A/N: I know it's been forever since I added anything to this one. I'm sorry. The muse decided to play hide and seek from me for a while.

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Spike and Angel had been talking. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem but the thing was they had been talking about Dracula. Spike had told Angel that Drac had held Buffy under his thrall for a while. Even to the point of biting her.

They both decided that they needed to end any and all threat to their women. Once and for all. Dracula must be eliminated.

"We have to be careful. If Buffy and Dawn find out what we're up to, . . . " Angel just nodded because he understood what Spike meant. The Summers women would not appreciate the danger the guys were putting themselves in just to protect them.

"Spike, do you know where Dracula lives?"

"Sure do, mate. That old castle just on the outskirts of town. He bought it and that's where he lives now."

"Good. In three days, we'll take him out. Make sure we have a couple of good, sharp axes. We'll have to take his head off and then burn the body. I don't want to chance him coming after either one of them."

"Right. I've been looking for a good spot of violence lately. Things have been a bit boring lately."

Angel and Spike parted ways only after agreeing to meet in three days to take care of the perpetual threat to their women.

Three days later, Willow, Buffy and Dawn went on one of their famous weekend trips to L.A. for shopping. Angel and Spike met up with Xander in front of the old castle just after sunset. Xander had surprised the two by asking if he could come along. He still wanted his piece of vengeance after all these years.

"I still want a piece of the guy that turned me into a bug-eating man bitch. After all these years, I still want my piece of him. He made me betray Buffy. No one gets away with that."

"You're in. Meet us at the castle at sunset. We'll finish this right away."

The three of them walked into the castle. Angel and Spike each had an axe over their shoulder and Xander was carrying a torch and gas can. They each had a look of sheer determination on his face.

They met Dracula in the main dining hall of the castle. "You have stalked the Summers family for the last time, Count."

"And turned your last man-bitch," hissed Xander.

"The Loyal. How nice of you to come. Even though you know that you can't fight me." He turned to look at Spike and Angel. "The Dark Warrior of the Light and the Key Master. How does it feel to know that one of your daughters will die while the oldest will bring hell to earth?"

"What?" Angel was stunned. He had figured out long ago that Tirri was going to be called to be a Slayer. But she was his oldest. And why did he call Spike the Key Master? Dawn wasn't the Key anymore, was she?

Dracula laughed. "You have no idea what I mean, do you, Angelus? Your oldest daughter is the one you call Dawn. The Powers That Be really did find away around your nobility. They made sure that your daughter and son came to be after all. The Slayer was pregnant when you took back the day. That took back your children. The Powers needed your twins in order to bring about the End of Days." Angel looked crushed. Buffy had been pregnant. Why hadn't he picked up on that when he held her afterward? He was just too wrapped up in holding the woman he loved close to him for the first time in so long. He was secure in the knowledge that Buffy still loved him.

Her reaction when he had come to Sunnydale faced down Riley had told her that he still held her heart. That nothing Riley did ever made her feel the way he had made her feel. She still loved him. More than anyone.

He attacked. He hated Dracula for figuring out what he should have known a long time ago.

The Count bared his fangs and the battle started. Spike was furious. The Count was implying something that he didn't like. Dawn would be in danger and that was something he didn't like. He knew that Dawn was a powerful young lady but he still worried about her. That was what love was about. You worried about the other person. Like they worried about you.

Spike and Angel attacked for the ones they loved. Xander just stayed back, his whole idea being to keep Dracula in this one room. The torch was lit and ready to burn.

Before any of the three of them knew what was going on, Angel's axe struck true. Drac's head flew from his body and Xander stepped forward to burn the body. "Goodbye, moron."

The body went up in flames and then Xander used the gas can to smash Dracula's head into a sticky paste. "That's over." Xander took a deep breath.

"Kind of a let down, mate. It was almost too easy. Like he knew that he was supposed to die now." Spike turned to Angel. "What did he mean about Dawn? That she was your daughter?"

"The day that never was. When I took back the day that I was human years ago, Buffy was pregnant. I knew there was something different about her. I didn't even think about it. She was pregnant with my twins and I took that back." Angel hung his head. "I should have known. I should have thought about that before she and I spent the day together. We both lost our heads, I guess."

"How are you going to tell Buffy?" Xander brought up a point. One that Angel didn't want to think of. How WOULD he tell Buffy that he had taken away the twins that she was pregnant with? Better question, how would he tell her so that she wouldn't want to kill him or hurt herself for allowing it to happen?

The guys left the castle, all wondering how Buffy and Dawn were going to take the news. Telling Buffy and Dawn that they weren't sisters but mother and daughter would not be easy. It was something though that had to be done.

"Buffy. Dawn. Spike and I need to talk to you about something." Angel decided he would broach the subject. Spike decided to let him because he knew that this was not going to go well.

"What is it, Angel?" Buffy was suspicious. Angel normally didn't open a conversation like this. He normally just said what was on his mind.

"Well, . . . "

"Angel, drop the cryptic. We don't keep secrets." Buffy was getting upset.

"Dawn isn't your sister. She's your . . . OUR daughter. When you came to see me in L.A. after the time I was here at Thanksgiving, you were . . ."

"I was there all day. You were turned human by the Mohra demon. We spent the whole day making love. You took back the day because you didn't think you could protect me." When she saw the look on Angel's face, she continued. "When I was in heaven, they showed me moments from my life. That was one of them. They told me I didn't remember it but that was something that had happened. Then they told me that you would have reverted to the vampirism after a while. It was a temporary gift. It was meant to bring about part of a prophecy."

"You remember?"

Angel had tears in his eyes because he didn't want her to remember the fact that he gave up humanity for her. "How could I not know?"

"You mean that was all just temporary? I would have gone back to normal later?"

"That's what the Powers told me. That you would eventually -- what's the word --- revert to your vampire state. They said that we were missing something that would come to us in time. That they had to fix things and that was why everything had to happen the way it did." Buffy was crying openly, remembering the pain that she had felt when the Powers had showed her the scenes from her life.

She walked into Angel's arms and he just held her for several long minutes, tears flowing from his own eyes. Spike walked over to Dawn and wrapped his arms around her. He felt her tremble against him and realized that she had finally realized what they were talking about.

Dawn stood still in Spike's arms for a few moments before pulling away and walking over to Buffy. "Does that mean you're my mom?"

"I guess so." Buffy's tear-streaked face held a happiness that she hadn't seen in a while. She had found a child she never realized that she had. A child that she would have been able to show her mother if it hadn't been for Angel's nobility. She wrapped her arms around her daughter and pulled her into an embrace with her and Angel. The Powers That Be gave her her daughter back. Without reservation. They had been given another chance.

"Angel, how did you find out about this?"

Angel turned away from them and bowed his head. "I found out from Dracula. Just before I took his head off."

"You went after Dracula?!"

"Spike and Xander went with me."

"And that's your excuse? What would have happened if you had been killed? Or Spike? Or Xander? Do you think that would have been any easier on any of us? Were you guys even thinking?!" Buffy was going hyper. She was furious. Angel had put himself in a lot of danger. He hadn't even thought to tell her. She was mad because he could have left her without a husband and Tirri without a daughter.

"Buffy, I know what you're thinking. This is exactly why I didn't tell you. You don't know how many times I thought about what would happen to you if I wasn't there. What would happen to Tirri? How would you deal?"

"Angel, I love you. We talk. We don't keep secrets. You promised me on our wedding day. No more secrets." She gave him that look that he always fell for the one that begged him to make it all okay.

"I promise. This one was just for your protection. Besides you were going shopping with the girls in L.A. You weren't here to talk to about this."

Angel stepped back up to Buffy and wrapped her in his arms, tucking her head under his chin. Once again, all was forgiven. They were all safe and alive.

Spike wrapped his arms around Dawn and they walked out the door, leaving Buffy and Angel to talk some more.

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A/N: There you go everyone. A little taste more. Hopefully the next chapter will come a little quicker than this one.