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Author's Chapter Notes:
Quentin's still an ass.
In the Eyes of a Child

Dawn spent a good part of the day with the Scoobies' new allies. She went over as many details as she could, including the intricacies of Spike's dream. None of it was familiar to either of the teens, but they wrote it all down, the idea being that Richard may have learned about a turned Slayer, and Christian could look for the essential element. Anything that could be a key to other dimensions.

It was then that Dawn felt a shiver up her spine and decided there was one more thing to share. Something that really hadn’t occurred to her before.

"Did you guys ever hear about Glory?"

"Oh, yes. Glorificus," Michelle and Christian both answered.

"So you know about her being a hell god, wanting a key...?"

"Very good, Dawn," Christian congratulated her. "It could be the same key. Where did your sister put it? Or did she destroy it?" Christian asked eagerly.

"No! She didn't destroy it!" Dawn realized she'd put a little more emotion in that than she had meant. "I mean, we still have it, here in fact."

Michelle and Christian looked at each other, confused. "I thought the Key was a ball of energy?” They stared back at Dawn and Christian asked, “How could it be here?"

Dawn sighed, looking back and forth at her friends. "The monks, they changed its form and sent it to Buffy for her to protect." Dawn stood up from the couch and paced for a few seconds before turning to them and taking a soothing breath to help her gain some strength. "They made it human and sent it to her, in the form of a sister."

Christian looked back at Michelle. She just sat there with a blank look on her face. He looked at Dawn. "It's you?"

"Yup, I'm a big green key," Dawn said as she walked to the loveseat and sat down so she could see both of their reactions.

"Wow," Michelle finally whispered. Then she shifted in her seat. "I mean...wow."

"You're tellin' me," Dawn agreed. "Imagine how I felt when I found out."

Christian's cocked his head to the side. "You mean you didn't know?"

"Nope. Have the memories of your average 16 year old...except for the 'my sister's the Slayer. I don't suppose that could be considered average." Dawn was talking more to herself than them by this time.

"Wow," Michelle repeated.

Christian thought about the information so far. "Well, if you were the key used for T'mure, I suspect it's already been done. If Spike's dreams are accurate, a Slayer was turned before Buffy was called. Spike's demon has obviously been freed, but when? And what would a turned Slayer have to do with the demon?"

Michelle's stunned state started fading as her demonology training automatically took over. "Maybe the Pure died and needed a Slayer to be turned to communicate the key's use or whereabouts? She could not communicate in her form, She must have been killed and was sent to the dimension the Vampires' demons go while waiting to be called forth again."

Michelle stood up and went through the hallway into a room. She came out with a black leather-bound book. "I've been studying Vampires' demons. Your Vampire, I mean Spike, made me wonder what would make a demon act so...human." She opened the book and read out loud.

"One theory on the demons that inhabit humans is that the demon itself has a preference for particular personalities. A demon may in fact wait, until a human is drained that is of a particular sex. Others prefer the more brutal humans, some look for the weak. The soul trapped inside the body is used as a beacon for a demon searching for the criteria of its next unlife." She closed the book. "Perhaps the Pure needed a Slayer's body or essence to communicate with T'mure where he was. Perhaps she could only use or reveal the key to him in that form."

Christian looked over the young demonologist's shoulder. "I think you might be on to something, Michelle."

"It would make sense. If Buffy got me 'cuz she was the only one strong enough to protect me, then maybe, a demon inside a Slayer would be strong enough to use the key or summon it. It does make sense. But where is the Pure now, or the Slayer that was turned?"

"We're going to need Richard to look for turned Slayers," Michelle said to the others.

~~`~~

Willow sat in the den waiting for Tara. She only had to wait a few minutes before the blonde walked in. "Hey, sweetie," Willow greeted and hugged her. "Did you find anything interesting?"

"Not much. You?" Tara shifted the bag so that it rested behind her.

"Oh, yeah...a few interesting things." Willow smiled and the girls headed through the familiar halls to their temporary home.

~~`~~

Spike and Buffy walked through the commons area. Most of the people in the large communal area took little notice. The stares were few and far between. More often than not, a child or teen waved as they passed. They were the local celebrities here, and, like all celebrities, were either ogled by those who couldn't control themselves, or ignored by those afraid they'd be unable to control themselves. The children, however, were different.

Simple curiosity and questions that were so innocent, one could not help but try to answer them. Neither Spike nor Buffy could help but stop to talk with the eager little ones who had no fear of the Slayer or her Vampiric friend.

"Mr. Spike?" a small voice called from his left. A little girl with tight red curls pulled on his duster. "Mr. Spike?" He stopped and crouched to the little girl's height.

"Yes, pet?"

She giggled. He called all the girls pet, and she thought it was funny. "Um, are you cold?"

Spike tipped his head the side. "Cold?"

"Yeah, Mommy said that Vampires were cold. Are you cold?" The little girl stared at him with her dark blue eyes.

Spike held his hand up. "Do I feel cold?"

The little girl looked at his hand then to the blonde Slayer. The red head stared at his hand, then slowly lifted her tiny hand up to his and touched his palm lightly with her index finger. She seemed thoroughly interested in his hand. With trepidation, she laid her palm in his. "It's cold, but not very, very cold." The girl demonstrated her meaning with a few fake shivers.

Spike chuckled. "No. Not very cold."

Buffy watched in awe how he handled the little girl. How could someone who was so evil at one time, be so sweet to a small child's strange questions? More and more she saw the changes in him. More and more she fell in love with him. A warmth filled her. 'Definitely going to need to 'patrol' tonight,' she told herself.

Spike watched the girl run back to tell her friends about the 'cold' Vampire. He shook his head and turned back to Buffy. A very female scent caught his attention, and a knowing look passed between the blondes.

'Oh yeah, much patrolling needs to be done tonight,' Buffy said to herself again.

~~`~~

Willow and Tara walked in and up to The Slayer and Vampire. They saw the looks being passed between the two. Tara smiled at her lover, deciding the laptop was going to be theirs tonight.

"Uh...you two might want to save those bedroom eyes for, the bedroom," Willow said.

"Huh?" Buffy said. Tara bumped her shoulder with some force.

"You two need to get out more, or get a room."

Spike shook his head. He had forgotten where he was for a minute there. "We got rooms, just can't go usin' them is all."

Willow frowned a little. "Sorry. It's just that..."

"It's ok, Will. It's not like we can't...well...we have patrolling to do." She winked at her friend.

Willow smiled a mischievous smile at the couple. "Yeah, patrolling. First, I think you should come up with us. We have had a development."

"You figure out what my dreams are about, Red?"

"Not exactly."

"Well, maybe you can tell us why the Slayer has supersonic hearing now then?"

Both Tara and Willow looked stupefied at Buffy. "Huh?" They said in unison.

"Don't believe him. He was just talking louder than he meant to." Buffy turned to Spike.

"If I had super hearing I'd be hearing what all these people in the room were saying, or a heartbeat, or something."

"I know how loud I was talkin', Buffy," Spike defended his statement.

"Let's get upstairs and see if we can fit a few pieces of the puzzle together," Willow said and began to lead the group to the elevator.

~~`~~

Dawn opened the door to her friend's apartment. "I'll tell everyone what you told me. I think we should stick to you or Christian coming up if you find something, though. No one else or too many people at once. It will let the Council know something’s up."

"I agree." Michelle stood up to close the door behind Dawn. "I will tell Richard everything you told us, and we'll see what we can find."

Dawn smiled at her, then past her at the young man seated on the couch. "And thanks... both of you, and tell Richard for me, too."

"We will." Michelle shut the door and walked back to her seat on the couch. "You know what this all means don't you?"

"Yes. It means we are going to take on the Council, and that we are going to need a lot more people." He shook his head with another thought. “I think we may need to plan for different careers too.”

Michelle rolled her eyes at the brunette. She picked up a paper and pencil, and the two worked on a list of people in the complex who would most likely want to help.

~~`~~

The Scoobies were all gathered in Giles' apartment for a Scoobie meeting and food.

Dawn, Spike and Tara sat on the couch. Anya, Giles, Willow and Buffy were seated at the small kitchen table, while Xander took up residence on simple coffee table.

Giles, Xander and Anya sat and listened to each story in turn. Between Dawn and Willow, they definitely were going to get some help from the Council's own children. Like most kids, they hated to find out that the people they most trusted had been lying to them. They believed in the ideals they'd been brought up on, but those very ideals were about to be taken away if they didn't act, and soon.

Willow and Tara listened as Giles went over Spike's dream from the previous night.

Although Buffy denied it, Spike told them about Buffy's brief superhuman hearing. Dawn explained part of Michelle's theory and the turning of a Slayer, which confirmed part of Spike's dream.

Last but not least, Buffy told Willow and Tara about the Vampire attacks and that they suspected Travers had a hand in.

"So," Buffy stood up from her chair at Giles's table, "We need to find out what happened to the Slayer that was turned." She looked at Giles. "Do you remember a Slayer that was turned?"

Giles removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I had heard rumors, but I don't recall a specific name or date." He looked at the group. "One's Slayer being turned would be, I would suppose, hidden. It's unheard of in public circles."

Buffy turned to Spike. "How about it? Did you ever hear of a turned Slayer?"

Spike tried to remember all of the lore he'd picked up in his long life. "I do remember one being turned, but it was more than 1000 years ago, and if I remember it right, she was dusted the day she woke."

Dawn leaned forward on he knees. "Well, what do you remember?"

Willow took up paper and began jotting down details as Spike revealed them to the group.

"Lemme see if I remember this right or not. It was the Master...not the one you killed, but his sire." Spike looked up at the ceiling. "Same line as mine, but older bloke." The peroxide blonde stopped then approached the story from another angle. "See the thing with a turned Slayer is it's pretty much forbidden. You get a demon with a soul in a body as strong as a Slayer's and there's bound to be problems. What you'd get would make Dru seem lucid."

Buffy shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Willow continued scribbling.

"Well, this Master decided he'd see if he could make the most powerful Vamp. He thought that if he turned the right Slayer, he'd get a childe with the powers and strengths of both."

Spike took a sip of the blood in his hands. "Only problem was, the demon couldn't get complete control. The Slayer's soul wouldn't let it. Before he had time to do anythin', she had killed most of his minions and turned on 'im. He barely escaped from what I 'eard."

"W-what about the Slayer?" Tara asked from her seat.

"This part I'm not too clear on... I think she went to her Watcher, or someone who knew who she was, and had them stake her."

"It's what I'd want," Buffy whispered to herself, looking at her hands.

They heard her but decided that no comment was necessary. They'd all been at it long enough to know that if they were turned, a prompt dusting was expected.

Xander broke the silence. "So we're looking for a Slayer Diary about 1000 years old."

Anya nodded to her husband. "And more on the dimension T'mure was cast to. We should find out what the key was to him escaping it."

"Um, guys?" Dawn interrupted. "I sort of told Michelle and Christian about me."

"Dawn!" The whole room yelled.

Buffy stood up and walked over to her. "What were you thinking?"

"N-no. It's ok. Michelle thinks it's important. She thinks since I could have been used to open a dimension for Glory, that it might be me who let Spike out... or the demon in Spike."

"Still, Nibblet, I wouldn't go around this place tellin' people you were the key Glory needed."

"I know guys, but I know we can trust them. Besides, Michelle is, like, a genius when it comes to demons and dimensions." Dawn sat back in her seat.

Giles set his glasses back in place. "Well, the damage is done. We're just going to have to hope you are right about them, Dawn."

"Right," Buffy agreed. "Ok, then Spike and I will patrol-"

"Don't forget to look for the missing pages," Anya blurted out.

"We'll stop on our way out to and back from patrol each night until Quentin's gone. Hopefully it won't take forever." She turned to the Vampire. "You ready?"

"As always, luv." And the two left.

~~`~~

The next morning, Spike woke before the bell rang. He hadn't had a dream and felt amazingly refreshed for a dead guy. Snoggin' the Slayer half the night between attacks had helped, but being interrupted was not his idea of a fun time.

After the fourteenth attack, they had called it a night. More than twenty Vampires dusted, and all of them were out for blood. Either of theirs. Of course, Quentin had taken up residence in his office again, so the breaking and entering plan was once again blown off.

With a completely free day, Spike decided a few extra hours of sleep couldn't hurt and went back to sleep.

~~`~~

At the sound of the first bell, Buffy didn't move. When the second one sounded, she rolled over and slammed her hand on the small digital clock. When it crunched under her hand, she remembered where she was and laughed. "And the Alarm Clock Slayer strikes again." And this time the poor device was completely innocent.

She sat up and stretched before getting up. She picked out one of the dressier outfits she'd brought along, a black leather skirt and a halter that she'd bought the day Spike returned from his visit for Akoshta.

After a long hot shower and dressing, she headed into the living area and sat on the couch.

She slowly flipped through the stations looking for something to watch, but there was nothing that looked interesting. Giving up altogether, she grabbed a book from the table and flipped through it.

Unfortunately, nothing new revealed itself to her, and before she knew it, she was down right bored.

"Hey, Buffy," Dawn said as she walked out of the bathroom combing her wet hair. "Got any big plans today?"

"No. Randall basically gave Spike and I a few days off."

"Oh, well you want to come with me? I'm supposed to meet up with Michelle at her place to go over anything new."

Until a few new books were opened or a 1000 year old Diary turned up, Buffy was fairly sure there would be nothing new. Willow, Tara and Richard were all going to be on book patrol. "Nah. I think I'll just go on down to the commons and see if there's anything to do." Buffy got up and straightened out her skirt.

"Ok, I'll come down and tell you if they found anything interesting."

"Kay."

Dawn watched her sister go out the door. She quickly braided her hair and headed to her friend's home.

~~`~~

Buffy sat on the chair and watched the families. Although the schedules were strict here, she noted how different everyone's was. The children's school days were rotated, as were the parent's days of work. She saw several mothers with their children and fathers with theirs. It seemed even the parental roles were strictly guided.

Most of the people who saw her waved. After a few minutes, a couple of teenaged girls came and sat with her. They began talking about nondescript things like clothing, hair, makeup, even boys. It was so nice to sit and talk that she didn't notice Spike's presence until he was behind her. "Then again, if you dye your hair," Buffy continued, "you'd want to make sure you don't accidentally bleach it because, lemme tell you, bad look." She winked at the girls who all started giggling and then turned around.

"Oh, hi, Spike. I didn't know you were there," she sang sarcastically at him.

He lowered himself to a chair across from her. "Bloody well did, Slayer." He looked at the two girls sitting with Buffy. "I look right good, don't I ladies?"

Once again the girls giggled, but they didn't answer him.

"There. You see." He motioned to the adolescents. "If it makes teenagers of the female persuasion giggle, I must look good."

Again they giggled.

Spike pulled out some paper and a pencil from inside his jacket and began jotting down a few words.

The younger of the girls sitting with Buffy watched him. "What are you writing

Mr...um...?"

"Just Spike, pet. No Mister needed." He put his papers back in his jacket. "And they're notes for a book I'm working on."

The two teens stared at him. The older one was curious. "What kind of a book?"

Buffy grinned at him. This should be good.

"Kids' book. Already had one published."

"You did?" The younger one looked at him, disbelieving.

A few people close enough to hear the conversation looked over their shoulders at the Vampire. "Sure did, pet. Doin' right good in sales, too. Maybe you read it? 'Bumps in the Night' by Randy Giles?"

Both girls' eyes went wide. "You're... you're Randy Giles?" the younger one asked.

"For about eight months now," he said matter-of-factly.

The older one cut in, "I've been reading that to my little brother for months now. He won't go to bed until I read him at least four pages."

Spike chuckled. "He likes it that much?"

"Oh, we all do." A young boy about nine years old came from behind Spike's chair. "I read it all the way through... by myself." The boy said proudly, then looked again at Spike. "Are you sure you wrote it?"

"I'm sure."

"Is it... I mean..." another boy asked from behind the girls across from the Vampire. "Is it all true? Did you break into that house... and did you fight those people, and did you really go to China?"

Spike smiled. It was strange how these children completely accepted him. "Well, it's mostly true. Had to edit a few of the nasties out."

"Only a few?" Buffy asked him.

Spike looked back over the crowd of children that he had attracted. "Might be more than a few, but you remember, it was Nibblet's idea, luv."

"What's the next one going to be about?" another voice asked.

Spike tried to see who asked, but the voice was lost in the sea of young faces. "Well, there was this time during the second World War..."

~~`~~

Dawn and Michelle came out of the French girl's apartment. They had decided there wasn't anything they could do, not until Richard got back. Christian had been in his course study on magics, and the two girls thought they'd go sit with Buffy, and Spike if he was up. They were in all likelihood alone and as bored as the girls were.

As soon as they walked onto the balcony, they saw they couldn't have been more wrong.

There on the far side of the commons, were the Slayer and the Vampire, surrounded by a sea of children. Spike was waving his hands in the air as he spoke. Buffy added a comment here and there.

They went to the lift and headed straight for the blondes when they hit the ground floor.

The girls sat on the outside of the crowd and listened.

"When I saw Angelus, I thought he was back to his evil ways, but then I could smell the soul in him. He even tried to use Xander as bait for his trap."

"Where was the Slayer?" a little girl asked.

Buffy looked back at the girl. "Either in the rafters or the library. See the library is where Mr. Giles kept the weapons."

A few 'oh's' echoed in the room, then Spike continued. "Well, after Angel's trap didn't work, it was down to the Slayer and me."

"And your manly weapons," Buffy threw in.

"Nah... we got rid of the weapons. It was hand to hand... fist 'n tooth."

"And my mom with an axe." She laughed.

Frustrated Spike leaned towards her with his elbows perched on his knees. "Are you gonna let me tell the story?"

Buffy smiled sweetly back at him. He just shook his head at her.

"I think it was a good story," a young man said from the crowd then began clapping. The children sitting around them all joined in. Spike stood up and took a mock bow. "Thank you. I'll be here all week."

"What is this?" A loud voice called from behind them.

They all turned and saw Mr. Travers standing just inside the doorway. "Come on, children. I have it on good authority that you all have lessons today. I think your time could be better spent by preparing for them."

A few 'yes Mr. Travers' could be heard going through the crowd as the children headed in different directions.

Buffy watched them go sadly. "Mr. Travers, Spike was only telling them some stories."

"I know very well what the Vampire was doing, and I don't think these children who are being brought up to fight and kill Vampires will learn anything by sitting and conversing with one." Quentin walked up to Spike. "I am sure you understand how this could all be very confusing to a child."

Spike glared at the man. "Of, course," was all he would let himself say. Quentin nodded slowly then turned and headed back to his office. "You bloody ponce."

Quentin either didn't hear or chose to ignore Spikes parting words.

Dawn and Michelle walked up to the couple. "Well that was interesting." Buffy's sister sat next to her in the now vacant seat.

Buffy watched as Spike sat back in his seat. Then an idea hit her. "Very."

~~`~~

Richard sat at his seat taking notes as Mrs. Koch went over the finer points of a Slayer's training. He looked over the room. There were fourteen other teens in his class, three of whom he had approached about the Slayer and the situation she and her Vampire were in.

All three agreed to meet him at his home after the course was done for the day.

~~`~~

Michelle headed off to her demonology class just as Richard came in through the sliding door. The two exchanged notes in passing and continued on their separate ways.

Michelle set about her class, speaking quietly to a few people on the list she had made. Before her course was done for the afternoon, she had four teens invited to her home.

~~`~~

Christian floated the glass orb three feet above the table then set it down gently. "Well done," The jovial old man running the class exclaimed. "You are coming along quite well."

"Thank you, sir."

As the next student walked to the table and began the levitation spell, Christian asked the three others who shared his table. "So, are you in?"

All three nodded.


Chapter End Notes:
I kinda like those kids. Even if I made em up.



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