Spike returned to "Eternal Summers" and walked straight into the study, he
had seen a light on from outside and had known that the watcher would be in
their researching alternative ways to stop Angkara, which would not involve
his baby.
He was slightly surprised to see Oz in there with him but at once regretted
his surprise when he saw the look of blind determination to find a solution
in the mans eyes, he realised in that minute that it was not only because
Willow had wanted to care for violet that he had agreed to care for the
child, he also cared deeply for her, and Spike saw him in a new light
filled with respect and gratitude in that moment.
Giles looked up when Spike entered the room, "Did Tara get home ok?"
Spike said "Yup she was fine went in and made sure everything was ok for her, she's going to phone here if she needs anything."
"Good good." Giles answered
Oz looked at Spike and said, " I think Angel wanted you to help him watch Erin, she's getting close to her transformation apparently and you might need to restrain her."
"Thanks, I'll go baby sit with peaches then, is there a book I can take with me, I want to feel like I'm doing something to help her......."
Oz smiled at blonde vampire, he hadn't really liked him to begin with and had been appalled with him when he left violet after Buffy died but now that he looked back at the situation he realised that if it had been him then he would have left as well, and he had no right to pass judgement on any one after all hadn't he left his beloved willow in favour of some random slut who had appeared in his life all be it for a short period of time it had been enough to hurt her.
"Here have these, I'm not sure how helpful they'll be but we're just looking at every possibility there is at the moment." He said handing spike a stack of about 6 books.
"Thanks Oz, I'll bring them down when I've finished them, give me a shout if you find anything, ok." He said looking at Giles,
"I promise we'll call you if we find anything no matter how small it is." Giles answered.
Spike appeared to be happy with this response because he stalked out of the room and up the stairs to Violets room where Erin was.
He walked in and saw that angel was seated on a desk chair next to the bed watching the girl tossing and turning.
Angel looked at him as he entered,
"I'm just going to check on Violet ok peaches," spike said depositing the pile of books in his hands onto the floor in front of him.
"Giles said that there might be something in here so I said that we'd look over them while they look at everything else in the library ok?"
Angel nodded and said, "Spike we will find a way out of this......."
"Every keeps saying that, and the more they say it, the more I'm beginning to think that we'll not find another way......" Spike said as he walked out the door,
"But thank you....Angel...... It means a lot to me to know your all trying."
He walked down the hall and paused at the door next to the room he had just been in, he was going to knock but he knew that Aria would be asleep now and didn't want to disrupt the little girls sleep.
So he turned the door knob carefully so as not to make any noise and walked into the room, there sitting on the bed was Violet holding Aria wrapped up in her arms, as if she were trying to protect her from something, it was a way which he had often found Buffy holding Violet when he had come home late.
He smiled to himself as he walked over to the bed and lifted Aria out of violets arms and without waking her placed the little girl under the cover, she instantly curled up closer to the white teddy bear lying in the blankets and let out a little content breath.
Violet had felt someone moving Aria out of her arms and had woken up with a start, when she opened her eyes, she saw her dad pulling the blankets over the little girl.
When Spike felt her watching him he turned to look at her, she looked so fragile but he couldn't see any fear in her eyes as she smiled at him, mindful of what Tara had said to him he made sure that he didn't display on of the emotions of fear or pain which were flooding through his veins in his eyes as he leaned over to hug her tightly into him, he picked her up in the air and hugged her, swinging her round like he used to do when she was tiny and then pulling back the covers placed her in the bed and pulled the patchwork quilt over her, he sat down next to her and stroked her hair,
"I love you Violet, you know that don't you baby, every day of your life, I might not have been here but I've thought of you every time I take a breath, every time I opened my eyes I saw you, or you mother. And I want you to know that she would be so proud of you, you are just the person she hoped you would be, the person she wanted to be, the night she died the woman who found her lying in the street said that all she could say was Spike, and then Violet, your name was the last thing she said with her dying breathe, I'm not a warlock but I know about magic and that sort of love will be with you forever it's in the way you breathe the way you act and it gives you courage, something which your mom never lacked, she was scared of so many things in her life but she faced each and every single one of them, and I know you know about what the scrolls say about Erin but be patient there may be another way yet."
She was crying she looked at him for a moment and said,
"I love you to dad, and mom, but I know that theirs no other way really so do you deep down, I can tell or you wouldn't be saying all this to me, I've made my mind up already, if you can't find an alternative then I will go through with the ritual tomorrow night," she looked over at Aria and turned back to Spike carrying on,
"Ever since I was little I've had a feeling that I was meant to do something important, that I was here for a purpose, there's something I'm meant to do with my life, and I think..... No I know that this is it, I have to do it, I'm the only thing which can stop it, I know it sounds big headed and everything but I have to do it..... There's only one thing... I don't want to be on my own..... I'm not scared of being dead but I'm scared of dying.... And I don't want to be on my own promise me dada that I won't have to die on my own."
Spike looked at his baby girl, she truly was amazing she had accepted that she would probably have to give up her life for a cause and he was the one with the major problem.
He smiled down at her and said "We're not sure if you'll need to yet babe, but I promise you that you will not if it happens have to die on your own, I will be there the whole time, holding your hand."
"Thank you dada." Violet said hugging Spike before lying back on the bed
Spike bent down kissed her on the forehead and got up to leave the room saying "Night night Baby."
"Night Night dada," came a sleepy reply.
Once he was back outside on the landing he leant against the door and held his head in his arms as the tears started to fall, he gave him self a couple of minutes in order to sort himself out before he walked back into the room where Angel was sitting watching Erin.
Erin was sitting bolt up rite in the bed she was talking in a strange language he couldn't really recognise it but it sounded a bit like a cross between Hikranian and Polkintepth both of them were ancient Demon languages which had died out millions of years before the first humans were even born.
"How's she doing?" Spike asked Angel as he sat down on the comfy stool, which was in front of the vanity dresser.
Angel looked into the eyes of his favourite childe and said "Not good, the transformation is starting, her soul is leaving her, she's strong though, there's a fight going on in there between her and Angkara, it's difficult to tell who's winning but it's taking longer than I would have expected."
Spike looked at his sire and said, "All we can do is wait then, and try to get through these." He said indicating the books.
They both leant forward and picked a book up each and settled down for a long night.
Giles looked up when Spike entered the room, "Did Tara get home ok?"
Spike said "Yup she was fine went in and made sure everything was ok for her, she's going to phone here if she needs anything."
"Good good." Giles answered
Oz looked at Spike and said, " I think Angel wanted you to help him watch Erin, she's getting close to her transformation apparently and you might need to restrain her."
"Thanks, I'll go baby sit with peaches then, is there a book I can take with me, I want to feel like I'm doing something to help her......."
Oz smiled at blonde vampire, he hadn't really liked him to begin with and had been appalled with him when he left violet after Buffy died but now that he looked back at the situation he realised that if it had been him then he would have left as well, and he had no right to pass judgement on any one after all hadn't he left his beloved willow in favour of some random slut who had appeared in his life all be it for a short period of time it had been enough to hurt her.
"Here have these, I'm not sure how helpful they'll be but we're just looking at every possibility there is at the moment." He said handing spike a stack of about 6 books.
"Thanks Oz, I'll bring them down when I've finished them, give me a shout if you find anything, ok." He said looking at Giles,
"I promise we'll call you if we find anything no matter how small it is." Giles answered.
Spike appeared to be happy with this response because he stalked out of the room and up the stairs to Violets room where Erin was.
He walked in and saw that angel was seated on a desk chair next to the bed watching the girl tossing and turning.
Angel looked at him as he entered,
"I'm just going to check on Violet ok peaches," spike said depositing the pile of books in his hands onto the floor in front of him.
"Giles said that there might be something in here so I said that we'd look over them while they look at everything else in the library ok?"
Angel nodded and said, "Spike we will find a way out of this......."
"Every keeps saying that, and the more they say it, the more I'm beginning to think that we'll not find another way......" Spike said as he walked out the door,
"But thank you....Angel...... It means a lot to me to know your all trying."
He walked down the hall and paused at the door next to the room he had just been in, he was going to knock but he knew that Aria would be asleep now and didn't want to disrupt the little girls sleep.
So he turned the door knob carefully so as not to make any noise and walked into the room, there sitting on the bed was Violet holding Aria wrapped up in her arms, as if she were trying to protect her from something, it was a way which he had often found Buffy holding Violet when he had come home late.
He smiled to himself as he walked over to the bed and lifted Aria out of violets arms and without waking her placed the little girl under the cover, she instantly curled up closer to the white teddy bear lying in the blankets and let out a little content breath.
Violet had felt someone moving Aria out of her arms and had woken up with a start, when she opened her eyes, she saw her dad pulling the blankets over the little girl.
When Spike felt her watching him he turned to look at her, she looked so fragile but he couldn't see any fear in her eyes as she smiled at him, mindful of what Tara had said to him he made sure that he didn't display on of the emotions of fear or pain which were flooding through his veins in his eyes as he leaned over to hug her tightly into him, he picked her up in the air and hugged her, swinging her round like he used to do when she was tiny and then pulling back the covers placed her in the bed and pulled the patchwork quilt over her, he sat down next to her and stroked her hair,
"I love you Violet, you know that don't you baby, every day of your life, I might not have been here but I've thought of you every time I take a breath, every time I opened my eyes I saw you, or you mother. And I want you to know that she would be so proud of you, you are just the person she hoped you would be, the person she wanted to be, the night she died the woman who found her lying in the street said that all she could say was Spike, and then Violet, your name was the last thing she said with her dying breathe, I'm not a warlock but I know about magic and that sort of love will be with you forever it's in the way you breathe the way you act and it gives you courage, something which your mom never lacked, she was scared of so many things in her life but she faced each and every single one of them, and I know you know about what the scrolls say about Erin but be patient there may be another way yet."
She was crying she looked at him for a moment and said,
"I love you to dad, and mom, but I know that theirs no other way really so do you deep down, I can tell or you wouldn't be saying all this to me, I've made my mind up already, if you can't find an alternative then I will go through with the ritual tomorrow night," she looked over at Aria and turned back to Spike carrying on,
"Ever since I was little I've had a feeling that I was meant to do something important, that I was here for a purpose, there's something I'm meant to do with my life, and I think..... No I know that this is it, I have to do it, I'm the only thing which can stop it, I know it sounds big headed and everything but I have to do it..... There's only one thing... I don't want to be on my own..... I'm not scared of being dead but I'm scared of dying.... And I don't want to be on my own promise me dada that I won't have to die on my own."
Spike looked at his baby girl, she truly was amazing she had accepted that she would probably have to give up her life for a cause and he was the one with the major problem.
He smiled down at her and said "We're not sure if you'll need to yet babe, but I promise you that you will not if it happens have to die on your own, I will be there the whole time, holding your hand."
"Thank you dada." Violet said hugging Spike before lying back on the bed
Spike bent down kissed her on the forehead and got up to leave the room saying "Night night Baby."
"Night Night dada," came a sleepy reply.
Once he was back outside on the landing he leant against the door and held his head in his arms as the tears started to fall, he gave him self a couple of minutes in order to sort himself out before he walked back into the room where Angel was sitting watching Erin.
Erin was sitting bolt up rite in the bed she was talking in a strange language he couldn't really recognise it but it sounded a bit like a cross between Hikranian and Polkintepth both of them were ancient Demon languages which had died out millions of years before the first humans were even born.
"How's she doing?" Spike asked Angel as he sat down on the comfy stool, which was in front of the vanity dresser.
Angel looked into the eyes of his favourite childe and said "Not good, the transformation is starting, her soul is leaving her, she's strong though, there's a fight going on in there between her and Angkara, it's difficult to tell who's winning but it's taking longer than I would have expected."
Spike looked at his sire and said, "All we can do is wait then, and try to get through these." He said indicating the books.
They both leant forward and picked a book up each and settled down for a long night.