33

"Kraj!" Lord M'rek's booming bass voice echoed in the subterranean chamber. "Kraj! You worthless piece of snail-slime, where are you?"

"Here, my most august and esteemed Lord." Kraj crept in, bowing and scraping, every nuance of expression couched in subservience.

"I believe I have found a slight flaw in the original plan," the Lord admitted, corners of his mouth turned down, fangs showing.

"Surely not, Lord." Kraj groveled at his feet.

"On your feet, slug. You contaminate the floor," M'rek barked. "It has come to my awareness that destroying the vessel out of hand may be a precipitate move."

"Surely my Lord does not intend to let the vessel be delivered of the new race?" Kraj whined. Privately, he thought it was about time that thought had occurred to his owner. Powerful, M'rek was. Nimble of wit, he wasn't, particularly.

"If we were to destroy the vessel, it could be the loss of a valuable opportunity," M'rek mused. "Suppose we were instead to capture the vessel, and thereby control the new race? Bend them to our will, train them to our purposes."

"A truly inspired idea, oh magnificent one," Kraj murmured. "Do you then so order that we capture the vessel rather than destroy it?"

"First you must locate the vessel," M'rek pointed out. "And how fare you on that score, worm?"

"The dimension, of course, has been known since the beginning of time," the servant informed his master timorously. "We are just now making progress in narrowing down the location. We now believe the vessel is to be found in a city called Los Angeles."

"Why then have you not already located the vessel?" M'rek demanded haughtily. "You know where the city is. Send in a team to scour it on foot and locate the vessel."

"The city is rather large for that sort of operation, most gracious Lord," Kraj remarked. "It covers an extensive area and is home to millions of souls. We have not sufficient personnel to cover it all."

"Most inconvenient," M'rek growled. "How then do you propose to locate the vessel?"

"We have scholars combing the prophecies for further clues," Kraj replied. "And if my Lord will authorize it, we will set the mentalists to scrying for the for the vessel as well."

"Whatever it takes to secure my possession of the vessel," M'rek conceded off-handedly. "Just see that you secure for me ownership of the vessel before she gives birth to the new race."

&&&&&&&&

Spike was irritated beyond measure, and trying not to let Rose see. He didn't want to upset her again. Damn Angel! What was the poncey bastard doing upsetting Rose anyway, he thought, totally ignoring the fact that Rose hadn't gotten upset until he had pitched his hissy. It took a concerted effort for him not to let his anger do the driving. He still had enough presence of mind to be cautious of Rose's safety. And the safety of their little ones. Just thinking about the tiny lives growing within Rose was enough to bring a smile back to his lips and drive off the irritation. Their babies. His and Rose's.

Rose could tell that Spike was out of sorts, he wasn't much of one to hide his feelings. She scooched down into her seat miserably and kept her mouth shut. She strongly suspected that her lover was put out with Angel when it was she who had made the invitation that had caused all the furor. Putting her foot in it again. When was she ever going to learn how to be human? It never once occurred to her that people who had never been anything but human made mistakes of equal or greater magnitude every single day. All Rose knew was that she had made trouble between Spike and Angel again. Admittedly, it often seemed to her that both of them looked for excuses to snipe at each other, but it still made her feel bad to have added fuel to the ongoing feud. She really did wish the two of them would get along. She considered Angel to be her best friend, and Spike.., Spike was everything. She sighed. Why couldn't the two vampires just bury the stake and get over it? Then, a sidelong glance caught the smile on Spike's face, and one lit up her features in response. If Spike was happy, then all was right with her world. And she knew why Spike was happy, because that particular smile had only appeared of late. Only when he was thinking about the child? children? they had somehow managed to create.

&&&&&&&&

"Are you going to go back to work, love?" Rose asked cautiously as they entered the apartment. Spike was carrying her briefcase, and only Rose pointing out how less than manly it might seem had prevented him from insisting on carrying her purse as well.

"Maybe." Spike refused to commit to a decision. "But not till after I get you tucked into bed, babe."

"I can put myself to bed," Rose protested. "But I was going to get something to eat first."

"So soon after lunch?" Spike was shocked. Usually the difficult part was to get Rose to eat at regular intervals. She still considered it a waste of valuable time. Well, she was eating for three.

Rose was willing to let it go at that, but her face was writ as large with guilt as if she had actually lied to him. And Spike was, more than ever, acutely aware of her expressions. "You didn't eat lunch, did you?" he accused. "Didn't that stupid nit think to feed you?"

"We lost track of time," she said apologetically. "I didn't skip lunch on purpose, and Angel was getting ready to do something about it. We just got a little side-tracked, and then you showed up. I was going to eat."

"I believe you, sweetheart," he relented, dropping her briefcase and giving her a hug. "I'm being an ass, aren't I? I'm just so excited about our blessed event that I'm getting a little single-minded. Forgive me?"

"If you'll forgive me for being such a bit..,"

"Apology accepted," Spike interrupted. "I know, I know, I talk like that. But it really doesn't sound right when you do, pet." He sealed the mutual apologies and forgiveness with a kiss. "Since I'm already AWOL, I don't imagine that they'll miss me if I don't come back right away," he murmured seductively. "Maybe we could..,"

"I thought I was going to get something to eat and then go to bed," Rose replied. "Go to bed as in sleep." She yawned, just as Spike was about to kiss her again.

"Back to the salt mines with daddy, I guess," he remarked a little ruefully. He got in another kiss before she could start yawning again. "I love you, babe."

"I love you too," Rose mumbled through a yawn. Maybe, she thought, she could get a nap first then eat.

"Be sure you eat something before you turn in," Spike ordered as he went out the door.

&&&&&&&

"Is Rose okay?" Angel was waiting at the door of the parking garage for him.

"If she is, it's none of your doing," Spike snapped. "You want to be remembering just whose bird she is, you big, dumb ponce."

"For crying out loud, Spike," Angel groaned. "I was not making a pass at Rose. And if you would just put those tiny little pieces of gray matter floating in the void between your ears to work, you'll realize that Rose didn't get all weepy until you came in and threw a temper tantrum. Over nothing."

"Wouldn't have happened if you'd kept your hands to yourself, stupid git," Spike sulked. "I mean, how would you feel if I was all over your..," It suddenly occurred to him that that particular argument could lead to places that he didn't want to go, now or ever. Both vampires tended to avoid mention of the Slayer and their respective pasts with her.

"I like Rose," Angel said quietly. "I care about her, and maybe I even love her a little bit." He saw the storm clouds threatening to gather on Spike's horizon again. "But not the same way you do," he added hastily. "And even if you don't trust me, and I'm assuming that you don't, do you really think that Rose would ever even think about being with anyone else but you?"

"That's not the point," Spike muttered. Right now, he was no longer sure just what the point was. Except for the part where he got to blow off some steam in Angel's direction.

"Then what is the point?" Angel wouldn't let it go, even though Spike started walking away from him. He just fell into step beside him. "Upsetting Rose when she's emotionally off balance, both from what her body is going through, not to mention that fact that it must scare hell out of her becoming a mother when she barely has any experience with being human? Enlighten me, Spike."

"She's not the only one it scares the hell out of," Spike muttered. "What in bloody hell do I know about raising kids? I want what's best for them. Problem is, I'm not sure that what's best for them is me."

"I guess that could be considered a step in the right direction," Angel mused. "The fact that you do want what is best for them. Just like you want what is best for Rose. Has that led you too far astray lately?"

"You mean like Rose getting kidnapped by bounty hunters and megalomaniacs and groped by horny demons?" Spike asked sarcastically. "Oh yeah, I'm battin' a thousand there, mate."

"And you weren't the cause of any of that," Angel pointed out. If he was human, his blood pressure would definitely be going up now. Spike just did always have that effect on him. "I think that maybe because of who she was, there's always going to be something about Rose that attracts trouble. But you're always there to take care of her. You make her happy. Doesn't that count for anything?"

"And just what do they say the road to hell is paved with?" Spike quirked an eyebrow at his grandsire. "Push off now, why don't you? Us working stiffs still have some time on the clock." He strode off down the hall leaving Angel standing there wondering if he'd actually gotten through to Spike or not.

&&&&&&&

Nothing in the kitchen appealed to Rose in its current form. Though she had pretty much zero training in cooking, she felt the urge to experiment. Humming, she put a large pot on the stove and started throwing things in. Whatever seemed like a good idea at the time. It even struck her as a little silly, a bit of this, a pinch of that. Getting into the spirit of things, she started chanting, "'Fillet of a fenny snake, In the cauldron boil and bake, Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog.'" Okay, the allusion was getting a little too gross. If she kept that up, she wouldn't be able to eat at all. And she knew that it would probably be one of the first things Spike asked her when he walked back in the door. With one leftover giggle, she threw in a random pinch of spice. "'Open, locks, Whoever knocks!'" And was more than somewhat startled when a sickly-colored smoke came roiling up out of the pot far faster than boiling could account for.

&&&&&&&

Making haste while groveling is not easily done, but it was a skill that Kraj had acquired after many years of practice. "They have found her, my Lord!" He was so excited that he forgot to keep his tones meek and servile. They bounced off the walls of the chamber like M'reks. "The scryers have located the vessel!"

"Be very sure of your information, Kraj," M'rek warned. "I would be most displeased if this were to be a false trail."

"I saw it myself, magnificence." The lackey remembered to resume his whining, subservient tones. "The crystal hung over the map when it suddenly was dragged to a place, then it lit up like a thousand suns. Surely nothing but the vessel could cause that sort of reaction."

"And a party is assembled to capture the vessel?" Lord M'rek inquired. "I want the vessel intact and unharmed. If she is damaged in any way, it could prevent the birth of the new race. A race that I, and I alone will control."

"They are ready," Kraj assured his master. "All that awaits is your lordship's word and the opening of the portal, which is in progress as we speak."

"I will accompany them." M'rek stood to his full, impressive seven feet. "I shall seize the vessel with my own hands to claim dominion over her and her offspring."

"If this unworthy one may make so bold, most dread Lord," Kraj murmured. "While your visage inspires both awe and fear, I believe that it is too unlike the inhabitants of the dimension where the vessel lies. In short, you would attract too much attention."

Lord M'rek scowled at Kraj. He had wanted to claim the vessel for his own in his own person. Evidently, that was not to be. "Give the word and send the party to fetch the vessel. When they return, they are to bring her to me immediately."

"It shall be as my Lord commands." Kraj sketched a quick bow and scurried out of the room to relay the orders.

&&&&&&&&

"Shakespeare may have been a great writer," Rose commented to herself. "But he was a lousy cook." One look at the inside of the pot told her that not only was whatever she had put in it now rendered totally inedible, but the cookware itself was a write-off. The blackened remains of her would-be meal had practically etched hieroglyphics into the sides of it. She left it sitting on the stove until it cooled down enough to throw out. She had already thrown all the windows open, and the smoke had dissipated, but the foul stench caused by the reaction hung on the air still, and was threatening to override the efficacy of the nausea pills. She hoped that the smell would be gone by the time Spike got home, but she had a sinking feeling that it probably wouldn't. She gave up on the idea of eating and went to lie down. Maybe if she could get to sleep, the smell wouldn't be so bad when she woke up.

&&&&&&&&

Hearing the first few lines of the prophecy had piqued Wesley's curiosity to the point that he had actually gone home during his lunch hour to fetch the spell to help him decipher the obscured passages. The spell worked perfectly, and the words jumped out with crystalline clarity. He read it carefully, then read it again. "Oh, hell and damnation," he muttered. He read aloud. "One believed to be beyond redemption shall be the founder of a new race. The vessel shall come from beyond worlds to merge with him and from their union shall come the new race. Where there was one, then two, shall there be many, then most, and in time, all. And the dark's children shall cease to be tools of evil and destruction, to become a force for good."