foundry blaze, his Cordelia a reflection of him tinged with her own white light. But it was Spike, her master, sire, and lover who filled her inner vision. He pulsated with a blue as bright as his eyes. She was aware of him every minute of consciousness and even subconsciously aware of him when sleeping. She could almost hear his thoughts, their empathy was so great. Particularly now when they were in such close proximity. She couldn't help but smile up at him. "Jean's up already."

He grinned back. She was learning rapidly, growing stronger and more powerful daily. "Very good, my pet. You are my precious girl." He kissed her chin. She basked in the glow of her sire's approval. The human Baby would have raised an incredulous eyebrow at his tone but the fledgling Baby needed that reassurance. Just as she had gained certain strengths by becoming a vampire, she had also gained certain weaknesses. One of them was an ingrained desire to please her sire. She'd grow out of it soon enough but until then Spike wanted her to be happy. That instinct had made their near break-up even more traumatic for her. She hadn't just left her lover; she'd left her sire. It was no wonder she had been acting more than a bit psychotic. Fledglings could be driven mad by separation from their sire. In as young a vampire as she was, that link could be overpowering. Spike hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said he could use it to hold her to him. Drusilla's wish had kept Spike, a master in his own right, bound to her for over a century. When she'd broken that bond and left him, he'd been more than a little crazy. Although he had recovered and now felt only a connection to her, it had taken months. Dru herself was still bound to Angelus, though that was through no wish of her sire. Her madness had ensured that she never outgrew the need for that bond. Ties of blood seemed particularly strong among the scions of Aurelius and unlike many lines seemed to grow stronger with each generation. The emotional ties among Spike's pride were some of the strongest in the demon world. Part of that could be attributed to their upbringing. Spike encouraged and enforced a strong sense of family. In point of fact, he destroyed those among his childer who didn't have it. But the children who were left were a remarkably strong unit, which produced remarkably strong individuals. He had birthed no less than five vampires that achieved true master status in less than a decade. Such a thing was unheard of. Baby wasn't a master, not yet; she had no childer of her own, but in all actuality she'd been a master before she was ever turned. As a human, she had acted as favored Childe, had even ruled the family while Spike was briefly dead. He wasn't worried about her abilities. He did worry about her new vulnerabilities. While she'd been human, he'd nursed her through injuries, the flu, viruses, the effects of aging, and a serious bout with pneumonia. He'd been terrified of losing her more than once and was sincerely thankful that he'd never have to worry about those dangers again. Now he had to worry about sunlight and wooden stakes, about overly-zealous vampire hunters and holy relics. He wasn't entirely sure the trade had been as equitable as it could have been. He brought her cool fingers to his lips. He missed her warmth sometimes. But it was a small price to pay for having her with him for eternity. And soon she would be strong enough to stand on her own.

In the meantime, he could live with a bit of neediness. He didn't mind that she felt it necessary to cling to him. Right now, he needed that as well. He'd take care of her. He'd nurture her. He'd teach her and feed her from his own veins until she was as strong as he was. He'd see to it that she had everything she needed to thrive in her unlife. He had other children, of course, but none of them mattered the way this one did.

"Dove?"

She looked at him with those big cat eyes of hers.

"Would you like to go somewhere when this is all over? Paris? Tokyo? Just the two of us?"

She smiled softly and her eyes turned sea green. "You know what I'd really like, honey? I'd like to just load up the truck and take off."

He tilted his head in a familiar gesture. "What, just leave for a while? But I could take you anywhere you want to go. Nice hotels, fine restaurants, fancy clothes. You just name it. You could live the high life."

She looked at him with a serious face and hungry eyes. "Do you remember those first two years we were together? How we just wandered? We slept in the DeSoto more than we ever slept in a bed. Hell, most of the time we were dead broke. Everything we owned was in the trunk of that car. I loved it. There was nothing but us. We were free. I want to be free to be just us for a while. Let Jean run the city for a while. We could just be for a while."

He grinned down at her. She sounded like the woman he'd run off with on a spur-of-the-moment decision. The one who had ended up traipsing with him over Mexico and Central America for two years with little more than the clothes on their backs and a beat-up Dodge. The one who'd been beside him ever since he'd simply asked, "So, are you coming or what?" The one who'd simply answered, "Yeah, I'm coming."

His grin grew. "Yeah, I'd like that, too."

~~~~~

Spike couldn't decide if he liked having his duplicate in the room or not. He was still angry about the younger man sleeping with his wife but he also knew that he had the blond to thank for his reconciliation. In short, he wasn't sure if he wanted to punch him or hug him. For the moment he decided to ignore him. "Well, now that we're all here, what did you want, Peaches?" he asked.

Angel had planted himself before the window. He had pulled the drapes open and was looking out into the light-sprinkled darkness. Only Wes, Cordelia, and Spike were reflected in the expanse of night-darkened glass though the room was packed to near capacity with the whole of the Scourge, their consorts, Spike's childer, and the 2002 version of Spike. "I think we've gotten more than a bit … distracted with everything that's been happening. I'm not saying that anything could have been done differently, but it's time to remember why we're here."

Jean Claude studiously avoided looking at his sire. He focused on his great-grandsire instead. "The demon, you mean."

Angel nodded. "He's still out there. And he's still looking to destroy my son."

Wesley took up the theme. "Yesterday I had the opportunity to do a bit of research myself and it's much worse that we've imagined. If he reaches Connor, not only will we lose a child we all dearly love, but the creature will be virtually unstoppable. His powers are already quite extensive, as we know to our sorrow." Wes was fond of all Spike's children and grandchildren and was particularly close to Rene and Jean. The loss of Rene's childe had not set well with the Englishman. And any creature who could throw bolts of energy sufficiently strong to incinerate a vampire didn't need more power in Wes' opinion. "Luckily, Anya has little or no memory of me and I was able to, ahem, borrow a text from the Magic Box yesterday."

Cordy leaned over and whispered in Baby's ear. "They'll never see that book again, you know." Baby snickered.

Wes ignored them. "This text was destroyed in our dimension but still exists here. It has proven to be of immeasurable value in understanding his purpose and in helping us combat our demon foe, who according to the text is known as Mörder der Realitäten."

"Killer of reality," Spike translated from the German. So the enemy now had a name. "Lovely. So what is old Mörder up to? Thought he just wanted to get stronger and meaner. There's a purpose behind it?"

Wes nodded. "I'm afraid so." He held up a small volume bound in peculiar-looking leather. "A cursory reading shows that his plan is even worse than we feared. The demon isn't just looking to randomly increase his power by consuming Connor's life force." Angel growled as Wes continued. "An increase in his power will be detrimental to our entire world. He intends to enslave us all. He wants to rule the world."

Cordy lifted her eyes to the Watcher's. "So that's why the PTB's sent a vision. Not to warn us so we could save Connor but to save their asses again."

Baby harrumphed. "When have they ever cared what happened to any of us? We're just their pawns, honey, their cannon fodder."

Wes nodded his agreement but said, "If he succeeds in his quest, he will have the power to rule the world. And once he does that, he'll gain enough power conquer other dimensions. He'll sweep across the omniverse, subjugating reality after reality till he rules everything. Cannon fodder or not, I, for one, intend to stop him."

The room was very quiet. This was more than they had bargained for. Of course, it wasn't the first time, or even the fifth time, that they had stood between humanity and an apocalypse.

Rene finally spoke. "Then we need to find the murdering son of a bitch. We get out there and find where he is, what he up to, and how we can kill his sorry ass. He killed my childe. No one kills what's mine. You hear what I say?" The barely suppressed rage in the young vampire was frightening to behold.

"Exactly," Angel agreed. "We have to get out there and find him."

The younger Spike looked at the group. "I hate to piss on your parade, but there's a very brassed-off Slayer out there who wants you lot out of her town. That could put a definite crimp in your style, mate." He looked at Angel. "You'd better talk to her."

Angel felt the instant hostility from everyone in the room but himself and the two Spikes. "No. It's best we have no further contact with Buffy. We can handle this and stay out of her way." Spike raised an incredulous eyebrow. "We can," Angel assured him. "It won't be the first time we've had to work quietly. Besides, the other night taught us that we need to be more circumspect. We don't want this Mörder, as Spike calls him, to know how close we are. So far we've always been at least two steps behind him. I want him to think that's where we still are. We can't get cocky."

Baby and her Spike both gave him a look.

"I don't mean just you two," Angel assured them. "We're all guilty. We were too out there at the Bronze. Too blatant about who we are. Hell, we did everything but stand up on stage and announce that the Scourge was in town."

The others had to agree with him. "So what's your idea then, Sire?" Spike asked. "How do we find this son of a bitch and stay out of Buffy's radar?"

Angel turned from the window and faced his family. "To begin with, no more hunting expeditions. We can get all the blood we need from Willy. And Wes, keep that Goddamned knife in your pocket! No killing unless it's absolutely necessary. And then try to get rid of the body. Spike, Cordelia, and Wes can move around in the daytime as well as after dark. The rest of us can move around by night. We'll use the sewers as much as possible. Stay away from areas the Slayer is likely to be in. Stay away from places she might look for us. Baby, you don't go anywhere without Spike or me with you." He ignored her snarl and turned back to his contemplation of the sleeping city. "It's time for some old fashioned detective work, people."

~~~~~

Taking Spike's warning seriously, the Scourge took the Slayer's threat to heart and became extremely circumspect in their movements. They curtailed all hunting expeditions. The childer might grumble about subsisting on bottled blood from Willy's and Wes might complain that Dru needed to hunt but they obeyed when Angel and Spike commanded. At least the blood was human and plentiful. Willy didn't mind delivering, not for the profit he was making.

The time passed slowly for the vampires. Wes researched the books he had brought with him as well as the new volume he had pilfered from the Magic Box. Drusilla was content as long as she was near Wesley and actually helped him with his research tasks. Jean and Baby spent hours at the computer researching, following leads, trying to find any link to the demon they had all taken to calling Mörder. Claudia and Rene searched the sewers and underground Sunnydale for leads and snitches, asking guarded questions that received no useful answers. The Spikes, Angel, and Cordelia went out gathering information, figuring that they were the most likely to be able to escape the Slayer or at least talk her into not staking them. The hotel became their headquarters and the place where they all spent most of their time. The long daylight hours were passed in sleeping. Spike's childer and Baby were still young and needed more rest than their elders. More hours could be spent training in the hotel's exercise center. It was supposed to be closed at night but a bit of money pressed judiciously into the right hands assured that it was open at all hours for the Scourge.

The inactivity was difficult for them all. The Scourge and Spike's pride were not used to being confined, even by their own decision. However, the enforced proximity allowed them to regrow bonds that had been stretched nearly to the breaking point.

Baby and Spike spent a great deal of time alone with each other, reestablishing their relationship and reinforcing the ties they had built over the years. Spike tried to spend some time with his childer. Jean, Rene, and Claudia needed time to decide what their feelings toward their sire were. Rene seemed to return to his easy relationship with his father the quickest of them all. Standing in the hotel gymnasium following a training session, he had simply informed Spike that if he ever did anything that stupid again, he'd sever all relations with his sire and take Baby as his own mate. Spike had broken Rene's nose and threatened to kill him. Rene had grinned and said he was glad to see his father had returned to his senses. Looking into his son's blue-green eyes, Spike had to laugh. He had long known of his son's passion for his mate but also knew his son's loyalty was unquestioned. As long as Spike gave Baby no reason to doubt him, Rene would not interfere in their relationship. It was simply that Rene didn't mince words. He liked to have everything above board and out in the open. He was too much like his father to settle for anything less.

Jean was somewhat of a different story. He seemed to take Spike's near-betrayal of Baby personally. If anything, his feelings for his adopted mother were as strong as Rene's, but as with everything else, Jean Claude took it more to heart. He wasn't ready to totally forgive his father but he was not going to comment on Baby's decision to return. If that was what she wanted, then he would support her completely. He was sincerely glad his parents were back together; however, he'd keep a close eye on Spike's actions for some time to come.

Claudia was suffering perhaps more than even Baby. Spike was her idol, her hero. This was the first time he'd ever disappointed her. She had been very young when she was turned and was now only thirty-three years old. Discovering that her father figure wasn't perfect was painful. Spike and Baby agreed that it was probably for the best that she accepted that Spike wasn't perfect and move on from there. They'd have a more realistic and stronger relationship because of it. Like Jean, it would simply take time for her to adjust and discover exactly what she felt.

The resident Spike was spending a great deal of time with Wes and Dru. He attended Xander's wedding and reported that despite the appalling young woman he'd taken with him as a date, courtesy of Willy, his encounter with Buffy had gone well. The Slayer had been fairly mellow and they'd actually had a civil conversation before he'd taken himself off early. He could move more openly about Sunnydale than any of the others and spent most of his time chasing down leads and helping search for Mörder.

Unfortunately, all of their leads led to nothing. Their basket of informants, when dumped and shaken, came up empty. The demon had gone to ground. Wesley's magicks showed that he was still in town but could not pinpoint his location. Finally, after three fruitless days, Willy overheard a conversation that, for the right price, he happily passed on to the vampires. It had taken nearly a week and more than a bit of detective work but it was discovered that the demon would be performing a ritual at the Hellmouth on the first night of the full moon. That meant that the Scourge had another week to prepare and plan their strategy for ridding themselves of the demon once and for all.

Chapter 14 - "I See Hell In Your Eyes"

Angel stared out at the lengthening shadows. It still lacked an hour until sunset. He knew the entire pride was awake. He could feel them. He doubted if any of them had slept much today. There was too much riding on what would happen tonight for any of them to feel complacent or calm. He could feel the tension and suspense thrumming through his family. Their bond fairly hummed with it. He growled and felt his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren answer. Even scattered across the hotel they were acutely attuned to each other right now. Cordelia wrapped her arms around his waist and brought herself into the link. Wesley must have put himself in physical contact with Drusilla because Angel could feel the Englishman too now. Even the younger Spike was present. Sharing the blood of the Pride had made him part of the family. And the family was aching for this fight. Angel smiled in anticipation. The threat to his son would be removed tonight. There was no doubt of that in his mind.

~~~~~

Wesley's research indicated that Mörder der Realitäten, like many demons and magic users, could draw power from the Hellmouth. They knew he could throw energy bolts and Wes reckoned that the power of the bolts would increase if the demon were standing at the Hellmouth itself. If they fought at the Hellmouth, it was going to be very hard to get close enough to deliver a killing blow to Mörder without getting fried. That wasn't the least of their problems; if the demon thought the Scourge was getting too close, he'd simply open a portal to a new dimension and jump. The Powers That Be alone knew when they'd catch up to him again if that happened. This particular mission was definitely offering new challenges to the vampires. However, challenges were not unique in the experiences of the Scourge.

With a determination to see the end of the demon while maintaining the lives and unlives of their family, Spike and Angel had come up with a plan to circumnavigate these challenges. And they intended to put that plan into operation tonight. They were both determined to end this hunt now. Spike wanted to return to New Orleans and rebuild his relationship with his wife. Angel wanted to return to L.A. and resume a life he'd come to enjoy. Both men wanted to remove the threat to a child they loved and were sworn to protect. Before the full moon rose, they intended to kill Mörder.

Spike met his sire's eyes and nodded. The family was ready. At Angel's signal, they headed for the vehicles. As they strode down the corridors of the hotel, the few humans they met gave them a wide berth. They were a sight to put the fear of mortality in the most hardened hearts. The humans might not know that the Scourge were demonic creatures of the night but something in the attitude of the group screamed 'lethal peril' to even the most insular of Sunnydale's inhabitants, human or not. A gimisov demon, scavenging in the hotel garbage cans, took one good look at the group and fell to his knees, praying to his near-forgotten deity that these heralds of death would pass him by unnoticed. Few had ever seen the Scourge in this mood and lived. One of their own had been injured, another killed, and the son of their liege was under mortal threat. The fate of the world once more rested in their hands and, while they felt the burden of the responsibility, they felt equal to the obligation. The elder vampires alone were enough to terrify the most intrepid of demons. Beautiful of face and perfect of form, Angel, Drusilla, and both Spikes glowed with dark power. They radiated authority and menace. They were angels of death made flesh. The younger vampires were each nearly as beautiful and terrifying as their sires. Jean, Rene, Claudia, and Baby were seraphs of devastation under the dominion of their dark archangels. Cordelia shone with the holy light of maternal protectiveness and her own burning goodness and determination. She walked with the confidence of the chosen mate of the Scourge's leader. Wesley exuded a dark power nearly equal to his undead companions. He was a man truly fit to be the life-mate of Drusilla the Prophet. Clad in colors dark enough to match their mood, with faces as grim and set as ancient icons, they moved in near silence across the parking garage, Hell-spawned warriors of God on a mission of eradication.

Mörder der Realitäten would die this night or there would a reckoning.

~~~~~

Drusilla placed a gentle hand on Spike's arm, holding him back as the others loaded the car and truck. "You mustn't let Baby out of your sight," she told him.

Spike raised his scar. "Isn't that a job for her husband, pet?" He found her serious expression arresting. Her eyes were clear and bright. There was no hint of insanity in their deep blue depths. Spike shivered with a sudden, piercing chill.

"Listen to me, my Spike," his sire hissed. "You have to be near her. No one else can do this. The stars have been whispering to me all day. The woman you love needs you. Tonight. If you aren't nearby she'll die." She swept away before he could ask any questions and let Wes lift her up and into Angel's convertible.

Spike shook his head and climbed into the rear seat of Baby's crew cab. He decided to follow Dru's instructions. He wouldn't let his twin's wife out of his sight till this was all over and done with.

~~~~~

There was no loud, blaring music, no laughter and giggling conversation on this trip through the twilit streets of Sunnydale. This was no light-hearted hunting expedition for food and fun. Tonight the Pride hunted in earnest and each individual knew that a single lapse could lead to dire consequences for them all. Spike, Angel, and Wesley were master strategists, but their foe had great power and did not hesitate to use it for his own gain. A single lightning bolt from the demon would kill any of them. There was even the distinct possibility that Spike, nearly invulnerable with his Jewel of Amara, was susceptible to the energy bolts. Their mood was reflected in their faces and their silence.

They pulled up a few blocks from their objective and began unloading their weapons. The pride knew Mörder had to perform his ritual directly over the Hellmouth so he would be heading for the old high school. They planned to set up an ambush that, hopefully, would eliminate the demon before he could reach El Boca del Infernio. Baby, Wes, Rene, and Jean would be set up in sniper positions around the perimeter of the school. All four were excellent shots and could take out the demon before he knew they were even nearby. Each carried a highly accurate, powerful rifle. Dru, Claudia, the resident Spike, and Cordelia would patrol the perimeter on the lookout for any of the demon's cohorts. They carried a variety of weapons, including swords and firearms. Angel and his grandchilde would station themselves within the school, closer to the Hellmouth, as a final line of defense should the demon slip past the others. Angel carried a broadsword while Spike had opted for an axe. All of them were determined to assure Connor's safety at any cost.

~~~~~

Baby carefully looked over the sniper position Spike and Wesley had chosen for her. They had spent three days carefully going over the area surrounding the old high school, trying to find positions that would have the needed concealment but still offer a clear field of vision. The Scourge wasn't sure exactly how Mörder would approach the Hellmouth and so had a large area to cover. Luckily, the explosions during the mayor's aborted Ascension had closed sewer and tunnel access, and anyone seeking the Hellmouth had to enter through the rubble of the school. Baby was not happy about her area. She was stationed directly across the street from the main entrance of the high school. She crouched atop a one-story building that had once housed an Orange Julius and now sported a large 'For Lease' sign in its window. She felt the position was too exposed. The coping around the flat roof was too low and didn't offer enough concealment. However, it was the only building that offered both access and the required field of fire.

She glanced at the night sky. The city glow dimmed the stars but a few shone though the light pollution. The moon wouldn't rise for two hours. They had no idea exactly when Mörder would appear, only that it would be after dark. Apparently, the Killer of Realities didn't like sunlight any more than the vampires did. She stretched out, resting the barrel of her rifle on the short coping of the façade and settled in for a long wait.

~~~~~

Buffy buttoned her jacket; it was going to be a chilly night for patrolling. She scanned the area ahead of her. It was lonely tonight. No, she refused to think like that. She did not want the Bleached Wonder watching her back. It was over. Done. Finished. He was nothing but pain and trouble and heartache. The further apart they were, the better for them both. It had been nearly two weeks and she'd only seen him once. Yes, they'd been cordial enough to each other at Xander's not-wedding but he'd been a bit of an ass, too. The whole trying-to-make-Buffy-jealous thing was just so juvenile and only served to reinforce the fact that she was right to end her relationship with Spike. She truly didn't want to hurt him. He'd been there for her when no one else had been. He'd been the one thing she could cling to when she first returned to this dismal, painful life. He'd been her rock. But lately all they had done was hurt each other. She didn't want to keep using him; she owed him too much for that. It was better for him this way, too.

She checked the alley between a liquor store and a pawnshop; it was a favorite vamp hangout. It was empty tonight. With a shrug and a mental order to stop thinking about Spike, she headed toward the school. It was only a few blocks away. A quick check of the Hellmouth and then the cemetery and hopefully she could head home early for a change. She was tired.

As she neared the school, her Slayer intuition started to tingle and that feeling akin to cramps appeared. Vampire. Somewhere nearby. With eyes and Slayer senses she searched the area around her. Finally, she spotted something half a block ahead and above her. The faintest of movements and a lump of shadow darker than the night sky revealed her quarry. Someone was on the roof of an abandoned building. She moved silently through an alley that she knew wound around behind the buildings. If she remembered correctly, there was a fire escape that would bring her up behind the vampire. She smiled as the fire escape came into view and made sure Mr. Pointy was secure and easily accessible.

She made her way in near silence up to the roof. Only a vampire could have been quieter than the Slayer. She wanted to make sure there was only one vamp and not a whole nest concealed up there before she announced her presence. Peering over the edge of the roof, she quickly spotted the vampire. Light from the street below glinted on red, red hair and shown from the barrel of a wicked-looking rifle. Words said just a few short weeks before came back to the Slayer.

"Your Slayer senses won't save you 'cause you won't even know I'm around. I'll take you out. I can put a bullet in your brain from a hundred yards away."

The remembered sound of three bullets impacting the wall beside Buffy's head echoed in her ears. Her head had hurt for two days just from the sound. Buffy shivered.

"I'll take you out."

Looks like the bitch had come back to make good on her threat. 'Well, fine then. We can play it that way,' Buffy thought. Threats to her life were nothing new. She lived with that every hour of every day. 'We'll just see who walks away from this and who doesn't.' The Slayer clenched her teeth and advanced on the vampire.

~~~~~

Baby stared carefully down the scope of the rifle. There, just approaching the school was her quarry. She sighted her crosshairs carefully, taking account for the light breeze, the downward angle of the shot, and the pull of gravity. She stared at the demon. The creature that would rule the omniverse was deceptively mild and gentle appearing. In general, he appeared human enough, though his skin had a slight green tint and the fringe of hair around his baldpate had a decided pink cast. It was he; she had no doubt. Rex and Connor had given them a very detailed description as had Angel and Rene. She took a deep breath and released it before beginning to squeeze the trigger of the rifle. Baby was so focused on the prey, so intent on the mission, that she never heard the Slayer, never knew Buffy was there till the Slayer's boot contacted violently with the side of Baby's face. The silencer muffled the sound of the shot and Baby didn't see if the shot hit its intended target. The rifle fell from her hands and clattered to the street below. A second kick sent the vampiress rolling across the pebble-covered roof.

Buffy had seldom been this angry. The thought of being killed from ambush infuriated her in a way that she couldn't even begin to describe. Her fights with vampires and demons were generally straightforward one-on-one affairs. The inherent sneakiness of an ambush shot sickened her. She didn't want to die in the street from a sniper's bullet. The thought of not having a chance to protect herself, to fight back, ignited a flaming rage within her. She desperately wanted to kill this vampire.

She firmly intended to dust the bitch.

Baby couldn't believe it. Their one shot at ridding the worlds of Mörder, their chance to end this interminable hunt and go home, had been ruined. Ruined by that white trash whore of a Slayer. Fury reddened her sight and clouded her judgement. She pushed up onto her hands and knees growling her wrath. Buffy kicked her in the ribs, sending her sliding across the roof. For the first time in her unlife, Baby felt her face change without conscious effort on her part. For the first time, the demon came to the fore and the human retreated. Howling, she launched herself up from the gravel directly at the Slayer. Buffy took the assault easily and used Baby's momentum to throw the vampire back to the tarred and pebbled surface. Baby landed face-first in the rocks. The redhead rolled and leaped to her feet with blood streaking her cheeks and forehead. Her fangs glinted pale in the darkness as she pulled her lips back in a bestial snarl.

Buffy looked at the creature before her and every Slayer instinct she possessed screamed for her to destroy it. This was what she was created for, what she was born to do. She pulled Mr. Pointy from her waistband and set herself for the kill.

Baby wasn't thinking. The human was completely submerged within the demon. And the demon was enraged beyond thought. It didn't sense the mortal danger the Slayer represented. It didn't pause to consider the risk. It simply saw someone it already considered an enemy, a female who was a threat to its bond with its mate. An interloper who had once more interfered with its plans. Baby threw herself at the other woman with hands clawed and fangs bared. Buffy took the attack and rolled with it. She spun and swept the vampire's feet from beneath her and straddled the prostrate form of her adversary. She pulled her stake back and plunged it downward just as a second body hit her, knocking her from the vampiress. But it was too late; her stake was already buried in Baby's chest.

~~~~~

From the glassless windows of the ruined school, Spike and Angel saw the demon hit by the shot. The force of the bullet spun the creature around before it dropped to its knees. To Angel's everlasting disappointment, Mörder fell no further but struggled upright with a hand clapped to its shoulder. The vampires leapt through the opening, shattering what bits of pane and wood remained. As the two masters were running toward it, the demon looked up and directly into Angel's face. Recognition bloomed in Mörder's all-black eyes and they began to glow red. With a cry of "Shit!" Angel dived to one side, narrowly avoiding a lightning bolt. Spike continued on at full speed as Angel rolled and regained his feet in one supple move. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Claudia round the corner of the school with a drawn pistol. She began firing at Mörder, drawing the demon's attention from Angel and Spike. A second energy bolt zinged from the demon's upraised hand but the young vampiress avoided it and continued firing. Spike was close enough by now to swing at the demon. Mörder barely avoided the vampire's attack. He managed to hit Spike with a blue-white bolt but it was weak and Spike was already climbing back to his feet before the demon had time to do more than take a single breath. With Angel only a moment behind Spike, and Claudia reloading for her next assault, the demon muttered a few arcane words and sent a last bolt toward the advancing leader of the Scourge. A small glowing rip in the fabric of reality grew. As soon as it was large enough to accommodate his small frame, the demon fell through the portal. Angel dived for him, only to land prostrate on the ground as the rift immediately closed behind the demon. With a howl of rage and frustration, Angel beat his fist into the turf.

Spike shared the feeling but walked toward his sire with deceptive calm. He placed a comforting hand on the larger man's shoulder. "We'll get him, Angel. This isn't over. We'll…." His head snapped up as the subconscious link with his consort/childe exploded with pain. Spike had felt the excruciating pain of wood buried in his body more than once. He'd even been dusted. He knew what being staked felt like and that same agony was radiating from his wife. "Baby!" he gasped and set off at a dead run toward her position.

Angel felt the pain, too. It radiated past his own disappointment and anger. She was his childe, too. He leapt to his feet and ran after Spike.

Spike grabbed the metal support for the awning and swung up and over the edge of the roof. Starlight and the glow of the streetlights glinted from the platinum hair of his doppelganger as he struggled with the Slayer. The other Spike's lips were moving and he seemed to be shouting at Buffy, who was shouting back. But there was a roar in Spike's head that drowned whatever they were saying. He could smell his consort's blood. It permeated the whole area. It caused Spike's stomach to clench and his heart to tighten. The other Spike was shaking Buffy then hugging her but Spike couldn't process what was happening. All he could think of was the pain coming from his mate's bond and the smell of her blood. She wasn't dust; she was alive, his mind shouted. He scanned the rooftop for her.

She lay on the gravel of the roof clutching her chest where a wooden stake protruded from her left breast, tears running down her scratched and bloodied face. He could tell, even from feet away, that the position of the stake was near-critical. Spike quickly knelt beside her and placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. "Don't move, love. Don't move. Not an inch," he ordered. He heard and felt rather than saw Angel land on the roof. "Help me pull this out," Spike told him. "Don't let her move."

Angel knelt behind Baby's head and put a hand on each shoulder. "I've got her," he told Spike. "Do it."

Spike nodded and wrapped his left hand around the handle of the stake. It rested very close to her heart. Had it penetrated her flesh another fraction of an inch, his wife would be dust. If he wasn't careful, she might yet be. With a wince he pulled it out in one swift motion. Baby cried out and arched her body upwards in pain. Spike tossed the stake across the rooftop and ripped off his shirt to press it against the wound. "It's alright, dove," he murmured. "You'll be alright." A near-numbing fear had settled around his own heart. Had she thrashed about or even moved much, the stake could have penetrated her heart and killed her permanently. He looked up and into Angel's eyes and saw that his grandsire had realized the danger to their childe as well.

Angel face was set and hard. "What happened?"

Baby felt dizzy and weak. "I'm not sure," she whispered. "I was ready to take the shot and then…" She gasped and grabbed Spike's arm, nails digging into his skin. "The demon! Did we get him? Did I hit him?"

Angel's face hardened even more. It was Spike who answered. "You shot him all right. But it didn't kill him. He got away. He jumped," he told her sadly.

"Noooo," she wailed softly. "I had him. I had the shot, Spike!" Spike lifted her from the gravel and held her close, his hand rubbing circles on her back. He sent a look of sorrow and frustration toward his grandsire.

Angel glared at the other Spike, who was still holding the Slayer. "What happened?" he repeated in a voice that demanded answers now. "Did she do this?" He glared at Buffy. His childe had nearly been killed, his son's potential murderer had escaped, and he was coldly, deadly furious.

The blond took a deep breath and made sure he was between Angel and the Slayer. "Yes. She…"

Angel jumped before Spike could finish his sentence. Luckily, the younger vampire had been expecting the reaction. He knew, as well as anyone, when Angel was and wasn't thinking clearly and at the moment Angel wasn't thinking at all. He was reacting. Spike was able to deflect Angel's attack. "Would you stop and listen for a second, damn it!"

Angel rumbled deep in his chest but it was nothing compared the growl that rose from the Master of New Orleans. Spike tossed his younger twin aside as if the other man were a human child. His hand closed around Buffy's throat and lifted her petite form off the tarpaper. "My wife," he grated, beyond the ability to form more than those two words. Buffy kicked out and sent him flying from her. She fell to one knee, gasping for breath, one hand at her abused throat. Spike rose easily from where he had fallen, death in blue eyes that flashed yellow as his face changed. Angel felt his own body respond and his fangs sharpened and lengthened.

A pale-haired form once more placed himself between the enraged vampires and the Slayer. "Goddamn it! Would you two get a grip and listen to what happened?" he snarled.

"She tried to fucking kill me! That's what happened," Baby answered weakly as she struggled to her feet with Claudia's help. The black vampiress glared destruction at the blonde Vampire Slayer.

"Yeah. Exactly what you were trying to do to me," Buffy replied. "At least I gave you a chance to defend yourself. I didn't try to shoot you from hiding!"

The younger Spike had already heard enough to realize what had occurred. "Shut up, all of you, and listen to me!" he ordered. "No one set out to kill anyone except that damned demon! It was all a stupid, idiotic mistake." He pointed at Angel. "And it's all your fault."

Angel stopped growling. "What?"

The blond vampire continued. "If you had told Buffy what we were planning, like I told you to, none of this would have happened." He explained the circumstance that had led to the fight and how Buffy saw Baby on the roof with a rifle and thought she was here to carry out her threat to assassinate the Slayer. "So, Buffy was protecting herself." He turned his attention back to the Slayer. "We were gunning for the demon they've been after. Not you. Been trying to stay out of your way." He took a deep breath, heartily disgusted with the whole lot of them. "Bloody hell. If Dru hadn't told me to stay nearby, the Slayer would have killed Baby and then, I have no doubt, one of you would have killed Buffy." He silently thanked God for Drusilla and her cryptic warnings and tried to quiet the trembling that had settled in his hands. "We damn near lost both of them." He looked at the Slayer, who was defiantly staring into Angel's dark eyes but had her arms wrapped protectively around herself. God, he loved her. "All because we can't talk to each other."

~~~~~

The debacle depressed and angered the vampires but there was nothing to be done but try and locate Mörder and continue their quest. Wes and Dru had tried over and over to locate the demon but he was still moving between dimensions, never pausing long enough for the mage to pinpoint his location. They couldn't stay in Sunnydale forever. Buffy had been emphatic this time. The Scourge had one week to get out of town. They either found their demon or they went home. She didn't care which. She simply wanted them gone. She was grateful to Spike for trying to protect her but angry because he hadn't told her what the Scourge was planning. Relations between them hadn't changed.

Two nights after the incident at the school, he ran into the Scoobies. Finding out about Xander leaving Anya at the altar, he had gotten in a fight with the construction worker. Then the Slayer had gotten sick. He wasn't sure he could stand much more. He felt close to cracking.

Wes finally determined that now that Mörder knew they were trailing him, the demon was hiding his whereabouts. There was no longer any way to track him. There was nothing for the Scourge to do but return home, wait for the next attack, and hope to protect Connor as best they could. Despair and defeat settled over the group but it wasn't the first setback they had ever encountered and they'd find a way to survive this one as well.

~~~~~

Spike watched as the Scourge loaded the last of their belongings in the autos and prepared to depart. He'd miss them but he'd refused their offer to join them. He still felt his place was here. He might or might not have a chance with Buffy but he wasn't a quitter and he intended to see this part of his life through to whatever waited for him. For better or worse, he'd finish the ride.

Baby walked up to him and held out a bit of plastic and an envelope.

"What's this then?" he asked, taking them from her.

She smiled. "It's an ATM card. I… borrowed some money from Wolfram and Hart. You'll have whatever you need." She laughed when his eyebrow tried to climb all the way into his hairline. "The account info and passwords and everything are in the envelope." She hugged him. "Get that damned chip out, would you?"

He nodded and squeezed her tightly. "I may just do that."

She disengaged herself from his arms. "And don't let the Slayer push you around. If she won't have you, find someone who will." She smiled a soft, sad smile at him. "You're a good man, Spike, and if she can't see that, then she isn't worthy of you." A call from her spouse alerted them both that it was time to go. He was sitting on the open window of the truck door, arms outstretched across the roof, the picture of ease and rebellion.

Baby kissed Spike on the cheek and without another word, climbed behind the wheel of her truck.

Over the top of the truck, two pair of blue, blue eyes met. A moment of understanding passed between the two men.

"Take care of yourself," Spike said.

The other Spike ran a hand through the back of his half-dark, half-blond hair. "Mate, I haven't come up against anything yet that I couldn't handle," he answered.

"I'll have to remember that," his younger twin observed.

The Master of New Orleans nodded at the Master of the Hellmouth and smiled sardonically. "Yeah, mate. You do need to remember that." He looked back at the group in the Cadillac. "Are we gonna hang around here all night, Peaches?"

From Angel's car Wesley gripped Drusilla's hand and spoke the incantation that would open the portal home. A vision of the lights of L.A. framed in blue light appeared before the two vehicles. Spike slapped the roof of the crew-cab and motioned the vehicles forward. He slid easily inside the truck. With waves and smiles, the Scourge drove into the portal and out of Spike's life.

Spike walked out of the garage into the darkness. He'd gotten a message earlier that the Scoobies needed his help. He was supposed to meet Xander and help him capture a demon that had attacked the Slayer. It seemed they needed to make some sort of medicine from it. Thoughtfully, he pocketed the envelope and card and headed toward the cemetery to meet the Whelp.

Epilogue - "Normal Again"

Spike only half-listened to Willow as she explained something about going to tell Dawn that the Slayer was going to be okay. He stared at Buffy as she lay on the bed, a large mug of black gloop clasped tightly in both hands. As he heard Willow descend the stairs, he looked at Buffy. "You alright?" he asked without the usual amount of caring in his voice. He sounded almost angry. He'd felt almost angry since the Other-Him and his pals had left. Buffy's response didn't improve his mood.

"You need to leave me alone. You're not part of my life." She refused to meet his eyes. Couldn't look at him.

'Yeah, so we're back to that. Well I don't have to take it,' he thought. 'And I don't have to listen to this.' He nodded, "Fine then," he said softly and turned to go. Even in the midst of the act he paused, having finally reached a momentous decision. Baby was right; he didn't have to take this any more. He had the right to be treated decently, too. And demon poison or no demon poison, she was going to listen to him this time.

"But I hope you don't think this anti…" A patch of sunlight touched his face with fire, keeping him from going closer to her. Fine. Maybe it would be better said from a distance. "… I hope you don't think this antidote's gonna rid you of that nasty martyrdom." Yeah, that got her attention. "See, I figured it out, luv. You can't help yourself. You're not drawn to the dark like I thought. You're addicted to the misery." He finally felt like his head and heart were together. For the first time in a very long while. "It's why you won't tell your pals about us." He gestured to the hallway and downstairs. "Might actually have to be happy if you did. They might understand and help you, God forbid. Or drive you out. Make you finally be at peace. In the dark. With me." His voice was soft and serious. This might be the hardest thing he had ever done. Harder even than putting her body in the ground. But it felt better. "Either way, you'd be better off for it. But you're too twisted for that." He couldn't help thinking of what she'd done over the past year. What she'd done with his doppelganger. It was just the culmination of her web of manipulation and lies. It had to stop or she'd end up destroying herself and everyone around her. He had to try and get through to her one last time. "Let yourself live… already. Stop with the bloody hero trip for a sec. We'll all be the better for it." Buffy looked up with pleading eyes but he ignored her. "You either tell your friends about us… or I will." With a firmness and veracity that was worthy of the man who could be master of half a state if he wanted to be, he turned and left.

As he gathered his blanket and opened the front door, he felt freedom for the first time in a very long time. And he couldn't help but think that Baby would be proud of him.

~Fin~

Leave Feedback

Return to Fiction Listing