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MARCH 22, 2005

Joni's body was screaming. Every nerve was on fire. She had never felt pain like this before. Not even a jump into Hell would be close to what she was feeling now. She breathed in. The air burned her throat like acid, but at least she had a throat, and a nose. So maybe she'd gotten lucky, and the forces she'd called upon to bring her here, wherever that was, hadn't decided to boomerang her back through the rift she'd made with that spell.

Maybe. But somehow, Joni knew that the reason she wasn't a bit of smear on the cosmic windshield was because of him. He was still watching out for her, even from the nether realms. She opened her eyes to darkness, which meant either she had been blinded by the shock she had subjected her body to, or she was dead. She really hoped that wasn't the case. She tried to sit up and felt asphalt under her. That probably meant a city of some sort and judging from the lack of starlight, probably a big one. Maybe even Los Angeles.

Then again, she could be completely wrong. She could be on the other side of the planet. Or she could be on another planet, in another dimension. Somewhere she and her Mom and Daddy didn't exist at all. And that would really suck.

If she made it this far though, she knew that her Daddy was looking out for her. Knowing him, he was probably angry enough to spit nails at her. But she knew that no matter how mad he got at her, he always loved her.

He didn't think she knew that, but she did. And right now that knowledge was a comfort to her. It was the only comfort she had, because her body seemed to explode with fire when she tried to move and the fuzziness of unconsciousness was pulling at her. It demanded her obeisance. Her last thought before she succumbed to its will, was that somehow her Daddy had to find her, he had to know.
*******************************

The dreams had made him restless. He didn't know what they meant, but they filled him with a sense of foreboding. It was like seeing your own agonizing death, and that didn't make for a good night's rest, wedding notwithstanding.

But that wasn't the worst of it. No, the worst was the little girl. Oh, God, the sound she was making! He didn't think he'd ever forget it, even if he survived another millennia. And the look in those big brown, saucer eyes of hers, if his heart weren't already dead that alone would have killed it. Whoever this girl was mourning, and that's all he could describe it as, she must have thought of that person very dearly.

This wasn't the first time he'd had this dream, either. They'd started the night Drusilla was staked. And they were steadily getting worse. It was as if something was trying to warn him about another apocalypse. At first, he'd thought it was just stress manifesting itself. Imagine that, a vampire under so much stress that he's having nightmares. And the stuff of a vampire's nightmares would put any Hollywood creature feature to shame. Now he just wished they would leave him the bloody Hell alone. This was his wedding night, after all. One night wasn't too much to ask, was it? Just one night without ghouls and monsters, so he could focus on more important things, like being a husband to his wife?

But no, it seems that that was not to be. Not for them anyway, for two reasons he could think of, just off the cuff. One, being that he was a monster himself, so no help there, and two because tonight had been the worst one yet.

Most of the time he woke up to just a fogy memory. But, tonight was different. It was still so vivid in his mind that he could almost reach out and touch the little girl's hair. He could still hear her cries ringing in his ears. And he could still see her eyes. Oh God, her eyes.

He remembered those eyes as he sat down to try and sketch what he could remember. And, he remembered something else as well. A mark, almost like a port wine stain, was on her cheek. The particulars were lost in the fog of sleep, but as his pencil glided along the paper, a shape began to form.

What stared up at him from the small scrap of paper resembled a bird in flight.

There was a tiny mewling sound from the bed, "Spike, come back to bed," her voice was slurred from sleep and alcohol, "What's got you up anyway?" she asked. More alert now, she sat up and squinted at him as he was hunched over the small table, "After all that, even you should be a little sleepy," she yawned.

"Sorry Love didn't mean to wake you. I had that dream again," he shook his head trying to clear his mind of the images, "And this time, I can't seem to shake it."

Buffy put on her robe and went over to where Spike was sitting. She put her hand on his shoulder, trying to give him some comfort. She knew these dreams disturbed him because some nights she would have them too. Fortunately tonight she had been spared the imagery. But, it seems, Spike hadn't been so lucky, "That girl again?" she asked, looking at the sketches he'd made.

"Yeah," he confirmed, "Only now there's this," he said, showing her the drawing of the bird.
*********************************

IN THE INTERREGNUM

"Spike, don't be too hard on her," Buffy pleaded, "She wasn't trying to make things worse. And now, because of you and Mom, she may even be able to help."

"I know that, Love. But, he... I mean I..." Spike rolled his eyes in frustration, "Oh, I'm never going to get used to being everywhere at once!" he looked down into his wife's laughing eyes, "Go ahead and laugh now, Misses. Did you ever get used to it?"

She shook her head, "No. In fact it still makes my head spin a little."

"Well, that makes me feel ever so much better," he kissed her lightly, "The point is, I'm not ready to handle another apocalypse right now. She managed to land herself right in the middle of our wedding night, for God's sake!"

"Spike..." Buffy warned.

"Sorry Love, but the girl's got to learn that there are boundaries. She has to know that she can't just..."

"And when did you learn this lesson, oh wise one?" Buffy smiled.

"I was hoping she wouldn't use me as a template, Love. I'll do what I can. And, I'll try not to be too hard on her."

"Good."

"I won't make any promises."

"I know," Buffy smiled as she watched him walk away, "You old softy, you."
*****************

As the car drove slowly up and down the night covered streets, he grumbled, just a little, at their predicament," I can't believe we're doing this. And on our wedding night, of all the nights."

"And, 'of all the gin joints, she had to walk into yours'", Buffy teased, good-natured, "Play it again, Humphrey. But look on the bright side. Maybe we're starting a new tradition. You know, like my birthday?"

The look Spike gave Buffy was as sharp as a knife, "Love, have you forgotten how disastrous your birthdays can be? Don't even think it!"

"Oh come on," she teased, "It could be fun. And this way you'll never have an excuse for forgetting our anniversary!"

Spike knew it was hopeless to argue. And what's more, he didn't want help, not for this. This was something he hoped he'd always have. He loved her so, "All right Love. Keep an eye out for anything that looks out of place."

"You mean, other than a frantic husband and wife, who just happen to be a vampire and a vampire slayer, prowling the streets of Los Angeles looking for a teenager, they've only seen in dreams? I don't know, Spike, seems pretty normal to me."

"Yeah," he said, sardonically, "other than that."
*********************

Joni thought she saw her Daddy, but she couldn't be sure. That looked like his car that just passed by, but she didn't have the strength to call out. Then there was that fuzzy figure in the corner. It seemed to be leaning against the bricks on the other side of, what was this anyway, an alley? It was on the other side of the alley from her, and it was getting closer. Coming into focus now, she saw the familiar features she missed so much, "Daddy?"

"Yeah, Dove. It's me."

"It hurts, Daddy."

"It hurts because you don't belong here, Sweetling. I thought you knew how I felt about magic. It can be a bad thing. There are always consequences."

"I didn't mean to Daddy. I just missed you so much."

"I know," he said as he looked over his shoulder at the black car as it slowed to a stop. Two people, a man and a woman, got out and rushed to help her. They were saying something, but she couldn't understand them. Joni thought they looked a little like her Mom and Daddy. But that couldn't be because her Daddy was standing right in front of her, and he was still talking to her, "And you and I are going to have a lot of time to catch up. You and I are going to have to talk about letting Mummies and Daddies have their private time, Dove. But don't worry, you'll be back in the game again, when the time is right for you to be," his face held a whimsical expression as he watched himself, and Buffy, trying to rouse her. They were shouting but getting no response from her, because she could not hear them, "But all is not lost, Dove. I think you may have just helped...me save your Mum."

"Really, how?"

"Just by being you, Dove. Now let's be going."

"Where?"

"Home."
****************

Spike checked the girl's pulse. There were no signs of injury, yet he knew she was beyond saving the moment he saw her. He tried again to speak to her, "We'll find your Daddy, Love. Please just hold on," he looked again for injury, but found none, nothing was wrong internally, so this girl should not be dying, right before his eyes, "Don't do this, Love," he begged, "Please, not this."

He heard her soft voice behind him, "It's too late, Spike. She's dead. There's nothing we could have done."

Spike looked up at Buffy's face, "But why, Love? Why is she dead?"

As she looked into his questioning eyes, she began to wonder that herself, "I don't know why, Spike. But we're going to find out."





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