Thanks to Laine, Tay, Wicked, MM, and Aislynn for letting be rant on about this story in the chat tonight :) Pari

A/N: AU=Alternate Universe and ~~~ will represent the passage of time (forward and backward) Just watch the dates :)

Present day Verona, Italy

---

“I don’t know if I can do this again, and I don’t think it’s fair that you’re asking.” She said as she stood with her back to him, and stared out the window. She wrapped her arms around herself to fend off the sudden chill that surrounded her, a chill that didn’t come from the night air, since it was summer and quite humid out, this chill was due to the visitor that sat on her couch.

“I know it’s not and I’m sorry I wouldn’t be here asking if it wasn’t crucial.”

“But why me, haven’t I given enough?” She asked as she swiftly turned to face him, as her eyes glistened with impending tears. He lowered his head, his heart breaking for what his presences was doing to this woman he loved like a daughter. “I thought I was free of it now, that I could have a normal life…be a normal girl.” She nearly whispered the last part as a tear finally rolled down her cheek.

“Yes we had all thought that, with the spell Willow had cast awakening all the slayers in the world, but,” He hesitated not sure how to break the news to her.

“But what?” She urged him on.

“But it seems that it was only temporary, and to be honest I always thought that it would be, what Willow did threw nature off course. This world was never intended to have more then one Slayer at a time. Eventual Nature would correct this occurrence, and it has.”

“What?”

“All of the slayers are losing their powers, they’re returning to normalcy.” Her brow bunched in confusion and disbelief as she listened, she then shook her head to the idea of it. “Even Faith…” Her head shot up and her eyes widened as she looked to him.

“Faith? Faith is losing her powers too?” She asked stunned and angered.

“Yes, it seems the powers that be have decided to fix the lineage completely. You returning from the dead not once but twice, well it shouldn’t have been as far as they are concerned, but they let it slide since it didn’t cause any great disturbance but now, with slayers all over the world, it had to be fixed, all of it. Now it is as it should have always been, one girl in all the world…”

“Don’t give me that bullshit Giles, it worked when I was 15, not now. Why Faith and not me?”

“I honestly don’t know, maybe because of Faith’s past actions, maybe because you’re more experienced, you have saved the world many times Buffy.”

“Yes and in the end I usually lose something, either my life or someone I love.” She nearly choked on the last words, and she closed her eyes to the thoughts of their last apocalypse. “This is not fair Giles, and I just don’t know if I can do it anymore.”

“Well if it’s any consolation, you’re not the slayer needed for this apocalypse, I just want you to help out. Two Slayers are better than one as we’ve learned.” Buffy stared at him now in complete confusion.

“But you just said that everyone except me is losing their powers, so what other slayer is there.”

“Well according to the prophecy…” Buffy cut him off with a groan as she rolled her eyes.

“Who wrote all these prophecy cause I’d really like to beat the snot out of them.” Giles smiles despite the situation and then continued.

“It states that to win this battle, we need the best slayer in all the worlds, ‘the slayer’. Of course at first you came to mind but then there was a description and well it took Willow and I a while to understand that it didn’t mean you and thus it didn’t mean this world. And Willow did a location spell just with a broader map, and we’ve located her.”

“Great, though I’ll admit a tiny part of me is disappointed that I’m not the greatest slayer in all the worlds, but the majority of me is doing a happy dance that this time I’m not the one who has to save the day, that being said, why are you here again?”

“Buffy you’ve done it many times, you know what it takes to get it done, and on top of all that rubbish, I know ‘you’ and I trust ‘you’. I know that if something goes wrong with Nina, you can handle whatever comes.”

“Nina?” Buffy questioned.

“The greatest slayer, her name is Nina.” Giles replied and Buffy sighed heavily.

“Dawn is going to be so pissed, so you’re telling her.” Giles smiled and nodded his head in agreement. “So where is this Nina, guess we should get to know each other a bit.”

“Uhm…well you see Willow is still try to do a teleporting spell, one that will open a door from our world to hers…”

“Wait, you mean you don’t even have her here yet?”

“Uhm…no.” Giles stuttered as he removed his glasses and cleaned them before placing them back on his face.

“And what if when you do find her she says no, did you ever consider that Giles?”

“She won’t, she can’t” Buffy’s face grew serious at these words.

“It’s that bad?”

“Well what’s coming, if it succeeds, will swallow everything, all the worlds, dimensions, universes, everything.”

“Wow.” Buffy said unenthusiastically as she flopped down on the couch as if the wind had been knocked out of her. “So where is the base of operations?”

“Where it all began, in Sunnydale.”

“You have got to be kidding me, last I remember there is no Sunnydale, just a huge hole in the ground.”

“Yes a hole that has been filled in, and the town is already being rebuilt”

“They filled it in?” Buffy asked as she swallowed down the new batch of tears that was forming. “They just buried all of it?” Giles only nodded his head. “Like nothing happened, like no one died there. It’s going to be hard going back there, Giles.” Buffy said as she bowed her head, her tears now falling onto her hands, which sat clasped in her lap. Giles reached out and gently rubbed her back.

“I know and I’m sorry if there were any other way…” Suddenly the door burst open as bickering now filed the room.


How can you think Obi-Wan Kenobi is cuter than Anakin Skywalker ?”

“Uhm, Ewan McGregor, duh.” Dawn replied and she and Andrew bustled into the room, neither noticing they had a visitor.

“Oh come on, Hayden Christensen is way hotter.” Andrew defended and caused Dawn to stare at him in bafflement. “What, like you don’t think he is.” Dawn only shook her head and smiled as she turned towards the living room, and then she let out a high-pitched squeal upon seeing Giles.

“GILES!” She gushed as she ran to him as he stood from his seat, only to be knocked back down by the excited girl. “You’ve finally come to visit us, did you bring me presents?” She rambled on with a goofy grin on her face, which instantly crumbled when she saw her sister who sat silently on the couch with her head still bowed. “Oh no, not again.”

---

Present day (AU) Sunnydale

---

The dust hadn’t settle on the ground before she had turned and began to walk off. It wasn’t long before her entourage joined her, having finished off their vampires. They walked in silence until the youngest of the crew spoke out.

“I thought you didn’t lie.” She said with a smirk as she walked beside the woman she thought of as her sister, though they held not blood relations, yet still had a bond that was thicker then blood.

“I don’t” The woman replied as she continued to walk and stared straight ahead.

“I heard you Nina, you promised that Vamp you wouldn’t kill him if he told you where the Rack coven was.”

“Then you heard wrong. I told him I wouldn’t stake him if he told me what I wanted to know, and I didn’t stake him, I shot him.” Their other company chuckled as he kept in stride. “I’m the slayer Dawn, I kill demons.” Nina said as she continued to lead the way.

“No exceptions?” Dawn asked.

“Only Spike,” She answered causing Dawn to look over at the man that accompanied them.

“Why?”

“Because he was there before.”

“Before what?” Dawn asked but didn’t get a reply.

“I’m gonna take the high ground.” Nina said as she moved to Spike who simply lift her and tossed her up onto a nearby mausoleum.

“Guess I struck a nerve.” Dawn mumbled which was futile since her companion was part vamp.

“You ask too many questions kid.” Spike spoke as he now lead them on.

“Well it’s not like she’s forthcoming, she never talks about herself, or anything for that matter. In fact the only time I ever she her lips move in conversation is when you two are alone. I’m just curious about her you know, I’ve been with you guys twelve years and I don’t know you.” Spike snorted out a laugh. “Well I know you in that, I know I can trust you, I know you’re the good guys, you’re my family. But I don’t know what you were like before things went to hell. What were you like before you were turned and before you were shanshued?”

“Now you’re curious about me?” Spike asked but continued looking straight ahead.

“Well you don’t seem to mind talking to me, so you tell me what was Nina like when you met her?”

~~~~

July 12th, 1945 Harlem N.Y:

“You’re a great dancer you know that?” The drunken woman said in between giggles as she hung all over her companion. She hadn’t been his first choice of the night but she was the easiest, so he figured he’d get his fill with her and that would give him the energy to play with the next. “So where do ya wanna go baby, your place or mine?” She giggled out and he inwardly groaned, he knew that if she kept up with her annoying hackling he’d end up snapping her neck, instead of his earlier plans to fuck her, feed, and then dump her somewhere. So he thought it best to end things a quickly as possible, so he yanked her towards a darkened alleyway.

“Here.” He said gruffly and she shoved her against the cobblestone wall. His hands quickly went to work, so fast that she seemed to grow even dizzier as he lifted her skirt, yanked away her panties, unzipped himself and embedded fully into her. She gasped out in surprise and slight pain as she threw her head back against the stone, staring up wide-eyed and her mouth agape. Her moans soon filled the alleyway, but it didn’t distract him from his tasked as he continued thrusting into her he rubbed her neck and turned her head slightly. Just as he leaned in to get a taste a familiar scent filled his nostrils and he stilled completely as he turned and looked further into the pitch-black alleyway, hidden by the darkness.

“What’s tha matter baby?” Came the annoying voice and he turned to growl, and tell her to shut up so he could hear better, but when he faced her, her eyed grew as large as saucers and she let out a piercing scream, which only lasted a millisecond before a loud crack could be heard. It was then that he realized that he had vamped out, that the scent he had smelled invoked this involuntary reaction. He turned back to the darkness of the alleyway and listened after a moment he heard it, a sound so slight that a mere human would never have noticed it. He moved towards it, easily tossing the lifeless body he still clutched into a nearby trash heap and then fixing his pants. He had gotten nearly six feet before he found the source of the noise. It was a young black girl who judging by her body, he guessed was probably no more than fourteen, or fifteen. She was sprawled out on the ground, naked, bloodied, badly beaten, and the sight of her angered him, for he instantly knew who have done the act.

“Angelus, what have I told you about playing with your food.” He spoke out with a sigh, knowing that the person he spoke of was long gone by then, thinking he had dumped a corpse. He himself stood baffled at how she had survived, he had been witness to many of Angelus’ torture sessions and he had learned two things, one Angelus was a sick fucker and two the victims never ever lasted long. Yet here one lay broken but still alive, barely. He kneeled down to get a closer look at her, her head was probably twice it’s normal size and her face was so swollen that the only thing he could make out was her nose, and that was only because it was sticking out from the middle of the swollenness. He stood to leave but his feet didn’t move he just continued to stare at her. He didn’t know why and probably would never truly understand why he did what he did next, but he knelt again and gently cradled the broken girl into his arms. He was thankful that he had parked just on the other end of the alleyway and that they were in New York, a town where people generally didn’t give a damn about you and had no problems with stepping over you if you lay dying in the street. He knew no one, who may happen upon them, would even give a second glance to him carrying a bloodied, naked black girl, and none did.

Present day (AU) Sunnydale

---

“I gather from the looks on your faces, well by the look on Dawn’s face at least, that you didn’t find Rack’s coven,” Wesley Wyndam-Pryce said as he wheeled his chair from behind the computer terminal where he had been doing research on a recent anomaly that he thought was some sort of portal opening and then closing. He looked at Nina and then Spike who both had the same exact stoned face as they entered the warehouse and head to the back to their sleeping quarters. They had found the warehouse two years before infested with Vampires and human seeking sanctuary, allowing the vamps to feed on them a little and in exchange they got protected from other baddies on the outside. Nina and Spike had cleaned house and then it became their base of operations..

“Oh no we found it but they’d already left.” Dawn said a bit disappointed.

“What’s the matter pet didn’t get to kill any baddies?” He teased though secretly it scared and sadden him to see that Dawn, who in his eyes was just a child, was growing up to be just as cold as Nina.

“Naw, I dusted a few suckheads in the cemetery, but honestly they’re no real challenge, too easy to kill.” He looked at her curiously waiting for her explanation. “I mean come on they could be walking, trip and fall on something wooden and poof, their dust. Witches are challenging.”

“And you know that based on what?” The voice of a young woman intervened and Dawn turned to greet their resident weapons expert Tara Maclay.

“I read books.” Dawn replied and gained a sweet laugh from Tara who walked up to her and handed her a silver-plated shotgun. “Butter.” Dawn said with a smile as she inspected the gun.

“So now we’re encouraging our young to take up arms?” Wes addressed Tara who only shrugged and then hopped on a nearby counter top.

“She wanted a signature piece, she said and I quote, ‘If Nina gets her own special gun I want one too.’”

“Oh well then that’s a good reason. Wes said snidely as both Tara and Dawn rolled their eyes at him.

“So what special gadgets you got up here?” Dawn asked still giving the gun a once over.

“I burrowed out the barrel more and rigged it to shoot everything, from bullets, to stakes, even holy water.”

“It’s a freakin water gun too, you know I’m in love with you right?” Dawn joked throwing Tara a wink.

“Sorry darlin I’m strictly dickly.” Tara replied and she threw a wink back and Dawn laughed outright.

“Not to mention crude, ill mannered, and a bit disrespectful.” Wes said as he frowned at the older girl standing before him. He had never really taken to Tara, who had come to them five years back seeking help finding her father and brother who she suspected had been taken by a gang of vampires. When they had found them Tara had to stake them both and after that she found a new family with Nina, Spike, Wes and Dawn. Wes thought her to be immature and completely lacking manners, and it annoyed him that she knew it and didn’t seem to care.

“Bite me Mr. Cripple.” Tara said to his comment. “Keep yapping and I won’t be installing those new tires with the gold rims onto your wheelchair for Christmas.” She finished with a sugary sweet smile, knowing that she struck a sore spot whenever she joked about his crippled state, which for her had become a defense mechanism when dealing with Wes. He’d hit too close to home with something he’d say to her and she’d crack about him being a cripple and that would get him so pissed he wouldn’t talk to her for days, which she didn’t mind at all. Afterwards she always felt horrible for exploiting him that way, especially after Dawn had told her how Wes lost the use of his legs. How they saved him from a pack of demons, but that they hadn’t gotten there in time to save His wife Cordelia, or their unborn child, which the demons had cut out of her to use in a sacrifice ritual. They had broken Wesley’s spine so he’d have to watch helplessly. Tara really felt for him but thought he could be a major asshole most the time, so whenever she’d think about apologizing to him he’d do or say something to get her upset again, it had be come a vicious between them.

Wes was about to reply curtly when a sudden flash of light silenced and stilled him, Tara, and Dawn who all watched wide eyes at the spot on the wall where the light had come from.

“What the hell was that?” Dawn asked as Wes hastily wheel back to the computer terminal and began typing like a madman.

“I think that’s the anomaly I’ve been tracking for a couple of days now, and it seems to have changed position.” He said as he struck the enter key to print out the results of his tests. He moved to the printer and yanked up the paper and read. “And I was right, it is a portal.”

“Wait, a portal as in a doorway?” Tara asked as she hopped from the countertop and moved back from the wall.

“Yes, exactly.”

~~~~

Ten minutes before:

They entered their room and Spike instantly went about unzipping the leather vest-like bodice Nina wore, which housed a breastplate, courtesy of Tara. He removed the bodice and tossed it on the floor and then grabbed the hem of the shirt she wore, pulling it up and over her head. He stared at her and sighed heavily before moving off into their bathroom, after a few seconds he returned to find her in the same spot, as he expected her to be. He dropped to his knees in front of her, his face before her belly. Gripping her hips he turned her a bit and leaned in and licked the bloody wound in her side until it was clean, he then opened the first aid kit he had grabbed from under the sink and began patching her up.

“I wish you’d end the patrol when you get hurt, it’s dangerous.” He spoke never taking his eyes from his task.

“It’s nothing.” She replied never taking her eyes from the wall she had focused on upon entering the room.

“Nina, blood its what sets vampires and many nasty demons off you know that, so you were an inviting morsel tonight, and that put us all in danger, it put Dawn in danger.” He added the last part knowing that would get to her. She put up a great show of not caring when around others but he knew her best, better than she knew herself, and so he knew that She loved Dawn and that she felt an overwhelming need to keep her safe.

“Maybe we shouldn’t let her go with us anymore.” Nina said as a small twinge of fear crept over her at the thought of Dawn getting hurt.

“Yeah and you know she’ll just sneak out anyway, this way she’s with us and we can keep a better eye on her. Sides, Dawn’s a tough kid and a damn fine fighter, I just meant that we shouldn’t go putting her in unnecessary danger, so next time you get stabbed we come home, ok?” She didn’t reply and he knew that was her way of agreeing and so he didn’t push the issue further. He finished wrapping the wound and then inspected his handiwork. “How does it feel?”

“I’ve had worse.” She said and he closed his eyes and clenched his jaws and fists to the images that flooded his mind of her ‘worse’, and the night of their meeting came back to him, as did the near crippling feeling to keep her safe and reassure her that life and love doesn’t have to be ugly, evil and painful. He had spent nearly sixty years re-enforcing that fact to her. Angelus had killed her, not physically but mentally and emotionally and it had taken eight years before she trusted him, before which she’d scurry away from him in fear whenever he was near, but she never ran away from him and that had always boggled him. She took to his sleeping habits so when he slept she slept, then gradually she would sit with him and have conversations, mostly questions about vampires. But total trust didn’t come until the day they were both called, her as the slayer and he as her champion, that very night they christened their new status and relationship by making love. And now their relationship had complete trust, devotion, and unconditional, possessive, passionate love. They both felt that they were each half of a whole, and sometimes that’s how they moved and thought, in unison.

“I know you’ve had worse,” Spike finally spoke as she stood staring down at her, he then cupped her face and forced her to look at him. “But never again. You know why?”

“Because I’ve got you watching my back.” She replied with a bashful smile, which he matched with a smile of his own.

“That’s right,” He said before lowering his mouth to capture her lips in a kiss, which didn’t have time to deepen when a sudden flash of light gained their attention. Both pulled their guns, Spike from his hip holster and Nina from her thigh holsters, as they left their room and head back out to the front of the warehouse.

~~~~

“Ok whatever it is it’s trying to open the door to our side,” Wes yelled out over the roaring noise of the small portal opening.

“Well close it,” Dawn yelled back.

“And lock it.” Tara added as she and Dawn stood beside Wes, both holding guns aimed at the portal, which began to grow larger and larger.

“I can’t whoever’s opening it has got a lot of power on their end.” Wes replied and they all watched in awe as the portal flashed a blinding light and then everything quieted as the light settled into a shimmering blue cascade of energy.

“What the hell is that?” Nina asked as she and Spike entered the room, both moving in opposite direction, setting up a parameter around the portal, making sure whatever may come out wasn’t able to get past them.

“Oh just a portal.” Dawn answered which caused Nina to shoot questioning eyes to Wes.

“I don’t know where its from, nor who opened it or why.” As soon as he had finished his sentence a shadowed figure emerged within the portal. Dawn cocked her gun as they all aimed at the figure, as it got closer.

“Let’s see what it is before you all get trigger happy.” Wes suggested.

“Sure, why don’t you roll out there and greet it then.” Tara said. At that moment the portal wavered and Nina was the first to let her bullets fly, followed by Spike, Tara and then Dawn. They all stood stunned as they watched the bullets freeze in the air in front of a red haired girl with white eyes, who stood before them with her hand raised, when she lowered her hand all the bullets they had fired fell to the ground accompanied by clanking noises. The red head then blinked her eyes, which turned a hazel green, and then she smiled and spoke.

“Hi guys.” She said waving her hand slightly. She looked at the faces about the room and was very happy to see they were all familiar, and when she saw the most familiar of them all her smile faded to a look of shock. “Tara?”

Nina and Spike both moved back towards the center of the room as so to get a better look at the girl who had come from the portal, but neither lowered their gun.

“How do you know my name?” Tara asked as she and Dawn also continued to aim their gun at the red head.

“We knew each other… where I come from.” Willow replied as she gawked at Tara, her eyes watering at the sight of her dead lover standing before her very much alive.

“And where exactly is that and why are you here?” Wes asked as he slowly rolled his chair from behind the desk, suddenly gaining Willow’s attention.

“Oh my God, Wesley what happened?” Willow asked in concern.

“Ok she knows Wes too, how about me?” Dawn questioned.

“Yes I know you too, I know all of you well except you,” Willow addressed the last part directly to Nina. “Funny thing is you’re the one I’m here to see.”

“Why?” This time Spike spoke out and startled Willow, who until that point hadn’t seen him.

“Whoa Spike, I wasn’t expecting you to be here.”

“Answer his question, why are you here for me?” Nina asked her gun still aimed.

“We need the best slayer in all of the worlds, and that apparently is you.”

“Again I ask, why?”

“There’s a new big bad coming in my world and from what we've gathered you’re the only one who can stop it.”

“Don’t you guys have your own slayer?”

“Yes, but Buffy…”

“Buffy?” Dawn interjected. “Your slayer is named Buffy, oh that name must strike fear in the hearts of all the demons in your world.” Dawn chuckled, as did Tara.

“Dawn, shut up.” Nina said as she finally lowered her gun and re holstered it. “You’re saying your slayer can’t stop whatever is coming?”

“She can’t do it alone, there’s a prophecy and it says to save our worlds, all the worlds from being consumed by this new evil we need you.” Willow explained.

“Wait,” Wes interjected. “All the worlds?”

“Yes, which is why I’m here, why I made the portal, its linked directly to our…headquarters,” Willow said for a lack of a better word. “There we have all the research we’ve compiled on this prophecy. Giles says…”

“Giles?” Nina repeated cutting Willow off.

“Yeah, Giles he’s Buffy’s watcher, well he was when there were Watchers, which there still are but not as many since the first…”

“No,” Nina cut in again as she turn to make her way back to her and Spike’s room.

“No?” Willow repeated not sure to what Nina meant.

“No, as in I’m not going anywhere. If your slayer can’t help you, then you’re fucked. I got my own baddies to deal with and in case you didn’t know they’re the majority here in our world.”

“But if you don’t help us, this baddie will consume your world too.”

“We’ll deal with it when it come, Sorry Blaze but I’m not interested.” With that said Nina left the room leaving a stunned Willow, with the rest who didn’t seem at all surprised by Nina’s response.

“Ok I don’t think I’m explain it well, if this thing succeeds in consuming our world that its, all worlds will fall. Were just the one world it has chosen to make its stand in.” Willow explained further. “If she doesn’t come and help we’re all going to die.”

“Die?” Dawn repeated. “You didn’t say anything about us all dying.”

“Uhm sorry, I thought the whole consumed by this evil was self explanatory.”

“Here, that’s every day of the week. This is a hell world where the Demon, human ratio is 8 to 2, not in our favor. So when you come spouting about doomsdays and the hell on Earth ya gotta mention the ‘were all gonna die’ up front.” Dawn said and then turned to Spike. “You’ve gotta talk her into it, our lives aint the best here but I don’t wanna die.”

“I have to agree with Dawn.” Wes added.

“Me too.” Tara piped in.

“Are you all new,” Spike asked. “You know when she’s made up her mind there’s…”

“Yeah right, I know that if you tell her she should do it, she will Spike.” Dawn said as she folded her arms across her chest. “Question is why was she abrupt about not going and why are you so damn set against telling her to go?”

“Cause I can’t stand to see her hurting, and the reason she doesn’t want to go is because you said a name that she can no longer bring herself to say.” Spike said as each of them looked at him perplexed, and so he continued explaining. “Giles, he was our son.”

---

AU, London, 1961

---

“Are you sure he came down this way?” Nina asked as she ran beside Spike.

“Yes I’m sure, but if you doubt me, use those slayer senses of your like that old witch told you to.”

“She’s not a witch she’s a ‘guardian of the slayers’.”

“Fine, just use your senses.” Spike said as they both came to a halt in the middle of the darkened street as the rain and fog wrapped around them. Nina took a deep breath and closed her eyes and focused, as she used all her senses to track the vampire they had chased across two continents for several months. They knew this vamp was just a gopher, a minion of Angelus, who Nina had spent the last five years hunting. It didn’t take long for her to hear the piercing screams of a woman somewhere nearby.

“This way,” She called out as they took off running, they stopped at the end of an alleyway and began to cautiously make their way through it. Halfway through they saw what looked to be a man hovering over a woman, and a small child blocked off in the corner crying. “Did we catch you at a bad time?” Nina asked as the man turned already vamped out. She didn’t even give him time to drop the lifeless body he held before she sent the stake flying into his chest, his dust settling before the woman’s body hit the ground.

“Fuck Nina!” Spike yelled out. “We’ve been tracking that piece of shit for months and when we finally catch up with him you kill him before he can tell us where Angelus is.” Nina seemed to be ignoring him as she just stared at the small dirty child still huddled in the corner. Spike saw that her attention was focused elsewhere and so he moved in closer to see what had her so captivated, and he saw the little boy, who was so covered in dirt and soot and blended in so well with the wall, Spike hadn’t took notice of him. “Christ. Come on Nina lets go.”

“We’re just gonna leave him here?” Nina asked as she turned to Spike baffled.

“Yeah, either that or we’ll have to explain to bobby what happened to this boy’s mother, which is a conversation I just don’t want to have, so let’s go.” Spike said as he grasped Nina’s arm and began to move them away from the small boy, who looked to be about six or seven years old, who now hugs his dead mother as he cried out for her.

“We can’t just leave him Spike and who the hell is bobby?”

“Bobby is the police and they’re going to be swarming about here any moment so again I say leave him and let’s save our own asses.”

“Did you contemplate leaving me too?” Nina asked and Spike instantly squeezed his eyes shut to the question, which he knew was in reference to the night he had found her half dead in an alley. With a small growl he moved around her and scooped up the whimpering child, who put up no fight of resistance, and stalked off.

“Lets go Nina,” He called back to the girl who stood looking after him with a slight smile on her lips. “Now!” She jumped a bit at his voice, which seemed to echo off the walls, and then hurried after him.

~~~~~

They had made it back to the inn they had been staying in, without any trouble, but Spike didn’t let his guard down any until they were locked away in their room. He hadn’t said a word since they had left the alleyway and Nina knew by now that meant he was made, which was a side of him that still frightened her, which was evident by the way she cradled the child close to her chest and stood in the corner closest to the door. She had been called to slayerhood three years before hand, so she knew she was faster than Spike and stronger, and could handle herself in a fight with him, but she also knew she could never take his life if it ever came down to it, so she figured that if it ever did she’d run. He silently sat on the foot of the bed for a good twenty minutes before finally speaking again.

“He’s filthy and smells like something dead, you had better give him a bath or else he’s sleeping outside the door.” Nina only nodded in agreement as she made her way to the adjoining bathroom to start him a bath. Spike stood and moved to the door, which caused Nina to stop and stare at him questioningly. “He looks half starved,” Spike, answered her questioning eyes. “I can stand for a bit to eat myself, how bout you?”

“Yes,” Nina said with a smile and a silent sigh of relief that Spike was seemingly coming around to having the child there. “And I’ll have…” Nina then paused realizing she didn’t know the little boys name. “What your name sweetie?” The boy who had been hold her tightly about the neck and resting his head on her shoulder slowly lifted his head and looked at her and spoke.

“My name is Rupert Giles and I’m seven years old.” The little boy answered quite proudly. Spike looked at him with a look of disgust.

“Rupert,” Spike repeated. “That’s a Nancy boy name so from now on you’ll just be Giles. So you got family around here Giles?” Spike asked as he stood at the door with his hand on the knob.

“Just my mummy, but that bad man hurt her.” Giles said sadly as he then turned his attention to Nina. “Is my mummy in heaven now?” Nina could only nod in reply. “Are you going to be my mummy now?” He questioned further and Nina stared at him wide-eyed and then looked to Spike who was vigorously shaking his head no, but when he saw the smile light up Nina’s face he knew he was overruled.

“If you’d like me too be,” Nina answered. “And Spike will be your new daddy.” This caused the boy to brighten up and a smile stretched across his face as well, as both he and Nina now smiled at Spike.

“Balls!”

“Don’t” She said as she stood with her back to the door, which he stood in watching her silently.

“Don’t?” He repeated in a questioning tone.

“That’s what I said, Spike.” She replied as she pulled off the boot she had been unlacing, tossing it in the corner. He moved to her, crouched in front of her, stilling her movements to unlace the other boot, by doing it for her.

“So I guess we can just call it quits then.” He spoke but kept his eyes on the task of getting her boot undone. She didn’t respond only stared down at the top of his head, and then reached out and gently played with the soft brown curls. “The way the red head is telling it, if we don’t go help her and her lot out everyone is as good as dead, so what do you say…” He asked now lifting his head to stare up at her, having finished untying the boot, and had removed it and tossed in the corner with the other one. “I guess we could go on vacation, you me and Dawn, live out the last of our days lying on a beach somewhere. That is if we can find a beach that isn’t so polluted it would eat your flesh off.”

“Please don’t ask me to do this Spike, I can’t it’s too…”

“I know it hurts baby, I loved him too and I miss him everyday, but wouldn’t it be good to see him again…alive…a grown man?” He asked as he reached up and pulled her down to him, settling her upon his lap. She shook her head in reply.

“No, I’d hate to see him; I’d hate him for being alive while our Giles is dead. Why did it have to happen? How could we be so careless?” Nina asked as the tears now rolled down her cheek.

---

AU, Belgium 1966

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“Ahhhhhhh!” A death cry pierced the still night air.

“You know I could do this all night, and I will until you tell me what I want to know.”

“I will tell you this if you do not let me go he will hunt you down and burn everything you love.” The bloodied and marred woman spoke through cracked and split lips. “Ahhhhhhh!” She screamed out again as another douse of holy water splashed against her bare back.

“That’s not the answer I’m looking for, Drusilla, it’s simple I only want to know where Angelus is. You tell me that and I’ll dust you quickly and painlessly.”

“What’s wrong pet are you still sore, because he didn’t turn you, but left you in that alley to die like a dog?” Drusilla asked with a smirk on her swollen face, which quickly was replaced with a look of shock just before she crumbled to dust. Nina turned her attention to the man standing behind her, who was re-holstering his gun.

“You do know she was the only real lead we had to Angelus, right?” Nina asked not really caring that he had sped up the inevitable, by dusting Drusilla, but just wanted to nag Spike with his own words about how she’s shouldn’t dust first and ask questions later.

“Yeah, but she was pissing me off and she wasn’t gonna tell us anyway.” Spike said as he pulled the large barn doors opened and lead the way out in the cold night. Nina followed close beside him.

“Was it weird?” Nina asked after several moments of silence trying to think of a way to word what it was she wanted to ask.

“What?”

“Killing her?”

“Just another suck head, and now one less in the world.” He answered nonchalant.

“Yes but she gave you life.”

“Yeah and spend the rest of the time torturing me and make said life miserable, and you think I should have been a little more grateful?” He asked as he now looked at her curiously. “Besides, wasn’t the intention all along to kill her, whether she talked or not?”

“Yeah but I didn’t expect you to do it.”

“It was the proper way, I had to be the one to release her.” Spike said and Nina nodded her understanding.

“Man I hate all this damn snow.” Nina said, changing the subject as she kicked at the snow that covered the ground.

“Its Christmas time luv, and it just wouldn’t be right without snow.”

“Says the man whose body isn’t affected by the cold,” Nina grumbled as she hugged her arms around herself.

“Don’t worry baby, daddy’ll warm you up.” Spike cooed, enveloping her in his embrace as they hurried down the cobblestone road, back to the inn they were staying at. “And you know Giles loves snow, and with snow comes very cloudy day and I actually get to go out with him and romper around in it and stay out as long as he wants.”
The thought of it brought a huge smile to Nina’s face, as it always did when she thought of their ‘son’ Giles, the little boy who brought them both more joy than they ever thought they’d have, or deserved. She couldn’t wait to get back to their room, where they left their little angel, who wasn’t so little anymore at the age of eleven, sleeping under the watchful eye of Ms. Hingley the Inn’s keeper; a very robust and joyous old woman who loved to pinch cheeks and kiss everyone she met, which Nina didn’t mind but Giles and Spike hated. When the Inn came into view Nina smiled and became distracted with her thought of Christmas day and watching Giles opens his presents, so distract she hadn’t notice the huge snowball coming right at her head, until he knocked her to the ground. When she sat up and stared wide-eyed at Spike, he burst into a deep laugh that she had never seen or heard from him.

“Oh you know this means war,” She exclaimed and she now kneeled in the snow, scooping up all the snow about her into a huge pile. Spike quickly took off running as fast as he could towards the Inn, knowing that if he could make it through the doors Nina wouldn’t attempt to hit him with the snowball and mess up Ms. Hingley’s clean floor. Spike made it to the steps and paused and looked back to see that Nina was approaching but at a slow pace since she was carrying a snowball nearly her size. Spike chuckled at the sight and then moved up the steps only to stall at the door, which had a large present in front of it. He stared at the present curiously for a millisecond before his senses were set off. Spike vamped out and shot a look back at Nina, who instinctively and instantly dropped the snowball and took a fighting stance.

“Nina, stay back.” Spike commanded and she obeyed as she scanned their surroundings, calling on all of her slayer senses to focus. Spike turned his attention back to the box, which he now knew housed something bloody, he plucked up the card that was attached and read it.

May this bring you as much joy as it brought me…Angelus

Spike squatted before the box and slowly lifted the top off, he then crumbled to his knees and let out a low mournful sound that startled Nina and made her jump.

“Spike,” Nina called out to him, now scared by the way he was acting, curious about why he was acting that way, she knew that nothing scared Spike, nothing caused him pain, nothing except…She swiftly moved to him, at first in a trot and then in a full speed sprint, but he heard her coming and quickly moved to intercept her, grasping her about the waist and moving them further into the street. Nina looked up at him and saw that he was crying, a sight she had never ever seen, and it chilled her to the bone.

“We have to go luv, we have to go now.” Spike said and Nina nodded her head.

“Ok, then lets go.” She said as she attempted to move around him only to be blocked again by him.

“Now luv,” He said in a hoarse voice that sounded like it belonged to someone else.

“But we have to get Giles, he’s…” In that instant Nina’s world came crashing down around her, as it all began to click. She made another move to go around Spike and again he blocked her, and so she tried the other side and he blocked her.

“No luv, lets just go.” He said his tears still pouring from his eyes as she stared up at him as if he were the most disgusting thing she had ever seen, and then she did something she had never done before, had never ever thought of doing, she struck him with all of her mite, making him crumble to the ground clutching his bloodied nose, and then she made her way up the steps and to the opened box., where she only caught a glimpse of the little head inside before everything went dark.

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AU - Present Day, Sunnydale

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“So what exactly is it I have to do?” Nina asked with her arms across her chest, as she and Spike re-entered the main room of the warehouse, where the others, included the new red head stood talking.