The Nearness Of You

Hello darling readers!

No, I am not dead, but I feel like someone kidnapped my muse. Any ideas that you all have for my story would be very much appreciated.

Even though I have not put up new chapters doesn't mean I'm not working on this story. For the past few months I have been rewriting the first several chapters, extending them and fixing typos.

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to review!

-----Take My Breath Away-----

"Something's not right," Buffy said, concern written all over her face. She couldn't explain why, but she knew that something bad was happening. Maybe it was like a mother's instincts.

"Buffy, I'm sure the kids are fine all alone," Spike replied. He groaned as he watched his woman get all antsy. Arguing would do him no good at this point; Buffy had already made up her mind.

"I'm going home. My slayer senses are tweaking out," Buffy answered walking out of the cemetery. She didn't even look to see if anybody was following her.

"Hey B, you thinkin' somethin' sinister is going down?" Faith asked, jogging up next to Buffy.

"Bet the farm," the blonde slayer replied.

It was a tense and silent walk back to Buffy and Spike's home. After ten minutes Spike caught up to the two slayers as they marched up the driveway. Buffy stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the front door wide open.

"Oh god Spike, I can't look. If I lose them-," Buffy said fearing the worst.

"Stay here," Spike cut off her sentence running inside, "Emma! Emma! Kids!" Spike yelled, running through the house.

He was relieved to find his baby girls safely tucked into their beds and Connor napping on the reclining chair. Unfortunately relief did not last for long, when he looked through the rest of the house for older Emma. She was nowhere to be found and the kitchen and living room were trashed. There was a fight, so where were the fighters?

"Is everyone all right?" Faith asked standing in the doorway.

"The children are all safely sleeping inside," Spike replied tensely.

"And Emma?" Darmian asked walking up to the scene, followed closely by the rest of the Scoobies.

"Emma is missing," Spike answered with dread in his voice.

o8o8o8o

"You're a jerk," Emma said glaring at Noah.

Noah smiled confidently his blue eyes sparkling with delight. Noah looked like a young Brad Pitt. His lean muscular body was dressed in a black silk button down shirt left untucked and black dress pants. Emma had developed a crush on Noah the first time they fought, but he was evil. He was so good looking it was painful, literally and figuratively speaking. No one man should be that charismatic it was dangerous.

She was chained to a bench inside some old abandoned factory. The pair where waiting for a ship to sneak aboard, but Emma knew her chances of being save diminished majorly if she got onto that vessel so she attempted to keep him distracted. Noah wasn't stupid like most vampires and would not fall for any of her games, but that didn't stop Emma from trying.

"Sweetness, I would unchain you if you would stop trying to escape," Noah said with a smile as he tenderly caressed her cheek. Noah loved to look at his girl she was his priceless gem.

"You could have at least given me something more sensible to wear. This place is too cold to be wearing a little black dress," Emma complained. Strange how bad guys delegated their time, she thought.

Emma sat on the cold steel bench shivering, but she looked gorgeous in her tight little black dress the he had pick out for her. Noah knew the dress was perfect for her the moment he saw it. The neck of the dress scooped low to reveal cleavage and the hem of her skirt ended mid-thigh. Emma's dirty-blonde hair cascaded around her shoulders.

"You grew up so strong and untouchable," Noah said making conversation with her.

"My family raised me to be a fighter," Emma replied flippantly.

"I'm talking about more then just you're demon slaying. How many dates did you go on in high school?" Noah asked with an expectant look.

"I was too busy to bother with trivial things like that," Emma explained.

"You weren't interested in boys, Emma. You wanted to be with a man and that is why you agreed to have sex with me when you were seventeen," Noah replied confidently.

"You took advantage of me," was Emma's only response.

"Did I? Well now lets look back and remember what really happened," Noah said in disgust. He had women throwing themselves at him and did not need to hear Emma's high and mighty rape story.

"I went to the cemetery to escape my home, I saw you there, and then you had sex with me," Emma replied with a clipped tone.

"Hmm, as I remember it you kissed me first. In fact, I told you to stop and you were the one that insisted we go further. Any of this jogging your memory?" Noah asked.

"Would you shut up about it! One time and you haven't left it alone since then," Emma glowered with hatred.

"Babe, it's all your fault really. I could have any vampiress to be my queen, but one taste of you ruined me to other women," he let out a sigh.

"I hate you," Emma said.

"No you don't," Noah corrected.

"Yes, I really do," she countered glaring at her captor.

"Then why haven't you moved on to any other men?" smugly asked Noah.

"Who says I haven't? I hate to break it to you, but Darmian is my new lover and he is going to kick your ass," Emma replied laughing at Noah.

"Whore!" Noah bellowed, backhanding her across the face viciously. Emma only gave a taunting little laugh as she spit up blood.

o8o8o8o

"Hey slayer, what can I do for you tonight?" Willie asked loudly taking a step back, hoping to stay out of her reach.

"Where are they?" Faith asked with a smile, taking a seat at the bar pulling out a giant blade.

"W-who are you lookin' f-for?" Willie asked stuttering nervously.

"Buffy and Spike's brat. She got taken by some baddie called Noah," the voluptuous brunette clarified.

"Oh, yeah I think I heard somethin' about that chick. She's a real scrapper, he had one hell of a time getting her to the factory," Willie said to Faith.

"Which factory?" Faith asked cracking her knuckles and smiling maliciously.

"I don't know," Willie replied.

"Wrong answer," Faith declared before slamming Willie's head into the countertop.

"He is planning on escaping on some ship. Try checking abandoned factories near the docks," Willie gasped out through his pain.

"Thanks sweet cakes," Faith grinned before planting a kiss on Willie's cheek and strolling out of the bar.

"What a woman," he sighed watching her perfect backside exit his establishment.

o8o8o8o

"I love you, slayer," Spike said, wrapping his arms around Buffy's waist.

"I love you too, vampire," she replied resting her head on his shoulder.

"Summers women seem irresistible to master vampires it seems," Spike mused aloud.

"At least I was never kidnapped by my vampire boyfriends," Buffy sighed.

"No, we usually just fought to the death, like proper mortal enemies should," he knew she wouldn't find it as funny as he did.

"I wonder if my mom ever worried like this. I doubt it, since she had no clue what danger I was in most nights," Buffy pondered.

"I'm sure your mum was still just as worried about you, even if she didn't know what was really going on," Spike answered kissing the top of her pretty blonde head.

"This is gonna sound strange, but I swear I can feel Emma. Like I know the fear she is feeling at this exact moment," Buffy said quietly.

"Maybe you are," Spike reasoned, "Remember when we first showed up in Sunnyhell? Emma demonstrated qualities of being empathic, but we never really looked into it. Maybe as Em gets older she becomes stronger with her empathic abilities and can emit waves or something," Spike suggested.

"Hey there kiddies, this is your lucky day!" Faith declared walking into the bedroom where the couple was waiting, "she's in one of the factories down by the docks."

"Let go," Buffy said storming out of her house with Spike by her side, scoobies following close behind.

o8o8o8o

"Play nice, tiger," Noah said, ducking under one of her swings.

"Fat chance," Emma growled, kicking her opponent in the side.

Amazing how quickly the odds could change when she was unchained. Emma broke free of her bonds and proceeded to wail unmercifully upon Noah who could only try to avoid her blows. She was furious as he grabbed her ass and winked.

"You should have just let me go," she said punching the side of his face.

"Never," was his declaration as he shoved her to the cement floor. Noah let out a moan when he saw Emma skirt had ridden up high enough to give him a very good view.

"Pig," Emma screamed jumping to her feet and delivering a roundhouse kick.

"I'm not the only one who likes to get down and dirty, you seemed to enjoy yourself plenty," Noah said, punching her in the side ribs.

"I fucking hate you," Emma growled, holding her injured side.

"Your life would be empty without m-" Noah would never get to finish his sentence.

Emma watched in awe as Noah disintegrated before her eyes and when there was nothing left, but his ashes she sank to her knees in shock. She couldn't believe what just happened, even as she looked at the stake in her hand and back at his ashes.

The tears that slid down her cheeks came unannounced. Soon they became harsh sobs as realization dawned upon her that she would never get to see Noah again. The bastard was right; her life would be empty without him. Emma touched his ashes gingerly and then fisted a handful and cried even harder.

This would be the scene that everyone came upon.

"Em, are you alright?" Jennifer asked concerned, she was knelt down by her older sister. Jennifer was surprised to see Emma cry, she had never seen her older sister cry like this.

"Come back," were the only words Emma managed to whimper out.

"What happened?" Connor asked checking Emma for serious injuries, the like he had done a million times before. He saw a lot of cuts and bruises and suspected that she may have a few broken bones, but he wasn't able the fully check.

"I killed him," she sobbed out. Her tears mingled with Noah's ashes.

"Why the waterworks then?" Spike asked with a furrowed brow.

"I'm sure it's just the stress," Buffy assured him.

Darmian watched the scene before him with mixed emotions; he wanted to comfort the crying girl the lay there. But he knew that he would have to let her go. Darmian sighed sadly and then left the factory. Emma was not his, at least not yet he reminded himself. Emma would return to her time period and she would be with him in the future, but for now he would have to face solitude again.

Slowly the group left the building one by one until there were only a handful of people left.

Emma, Connor and Jennifer all sat on the ground together, hugging each other. Buffy, Spike, Cordelia, and Angel stood watching over the teens.

"We should go home now," Connor said at last. He helped Emma to her feet and she still clung to her partner, crying brokenly on his shoulder.

"Thank god, my feet are killing me in these shoes," Cordelia exclaimed.

"No, back to our home," Connor explained.

"We did what we came here to do," Jennifer agreed.

"That's it? You are just going to leave like that?" Buffy asked shocked.

"It's time," was the only explanation Connor gave.

"I'll miss you all so much," Buffy replied.

"No you wont," Jennifer said with a small sad smile.

"We won't remember any of this will we?" Angel asked.

"It could ruin our future," Connor explained, reaching into his pocket and pulling out three green crystals.

"Your mum and I love you girls, I can't wait to see what miracles you will do," Spike said hugging his daughters.

Angel held out his hand to Connor, but the younger man hugged his father and then Cordelia the woman he thought of like a mother.

"Looks like I'll be escorting not one, but two of the prettiest ladies in all of Sunndydale home tonight," Connor said with a smile linking arms with his girls.

The three of them smashed their green crystals on the ground and then they were gone.

"What are you looking at, ponce?" Spike demanded glaring at his sire.

"Alright Buffy slayed, can we go now? My feet are still killing me," Cordelia whined.

"I feel like I forgot what I was going to say next," Angel said desperately trying to capture the fleeting memory.

"I hate when that happens or like when you lose your thought mid-sentence," Buffy agreed.

The four walked out of the factory, leaving shattered crystals and ash behind them.