Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the vampire Slayer, but I do own a lot of other stuff.

Summary: Buffy finds a prophecy that tells her that the slayers she created are going to die if she doesn't turn them back into potentials, Spike's soul is taken from him. The both go to Willow to find out what is going on, and both find that their problems are only the beginning.

Chapter 1: Him

The mist on the ground swirls around the three girls, its night and none of the girls seem to be bothered or scared. The fact that the should be scared emphasized by the fact that they are walking around in one of the many graveyards in Rome, Italy of course being the country that this Rome is in. They, the three girls vary in height, and hair color. The tallest one has brown hair, the medium size one has darker hair and it's almost black, the shortest one had blond hair. And even though she is the shortest one she seems to be the leader of the three, this being evident in the fact that she's in the middle of the three and that she has the most confident look on her face. Also the other two are bickering. Well actually the tallest is complaining, "I'm bored! Let's go back home!"

"Listen, we told you that tonight might be a bust. But you wanted to come with. Don't go whining, it's strangely annoying," the smallest of the women says clearly annoyed as she said she was.

"Well I just had this feeling!" It's the tallest again.

"About what?" The middle size one speaks up, a sarcastic tone in her voice.

"Just a feeling!" The tallest argues.

The shortest one shakes her head and her blond hair shakes with her, as she forgot to put it in a ponytail. At this time the middle size one's eye go wide, "B! Behind you!"

The girl turns around just in time to duck the dagger aimed at her head. It hit's the tree conveniently placed behind her and she pulls it out, "okay, who did that?"

An older man steps out from behind them, from under the shadows he's been hidding in. He gives her the once over, "so you're the slayer."

The tallest pipes up, "well actually she's just one of the many Slayers."

"And my name's Buffy!"

"You think I didn't know that?" he says slyly, "All demons know your name, especially since you started dating The Immortal."

"That's not how he tells it."

The middle woman shakes her head, Buffy almost always got into arguments with demons about this. And it always ticked her off, in short, she knew that the demon was going to get it. And when I say demon, I mean vampire.

Buffy sprang at the vampire, the anger that had accumulated during the night's patrol with Dawn (being the tallest one) and Faith (being the middle sized one) spurring her on. She landed a nice right punch to the vampire's face that caused the vampire to go sprawling to the ground. The vampire quickly recovered and swept it's legs under her tripping Buffy. He then threw a punch down towards the ground that the fallen slayer was laying on and Buffy rolled out of the way. This caused the vampire fist to connect with solid and ground and the after shock that ran through his body gave Buffy enough time to spring back up and deliver a round house kick that sent the vampire flying into the tree that his dagger had been thrown. Buffy reacting to this followed the vampire's path and in quick succession punched the vampire in the stomach twice. The vampire being trapped between the tree and tried out by her punches barely saw it coming when Buffy brought the stake down killing it in one swift motion. Turning around she was meet by the claps of both Dawn and Faith.

"That was awesome B!"

"I know! Did you see his face when you staked him?"

Buffy bowed giving a wide sweep of her arm, taking in the complements that were coming her way. The Faith brought up the topic that she brought every night, "you really should consider going out with The Immortal, it is really almost like you two are darting. Everyone can see it."

The anger she had gotten rid of in the battle against the vampire came spilling back. Waves of it cascaded over her body, "No! We are just good friends…" her voice starts to trail off.

She looks at the ground suddenly finding it very interesting, watching one blade of grass move back and forth in the small wind that had just picked up. Faith and Dawn can only stare on as their friend does what she does every night the topic of actually dating again is brought up, especially when the person in suggestion happens to be a vampire. Faith leaves it at that says no more, but Dawn being Dawn speaks up, "come on Buffy! He wouldn't want you to be so sad! He died so that you could live!"

Buffy's voice is very small when she replies, "shut up Dawn, you may be my sister, but you know nothing."

Dawn stares at her sister stunned, this part of the conversation is new to her. She knows it's new to Buffy too, but she can't help thinking that she said the wrong thing. She goes over to Buffy and finds that tears are running down the woman's face. She brings her fingers up to Buffy and wipes some of the tears away. Casting a glance over her sisters shoulder to steal a glance at Faith she mouths, 'she crying.' Faith nods and leans against the tree that the vampire had been staked on, commenting in her head that the tree was getting a lot of used the particular day, "Buffy? Was it something I said?" Dawn asks.

"Just leave me alone, please."

"Listen let's get you home, then we can discuss this over a movie or something."

Buffy shook her head, "I want to go home… but I think I would like to sleep once we get there."

Dawn nods willing at the moment to do anything for her stressed sister. Buffy stands up and shakes herself off. It had been a year and a half since the happenings at the Hellmouth and she still couldn't get them out her head. Let alone her heart. And they were beginning to get worse, not better as she had planed. She had left the Hellmouth happy, only to fall into a depression that lasted for a rather long time. And it was only until a little while back that she had begun to get better, and the feeling instead of improving had just gotten worse. Only now she was stronger at keeping them inside and not letting them out, tonight being a reasonably large exception.

On the way home Dawn stuck up a new conversation to lighten the mood, "so who wants to hear a story?"

Buffy knowing what her sister was up to was more than happy to let it continue, "I guess a story would be fine."

"Okay so two days ago. You know, when I was out seeing Xander and Andrew in their apartment, on the other side of town?"

"Yes?" Faith asked, boredom evident in her voice.

"Well we were out on patrol when this vamp attacks. He starts speaking in Latin and none of us understand. Then out of nowhere he changes to English and ask us if we know what he's saying. We of course say no. Turns out he was cursing out Xander's choice of clothing the entire time. Well Xander's gets so mad his face turns red and he begins threatening the vampire. Of course the vampire magically goes poof. Well turns out that Andrew got bored and staked it. And then Xander got mad at Andrew… by the time I had left they still weren't talking!"

Buffy let out a small laugh at Dawn's expense and then went back to staring at the ground as the made their way back into the apartment they all shared. By the time they got there Buffy was physically and emotionally drained. Her body hurt and her heart ached, in more ways than one. Bringing her hands up to rub her temples she took out the key and fitted them into the lock. Trying the handle she found that she had locked it. Putting the keys back into the lock she finally unlocked it and went inside.

Putting her keys down she let out a long sigh when she looked on the couch. Anger filled her as the man who had caused much of the nights debate was found on the couch, feet up on the coffee table flipping through channels on the television. To wasted to do anything she just asked, tired and annoyed, "what are you doing here?"

"Came to see my three favorite ladies," The Immortal said exuberantly.

"Listen, I don't have the time or the energy to deal with you right now so why don't you just leave me the bloody hell alone."

Most of the residents of the house had gotten used to her use of words that Spike would use, except one. At those words The Immortal's eyes flecked gold, and anger consumed him, "I thought I mentioned that I do not want that vampire mentioned."

"Listen Shin. I'm tried of your complaining about him."

"My name isn't Shin it's Shinta get that through your head."

When Buffy had met Shinta a.k.a. The Immortal she hadn't know at the time he was a vampire. That was until she brought up by name, while explaining to him in detail her sad love stories, Angel that she became suspicious. After then going on to talk about Riley and see that he didn't know him she had relaxed a bit. The mention of Spike or William by her and the spark of knowledge in his eyes is when she had known. It turned out, that he in fact had, had a few bad run ins with the two vampires. Although he didn't show it at the time he soon made it clear that he didn't want her to mention, or bring up the vampires. Before all this of course he had no clue she was the Slayer and when he did find out he had tried to kill her. After finding that he couldn't he had settled for somewhat befriending her.

Buffy plopped down beside him and grabbed the remote. Tearing it from Shinta's hands she started flipping through channels until she came across a station that was showing the movie The Others. The Immortal groaned and got up, knowing that Buffy had chosen this movie for a reason. Buffy knew that he hated anything close to something that could be a horror movie, "fine! I get the message! I'll go."

Buffy smiled quite happy that she had completed her first mission. After seeing The Immortal out the door she locked it behind her. Then her next mission consumed her, walking slowly to her bed she fell asleep, where in dreams she was anything but sleeping.

She was in the first Sunnydale High School, battle scenes flashed before her eyes. It was her battle with Spike she realized at once. It stopped and froze at the moment where her mother was supposed to come and save her, but nothing came. She watched in horror as the wooden bracer was shoved through her chest. Then it flashed to the newer yet old other Sunnydale High School, she was in the basement, and she could see him rocking back and forth. Suddenly he looked up, and stared directly at her, "your not her. Stop trying to be her!"

Her figure entered the room and stared at Spike, she went to go comfort him. Holding him in her arms and soothing him, she looked up at Buffy as well, "this is what you never did. This is what you will never get to do, you hurt him and he's broken."

Buffy wanted to yell to scream to the figure in front of her that she loved the man who was so desperately in turmoil. But no words come, all she could do was sit and watch at what she could have had, what she hadn't let herself have because of her fear of emotions when The First had showed up. Then the figure of her looked up again, "you don't deserve him, you never did."

Buffy fell down on the hard floor of the school tears free falling from her face. She slammed her fist down on the cold concrete only to have it became covered in dirt. And then she saw him engulfed in light, bathed in it. Saw her figure retreat up the steeps. She knew she was seeing what she hadn't gotten to see. His mouth moved as if he was saying something but no words came out. She could see his body begin to crumble and the tears that had subsided begun once again flowing freely down her face. And then his body disappeared in a flame of glory, and it was only then that she let out the words she had been holding in, "you should of run."

Buffy awoke her body covered in sweat. Tears still flowing down her face. It was the first time that she had ever had that nightmare. Not to say that she never had them, no nightmares like this one came to her every night. Consuming her like wildfire, this one had been the worst of them all. It was only then that Dawn ran in, and at the sight of her sister shaking body, convulsing with sobs she hurried to help her, "oh God Buffy, what's the matter?"

"I can't stop them Dawn. I can't stop them. The come to me every night. Showing me him. Showing me what I could have had," Buffy's condition worsened and she curled up into a ball.

"What did you see?"

"I saw his death Dawn, the part after I left. I saw it all," her voice is thin and barely a whisper, she's scared.

"Do you want me to stay here with you?"

Buffy shook her head at her sisters question, "go to bed. I've dealt with worse dreams."

Dawn knows her sister is lying but goes back to her bed. Buffy on the other hand cannot go to bed, for each time she does his face right before his death comes to her, imprinted in her brain.

A/N: Wonderful eh? Review and I will write more! I swear I will! Next chapter we get to see what's Spike is up to fun right?