The Nearness Of You

Hello, Hello! Well sweethearts, things are getting very interesting in this story. I can't wait to reveal what I have planned.

Sorry this chapter has taken so long, but there is a lot in this. I've re-written this chapter at least a dozen times to make it perfect for my readers. All of your reviews mean so much to me and I want you to have an enjoyable reading experience.

So after watching Phantom of the Opera like a million times, I became inspired! The rest of the story is a musical! No, I'm lying. But Phantom did inspire me in a strange way on this chapter.

I feel like celebrating, I have 200 reviews. I never expected anything that great. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! Please continue to review…

Lots of love,

Discord Marie

-----Point Of No Return-----

"Spike is evil," Emma sighed as she tried to clean up the cupcake frosting off the tile.

The Scooby gang along with Connor and Jennifer had left a few hours before sunset to prepare for their fight against Noah. That left just Emma to baby-sit the children, but if that wasn't bad enough, Spike had given little Connor and little Emma cupcakes. It was highly doubtful that very much of the sweets were actually eaten. Instead, it seemed cupcakes made better weapons then dessert.

Emma looked around the dining room with the pastel colored icing all over the walls, ceiling, and floor. She was just grateful that the little ones all went to bed without much fuss.

Emma looked out a nearby window at the setting sun. Her family and friends would be fighting Noah very soon and she was stuck home. How had she been convinced to stay behind? Emma's whole life was to fight evil, not hide away from it.

"Forget this! I agreed to stay behind, somebody else can clean up this mess," Emma declared out loud to nobody in particular.

Emma walked down the hall to the bathroom. She stood before the full-length mirror that was attached to the door and smiled at her reflection. Emma was wearing a gray cotton baby-tee and matching booty-shorts. Little Emma had insisted upon braiding older Emma's hair. She grabbed a hairbrush off the counter and brushed the multiple braids out of her hair, until her long blonde hair was silky soft. Even though she was dressed in relaxed clothes, Emma was still stunning.

Looking in on the sleeping children brought a smile the Emma's face. They looked like little angels when they weren't raising hell. She wandered around the house aimlessly. Waiting around was crazy making and Emma sorely missed Darmian's soothing presence.

o8o8o8o

"How do you think Emma is doing at the house with all three kids?" Buffy asked, leaning against the cemetery wall playing with the stake in her hand.

"I'm sure she is enjoying a nice, quiet, relaxing evening away from any bad men," Spike assured Buffy, as he continued to pace about anxiously waiting for the pillock to show up.

"Em is probably freaking out," Connor corrected. Connor was sitting on the ground looking completely relaxed as though he were at a picnic.

"I still can't believe she actually stayed behind," Jennifer added. She was lying down, her head resting on Connor's knee.

"Let Emma take my place. I don't want to be hear with any of you losers," Anya said exasperated. Anya sat on one of the headstones glaring at the group for forcing her to be here.

"Anya sweetie, we are all here because Emma can't be," Xander reminded her rubbing her arms to try and comfort her.

Most of the group sat in silence waiting near the entrance of the cemetery where Noah's girlfriend had died. Willow and Giles whispered back and forth, flipping through pages in the spell book they had in front of them.

Tara stood silently with the ever-present worried expression on her face. "D-do you think Buffy will be able to s-stop him without Emma," Tara asked Darmian softly.

"This is Emma's fight, she should be here to finish it," Darmian replied and let out a sigh.

"You r-really love her don't you," it was more of a statement then a question.

"Yes," was Darmian's only response. Darmian had been alive longer then most other immortals could imagine. Just when he thought everything inside was dead and dried up, he met a little blonde vampire slayer. Buffy was still a child, only seventeen and very pregnant. When Emma was born she was like a gift that Darmian prized. He could barely stand to share Emma with her mother, let alone the world. Emma brought Darmian to life.

"That's so disgusting! Take your Lifetime movie-of-the-week somewhere else," Faith exclaimed also waiting impatiently.

"Alright it has been almost an hour since sunset. Where is Nathan?" Buffy grumbled.

"Noah. His name is Noah," Angel replied, "and how do we even know this is where he is supposed be?"

"Because this is where his woman died. Noah would want to face off here," Connor explained.

"So what's taking him so long?" Buffy asked.

o8o8o8o

Emma lounged on the couch in the living room watching a rerun of the TV show 'Joan of Arcadia'. She had just finished painting her toenails and was waving her feet to try and dry the nail polish faster. Emma heard soft whispers from the children's room and made an annoyed sound.

"Go to sleep," Emma yelled at the direction of the kids. She turned her attention back to the television and began to hum a song that had been stuck in her head all day.

"You should really go look in on the little ones more often," came the male voice from behind Emma.

"Noah," Emma gasped in surprise, she jumped into a defensive stance to face him. She was horrified to see Noah cradling a sleepy little Connor.

"I guess no one taught this little guy not to invite strangers into a house," Noah said, cuddling the toddler to his chest.

"Put him down," Emma demanded trying to keep her voice from quivering.

Noah just smiled at her and that was the most unnerving part. Noah had the most reassuring smile, like nothing bad would ever happen. His warm blue eyes lulled everyone into a sense of security. But that safe haven look was nothing but an illusion that hid a psychopathic monster.

"C'mon Emma, do you really think I'm such a monster?" Noah asked with a false hurt tone.

"I really do," she replied.

"Fine. It's not him I want anyways," Noah nodded his head in agreement and placed the drowsy toddler on the recliner.

"What do you want? At first it was revenge for the death of your mate and now?" Emma inquired with frustration.

Noah smiled right before plundering Emma's mouth with his own, while he backed her up to the couch. Catching her off guard with his impassioned move, Noah pushed Emma onto the couch to have his way with her.

At first Emma was in shock. Was Noah really crazy enough to be pulling down her shorts and attempting to have sex with his enemy on her parent's couch? Emma stopped Noah's seductive actions and attacked with a vicious kick that launched him across the room and into a wall. Emma charged at him, but before she could strike Noah grabbed onto her and used her own momentum to slam her face first into the same wall.

"Darling, why are you fighting me?" he asked sweetly, before kneeing her in the ribs.

"Take a wild guess," Emma growled delivering an elbow to the side of his face.

Noah only laughed at Emma as he continued to bludgeon her. Emma stomped down on his foot with brutal force, before kicking the side of his knee. Noah dropped down onto his knees in pain, grabbed onto Emma's ankles and pulled knocking her flat onto her back. He tugged on her leg bringing her parallel to him. Emma shoved him away, but Noah grasped her wrists in his hands and rolled them 'til she was pinned down and he was straddling her.

Taking advantage of his position Noah claimed another brutal kiss.

"Admit it, we have something," he said with a smirk. Noah enjoyed having a gorgeous enraged woman beneath him.

"Get the hell off of me!" she exclaimed with pure rage. Emma tried to wrestle him off but he kept a crushing hold on her.

"Be mine, Emma," Noah demanded, the humor was gone from his voice. Now it was a very serious and dangerous vampire master that held her to the floor, demanding ownership.

"Please let me go," Emma begged, hoping to appeal to whatever sensitive side Noah had.

"No man would love you the way I could. You would have anything and everything. Emma, the world would be yours," explained the evil master vampire that now had her pinned to the floor.

"And if I say no?" Emma queried. She was defiant to the end.

Noah growled at her and tightened his grip, standing up he dragged Emma along behind. She tried to loosen his hold and pull away, but there was no stopping him. Noah led her out of the house and onto the deserted streets of Sunnydale.

"Where are you taking me?" Emma asked still struggling against her captor.

"Don't worry about that," was Noah's only answer.

After a few minutes of being pulled toward her unknown destination, inspiration struck. Emma took a careless step, tripped and that caused her to take a rather nasty looking fall.

"Owww!" Emma cried out hoping to gain sympathy. She began to rub her ankle and make pained sounds.

"What's wrong?" Noah asked suspiciously, examining her ankle that she was rubbing.

"I sprained my ankle. I can't walk," Emma whined.

"You won't need to walk where I'm taking you, dearest," Noah smiled sadistically and flung Emma over his shoulder like a potato sack.