Part 14: Revelations

Buffy yawned, stretching in her chair like a languid cat. "My sentiments exactly, Buff." Xander said, tossing the book he'd been reading onto the table along with the others stacked there. "We've been researching all night and we still haven't found anything useful on the ascension. I think we should turn in. We can not-find-stuff tomorrow."

"I second that." Buffy added with another yawn. "The words on the page are getting all fuzzy I'm so tired."

"Come on guys, graduation is just a few days away and we still aren't ready for it." Willow said. "Drink some caffeine and buck up!" The two other teens glared at her. "All right, all right. It is a little late for resolve-face-Willow."

Suddenly the doors to the library burst open and Spike practically ran inside, carrying the unconscious body of a girl in his arms. He pushed past the Scoobies, knocking all the books off the table and placing the girl down gently to lie on top of it.

"Bri!" Willow gasped when she saw the girl's face. Then she saw the blood covered T-shirt and glared accusingly at Spike. But it was Xander who spoke up.

"What did you do to her?" he demanded angrily.

"Nothing, whelp!" Spike shot. "Where's the watcher?"

"Spike? What are you-" Wesley and Giles emerged from the office and once the older watcher saw Bri's body on the table, he rushed to her side. "What happened?" he growled, also looking at the vampire accusingly.

Spike ignored the daggers all the Scoobies were shooting at him with their eyes and looked seriously at Giles. "I woke up cause she was mumbling in her sleep…" Again the vampire had to ignore the gasps from the people that surrounded him. "and in the dream she got stabbed in the heart and when she woke up…" He pointed to the crimson stain on her shirt. The watcher moved to inspect it. "There's no wound. No reason for the blood. She said it hurt…she passed out on the way over, I guess from the pain."

Giles' brow furrowed. "This dream…what exactly did she tell you about it?"

"Well…nothing actually… See, I had the same dream a while back. It was intense…I could see her…feel what she felt even when they stabbed her. Nothing like this happened but…I could still feel the pain in my chest."

"How do you know it was the same dream?" Willow asked, staying calm despite all the questions she had about Bri and Spike's 'relationship'.

"I just know." The vampire said softly.

Giles and Wesley exchanged a knowing look. The older watcher glanced back at Spike, finding him staring worriedly at Bri's still form. "She'll be fine. I know what this is." He said.

"Well would you like to clue the rest of us in?" Xander asked.

"Later. After Bri wakes up. This is between she and Spike, I'm afraid. It's best if all of you head home now. I need to speak with Spike alone."

"Whoa! If you think we're gonna leave you with Spike-"

"This is not up for discussion, Buffy." Giles stated firmly.

The slayer opened her mouth to protest but thought better of it at her watcher's stern look. "Come on guys." She said, leading the other two teens out of the library.

Once they were gone, Giles let out a long sigh and removed his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. "If you'd like to, Spike, we can talk in my office?"

"I'm not leaving her." Spike said, never taking his eyes from Bri. "I know you don't approve but…can we save the lectures until she's awake and I know she's OK?"

"Spike, I have no intention of lecturing you. Can we just talk?" The watcher motioned to his office. "You can bring her in here to lay on the sofa. It should be more comfortable." The vampire nodded, picking Bri up carefully and carrying her into the office. He lay her down on the leather couch and grabbed Giles' desk chair, positioning it beside her and took her hand. Giles sighed and sat on the corner of his desk with Wesley leaning in the doorway. "How long have you two been…together?"

"Little over two months."

"How'd you meet?"

Spike looked at the watcher curiously, wondering why all the questions, but complied, being too worried and tired to object. "I was passing through Virginia and heard there was a new slayer…of course I was fascinated. I watched her for about a week, had my minions watch her too. All the while I tried to convince myself I was just researching for another kill. But I knew deep down that wasn't it. One night I actually talked to her and…I felt it immediately."

"Felt what?"

"I can't describe it really." Spike said thoughtfully. "But it's bloody amazing…like spending twenty minutes in a hot tub and then jumping into a cold pool, you know? It's that kind of extreme rush but it's also a very calm and soothing feeling. It's not just love…it's something more."

Giles listened to the vampire talk, glancing over at Wesley occasionally to silently convey that this was what they'd been waiting for. "Spike…have you ever heard of the Liurenian Prophecies?" The vampire shook his head. "Well, they're a collection of ancient prophecies foretelling the coming of what they call 'The Balance'. The Balance is a period of centuries in which a couple will rule over the world- or the underworld, at least, that demons and slayers walk in. Their purpose is to equalize the power between the forces of good and evil so that neither side is more powerful. This couple was told as being a slayer and a vampire whose love bonded them together despite their status as enemies. We already know that Bri is the foretold slayer. There were several signs prophesizing her coming. But we were unsure until now who the vampire was."

"Me." Spike said quietly. "So let me get this straight…Bri and I were…destined to be together?"

"Yes. You're bonded deeper than most."

"And together you will rule for centuries, keeping the balance between the sides but not actually battling for either side." Wesley explained.

"But Bri's mortal…"

Giles and Wesley exchanged looks. "That is one part we're unsure about. Just this evening we found a prophecy relating to that. It seems that…she will die." The older watcher said.

"Quite soon. We estimate around the time of the ascension, which would explain these dreams. They could be prophetic." Wesley said thoughtfully.

"When she dies we're unsure what happens. The prophecy was unclear. We do know that you play some role and given that all other foretellings speak of both of you ruling, we suppose her death will not be permanent."

"She could be turned, she could be resurrected, or she could remain in her essence form."

"Like a ghost?" Spike exclaimed, chagrined.

"Yes. Unless of course her death is averted."

Spike was silent, his blue eyes wide and staring straight ahead blankly as he was deep in thought. "Bloody sodding hell." He mumbled.

"I realize that this is a lot to take in at once." Giles said.

"Why did this happen to her?" Spike asked suddenly, nodding towards Bri's unconscious body. "Is this something to do with this Balance thing?"

"In a way, yes. Slayers usually have prophetic dreams. But in this instance, given her unusual circumstances and the gravity of dreaming of her own death, its understandable that there would be a physical manifestation. It's not uncommon. She should awake any moment. The bleeding's stopped."

"And she doesn't know about any of this?"

"No."

Suddenly there was a soft moan from the couch and Bri's eyes slowly opened. She peered around curiously at her surroundings before focusing on Spike. "Hey there, pet. How're you feeling?"

"Kinda icky. But better. What happened?" she asked, sitting up on the couch.

Spike chuckled. "You've got a lot of catching up to do, love."

"Things are progressing quite well I think. Everything's going just as planned." The Mayor said as he gazed at the large black box in front of him. He looked up at the deputy mayor, his usual cheery grin spread across his unaging features. "How's that committee coming along? For the slayers?"

"Almost ready, sir. I'm sorry it's taken a bit longer than expected. It's hard to find anyone willing to go up against two slayers."

"Well we should concentrate our efforts on the new one. Being recently called, she's less experienced and less of a threat. Let the committee handle her and leave the other, more adept slayer to the professionals."

"Yes, sir."

"So take care of that…and soon. Before she's more trouble than she's worth."

Author's Note: Sorry the chapter's so short. But I wanted to get it out while I had the little bit of time I did. But it's a really important chapter so I hope that makes up for it's shortness. Please keeping reviewing! Your comments are very helpful. ( Especially Sarr Chasm's. J )