Domestic Shadows

By SinisterChic & MsQuey

A/N: This story follows cannon up until our hero's final battle with the First. From there on, for the sake of this fic, the plot line is completely AU except for the fact that the Scoobies and Potentials still kick the First's evil ass and Sunnydale collapses in on itself. Just forget that Spike ever died . . . or that he ended up at sodding Wolfram & Hart with that poof Angel. (Sorry, channeling Spike. evil eyebrow grin)

Disclaimer: Neither SinisterChic nor MsQuey own any of the original characters of BtVS. They intend no copyright infringement and humbly ask that those that do own them do not sue them . . . You wouldn't get much anyway. They do however claim ownership to any and all original characters introduced within this story.


Chapter 4

A dark figure leaned against the stone wall of a cave. He watched fondly as a woman hovered nearby over a wooden bowl of water. She chanted and waved her hands over the scrying tool. There was a sickening, cloying smell that was so strong that a normal person may have passed out, but these were hardly normal people.

The man reached inside his cloak and pulled out a flask. "Do you see anything, darling," he asked taking a drink.

"Not yet, Dante," she whispered.

He frowned, wiping a stray drop of blood from his lips. She had said 'yet', as if she were searching for something threatening. "Clor, why don't you come to bed? You've been scouting around for almost an hour."

"Just another sweep," she said.

"There's nothing after us," he assured her. "No one could possibly know we are here. Not even those of our own kind."

She squirmed out of his clutch and He reluctantly let her go. He knew that there was no getting through to her when she was in this kind of mood.

Suddenly Clorinda raised her head in a quick thrust. Her long dark hair flung back from the motion. Her wide violet eyes found his, and her blood-red lips parted. In the blink of an eye he was by her side, gripping her slender shoulders tightly.

"What is it, my love? What did you see?" he gently questioned.

Her fragile body (fragile, that is, compared to Dante) violently trembled with emotion. "A-A girl."

Dante ran a hand through her hair and whispered into her ear. "Shhh, now, what harm can a girl do?"

"She's not a normal girl. I see power."

He began to sway with her cupped in his arms as if comforting a child rather than a lover."We'll move again if you wish, darling. We'll go far away, to another continent even."

She shook her head. "She'll find us. Wherever we go, she'll find us."

Dante scooped Clorinda up and carried her to bed. He felt like the Phantom of the Opera at the moment, carrying his love off through his secret cavern. He lay down next to her, gathering her into his arms. She breathed harshly, a sound he wasn't accustomed to. Whatever she had seen, this small girl she spoke of, had really unsettled her. Fright accumulated in his chest. Not of the threat, because he knew there was none. But that Clorinda believed that there was, and he didn't know if he could convince her otherwise this time.

"Okay, Rebecca, I think it's time you got ready for bed," Buffy said. Nine o'clock seemed like a reasonable bedtime for a five year-old. At least, Buffy guessed that was how old Rebecca was. She hadn't actually been around enough children in her lifetime to know.

Rebecca got up from her cross-legged seat on the floor. She had been watching the Care Bear movie on Cartoon Network. It was over now, and the credits had started to roll. As Rebecca stood to face her, Buffy realized just how cute the little girl was. She hadn't taken the time to really look at her until then. Rebecca wore an adorable outfit of pink overalls over a white shirt, with lacy socks. Her brown hair had been done-up in two pigtails by Dawn, who over the day had apparently grown fond of their guest. Her soft brown eyes looked at Buffy, waiting for further instructions. Buffy was surprised at how obedient the girl was. She thought all kids fought tooth and nail in order to stay up to all hours of the night.

"All right, how about we brush your teeth and wash your face?" Buffy suggested. That's what she did before sleep. Little kid agendas couldn't be that much different.

Rebecca put her tiny hand in Buffy's. For a second Buffy didn't know how to react to the little girl's trusting gesture, but then she gently squeezed and led her upstairs.

"Where will I sleep, Ms. Buffy?" Rebecca questioned.

Ms. Buffy? Her mother had given her manners. Buffy remembered one time Dawn called a stranger 'poopy head'. Joyce had been appalled at her daughter's behavior. Or course, that didn't really happen. . . But it was real enough to Buffy and Dawn.

Buffy thought for a moment. "You can take my bed for tonight," Buffy said, finally. "You'll like it. It's really comfy."

It was a good thing they always kept a spare toothbrush. Buffy felt sorry it was adult sized, and that they didn't have fruity toothpaste. Buffy watched as Rebecca ran the brush in a circular motion in her mouth. She was amazed at how thorough she cleaned, even the molars.

After washing Rebecca's face, Buffy took her into her bedroom. She folded down the covers.

Rebecca looked around in simple delight. "Pretty room," she complimented.

"Thank you," Buffy said.

Rebecca climbed into the large bed and Buffy tucked the blankets around her small form. Buffy felt her heart squeeze, remembering how it had been when her mother had put her to bed. It seemed so long ago, and she could hardly recall what it felt like to be taken care of.

"My mommy would read me a story," Rebecca whispered, a little sadness creeping into her tiny voice.

Buffy bit her lip. A story? They hardly had any books in the house, and definitely none with pictures. She and Dawn were strictlymagazine people.

"Once upon a time . . ."

The slayer spun around to see Spike enter. It figured that he would swoop in and save the day, er night. That was what he did now: be the hero. When exactly had they switched roles? He used to be the heart-sick puppy and now she was. And he had taken on the patrolling and saving innocent lives while she stayed at home and watched Survivor and The Bachelorette.

Buffy heard Rebecca laugh at something Spike said. She realized that she hadn't been listening to a bit of the story so far. She tuned herself into the adventurous tale.

"So, the knight thrust on the necklace, prepared to sacrifice himself to kill the dragon. Magic shot out of it and killed the beast. But it kept coming, and the knight knew that his body couldn't handle it. He was going to burn up."

Rebecca gasped.

Spike glanced at Buffy. "But the princess wasn't about to let her true love go. So she ran in and snatched the necklace off. The two fled the scene and lived happily ever after."

Rebecca looked up at Spike with adoring eyes. "Was that a true story?" she asked.

Spike opened his mouth to speak. Buffy answered instead. "No, Becca, that was made-up."

Spike glared at her. Buffy ignored him. She hadn't lied. The story wasn't true because the ending was completely wrong. They hadn't lived happily ever after. The princess had to face the knight every day but could never tell him how she felt because the knight wouldn't believe her . . . And then the knight decided to pack his bags and ride off into the sunset (or after the sun had set) without her.

Rebecca looked ready to cry. "My mommy used to call me Becca."

"I'm sorry," Buffy told her. She sat down beside Rebecca. "I lost my mother too."

She looked up as she felt Spike rise from the bed. He crept out quietly. Buffy guessed he sensed the personal matter of their conversation and wanted to give them privacy.

"Really?" Rebecca sniffed, holding back the tears.

Buffy nodded. "It's hard without your mother. But you'll see her again."

"Cuz she's up in heaven, right Ms. Buffy?"

Buffy forced a smile. "Right."

Buffy leaned down and hugged Rebecca.

"Do you think our mommies are friends?"

Buffy's smile wobbled. "Definitely."

Rebecca smiled back, hers true. She shut her eyes.

Spike waited for Buffy out in the hall.

"You're good with her. You'd make a good mum."

Please don't say that, Buffy silently pleaded. That kind of thing makes it harder.

"I don't see that happening. I can't raise a kid on my own and my track record is faulty with men. Angel left me. Parker, well let's not go into that. Riley left me. And you . . ."

He folded his arms and leaned against the wall, peering at her with his sharp blue eyes. "What about me?" he challenged.

You're going to leave me too! She had the urge to punch him, to hit him until he believed what she said down in the Hellmouth. But she didn't. She wasn't like that anymore, she'd never hurt him that way again. If she were true to herself, she'd admit that it had been her violent nature that led to him to disbelieve her in the first place.

She hated it when he looked at her this way. He looked as if he could see deep into the core of her soul. He was waiting for a response, yet she could almost believe he had dug the information out of her already.

Buffy hated that even given the chance to abandon her slayer role she still couldn't show her weakness. She wished she could cry and confess everything in her heart. It'd be one of those sappy scenes you saw on TV, where the girl spilled it all and the guy revealed that he felt the same way.

"Buffy, luv?"

"What are we going to do about Rebecca?" That's right, Buffy, change the subject. If you can't run away physically . . .

He knew what she was doing. The probing perception never let him down. But he had said earlier that they had more important things to deal with than the 'us' that was nonexistent.

"If she becomes a problem I'll take her away. She can stay with me," Spike said.

"Off in some dusty crypt? I don't think so. She's a little girl, Spike. You can't raise kids with dead bodies around."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oi, is that right? And what about you sending Dawn down with a mug of blood?"

"That's different! Dawn is way older, and she was raised around weird stuff. And besides, you aren't dead-dead," she countered. Sometimes I forget you are dead at all, she thought to herself.

"I know. And I wouldn't shove her in some dank hole in the ground. I'd find a posh apartment somewhere."

"With what? Your poker winnings? You can't pay the rent with kittens." She got him there.

There was a span of silence. Spike clenched his jaw in frustration.

Buffy sighed. "Maybe I should contact social services. They aren't all like nasty Mrs. Kroger."

"No!" The forcefulness of the word made Buffy jump. "What would we tell them? 'This is Rebecca. Her mum was offed by a vampire. To top it off, she might be psychic'. They'll ask a million questions we can't answer. Besides, I'm not throwing her out to who knows who. I'm responsible for her. I'll take care of it."

She was tempted to take the negligent route and let him handle it. He had looked after Drusilla for what, a hundred years? And while she had been gone he had kept his promise and protected Dawn. When Spike set his mind to something he followed through no matter what.

The distressing scream caught them off guard. They took a split-second to glance at each other in puzzlement and then rushed into the bedroom. Rebecca thrashed around, tangling the blankets with her legs. Buffy realized that the girl wasn't even awake yet. She didn't know what to do. Wasn't it a bad idea to awaken someone having a nightmare suddenly because of the danger of shock? She thought she heard that somewhere. Psychology class?

Spike neared the flaying child slowly. He took hold of her with care and gingerly coaxed her awake. Buffy watched with amazement. She got the feeling he had dealt with this sort of thing before. With Drusilla probably.

"Come on, nibblity bit, it's all right. I've got ya," Spike murmured.

"There were monsters, Mr. Spike. They were going to get me. They know where I am," Rebecca said through sobs.

Spike held her, running a hand in circles over her back. "I won't let anything get you," he promised.

It was wrong, Buffy knew this, but she instantly felt jealous. She wanted it to be herself in Spike's arms, his sultry voice speaking soothingly to her.

"Stay with me, Mr. Spike," Rebecca begged.

"Course." Spike climbed onto the mattress. Rebecca rested comfortably in the crook of his arm.

"Ms. Buffy?"

Oh. Buffy focused. "Huh?"

"Would you stay too?"

Buffy's eyes widened. "Oh, uh, I don't . . ."

"Come on, Buffy," Spike urged. He patted the mattress. "I don't bite anymore, remember."

"I-I guess." The thought of sleeping next to Spike again made her feel shy. She hugged her arms. "Double the evil protection," Buffy said.

So they all ended up in Buffy's queen-sized bed. Rebecca lay between the two blondes, pacified by their presence. Spike and Buffy shared a look that meant they had to look into Rebecca's dreams later. And then Spike fell into slumber right after Rebecca. Buffy kept vigil for a long while with an aching chest. It wasn't until she reached out past Rebecca to Spike, holding them both, that she was able to follow them into blissful oblivion.