{This is based on Bram Stoker's Dracula, some of the characters have needed some of their personalities fixed slightly, but they should be all relatively similar. I own nothing. Thankyou so much for the positive reviews! I hope this continues to live up to any expectations! Apologies for the delay, my muse went walkabout. Threatening reviews also welcome :) }

Chapter 6

"1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10! Coming! Ready or not-!" The fair haired girl shouted out, coming out from behind a tree ready to look for her older brother and his friend. From a little way of, the two boys looked at each other and grinned, she'd never find them there.

After about 10 minutes of hiding, the girl started getting impatient. "Ben?! Where are you?!" All she got in response was the damp silence of the forest, she shivered as a cold wind came over her "Ben?! Martin?!" again, no response. She rubbed her bare arms and tugged at her skirt, biting her lip in anxiety. Mummy would be cross if she found out they'd come into the woods, her parents always told her not to, but she'd followed Ben and Martin, making them take them with her, they'd brought her there and said to play hide-and-seek. Now she was scared.

"Cut it out! It isn't fun anymore!" She cried, all that happened in response was a few birds flew from the trees "Ben! Martin! Where are you?"

She hopped over a rotting log and pushed her way through some trees, she'd found the path again and sighed. Ben and Martin were no where to be seen. She crossed the path and pushed through some more trees, a man was lying half dressed with his face half in the mud. He was covered in cuts, bruises and dried blood. A number of nasty, rather deep wounds decorated his torso, some crusting, and some bleeding. Her lip trembled, bile rose in her throat and she started stepping backwards. Her mouth opened and she let a scream rip, almost shaking the trees with the amount of terror inside it.

"Buffy?!" The Angel's face rose off the ground slightly, his eyes squinted and tried to see what was going on. He tried to spit the mud out of his mouth "Buffy? Where are you?" He croaked, a little girl stood not far off, her young face a picture of terror. Two boys came running to stand with her, their eyes wide as they stared at him.

"…go get mum!" One of the boys said breathlessly, the other turned and ran.

---

The phone rang, Buffy ran to answer it, wondering if it was news about Anya. She'd been to visit her friend yesterday and found her condition incredibly worrying. Faith informed her that a doctor from England would be coming that day, Buffy hoped he was doing his job well.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Buffy Summers?"

"Speaking, who is this?"

"My name is Anne Bailey, I'm a doctor at Ipswich hospital in Suffolk, England. Your fiancée Angel O'Conner came in here a few hours ago, he was found in some woods nearby by some local children, he was suffering extreme blood loss, wounds and exhaustion, he's in a stable condition and he told us that you're his next of kin. He wishes you to come to England to see him, he believes you're in a great amount of danger and what's you to be married immediately."

"I…I see"

As the doctor told Buffy about Angel's condition and when he was going to be discharged, her thoughts and stomach churned. Angel was alive and well, she had to go see him. She was going to be married. Spike, what about Spike?

He cannot know about me and Spike…

---

When the troubled blonde woman went to the door of Anya's house, Xander answered it.

"Hey, how's Anya?"

"Better, I think…she's awake and talking and stuff…"

"Good! Can I see her?"

"Sure, come right on through"

"Thanks, would you mind getting some water for these?"

"No problem…she loves bluebells doesn't she?"

Buffy smiled warmly at him. She could tell the last few days had been a big strain on him, and she didn't blame him for looking half dead. She walked past him and jogged up the stairs to get to Anya's room. The door was open and Buffy could see that someone had put flowers in there; she smiled and knocked on the doorframe as she entered.

"Ah, you must be Buffy" A middle aged man with greying hair and spectacles smiled at her from the balcony window, Faith stood just outside with a lit cigarette in a hand and she waved her hand in a slight wave

"Hey B"

"Hi, how is she?"

"She can speak for herself!" Anya said croakily from the bed, Buffy smiled widely and went to sit in the chair next to the bed.

"Ahn! You're awake"

"Yeah, and feeling grouchy, are you aware that I had a blood transfusion in this room? My blood could have all dried up if it'd been the wrong kind"

"But it didn't, and that my dear, is what counts" The doctor said, Faith smirked and Anya rolled her eyes

"Hm…your glowing Buffy…you've heard from Angel haven't you!?"

Buffy's smile widened further and she blushed slightly "Yes, but…not so much in a way of good, he's alive, but they found him in some woods covered in animal bites, I'm meant to go over there, and get married immediately…but I can't leave you, your too sick"

"Buffy! You've got to go to him, you've got to marry him, and love him, and have lots of sex with him, and have lots of children, and call your first daughter Anya after me!"

Buffy laughed, but there were tears in her eyes. Anya slipped a ring off her finger and pressed it into Buffy's hand "I want you to have that, it's my wedding present…sorry it's not a toaster"

"No Anya…"

"Don't worry about me! I've got my Xander, and Oz is here, and Mr Giles, and Faith…what could go wrong? Tell Angel, oceans of love"

Buffy bit her lip and went to kiss Anya on the cheek, Anya smiled at her "GO!" the blonde haired woman smiled at her friend and got up.

"Get better soon!"

"I will"

"Love you"

"Love you to, sis. Now stop plaguing me and go plague Angel!"

Buffy laughed, then, her eyes met her friends for a second before she turned and left.

Xander came in on her way out with the flowers in a glass vase. "For my special girl" He grinned, Anya turned and smiled at him. Then noticed the necklace tied tightly at her throat.

"Ugh! This is why I can't breathe…garlic?!" She started clawing at it desperately, in a split second Giles was by her side, holding her hands to prevent her from taking it off

"Shh…it's medicinal, to help you sleep"

"Its garlic"

"Hey, this'll cheer you up, Oz-man is here to see you" Xander said faux cheerfully, in an attempt to distract her. The blue haired man came into the room, he smiled at Faith who nodded her head, and walked over to Anya's side.

"Oz!" Anya beamed at him, he smiled weakly

"Hey Ahn"

Giles nodded absently and went back onto the balcony. He took off his spectacles and cleaned them.

"I have to go Ahn, but I'll be back later don't worry. Need to change and sort some stuff out at work okay?" Xander bent down, kissed Anya's forehead then left the room. Oz sat down in the chair which Buffy had previously inhabited.

"Xander asked me to come watch over you, so you'd better calm down or I'll get kicked out by the doctor. Agreed?"

"Of course" She smiled at him "Now…haven't you got a kiss for me Oz? I won't be unmarried much longer…so have you got a kiss for me?"

Oz smiled and went in to kiss her cheek, Anya's eyes glinted manically for a second and suddenly Oz got the weird sensation that Anya was trying to bite his neck, her hands grabbed at him and he felt her teeth graze his skin, he let out a grunt of surprise and discomfort and pulled away sharply, she hissed and tried to bite him properly, but once again Giles was pulling her down.

"Way…way, un-cool" Oz said breathlessly, rubbing his neck. Faith stood by him, looking disturbed

"Get off me!" Anya howled as Giles held her down.

"Shh…sleep Anya, sleep now…shh…" A few seconds past and her eyes shut, she had fallen asleep. Giles warily pulled her upper lip up slightly to reveal a pair of fangs protruding from the gums where her regularly sized incisors had once been. He nodded gravely.

"…nosferatu…"

---

Spike sat in the bar he and Buffy had drank wine in the previous night. She was late this evening, but it didn't matter, he knew he was winning her heart, he could see it in her eyes, smell it on her, and when they danced…it was as if the stars stopped shining on the world, saving their mystical power to bring him and her together.

A bar maid walked over with a bottle of wine and a glass, a folded up piece of paper was on the tray. She put the bottle and the glass down, then handed the paper to the attractive man with bleached hair. He frowned slightly but opened it up. It was from Buffy, she must have called the bar and asked them to pass on a message. Dread settled in his stomach.

Dear William,

Forgive me. I got a call from a hospital in England, my fiancée is alive and I am to go and join him so we may be married. I will never see you again.

- Elizabeth

Shivering as he folded up the note, he felt the dread turn to despair and salt stung his eyes, he let out a sob, and tears began to fall. Complete despair.

---

Buffy tried to sleep on the plane, but her thoughts were working overtime, and they all went back to Spike. It felt like he was with her now, his voice talking to her about all manner of things. She knew that never before had she felt so alive, with Angel…she felt like a teenager in love, but with Spike…it was so much more, she knew him yet did not, she felt a deep connection that couldn't be traced. Getting married did not seem nearly as exciting as it once had, more like a chore she could not avoid. And Angel…what was to be done?

Maybe you're just a bad, inconsistent woman Buffy thought bitterly, closing her eyes once again.

---

Sitting in Faith's study or demon library as she called it, Giles opened a particularly musty book which he carried with him everywhere. On the worn, leather cover, gold lettering spelled out 'Vampyre'. It was dark outside now, the room was lit only by a single lamp and Giles checked that the window to the outside world was shut and locked before he began reading the book.

Thumbing his way through the pages, he came to the one he was looking for. Lord William Rayne, William The Bloody, Spike. He was married and was trying to find a cure for the plague, be believed it was a disease of the blood and was studying various samples to try and find a cure. After his wife committed suicide he denounced God, and became a vampyre, a monster. His first victim was a mutual friend of him and his wife in life, Winifred Burkle, he set fire to her house, then when she came outside he seduced her, and drank her blood.

"…The blood is the life" Giles muttered to himself, "Her blood is the life…"

A sudden wind picked up, Giles could hear it howling outside, it made the lamp shake and he felt the hair on his neck rise.

"Its Rayne, the monster I have pursued my whole life" A dark smile took over his features "Couldn't be anything save him…"

In an instant he was up and headed for the living room. Faith lay on the couch watching MTV, and she looked up when Giles came into the room, an odd eccentricity seemed to have taken him, his eyes gleamed with a grim excitement.

"It is him, it is Rayne"

"Shit…we gotta go up to Anya's then huh?"

"Immediately! Now! Hurry!" He ushered Faith to get up and pulled on his coat "Whether she lives or dies depends on how fast we get up there! Time is of the essence"

"Alright! I won't take a bathroom stop then huh?"

Giles was already out of the door and on the way to Faith's car. Faith pulled on her leather jacket and jogged after him, sliding into the driving seat and starting the engine. The journey was a tense silence as Faith pushed the speed limit as much as possible, hurriedly slowing down in areas where she knew the police would be congregating. They eventually pulled up at Anya's house, Giles was out of the car even as Faith was parking, running up to the front door. Oz answered, and Faith saw his concern as Giles pushed past him. Faith ran to join them. She got into the hall just as Giles was explaining to Xander and Oz what was going on.

"You had both best guard her well tonight, for I fear it may already be to late. Anya is changing, into a bitch of the devil. A whore of darkness"

"Hey, watch your mouth" Xander snapped

"Listen! Anya is not a random victim to an illness, we have already established that a monster is hunting her. But there is more, she is a willing victim, a devil's concubine. Do you understand? We must guard her" He paused and cleaned his glasses "However, not on an empty stomach. Faith, I'm starving"

Xander's eyes bugged as he stared at the man "You…what?"

"Call a pizza or whatever it is you Americans eat! Quickly!"