A/N Thank you all for reviewing.


Lottie's Apartment

"What's your name?"

Calvin leisurely circled the middle-aged woman who calmly stood in the middle of the apartment, unresponsive to their close proximity and other vampires that were watching her closely, far too hungrily. She forced herself to remain composed, a worn grimoire clutched to her chest. She winced as she felt his breath on her neck when Calvin came to a stop behind her, making her heart speed up in nervousness and slight fear.

Biting her lip to bite back a whimper, the witch swallowed thickly, daring to glance out of the corner of her eye as Calvin rounded her again before coming to a stop in front of her.

"Deborah."

"Deborah."He echoed with a hum, mouthing her name a second time as his eyes met hers once more."Why are you, a powerful witch, willing to help Lottie?"

She replied without a second thought.

"She's one of the oldest, a great population of the vampire community leads back to her. Not to mention that she is a hybrid, the only one in existence, something that comes with great power." Deborah sternly answered, bowing her head as a sign of respect."I wish to help, and in return i want protection."

"And you sought me out because..."

"She favors you over the rest of her horde. Her eldest son and she values your opinion."Deborah pretended not to notice the warmth flooding Calvin's eyes at son, clearing her throat before adding."So, please, take her out so that we can finish this."

Calvin pursed his lips with raised eyebrows, looking almost amused at her polite demand before he suddenly stepped away from the witch, noticing her flinch at the quick movement.

"You flatter me. Predictable."Calvin said under his breath with a roll of his eyes, turning from the witch and slowly making his way over to Lottie's doorframe, leaning against it before rapping on the door twice."Boss?"

Calvin, Deborah as well as the several vampires scattered around went quiet as the sound of crooning reached their ears. A moment later Lottie appeared, donning a crimson dress with a black hem, nothing on her feet and almost engulfed in a heavy leather jacket. It draped over her hands, hiding them in the sleeves and Lottie looked nothing less than content inside of it, a present Spike had given her n the late eighties.

"Hello!"

Lottie glided gracefully, a bounce in her step as she neared the group, Calvin pushing off of the doorframe and following her once she was in his eye line.

"You brought me something home?"

They all made a sound of confirmation, bowing their heads as Calvin came up beside Lottie, falling into step with her before motioning to Deborah.

"Boss, this is Deborah. Our witch."

He beckoned the witch to come closer, and she did, the nervousness she'd felt since she entered clear to read on her face.

"Charlotte."

"Lottie."She corrected in a disapproving voice, eyes clouding for a moment."My name is Lottie."

Lottie scanned the witch from head to toe, fingers furling in the lapels of her leather jacket before she tugged it closed, hugging herself almost defensively.

Peering up at Calvin, Lottie slouched against his shoulder."She's going to find what I lost?"

"Yeah, she's going to help you."Calvin promptly answered, clamping a hand down on Lottie's shoulder to calm her when he noticed the growing excitement in her eyes."She'll do a locator spell if you have something belonging to him."

Perking up instantly, Lottie looked on in awe."Oh, yay."

"But, boss, may I suggest that you test her to make sure?"Calvin turned to fully face Lottie, leaning down to murmur into her ear."Saying she's been acting coy is an understatement."

"Her heart only skipped a beat when you teased her."Lottie'slashes fluttered, head tipping back as she released a pleasurable sigh before she opened them again."She knows better than to play."

"Then do we have a deal?"Deborah valiantly asked in the firmest tone she could muster, trying her damnedest not to squirm when Lottie continued to stare at her."I help you find your d-daddy, and you, as well as your friends, help me?"

Lottie's eyes widened and glazed over at the mention of Spike before she, for a second time, cried out happily. She reached out and took firm hold of the witch, disregarding Deborah's hiss of pain when Lottie's tight grip on her hands caused pain to soar up her arms.

"Good day. It's a good, good day. The thought lingers in my head, makes itself at home and lets me remember all the little stories she used to read to me."Lottie beamed at the witch as she twirled them around, chiming in with a giggle when the other woman cried out in fear."And...and I can make out all the little tidbits she whispered to me in my ear."

Lottie released the witch carelessly, not noticing Deborah's staggering and carried on cavorting around and around, never tiring and gasping up at the ceiling as if she saw what others didn't.

"Uh, Lottie?"

Lottie suddenly stopped with a nonchalant wave of her hand but didn't return to her dancing and suddenly allowed herself to focus on the someone else's voice other than her own. She lingered beside Calvin when he encouraged her to listen to the witch and released her.

"Uh-huh?"

"D-Do you have something of his?"Deborah asked once she righted herself on her feet, blowing away strands of hair from her face."It'll make the spell go much smoother. More precise."

Lottie was quick to smile at the continuous mentions of Spike and, with a keen nod, she unlocked a simple gold chain from around her neck, revealing a thick, inscribed ring that dangled from it.

"No peeking!"Lottie tutted with a wag of her finger as she reached out, thumb brushing the words inscribed on the ring, placing it on the center of Deborah's palm."Your eyes don't have my twinkle, you can't peek."

Deborah was quick to nod to placate the other woman and turned back to the table that had everything she needed placed out. Candles, four crystals and a powder crushed in a mortar as well as the ring attached to the chain. Deborah did her best to ignore the pairs of eyes boring into her back as prepared herself and the things around her.

"Thespia...

The witch straightened, her hands meeting in front of her, restraining her hitched breathing until her heartbeat returned to its usual pace before she began to chant.

"We walk in shadow, walk in blindness..."

As she recited a few sentences in English that was of no entertainment to those around her, she suddenly began to speak in a different language, sometimes laced with English. Lottie watched, with shining eyes, springing on the balls of her feet, looking entirely fascinated by the colors that radiated from, colors only she could see.

"Somewhere over the rainbow is my daddy."Lottie peered up at Calvin, her bouncing becoming more excited and her voice rising to a pitch that signaled that she was only going to become giddier."I want to climb."

Lottie sharply nodded to herself and started forward, only to be stopped by Calvin who placed his hands on her shoulders and murmured into her ear. When her eyes were glazed over in euphoria, when she couldn't contain herself from bouncing, and her tone was sharp it meant she was in a mood that, unless she obtained or got to consume what had caused the mood, her glee would ebb away until all she could see was red.

And Calvin, while he couldn't keep her in the mood that had her mind lucid—as lucid as it could get considering she saw the brightest colors and tried to snatch them—could only coax her to keep still. Urge her to contain the excitement with promises of greater, even more, vivid colors.

"But I can't wait."Lottie protested, mercurial as ever and her eyes darkened something dangerous."Why is it taking so-oh, look at that!"

The witch's head fell back, her brown orbs turning into a color they couldn't describe.

"Pretty."Lottie murmured, eyes bright.

Her chanting grew louder, the words falling from mouth quick and in a ramble that it was a surprise she had time to breath in-between them. Then the map started to burn at the edges, creeping closer and closer to the middle.

The delight in Lottie's eyes instantly faded and she released a horrified scream, reaching for Calvin with a desperate cry.

"Dancing flames, dancing flames but there's no partner. There's no daddy? No."Lottie shook her head fiercely, bottom lip quivering and her nails digging into Calvin's skin, almost slicing her way through."How can I dance with the flames when there's no daddy to lead?"

Her words, dripping with outrage and sounding menacing, mirrored what Calvin felt himself.

Still, he did his best to calm Lottie as he looked over at the witch, trying to gauge the situation.

"Give her a sec, boss."

Deborah suddenly let out a shrill scream, blood dripping from her nose and staggering before she fell to her knees. Everyone went quiet, the only sound that could be heard was panting that came from Deborah. She gasped for air, breathing in and out harshly as she trembled on the ground.

Nobody made a move to help her and, after a sharp look and a nudge from Lottie, Calvin made his way over to the witch.

"What's taking so long?"He demanded with a menacing tone, reaching down and aggressively grabbing the witch by the elbow, dragging Deborah to her feet."Boss is getting antsy-"

Deborah staggered at the force of his grip and reached up, wiping the blood from her face and roughly wrenching away from the male vampire. With a dangerous glint in his eye and a threatening step in her direction, Calvin snarled at the witch, only to come a sharp halt with Lottie clicked her tongue.

"It's okay, she's playing nice."Lottie held a hand out to the witch with an eager wiggle of her fingers."Gobble you up he will if you keep hogging the treats."

Deborah stepped forward, holding out Lottie's beloved necklace and, with a satisfied hum, Lottie reached out and snatched it from the witch, clasping it around her neck.

"Well?"Lottie instantly demanded after straightening her necklace, playing with the ring dangling from it, a feral glimmer in her eyes."Did you find my daddy?"

Deborah pursed her lips at Lottie's question and made her way over to the woman, slowing her pace before leaning down. Lottie turned when Deborah whispered her name and smiled when a familiar name was mumbled against her, simpering when the information followed.

"Oh, yeah."Lottie grinned slyly when Deborah pulled away, straightening and watching the hybrid closely."You found the breadcrumbs for me, clever girl."

Calvin sidled up beside his sire, glancing at Deborah as he inquired."What are we doing?"

"Fight the dragon and storm the castle, of course!"Lottie singsonged, clapping her hands together as she turned to face Calvin, garnering the attention from the other vampires."Come along!"

"You heard her!"Calvin motioned for the vampires to their stations, guiding his sire over to where the weapon cabinet was to oversee which ones they'd be using, tone softening when he inquired."How do you know she's telling the truth, boss?"

"'Because i'm unique, silly, I know emotions, expressions..."Lottie touched his cheek fondly, gliding away from Calvin with a simper, poking Deborah in the shoulder with a sharp nail, quirking a smile when the witch winced."Heartbeats."

She clapped her hands more sharply this time, and everyone began to load up their weapons. Deborah, in the midst of the chaos, rushed over to the hybrid when she noticed Lottie's attention was now more focused on the ring, her book clutched to her chest.

"Lottie, about our deal..."She stressed her words to gain Lottie's focus, offering the hybrid a ghost of a polite smile."you will keep your end of it, yes?"

"I'm a lady."Lottie blinked at the witch, the ring resting against her lips as she pecked it."Mummy did not raise me to act unladylike."

"The other witches..."Deborah trailed off with a hesitant sigh, her heart thumping against her ribcage."it's written about how you-OH!"

Blood spurted from Deborah's mouth as she felt something squirming in her chest and her heart lurched. Unable to keep herself from forming words, all she could do was whimper as it became hard to extract air from her lungs.

Arching forward as the squirming in her chest suddenly felt as if it were squeezing, Deborah could hear the slowing beatings of her heart echoing in her ears and faintly heard the sound of squelching an, as soon as she did, her heart stopped thumping against her ribcage.

"My mummy raised me to appreciate the gifts of life."

Her eyes went wide, her vision blurred and she dropped the grimoire as she slumped against Lottie who muttered to her about being silent as she stroked her hair.

"Shh, shh, shh..."Lottie murmured in a soothing tone, cradling the younger woman as if she were a child, rocking her back and forth as she felt her life slip away."Lottie's here."

Lottie breathily giggled as Deborah huffed out her final breath, forehead lolling against hers as the witch's face went pale, color draining from her face.

"Thank you for your gift. You're a good girl."

Then, with a harsh wrench, Lottie wrest the heart from the witch's chest.


Giles' Apartment

"We're out of Weetabix."

The former Watcher sighed as he tapped the pen against his notepad, murmuring goodbye to Buffy before hanging up, exhaling another tired breath. Rubbing his eyes before putting his glasses back on, Giles stifled a yawn as he looked down at the notepad that was covered in scribbles. He had gotten barely sleep in the past week because of how much chaos had gone on in his town.

Deaths.

So many deaths that didn't fit a pattern, no matter how much he tried to figure it out.

"Oi! Did you hear me?"Spike hollered from his place strapped to the chair, glaring at the younger male."We're out of Weetabix!"

"We are out of Weetabix because you ate it all."Giles calmly riposted, slight irritation in his voice as he got up and walked over to his bookshelf, kneeling down."Again."

"Get some more."Spike curtly ordered, shifting uncomfortably as much as he could on the chair with a sullen frown."I'm bleedin' starving over here."

Giles wiped a hand down his face with an exasperated sigh as he pulled out a book, flipping through pages he'd already gone through and reassured the urge to let out a string of curses when he realized he had.

"I thought vampires were supposed to eat blood."

Shrugging, Spike winced as the ropes tightened around his ankles when he attempted to fold them, grinning to himself when he succeeded.

"I like to crumble up the Weetabix in the blood—"Spike huffed out a sharp breath when he finally felt somewhat comfortable after being stuck in the same position for hours."gives it a little texture."

Giles' head snapped up at that, and he sent Spike a disgusted look, pushing up his glasses with his pointer finger.

"Since the picture you just painted means I will never touch food of any kind again, you'll just have to pick it up yourself."Giles stood up, no book in hand and made his way back over to his desk then stopped, turning around, looking a little smug."Oh, wait, you can't!"

Spike snorted in wryly."Sissy. It's not like you got anything else to be useful for. Or anyone else."

Giles spun around and glared at Spike with such irrigation that the vampire, who was peering up at Giles with the most innocuous, innocent expression he could muster—an expression that made Giles even more enraged—let the patently false he donned drop and allowed the callous glee flickering in his eyes to seep through.

"I have you know, that i'm highly equipped at dealing with a stake."

Tongue running along his blunt teeth, Spike's smile faltered into his fabled wily smirk."Oh, Rupert, you got me quaking in my boots."

Giles glowered at the vampire and opened his mouth to retort, only to snap it shut when a sharp, shrill scream resounded throughout the foyer outside his front door.

A woman's scream.

A scream of complete and pure terror.

The ex-Watcher almost jumped out of his skin and let out a barely audible gasp while Spike sat comfortably in his chair, ankle still locked over the other, feet rocking to and fro and luxuriating in the dread radiating off of Giles.

"What was that?"

"...seriously?"Spike blinked up at Giles in disbelief, taking a moment to indulge himself in the fear clouding in Giles' eyes before he huffed out a chuckle."Almost five years as a so-so Watcher, you don't know the scream of a terrified bint about to be slaughtered by a..."

Spike trailed off when fists started to pound against the front door so stopped himself when fists began to beat on the door so insistently that the door started to shake in the doorframe. Giles all but jumped back, almost tripping over his own feet and catching himself before he fell.

"HELP ME, PLEASE!"A woman's voice, croaky from her screams and laced with sheer horror, rung in their ears."IT'S AFTER ME..."

Letting out a relieved sigh that it wasn't a vampire growling at his door and trying to break it down, Giles was quick to react to a damsel in distress. Rounding Spike, he grabbed one of the many stakes from the large wooden chest and crossbow, deftly loading it up.

He began to make his way to the door, only to turn back and look at Spike, the determination in his expression faltering somewhat.

"D-Do you want to h-help, perhaps?"

The vampire stared up at him expectancy, brows raised and seeming less than fazed by the plight they had been whirled up in.

"I'm a little tied up at the moment, mate."

Giles swallowed at his response and nonchalance, grip tightening on the weapons in his hands and cried out when the banging started up once more.

"HELP ME, PLEASE! PLEASE! I CAN HEAR IT...IT'S COMING!"

Giles, again, was quick to react and proceeded to rush over to the door, unlocking the latches and turning the key, pocketing it quickly. He glanced out of the window then promptly opened up the door as much as he could to check outside, revealing a young brunette woman with tears running down her cheeks.

"Are you-"

"Thank you!"The woman gasped out with a watery sigh of relief, bloodshot eyes welled with tears smiled."I don't know...I don't know what happened, I was walking home and this man—no, he was a beast! He jumped out at me and tried to bite me. I got away, but he chased me. I'm so sorry!"

"No, no, no, please! Are you hurt?"Giles didn't wait for a reply; instead, he quickly stepped back inside his home, looking over the woman's shoulder and arm outstretched just in case the vampire had followed her."C-Come in, please, I have a friend who lives a few minutes from here that can help."

He gestured to the inside of his home, waiting for the woman to enter, blocking the doorframe as he chanced poking his head out to double check that there was no immediate danger.

"Thank you so much!"Giles heard the woman say as she lingered behind him, the fear in her voice quickly subsiding in.

Giles retreated from the doorframe to glance back at the woman over his shoulder, managing a fatherly smile.

"Please, take a seat!"

Wiping the wetness from her cheeks, the woman offered Giles a winsome smile in response before she rotated on her heels, turning around to amble further into his apartment.

And her eyes doe eyes lit up in pure delight as her gaze zeroed in on Spike, who was looking down at his boots in a bored manner, slumped forward against the ropes. Lottie's breathing hitched at the sight of him and, with a skip in her step and a cheerful laugh, she frolicked towards him.

"Daddy!...you've been hiding from me!"

Lottie's smile broadened when Spike froze at her voice, instantly recognizing it and unconsciously responding it by slowly raising his head with a shaky breath, the tension alleviating from his shoulders. Lottie hummed low in her throat as she descended to her knees in front of the male vampire, hands clamping down on his knees and pulling at the ropes with a huff.

"But i found you."

A startled gasp left Spike as his eyes fixed on the female vampire, gaze flickering over the all too familiar features before settling on the beaming grin she directed at him.

"Lottie."He murmured to himself, it almost stifled by the jubilant laughed he bellowed, inclining as much as he could to close the distance between them."Baby..."

Lottie straightened on her knees to meet him halfway, reaching up to cup Spike's face in her hands before she tenderly kissed his cheek.

"Lost and found!"

Giles felt a rush of wariness cascade over him as an eerie giggle followed the statement and his mouth downturned into a deep frown. He inclined his head in confusion, instincts pointing out that there was no trace of fear in her voice and the tears had instantly stopped when she'd entered his home.

His door shut halfway, Giles' came to a sharp halt and slowly turned to face the woman, heartbeat speeding up when she noticed the smiles being shared between the two.

"W-What do you-"

He swallowed his words as his legs buckled, dropping the crossbow and struggling to stay upright as pain soared throughout his body. Giles' teeth ground together as he collapsed against his desk, books and phone clattering to the floor. Breathing coming out in short, sharp pants, Giles looked down at where the pain had started to see an arrow sticking out of his thigh, blood spurting from the wound.

"Oh, that...that is not good."

Vision shaking, Giles turned his head when he heard a dark chuckle come from the doorway and his eyes went wide when he saw a handful of vampires stood outside his door, the ringleader holding a crossbow of his own.

"Boss, you gotta work fast. We ain't got much time!"

His vision glazing over as he slumped to the ground, Giles panted for breath as he tried to hold onto conscious, faintly hearing the sound of Spike chuckling and Lottie crooning as she keenly unbound the male vampire from his restraints.

Oh, bloody hell.


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