3000, an unknown amount of time later

In a place halfway between dreams and consciousness, I turn over, inhaling the familiar scent of my lover and burying my head in his chest. With my movements, a whimper is elicited from my partner's throat, and my eyes fly open as memories of where I am and what's happening rush back in abundance.

"Spike?" I caress his shoulder. For some reason, I can't fathom a day without his body next to mine.

"Mmmm. Everything hurts." His voice is deep with pain, and all I want to do is take that pain away, but I know I can't.

I settle for simple understanding. "I know, sweetie. I love you."

"I love you, pet, always." His lips brush mine in reassurance that he's still very much alive.

"You know something?"

"Hmmm." His lids are heavy with the need for further healing sleep.

"When you were thrown in with all the injuries and I had to set you arm and leg, I sort of thought of you as my husband," I murmur with a slight bit of embarrassment.

In a stark contrast to their earlier state, his eyes are suddenly wide. Amusement tinges his next words, "Oh, really?"

"Yeah. Even though you're technically not."

His mouth covers mine with tenderness, and I melt into him as our movements intensify. When I am about to fall willingly over the edge and make love to him then and there, he lets out a hiss of pain, and I note that his broken arm has stiffened in its path over me.

He sighs reluctantly. "If I were up to snuff, you'd be ravished right now, miss."

A giggle tumbles forth, and I can't resist kissing and licking the scar along his eyebrow. "I know. Consider yourself in possession of a nice fat rain check for just that."

"And it's a virtual guarantee that I'll cash in." A faint smile overlays his grimace of pain.

Cautiously relocating his wounded but healing arm around my waist, I press close to him. The world of dreams threatens to overcome me, but I force myself to remain alert. Sleep is the least of the matters that needs attendance.

I find myself asking the same question I asked of Lydia who is unmoving below us. "What happened?"

His quiet laughter is as sarcastic as his words, "Amy is a witch."

"I know that; what did she do to you?" I peer up into his blue eyes, which are dark with swirls of emotion in the dim lighting. The puffiness is greatly reduced, and the skin on his face has already regenerated.

"What's it look like she did?" He smirks.

If he weren't so hurt, I'd have punched his arm, but instead, I settle for kissing his barely healed cheeks. "Why?"

"Better question, love." His lids close and a concentrated line forms in his forehead as he shifts his broken leg. "She wanted the magic in me. . . to add to her own power source."

"Magic in *you*?" I am surprised by this revelation.

"Yeah. I've done magic before, remember?" He notices my lingering puzzlement and adds, "The church, Drusilla, Angel."

My eyebrows lift. "How could I forget?" I certainly will never forget the night Spike tried to kill Angel to save Drusilla's unlife after she was nearly killed in Prague. He'd tied Angel and Drusilla together to perform a magical ritual that would transfer Angel's essence into hers. That was also the night Spike was crippled by the organ I knocked on his head.

"Well, she'd read about it and wanted to see what I had in me."

"I've done magic," I point out, recalling the spell I cast to find out what demon or spell might be causing my mother's headaches.

"But not to the extent I have. The spells I cast were pretty potent."

"I-I thought she wanted to seduce you!" I burst out before I can stop myself.

"I'm getting to that part, pet. Hold your horses in check for a bit." He takes a deep breath and laces the fingers of his injured arm through my hair. "Like I said, she wanted to drain me of my limited power. . . to add to her own. She tried using a tactic similar to what Drusilla uses on her victims. Course, she should have known better, being that Dru's tricks don't work on me. After all, I stayed with Dru over a hundred years, but Amy's not really bright enough to know that."

"And?"

"Patience. When that tactic didn't work, she tried that other one." This time he pauses for effect.

I nip his lip playfully with my vampire teeth. "Tell. Now. No waiting for centuries to tell me this time. Want to know everything."

"Ah, love, this is the part you won't like." He presses his lips to my forehead.

"Now." If I were standing, my arms would be crossed.

"Well, when the Dru thing didn't work, she did try to seduce me."

"Ah ha! I knew it!" I exclaim. When Lydia makes a small noise and sounds of altering positions reach my ears, I whisper, "I knew it!"

Spike's words filter through my mind instead of audibly. "It's not like you think, pet. She would attain the power I did have through. . ."

"Through sex!" I scream in his head.

"Yes." His agreement echoes in my mind.

I turn my head from him when he attempts to kiss me.

He continues our internal conversation, "Love, I didn't give in to her." He sighs and turns my chin so that I'm facing him once again.

I fight to keep the hurt from touching my eyes. . . and fail miserably.

"Why do you think she did this to me?" He pushes his hurt arm in my face, and I can smell the faint odor of dried blood and mending tissue. "Cause I so lovingly gave in to her demands?"

I close my eyes and stick out my bottom lip in a classic Buffy pout. I know I'm being childish, but I feel childish. "Prenwick touched me, too."

Spike rolls his eyes. "This isn't a pissing contest, pet." He hesitates, then adds, "And yes, it bothers m. . . everything about that vampire bothers me."

I decide to change the topic. "Did you know that Lydia was below us?"

He raises an eyebrow at me, wondering where I'm going with this. "Yes."

I quickly inform Spike of the details of Lydia's story.

When I am finished, he lets out a low whistle. "Sounds like the resentment you felt for her is gone, love."

"Definitely." The poor vampiress below me had had more than her share of injustice. I briefly marvel that I who had once deemed all vampires utterly evil am now taking into account circumstance. However, if Lydia kills again, I'll have to stake her. I secretly hope she doesn't do anything to justify me having to do so.

"So, do we have a plan to get out of here to stop Prenwick's Rapture ritual?"

"Not really. Although, I was thinking of fashioning a weapon out of the light bulb and the fixture up there and laying in wait in the dark until someone came back to check on Lydia and me."

"It's gonna take a hell of a lot more than physical prowess to conquer this situation, pet."

Out of the blue, another voice races through my mind, "And that's why we're here."

I slide over the edge of the bunk, landing silently as my eyes scan the tiny room for another presence. Having picked up the signal as well, Spike imitates my actions, albeit more slowly.

"Buffy?" the voice calls again uncertainly.

No one else is in the cell, so keeping an eye on the door, I focus on the messages entering my brain.

Nothing.

Glancing at Spike and telegraphing him my plan with my eyes, he allows me to jump onto his shoulders despite the injuries, and he balances me as I charily and methodically break apart the light fixture and bulb, instantaneously fashioning a makeshift weapon and bathing the cell in darkness.

Then, again, "We're going to find you. Don't worry."

"Who are you?" I demand.

"Umm. It's Rhonda. . . Rhonda Zaiman."

I knew I recognized that voice! I guess I just never expected a detective from the international law enforcement team to be who found us. "Rhonda! What are you doing here? How'd you get in?"

"Well, it's not just me."

"Cops?" Just great.

"Nope. I'm with Reyni and Richard. Cops would just muck things up right now."

Excellent point. "How is that you can talk with Spike and me? In our heads? I wasn't aware civilians had access to the technology."

Rhonda is as matter-of-fact as a detective should be. "Actually, that's the reason I came with them; they needed a way to contact you once we got inside. The Council outfitted all the top detectives at the same time as you and Spike. Their connections with the international government facilitated the implementation. So, it made sense that I come."

"Oh. How'd you get in?"

Before Rhonda can respond, the door to our prison disappears and Prenwick appears. "They got in because I wanted them to."

Donning my vampire mask, I launch myself at the vampire while Spike remains in the background as backup. My instincts note that Lydia is struggling to right herself. My foot connects with his midriff. When he staggers, I sweep my foot underneath him, knocking his feet out from under him. He falls forward, and I twist my body so that I turn one hundred eighty degrees and land on top of the vampire, pinning him to the ground with my legs around his waist.

Spike has his knees around Prenwick's head and is holding his shoulders, and I raise the fixture to slash his throat and saw off his head. The sharp edge connects with his throat, drawing blood that flows over his pale skin like a scarlet ribbon.

Then, the unexpected happens.

Prenwick laughs.

My hand stops.

"Oh, Buffy, this is delicious. Having you straddle me, drawing blood. It's quite a turn on, and in front of your lover, no less. I'm quite flattered."

Spike takes the moment to punch him in the nose with his right fist.

Prenwick only laughs harder at the same time as the same two hulking demons appear suddenly behind me, dragging me back and thrusting Spike away from me. Prenwick climbs to his feet, dusting off his clothing and catching the drop of blood from his neck with his fingertips. He makes sure that I am watching him closely as he licks the blood away.

"Come, Buffy, I have special preparations for you before the big event."

I attempt to view Spike around Prenwick's head, but Prenwick grasps my chin roughly. "Don't worry, your lover will be at the big event as well." Then, he binds a silencing device around my mouth, so I can't make a sound.

"Hurry!" I telegraph to Rhonda, half-hoping that she, Richard, and Reyni can do something to stop Prenwick and half-hoping they don't fall into his trap.

TBC. . . the ritual is next!!! :o) And hey! If you're a writer, I'd love for you to join my B/S Fanwriter's Clique! http://darkprophecies.net/eternaldevotion/edc_index.html ;o) Dear readers, thanks for the sweet comments! Means a lot!!!