Author's note:this is a chapter with a little bit about Alex's past, someone just told me how she thought Alex had a crush on Spike. That's kinda squicky for me if you want to know why, read on...


Chapter IX - Fights in the Park


In a Czech Cemetery:

"If you see a vampire, you alert Spike or me, okay?" Buffy clarified with Alex. The younger girl gave Buffy a skeptical look.

"You allow me to come with you on your patrol and I just get to watch?" Alex asked incredulously.

"If I had my way..." Buffy mumbled under her breath.

The only reason Alex was with them was she didn't want to leave the teenager in their room by herself. Her overprotective nature shinning through.

A couple of nights ago Buffy and Spike had in search for a cemetery but had come across this park instead. It seemed to be the local hot spot and that was good enough for them, after all they just need a little rough and tumble.

A vampire emerged from somewhere in the brush. Spike signaled to Buffy that this guy was his.

"Need a spot o' violence." he grinned.

He stopped suddenly when the vampire looked around; he was joined by another in full game face.

"Now where did those boys get off to?" his voice accented with lower class English, coarser than Spike's.

"Damn suicidal idiots, power hungry mongrels." the second one added. "Who'd go around accepting' money from doctors like Lewis to go after a slayer."

Buffy's eyes widened. Spike strode out of the hiding place and faced the two vamps.

"Dinner!" he declared and took after Spike. He was in full game face. Buffy noted that Alex didn't flinch as the vampire showed its true face, though the girl was probably familiar with slayer-lore, it was hard to get used to the thing. Buffy, herself, had taken a while.

The master vampire regarded the newly risen, inexperienced vampire with scorn.

"Hah!" Spike growled in his most menacing voice.

"Don't mock me mortal!" the vamp roared. "For I am far superior compared to you! Pitiful human!"

In front of him, Spike tried very had to keep a straight face, a few yards away Buffy and Alex giggled as soundlessly as they could.

"Please, you can even tell one of your own." Spike immediately shifted to show his demon and back to his human visage in a matter of milliseconds.

Beside her, the slayer heard Alex let in a sharp in take of breath.

"How did you-?"

Spike promptly speared him with a hidden stake.

"Not like I'm gonna tell you, mate." he quipped.

He then turned to the other one.

"Now," he said. "Who sent you?"

The vamp just stared at him.

"You just killed one of your own!" he cried fearfully. "Don't you 'ave no shame?"

Spike shook his head.

"None that I know off, mate." he said rather conversationally. Then, quite unexpectedly, he grabbed the vamp by his throat and slammed him against a tree.

Buffy had once wondered if strength developed in vampires, watching this, she knew. Spike held the vampire up in the air, about two feet off the ground, with one hand.

The inexperienced vamp sputtered at the master vampire, clearly he freaked out of his wits, and not that he had many to speak of.

"Now, who sent you?"

"D-d-doctor Lewis." he said. "Some crazy bint back in Dover."

Spike tightened his grip.

"Tha's all she said. She said Doctor Lewis that's it." The vamp stammered. "She 'ad a couple of younger people with 'er, couple o' younger doctors by the looks of it."

Spike nodded, this was also done casually.

"Now, why did she send you?" he asked.

The vamp whimpered.

"Why?" demanded Spike viciously.

The vamp attempted a shrug, and then winced in pain as Spike squeezed harder around his neck.

"I don't know, we were told only to bring 'er back the slayer and some bloke name o' Spike." he said desperately. "Please, please don't kill me; I don't know why, I'm just the muscle."

Spike staked him.

"Not much of one." he said.

he turned back to the two girls.

"Lewis sent 'em" he said. "I'm presuming that's our doc?"

Buffy nodded.

"Bugger." he swore. "She sent them and it looks like there'll be a few more."

"Next one's mine." she called.

Another appeared in full game face.

"Hank!" he called out clearly meaning the new vampire Spike had just staked. "Hank!"

"All yours, pet." Spike said.

Buffy was about to jump out of their hiding place when about five other vampires appeared.

"What happened to 'Ank?" asked one of the vampires.

"Someone got 'im!" another answered. "I saw the one! 'e was a 'uman, 'e was!"

"'Es the one!" one of the vamps declared pointing at spike. The others turned and spotted Him. "'e killed 'Ank!"

"Alex!" Buffy commanded. Without turning to the girl next to her."Go to the playground."

"But-"

"Go!"

Alex hesitated. she looked at Spike who was already fighting of two of the six. she shot a look at Buffy and darted of in the direction of the playground. she knew to heed the slayer's words. they had saved her, and all of them, many times before.

In the Play ground:

She could hear the battle going on behind her.

Suddenly the one of the vampires fighting with Spike fled. Puzzled Spike hurriedly staked the other one and took off after the fleeing vampire.

The vamp stopped in the middle of a clearing, a playground.

"Girl!" called the vampire.

Spike froze. Alex.

"Come out, poppet!" shouted the vampire who started poking around. "I know you're 'ere, poppety! Come out!"

"What? And spare you the fun of looking for me?" Alex said suddenly. Appearing behind the vampire. Spike was about to yell out to her to get away when Alex gracefully round housed the vamp. He flew five feet and landed painfully on its behind.

"Demiphyr." it hissed painfully.

"You'd better bloody believe it." Alex replied. "And by the way it's damphyr. Get it right."

"We've been waiting for you." the vampire jumped back up. Spike realized that Alex did not have a stake.

"My compliments to your sire, seer." the girl responded dodging the vampire's blow effortlessly.

"We are sent to kill you!"

Alex seemed to think for a moment.

"Hmmmm, where have heard that before?" she kicked the vampire again. "Oh! Yeah! It was on the other hundred million claims on my life. Well, guess what, vampire, I'm still alive."

"You have not a stake, child." the vampire one of the kicks the vamp threw at her hit and the girl flew back. Suddenly the vampire seemed to get the upper hand. Alex's once expert blows became desperate as she backed up into a tree. The vamp grabbed her and spun her around so she was facing the tree. Spike was about to intervene when he realized the girl's plan.

"Spike?" Buffy appeared next to the vampire. "Where's al-Ohmigod!"

The slayer was about to run in and save the day when Spike pulled her back. She turned to him incredulously.

"Spike?" she demanded. "Hello? Have you lost control of what's left of your brain?"

"Slayer," he said. "She's got it all under control.

"Say goodbye, damphyr." the vamp laughed. He looked well pleased with himself.

Alex confirmed Spike's guess by grabbing a branch above her and running up the trunk, flipping over the vamp and landing with perfect cat-like grace.

"Goodbye." she shoved the branch into the vampire who was, now, staring stunned at her.

Astonished as he was, he wasn't nearly as stunned as Buffy and Spike were.

"She fights like you, slayer." Spike commented.

Buffy shot him a look. The spectacle in front of them was over. But Alex didn't relax. She stayed alert; she turned a full three hundred sixty degrees looking for any others.

That's when she spotted, Buffy and Spike. She at least had the grace to look sheepish.

"Buffy." she nodded. She pasted a very big very fake smile on her face. "Spike."

"A little something you've missed out on sharing, minion?" Spike inquired.

Alex grimaced. Spike was looking at her sternly, just now he reminded her of her father. he reminded her a lot of her father.

"Sharing?" she responded innocently.

Spike raised an eyebrow.

"Alex." he said. "What's a damphyr?"

She tried not to blanche, she had sincerely been hoping that they had not heard that part, it was not the time to tell them.

"A damphyr?" Buffy spoke up looking confusedly at Spike. "The vamp said something about a damphyr? I just saw a beating and a POOF" Buffy accented this by making a stabbing motion with her hand and a poofing motion followed. "By the way where did you learn to fight like that? You aren't a Slayer are you? I mean cause then we'd have three... of course Faith is-"

"Slayer?" Spike interrupted. "You're babbling."

"Am I?" Buffy asked. The two in front of her nodded. "Sorry."

Alex bit her lip, she wondered if this was the opportune moment to tell them... she came to her conclusion.

It was time... but oh God, what is she was wrong what if- Alex! Not more stalling she took a deep breath.

"My... mother," she started. "Taught me to fight. She was a slayer."

Well... it was true...

"And what's a damphyr?" Spike repeated.

His tone suggested that he knew perfectly well what a damphyr was but wanted to her what she was going to say, see if she was mistaken. After all, she could not be a damphyr herself. Damphyrs were only myths. her mother's watcher had thought so too, until her birth of course.

Alex's shoulder's slumped.

"A damphyr is a hybrid." she said quietly. "Half human and half-" Alex hesitated.

"Half?" Buffy encouraged.

"Vampire."

The allies in front of her stared. The information sinking in.

"But that's not possible." Spike replied after a while.

Buffy remained silent.

"Actually," Alex said. She closed her eyes for a second steeling herself for what she knew was to come. "It is. I'm living proof of that. Granpa-my mother's watcher found an ancient text saying that it was fully possible, but it demands certain rituals and it can only happen between a vampire and a slayer. Only the slayer would have enough strength to carry a vampire's baby around for nine months. The reason it happened to my mother is because she was the only slayer to have relations outside her watcher."

"A vampire and a Slayer..." Buffy said. She suddenly remembered Angel. If he had known maybe then he would never hav- stop it, Buffy! Stop it! You have enough to worry about! She yelled at herself.

Spike stared at her in disbelief.

"If that's the case." Buffy said. "Then who are your parents?"

Alex took another deep breath; she had been doing that quite often for the past few minutes.

"I would have thought that would've been obvious, Buffy." she said.

"Indulge her." Spike managed to say.

Alex hesitated.

"You are."

This time the silence was so thick you could have cut it with a knife.

Suddenly everything snapped into place.

At least for Buffy.

that was why she looked so familiar, that was why she reminded Buffy of Spike, that was why she got on so good with Spike, that was why the both of them, vampire and Slayer had such an inkling to protect her. In some weird freaky, unexplainable way, it made sense.

Spike however, was not convinced.

"But that's impossible." Spike managed to say.

Alex turned to him chewing on her bottom lip.

"I can't have kids." he said.

Alex nodded then looked down, the looked back up to Buffy, silently prompting that slayer. Cuing her, telling her that this was the opportune moment to jump in with her big revelation.

"While we're being honest and all." Buffy cut in. she needed to get it of her chest. She had to tell Spike. He had a right to know. Okay, Summers, don't chicken out this time. "Spike, there is something I have to tell you."

Spike turned to her, his eyes wide.

Buffy looked down.

"Uhm, I'm not sure how you'll-"she trailed off watching the memories all played across Spike's face.

"You're pregnant aren't you?" he asked. His voice was different that she'd expected. not only was he surprised, an emotion Buffy has never seen him express, but it was soft and proper, a voice she was not used to hearing coming from Spike, like he was astonished, and wasn't quite sure how to react. "And its mine."

She couldn't speak, just nodded; she could not meet his eyes either. Instead she focused on a small spot of ground. Her view of the grass was soon obstructed by a pair of scuffed black combat boots. She exhaled and steeled herself for the maelstrom. She was a slayer, dammit, and she was not going to be afraid of any reaction of any vampire. That he was the father of the child she was now carrying was immaterial.

Whatever she was expecting it wasn't this.

Spike's smile was so genuine her breath actually caught in her throat.

"Buffy, that's wonderful." he said before he hugged her. then, suddenly remembering who he was and who he was hugging, he let go looking a little sheepish. the whole thing lasted only a moment.

But in that moment, Buffy felt lighter that she had ever felt in her life, as if the weight of the world had been lifted for just the barest of moments.

Another curious thing to note was that she had hugged him back.