A/N : The first two chapters of this were a lot of intro. Now we flash forward to...well, the future actually, although it's actually the present for this story, if that makes sense at all, and I hope it does. The real plot kicks off in this chapter, although it may be a little while before the Spuffyness gets going, I'm hoping you'll stick with this because I promise it really should be worth it in the end.

Thanx so much to the reviewers of the previous chapter; Katydid1388, Brunettepet, ness345, Moonjava, Carol, PltnmDancer, demonica mills, spk, Moluvsnumber17, Mony19, spikespet2002, ktmb20, and EMBER91. As always you guys rock.

Oh, one last thing, I can hardly believe it but I've been writing and posting fanfic here for exactly 3 years today! I feel I've come quite a long way in that time and that my writing is now much better than it was back then. Extra thanx to everyone who takes the time to read and review my efforts!

Enough rambling, chapter now...
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 3

Location : Columbus, Ohio, USA
Time : 22nd October 2005, 23:31

"Lyri?" Spike yawned as he came out of the bedroom and found her sitting at the kitchen table with her head in her hands, "You alright, pet?"

"I shall be" she nodded gently so as not to disturb her head that ached profusely.

"'Nother vision was it?" her companion asked, crouching down by her chair to see her face, and she nodded slowly once again. Something that had failed to be mentioned when the pair visited the holding place to the afterlife was that in order to be the Powers new champions, Illyria must withstand terribly painful visions of those in need of help. She endured them quite well, and the pain was no worse now than it had been on the first occasion, that was one blessing at least

"Bloody selfish, if you ask me" Spike complained, "Powers that bleedin' Be waking you up in the middle of the bloody night with their picture shows"

Illyria smiled at that, something she'd only learnt to do these past eighteen months in Spike's company. He amused her, and she liked him a great deal, though nothing romantic had ever happened between them.

"It was not the 'picture show' that awoke me" she quoted, "That came after...it was you that disturbed my sleep, you and your dreams"

Spike looked oddly at her and then away at the tiled floor when her gaze was too intense to handle. They both knew what it meant, he'd been dreaming about Buffy again. He usually remembered when he had, though not every time. Still, Illyria almost always knew, if not from the fact he called the Slayer's name in his sleep, then from his lack of words in the morning.

"You dream of her so often" Illyria commented, trying to catch his eye but he refused to look at her, "and yet you speak of her so little"

"S'complicated" Spike said, standing up again moving away from her, "And it's not like I never mention her, just last week when we took on those demons that were trying to re-open the Hellmouth in Cleveland..." he started, all defensive, but Illyria interrupted.

"You told the tale of a fight you had at her side" she reminded him, "a recreation of events similar to those we found ourselves in...but you never talk of Buffy, of what you feel for her" she pointed out and Spike kept his back to her as he searched the kitchen cupboards for something, though he didn't know what.

"Er, so, what was your vision of, luv?" the ex-vampire asked her and she slammed her hand on the table in a moment of frustration.

"Do not change the subject" she demanded, immediately regretting making such a noise as her head throbbed considerably. She winced and put her hand to her head once again, sipping at the glass of water before her, "You spend time teaching me" she continued more calmly, "of feelings and what it is to love and hate, to care and to endure grief and guilt. Still, when Buffy Summers is mentioned you cannot wait to be rid of her name from conversation"

Spike closed the cupboard door and leant on the counter top. It was true of course, everything Illyria had just said was perfectly true. There was no way to conceal anything from the woman, since he spent practically every waking moment in her company and they even slept in the same room much of the time, as they moved through hotels and boarding houses and one room between them was all they could afford.

"Why are you talking about this now?" he asked her so softly she almost didn't hear him, "Why after all these months do we have to have the big talk about Buffy" he sighed, knowing his avoidance was fruitless now Lyri had latched onto the topic. Sometimes she was like a dog with a bone.

"I think you should tell me everything about your Buffy Summers" the woman with the blue streaked hair told him as he came to sit on the chair opposite her, "because I believe hers was the face I saw in my vision"

Location : Rome, Italy
Time : 23rd October 2005, 00:15

"Happy?" Buffy smiled as she kissed the man who held her in his arms.

"I have never been happier, my love" he told her, holding her close as fireworks went off overhead, lighting up the night sky in a myriad of rainbow colours. Tonight was a very special celebration for David di Luigi's birthday, and it truly was the best birthday he ever remembered having.

He'd known from the first moment he laid eyes on Buffy Summers that she was the one for him. The Slayer had not been quite as taken by him at first but as she forced herself to move on with her life (Dawn and Andrew helped with that) she found she loved to spend time with him and looked forward to every date and meeting.

He adored Eloise and Chloe and was just as happy to spend time with the family as Buffy alone. Days out in the park or wandering around the market were their pleasure on sunny days, and romantic dinners by candlelight were shared in the evenings as either Dawn and Andrew, or Davy's parents who lived just down the street, sat with the twins.

Yesterday, since it was now past midnight, had been his twenty-seventh birthday but also the day he had become officially engaged to his girlfriend. Buffy had cried when he produced a ring and got down on one knee during his birthday celebration that was huge due to so many family members and friends living nearby. She accepted his offer and he declared his love for her as he slid the diamond ring onto her finger.

That was six hours ago now and the day was over, but their lives together were just beginning. In spite of herself though, Buffy couldn't help but ask the question that came to mind.

"Davy, you are sure about this aren't you?" she said uncertainly, showing him the ring on her finger, "I mean, I love you, you know I do, and we get along great and you're great with the kids and everything but...marriage, it's like, a huge deal"

"Buffy" he smiled, "I know why you're doing this" he told her. Having heard many tales from both herself and Dawn about her less than great history with men, Davy was far from oblivious as to why she might be cautious entering such a serious situation as marriage with him, "I also know that I've never loved anyone the way I love you, and I'm thrilled to have Ellie and Chloe as part of the package" he assured her, "If it's you that's not sure then..."

"No" she silenced him with shake of her head and a finger on his lips, "No, I'm sure" she promised him, "I love you" she said with a smile, before kissing him again, feeling for the first time in a long time that life could actually work out okay now.

Up above the kissing couple, Dawn leant over on the balcony and watched the display of affection. She was so thrilled for her sister, it was just perfect having her be so happy and Davy was such a nice guy, Dawn just couldn't find fault with him. That worried her for a while. She was convinced he had to be some kind of demon or there was a spell on him or something, but no. Davy was just your average half-Italian, half-English guy, with an ever expanding knowledge of all things demony.

As it turned out, his mother had been Watcher to an Italian Slayer, called in late 1977. Luisa Vincenzi had only survived a few months and so the young lady Watcher's visit to the South European country was short but none the less enjoyable as she entered into a relationship with one Marco di Luigi.

She realised when she arrived back in England that she was carrying his child and decided in a moment of madness to give up her career and run back to Italy, in the hope that Marco would still want to be with her when she told him the truth about her life.

Later that year they were married and their son David Marco di Luigi was born. His parents doted on him and he was their world right into adulthood. They loved that Buffy was soon to be their daughter-in-law and adored her children too. The young couple had never told Davy's parents the true identity of Ellie and Chloe's father since he was certain they would not understand or approve of Buffy's previous partners, but she had told David the truth almost as soon as she'd found out he knew about Slayers, Watchers, and demons.

He wanted to end it then, for the life of him he could not understand how anyone could love a vampire, souled or otherwise, but already his love for Buffy was too strong to be ignored and he accepted her past in order to share her future.

Dawn sighed as she watched the couple kiss under the light of the almost full moon. It was like a fairytale really, and even she had found a little romance of her own. Andrew was sweet and attentive and she'd grown to love him over the time. The two of them, plus Buffy, Davy, Ellie, and Chloe were such a happy little family, though the younger Summers sometimes yearned for the old days.

Sometimes she dreamt of Sunnydale, and their little house on Revello Drive. It was usually Thanksgiving or Christmas, and her Mom would be there, baking pie. Giles would be in the living room reading a book, whilst she watched TV with Xander, Willow, Tara and Anya. Buffy would get back from patrol, and always with Spike when it was in Dawn's dream.

For all the bad he'd done, in the end Dawn found she couldn't hate him like she should. He'd hurt Buffy, violated her trust in such an awful way that Dawn had actually threatened to kill him if he so much as touched her, but afterwards as they shared a house and faced the First together, he became her older brother again, and she loved him. She felt the pain just as her sister did when the amulet he used to save the world dusted him too, and she cried almost just as hard when she read the letter that was received via Andrew, from the vampire himself. He may have died but he'd come back and they never knew. Now he was gone again and this time it was a forever deal.

"People have a tendency to go away" she whispered to herself, recalling words she'd said years ago, "and sometimes I wish..." she stopped short when she realised what she was doing. She always stopped herself from finishing sentences that had that word in them, for fear of who was listening and what might happen.

"You okay, Dawnie?" Andrew asked her as he approached and came to stand beside her.

"Yeah" she smiled across at him, "I was just thinking is all, about Sunnydale...and Spike actually"

"He was one very brave vampyr" he over-pronounced and Dawn couldn't help the giggle that escaped her.

"He was" she agreed in a whisper, moving closer to her boyfriend until he put his arm around her shoulders.

In the bedroom she heard the kids stirring and she sighed. It was okay for her, she had her memories of Spike, what did Ellie and Chloe know of their father?

'Nothing', she thought sadly, 'and they never will'

Location : Columbus, Ohio, USA
Time : 22nd October 2005, 23:34

"You saw Buffy!" Spike gasped in alarm at the very idea that his precious Slayer might be in trouble. Of course over the past two and half years that he hadn't seen her she'd probably averted a couple of apocalypses that he wasn't aware of, that was her deal after all, but to be told, to be certain she was in danger, it made his all too human heart hammer in his chest til he thought his ribs would break.

"I believe it was her" Illyria nodded once, "she resembles the photograph you always carry" she said, glancing over at him and he nodded absently. He only had one picture of his Slayer these days and he carried it on him always.

It was from her birthday, her last one in Sunnydale. The battle against the First meant almost constant stress and worry for her, but on that day he actually saw her genuinely smile, and thankfully Willow had captured that moment on film. He hadn't even had to ask for a copy of the picture, she'd just given it to him without a word. He always had liked the witch in a funny sort of way.

He reached into the pocket of his jeans (the only thing he was wearing) and took the photo out, staring at it wistfully before handing it to Illyria.

"You sure it was her?" he checked, trying not to panic but unable to help himself. He'd seen some terrible things as a result of his companions visions. If something awful was happening to Buffy...God he couldn't bear the thought of it.

"It was" Illyria nodded, closing her eyes against the pain in her head that still continued, "It is, I see it still when I close my eyes" she told him. It was something she wasn't sure whether she'd learnt to do or just something extra the Powers had let her have lately. Closing her eyes and concentrating brought back still shots of the vision she had most recently endured, though the pain intensified when she tried it.

"What is it? What's wrong with her?" he asked, agitatedly, "A demon? An apocalypse? What!"

Illyria frowned as she opened her eyes. She looked at him strangely as she answered his question.

"An engagement ring"

To Be Continued...