White Picket Fences

Disclaimer: If I owned them do you think I would be writing this?

Reviewers:

Anegativegrl: Thank you for all your reviews! The reason for my lack of update is in my author's note. Unfortunately, I'm following the show but, and that's a big BUT, just keep reading I've got a few twists planned for the sequel.

Hellocloneddolly: The changes were made for obvious reasons and thank you for liking my writing.

Thepennameoftheyear: Thanks!

Mus4u: You are my muse!

Beloved: Hehehe…

A/N: I know most of you will probably hate me for this but this and the next few chapters will go through both Touched and Chosen and will end at Conviction (Angel S4. Episode #89) I apologize for not updating sooner but RL has intervened and between watching my younger (read: royal pain in the ass teenager) brother, Siri, who has hit that rebellious phase a bit late, and my little nephew while my brother and his husband went away on business and work and drumroll please ……..I got engaged! I haven't had too much time to update. Kinda hard to get anything done with a family that rivals the bloody Brady bunch. Also, I wanna say that this story is coming to a close. At most, I would say there will only be three or four more chapters and then I will begin working on the sequel. Does anyone even read this?

Chapter 8: From a Shell

It was never good when there was a call to come to Sunnydale Hospital. It was the dead of night and Anya, Giles, Willow and a group of potentials were walking through the parking lot and into the building.

Willow didn't know what to expect when she walked into the room her best friend was lying in. The girl holding her hand tried to show she wasn't scared but the second she saw her father laying there, a bandage around his head, she buried her face in Willow's shirt.

The boy Giles was carrying was gripping him tight and sniffling. He didn't like hospitals even at his young age. He tried calming the two year old down but to no avail; the child began sobbing.

Buffy walked around, surveying the damage so to speak, as she passed each potential's bed. Sighing, the slayer put a reassuring hand on Willow's arm before walking out of the room and out of the building.

A tear streaked down Ariel's pink face. Hastily, the small girl wiped away at the tear and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her blue shirt. An expression of fear and sadness crossed her round, little face as she looked up at the red-head. "Daddy okay?" She sniffed.

Willow put on a strong, reassuring face and looked down at the girl by her side. "Your daddy will be fine." She led Ariel over to the bed Xander was laying in and took the seat by the bed. "Be careful." She advised upon seeing Ariel climbing onto the bed to lie beside the injured man. The witch motioned for Giles to give her the child in his arms so he could talk with some of the potentials and Faith.

Until it was time for all the visitors to leave, Willow sat by her sedated friend, watching as the two children curled up around their adoptive father's resting form. She looked up and saw Giles motioning that they were to leave. She carefully lifted a sleeping Nicholas off the bed and gently woke Ariel, informing her that they had to go home now and they could see their father tomorrow. Silently, Willow led Ariel out of the room and followed Giles as they made their way back to Buffy's.

And the Earth spins round/While the people fall down……

The next day saw the group of potentials in Buffy's basement along with Xander, Faith, Anya, Dawn and the others. Around them, battery powered lights and candles lit up the room. Anya, as usual was being her blunt self and assuring one of the potentials that she was more likely to stay alive and watch her friends die before she died. It may not have been the most comforting thing to say but coming from Anya, it was as close to comforting as you would get.

Xander was worried about his lover who still hadn't returned. They were a happy little family even if they had only been a family for little less than a month and now they were being forced to split apart. It was just his luck that the moment he had the life he wanted, his lover was telling him to leave. With a long, deep sigh, Xander adjusted the black eye-patch and listened to the chattering around him.

"So let's go over our rogue's gallery. Who exactly do we have here?" Faith asked as Xander started to pay attention again.

"Well, there's The First. Who we can't touch." Dawn contributed.

"And then there's our friend the Reverend I-Hate-Women." Xander added.

"Who's basically untouchable." Said Anya. "

And there's the 'roid-rage vamps, who are pretty much the worst and the—"

"Bringers." Interrupted Faith. "I think they're our weakest link."

And the world stands still/Not a sound, not a sound/There is love, here is love/To be found……

Night fell over the Californian town and the group was in the kitchen after having used Kennedy as bait to capture a Bringer who, as it turned out, was mute. Willow and Dawn discussed a spell that would allow them to communicate with the Bringer that was being kept in the basement. A half eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich lay abandoned on the island in the kitchen where Ariel sat letting Amanda braid her hair. The front door slammed shut and Andrew's familiar voice echoed in the lounge.

"We're back!"

Spike entered the kitchen looking a touch irritated; more than likely because of the company he had been forced to be in. He greeted Giles and went around to stand behind Xander, draping his arms around the brunet's neck. He leaned over and pecked Ariel on the cheek before turning to kiss his lover tenderly on the lips. "Your eye." It was more of a question than anything else.

"It's okay." Xander reassured Spike and kissed him quickly. "Nicky's upstairs sleeping."

"Hi, everybody. I missed you guys a lot. Sorry we took so long getting back from our mission but we had to wait out the sun and, well, I think our mission went very well. We rode on Spike's hog, which was very cool, and played some amusing games and, oh, we got some information. But do you know what? I really need to urinate." With that, Andrew dashed out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

"He's a breath of fresh air, isn't he? Thank god I don't breathe." There was a long bout of silence before Spike spoke again. "So, I think we got a lead. Where's Buffy?" Dawn explained that Buffy had decided to take a 'breather' or rather, they had all decided that she needed to take a breather. Spike disagreed with them but decided not to voice his opinion while his daughter was around. He pulled away from Xander and lifted the young girl from her chair. "It's passed your bedtime. Shouldn't you be asleep like your brother?" Spike smirked at the girl who was looking slightly guilty.

"Daddy made me a sandwich."

"Go get your things together and try not to wake Nicky." Spike put her down and nudged her towards the stairs. "We should go home." He told the group then led Xander into the foyer. "Go start the car, I'll get the Niblets." Xander nodded and went out to start the car.

The car ride home was a quiet one. Neither man spoke and in the back seat, both children were sleeping. Xander pulled into a parking space and they carried the children up to their flat. It was hard for Xander to look around his flat. Things were in labelled boxes and bags piled by the door. There really wasn't much but the sight of their things all packed up upset him. This had been their first home as a family and though he desperately tried not to become emotional he couldn't help but sigh tragically. He was standing by the door, simply taking in the sight of the nearly bare home when Spike emerged from the children's room and wrapped his arms around his lover.

"Everything will be fine. I already told you, I'll use the money I have and buy you a nice house with a garden and a tree that you can hang a swing on for the kids and lots of flowers. My mum always loved the flowers in her garden. We'll get a dog and we can ask Willow to look for a way for me to go out in the day. We'll be the perfect family with the two kids, a dog, the swing in the front, and the white picket fence." Spike said softly. "Come on, let's go to bed." Xander could only nod and follow he vampire he loved.

A/N: This is NOT the end of the fic. There are at least two more chapters and I'm planning a sequel. I should be updating soon IF I get enough reviews. hint hint