Spike wearily sat up in bed as Hope's cries rang out through the house. It was almost three in the morning. It killed him that he was now a night sleeper. When Hope was born, all daytime sleep time had gone out the window. He had adjusted to fit his little girl.

Spike hurried in the nursery and over to Hope's crib. His little girl was wiggling around, bawling, tears coursing down her tiny cheeks.

"Hey now, bit. Don't fret, your Da's got you." Spike reached in and picked up Hope. He picked up her white fuzzy blanket as well, making sure she was warm. He paced back and forth, rocking her gently. "What's wrong, baby? Did you have a bad dream?"

Hope's cries died down as she snuggled into her father's arms. Spike smiled as she realized the little girl had only wanted to be held. His heart warmed and grew. Each time he thought he couldn't love this little girl any more she surprised him. Spike started to hum a little song his mother used to sing to him.

Hope snuggled farther into his chest and sighed as her eyes started to drift closed. Spike smiled and kissed her forehead. As he raised his head, goose bumps appeared on his arms. Hope wiggled further into the blanket and Spike shivered as the room suddenly grew cold. He looked down and saw Hope's breath as she breath in and out. She started to shiver and Spike's eyes widened. As suddenly as t had dropped, the temperature went back up. This time to normal.

Spike didn't know what to think. Obviously something supernatural had just happened, he would have to ask Willow. He felt a little strange as he went back to set Hope in her crib and decided against it. He held his daughter closer and walked across the hall to his room. He laid down in bed and settled Hope on his stomach. Strangely, he fell asleep quickly, as if someone had shut his eyes. His mind quickly slipped to thoughts of Buffy, Hope and himself, living as a family.

When Spike had woken up the next morning, he had smiled at the sight of Hope. He walked her into her nursery and stop dead in his tracks as his eyes scanned the room. It had been ripped to shreds. Her things were scattered around the room, clothes thrown about, books flung off the shelf, and her tiny mattress had been slashed.

Hope had woken up and started to wail, as of she knew something was wrong. Willow, Oz and Dawn came running up the stairs and also froze at the sight of Hope's room. During the night, a demon had come and tried to kidnap and kill Hope, only she hadn't been there.

Spike had almost fainted as he realized what had happened. The drop in temperature, it had been a warning. It had left Spike with an uneasy feeling, like he shouldn't leave Hope alone. That was the first sign that convinced Spike, Buffy was Hope's guardian angel. He was convinced it had been her, who had changed the temperature in the room, to warn him.

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"Daddy!" Hope ran into the living room, waking Spike out of his trance. His eyes flickered to Dawn as he picked up Hope and set her on his knees. Dawn had quickly dried her tears, but not soon enough that Hope hadn't noticed. "Auntie Dawn, why are you crying?"

Spike's heart melted at the look of concern on his daughters face. She was such a sweet child, always making sure everyone was okay, thinking about others before herself. Just like her mother…well, Buffy hadn't always. Spike smiled, remembering his lover.

"Do you want me to tell you a joke?" Hope's face brightened. "Cause Unky Xander just told me one about a priest, a rabbi and a nun…merph!" Hope turned and glared at her father, pulling at the hand he had put over her mouth.

"If your uncle Xander ever tells you any jokes that include any of those characters again, you kick him in the shins."

"Spike!" Scolded Dawn, but he just kept on grinning as she did her best to hide her own grin.

"But, Daddy, that would hurt him." Hope looked up at him with puppy dog eyes and he sighed. She smiled as she realised her victory and turned back to Dawn. "Why were you crying?"

Dawn smiled. Her niece was smart. She never forgot anything and one had to be careful what they said around her as she could repeat it at any time.

"Your daddy and I were just having a little chat about your mommy." Dawn noticed that Hope lit up like a beacon at the mention of her mother. Even though she had never met Buffy, Hope loved her mother with all her heart.

"Sometimes that makes me sad too, but then I remember all the good stuff about mommy." Hope smiled brightly. "Last night, Daddy told me about the time mommy beat a big, evil, meany vampire into a big blood-ful pulp when she was really really really tired."

Dawn looked up at Spike who just shrugged sheepishly and said, "Can't help it if the little 'un likes to hear about her mum."

"You might keep the stories PG." Suggested Dawn. She just giggled as Spike began to tickle Hope. The five year old's giggles mixed with Dawn's and Molly and Mathias charged into the room to find out what they were missing. After all, it was their birthday and shouldn't they have all the fun everybody else was getting too?

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Later that night, Spike stood on the roof of the Hyperion, considering what Dawn had told him. Truthfully, he didn't believe it. It had been the same thing too many times. To many wrong guesses and Spike was beginning to fail. No he was done. He thought of his little Hope, tucked up warm down in her room. She was excited because tomorrow her Auntie Dawn was going to take her to the Zoo. It had taken almost an extra hour to get her to go to bed, and an extra special story about Buffy.

Tonight Spike had told her about the time Buffy had worked with the Scoobies to take down the Initiative. Hope loved the stories where something crazy happened, like the scoobies mixing their essences with her mother's.

"Spike."

The vampire jerked around. Someone, something had called his name. It was more like a whisper in his ear, but it was still powerful enough to make him shiver. He sighed, knowing what was coming. After the especially hard days, his mind would play tricks on him. He would hear her voice, feel her touch, see her just in front of him. Spike knew that it was getting old, now five years into the game, but he couldn't stop it.

Spike needed the comfort the illusion provided him. It didn't give him hope that she could one day come back, no. It just helped along the line to getting something close to closure.

" 'Ello, pet." Spike took one last suck of smoke and threw his cigarette on the group, rubbing it out with his boot.

"You look bad." Buffy's face was lit up in a silly grin. Spike knew this wasn't how she normally was. Before the final battle, she had always been plagued with worry and sadness. He supposed he saw her like this, because when he had seen her like this, happy, this was one of the times he loved her the most.

"Thanks." Spike leaned against the small stone casing that led back inside. "Been a while since I've seen you. Got some other crazy people to bother?"

"Didn't know I was such a burden." Spike swore he saw pain flicker through her emerald eyes, but it flew out again too quickly.

"You gotta admit, pet, a vampire that talks with his dead lover every night can't be good. It's not fair to Hope, she's missing part of her Da. Part of him still belongs to something he can never have."

"I didn't ask to die." He watched calmly as Buffy heated up and began to pace. "We've had this chat before. You think I wanted to leave you, leave our child."

"Dunno, pet." Spike played with his Zippo, gently flicking it open and closed. "You always did have a death wish."

"Now who's being unfair?" Buffy stopped pacing and crossed her arms, glaring at Spike. The patented Buffy pose.

"Well then, I guess we need to establish that life isn't fair." Spike scowled and looked up at the stars. "I don't want you coming around any more. It's no good."

"You don't want me?" Buffy's tough exterior faltered.

Spike's eyes softened, even though he knew what game she was playing. "I'll always want you, pet, but I can't have you, not like this. I can never have you the way I want and need. The way Hope needs you."

"What if I could change that?" Buffy's eyebrow lifted slightly.

"What are you…?" Spike moved toward her, curious, but Buffy never got a chance to answer. The door to the roof banged open and Hope hurled out, catching Spike's attention. When he turned back to look at Buffy, she was gone.

"Daddy!" Hope ran over to Spike, her little bare feet slapping on the cold cement. Spike bent down and scooped her up, wrapping his duster around them both in the cool night air.

"Hey, Lil bit. Shouldn't you be in bed?" Spike pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear and smoothed out her nightgown.

"I missed you." Hope looked up at her father with big eyes and kissed his cheek. When she pulled away, she added. "And I wanted a cookie."

Spike couldn't help but laugh. He started back towards the door and looked at his daughter at the same time, taking in her glowing face.

"How about some warm milk, huh? Too late for cookies." He walked her down the staircase and loosed his hold on the jacket as they arrived back in the hallways of the hotel.

"Please." Pleaded Hope. "I was talking to mommy earlier and she always says little girls should always eat cookies because it keeps them sweet."

Spike froze. Hope squirmed at little as he stopped moving and stared at her. He couldn't believe his ears. Hope talked to Buffy as well. Maybe she wasn't his mind playing tricks on him…

"Hope?" He asked, his tone serious and low. "How long have you been talking to your mother?"

"Forever." Hope grinned and spread her arms out wide, indicating what she had said. "She usually comes at bedtime after you tuck me in. Sometimes she comes early and listens to the stories you tell. She says that you should write an book about all her adventures since you know them all so well."

"You don't say." Spike started walking again. Only half listening as Hope rattled off about all the different kinds of cookies she liked. Could Dawn have been right? Could Buffy be alive? How?

TBC