A/N : Thanx so much for the latest reveiws; EMBER91, Brunettepet, Moluvsnumber17, maigain, funkydevil206, darkbuffy08, LiLi, m, Mony19, and KelleyTheSelfToastablePopTart - you guys rock so much!
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 11

Xander winced at the too clear memory he must now impart to the the group that sat around him. The last person he wanted to tell was his best friend, Buffy, since she was the one set to suffer most it seemed, but she needed a chance to defend herself and he was here to make sure she got that chance. He was there to help and watch her back like he'd always done. The young man took a deep breath and began.

"I felt pain, I don't know if that was the force of the vision or if it went with the pictures but, I saw you Buff" he told the Slayer, "and I saw a demon, the big, bad, ugly kind with a gem, like a diamond maybe in it's head" he winced at the memory of the pictures he'd seen, closing the one functional eye he had as if that would stop him seeing that which was within his mind, "Then it changed. There was fire, screaming, a whole bunch of badness all mixed up and going through my head so fast I couldn't take it all in, and then, then Tara"

"Glinda?" Spike checked, "You saw her?"

Xander nodded confirmation and the ex-vampire found everyone's attention had switched to him.

"She was the one that...when me and Lyri here got put back here" he explained "We went to this place, gateway to the afterlife they called it... Tara was there"

"The two events may be connected" Giles suggested but Xander shook his head.

"But I didn't see Spike" he protested, "Or Blue Ranger here, just Buffy and then badness and..."

"And?" the bleached blond prompted when the the boy fell silent.

"And two little blonde girls getting taken from their Slayer-type Mom" he admitted, feeling horrible about it. If he and Illyria had both seen it, the chance was even greater that the event was destined to come to pass, a fact that filled them all with dread.

"No" Buffy said more to herself to anyone else as she walked over to the couch and sank down onto it, "No, no-one is taking my kids from me, no-one"

Her eyes stared blankly at a spot somewhere on the carpet, as shock seemed to take over her being. It seemed she and more importantly Ellie and Chloe were going to be in danger, no matter what she did, and the thought of her babies being harmed frightened her more than anything else in the world.

"When Xander came to me and told me of the vision he'd received we came straight here to warn you, Buffy" Giles told her from across the room, though it didn't really look like she was listening.

"So, now we say what? Research party?" Xander suggested, smiling slightly nervously at Illyria who was still staring at him in her own strange way.

"Reckon your best bet is to start with the demon you saw" Spike pitched in, "Can't say as I ever saw a bugger with a diamond in it's noggin"

"Nor I" Giles admitted, "Perhaps it would be best if Xander and I went to search out some books and so forth that might be of use"

"I'm gonna stay here, for the Slayer" Spike told them, at which the Watcher shook his head.

"I don't know if that would be the best idea..." the Watcher began but Buffy interrupted.

"I want him here" she said abruptly, suddenly seeming lucid again, "There's things I need to say Giles" she conveyed her meaning with her eyes that were filling up with tears. Spike didn't know that Eloise and Chloe were his children yet. Before the real badness went down, Buffy owed him the truth about that.

"Very well" Giles agreed, getting up from his seat, "Myself and Xander will try the local bookstores, libraries, I dare say we'll come up with something useful before long"

"I will come with you" Illyria told them sharply as she too stood from her seat. Spike was a little bemused by that, Lyri wasn't fond of the company of others, 'cept his own of course. Still, she had spent an awful lot of time staring at Xander this past hour or so. Maybe it was him that was attracting her so to speak.

"Er, your assistance will be very welcome, Illyria" Giles said awkwardly, and the blue girl gave him a small smile as they headed for the door. Buffy didn't move at all til the door clicked shut. Then she put her hands to her face and cried.

"Oh, luv" Spike sympathised, rushing to her. He knelt on the floor in front of her and prised her hands from her face, "Sweetheart, don't, please" he begged her, "Tears me up inside to see you cry like that"

"I'm sorry" she sobbed, trying to be strong and finding it impossible. Everything was coming at her at once and from all sides, she didn't know which way to turn next. A demon to fight, a kidnapper to face, her kids to protect and a choice to make between a man she loved and a man she adored.

"Come here, pet" Spike said gently as he moved to sit beside her and pulled her into his arms. She cried for a while longer, sobbing into his chest while he rubbed her back soothingly and whispered to her that it'd all be alright.

It was so strange in some ways, to feel his heart beat and the warmth of his body against hers. She was so used to him having cool skin and there being silence within his chest. One thing hadn't changed though, the feeling inside her when his arms were holding her to him. That contented glow in her heart that slowly spread til it engulfed her entire being, a comfort she only felt when he was there, holding her and loving her.

"I missed you so much" she mumbled against his chest, before realising that without his vampire hearing he might not have heard her, so she pulled away a little and repeated herself as she looked up into his eyes.

She was a mess, poor thing, he noted. Her hair was all in disarray, her make-up smudged, and tears stains marring both her cheeks, but she'd never looked more beautiful to him.

"Missed you too, pet" he told her, gently pushing her hair back from her face and letting his hand linger at her cheek, "You don't know how many times I picked up the phone just to put it right back down again, how many times I saw some blonde bird in the street and chased after her thinking just maybe..." he trailed off, knowing none of it mattered now. He was here now, where he should be, where he ought to have been long ago.

"You're here now" she whispered as if she'd read his mind, as her face got closer to his own.

"I am" she felt those soft words against her own lips right before they kissed, one brief but sweet moment.

"I love you" she told him, before she put her lips back on his for a second time, and on this occasion there was no pulling back, not until a child's scream broke the beautiful silence.

"Go on, pet" Spike told her, "See to your lit'lun Slayer, I'll be right here when you get back"

She nodded as she got up and left him to tend to her kids, both of which were now awake and yelling for her attention. Spike had told both her and himself he was going to stay put, those children were nothing to do with him, but a weird kind of curiosity drove him to follow Buffy as far as the bedroom door and watch as she stood between the two cribs trying to calm her babies back to sleep.

"Come on, kids" she urged them, "Mommy needs some time to figure some stuff out if she's going to keep you safe" she cried just saying it and Spike was in two mind whether to walk in there and help her out or just stay back. The decision was made for him when Buffy whirled around, obviously aware she was being watched and gestured for him to come into the dimly lit room. The kids were still screaming blue murder but for no good reason. It wasn't time for them to be fed and both had dry, clean diapers on.

"You wanna try?" Buffy asked Spike with a slightly amused smile as he looked into one crib and then the other.

"Wouldn't know where to start" he shrugged, feeling all out of place and awkward. Buffy leaned over the crib in front of him, lifting out a screaming Ellie and handing her to him. He seemed to know how to hold a child at least, Buffy didn't want to think about when and how he may have learnt.

"Hey there, Little One" Spike said, bouncing the baby slightly, "What's all the noise about, eh?" he asked her.

The blonde child's sobs died down til she was merely sniffling softly, as she observed the man that held her in his arms. The thumb of her left hand went instantly into her mouth, but she reached out with her right, chubby fingers running over Spike's face. Buffy had Chloe in her arms who was almost quietening down by now, sensing from her sister that there was no need to cry anymore.

Ellie's fingers skimmed over Spike's mouth and he pretended to bite at her fingers. The child shrieked, not with fear, but with great laughter as she repeated the new game. Chloe protested some, deciding she wanted to play to and Buffy held her within reaching distance of the man she had no idea was her Daddy, so she too could play at pretending to get her fingers bitten off!

Buffy watched the game go on for fully five minutes before realising how late it was. Reluctantly she pulled Chloe away and urged Ellie to put her arm down now.

"That's enough now, kids" she told them, "Time you were sleeping"

Both the little girls made negative sounds and gestures as they were lowered into their cribs, but through the general bunch of unrecognisable sounds and shouts, one word from Ellie's mouth was clear.

"Dada!" she cried, reaching her arms up to Spike who wasn't sure what to think or say, "Dada!" she repeated, wanting his attention. Before he could say or do anything, Buffy put herself in her child's line of sight, blocking him from view.

"Not now, sweetie" the Slayer told her, "Sleep now, play later" she said softly.

Spike backed up out of the door and headed back to the living room, running a hand back through his hair as he paced up and down. It felt so strange to him, hearing the word Dada from a child. Of course she was mistaken, just a Little Bit probably calls all blokes she sees Dada, but when she'd said it to him it had felt so.. right. The whole thing, he realised was so insanely comfortable, standing there with one child in his arms and the other held by Buffy as he played a silly game with them and made them giggle. He was deep in thought about it when the bedroom door was quietly closed and Buffy came towards him.

"Spike..." she began but he jumped in and stopped her.

"I'm sorry" he said quickly, "I didn't mean for her to think I was..."

"I know" Buffy nodded, "but Spike, there's something I should tell you, something I probably should've told you before, about Ellie and Chloe's father"

"What is it, pet?" Spike asked worriedly as Buffy looked at every available point in the room that wasn't near him.

"It's you" she said so quietly it was almost inaudible, "Their father... is you" she repeated, to make sure that he heard. The fact his mouth fell open and his eyes went wide seemed to suggest the words had reached his ears. What was as yet uncertain was how he felt abut it.

"I, er... bloody hell" he said, mind whirring at ninety miles an hour, "but your bloke, David or whatever..."

"He's helped me a lot" Buffy explained, "He said he'd raise them as his own since you were... except you weren't and... Spike think about it" she implored him, "Your math cannot be that bad. They'll be two years old on January 29th, born almost a month before they should have been"

"Bugger me" was all Spike could say as he stepped back and sank down onto the couch, "Month early... would've been February, nine months before is May, back in Sunnydale" he muttered almost to himself before finally looking over at Buffy who stood a a couple of feet away, "They're really mine" he said as though it's just sunk in. All the Slayer could do was nod as tears streamed down her cheeks. She couldn't imagine what he must be feeling, to have missed out on so much and never even know, to suddenly realise you have two small children you knew nothing of.

Buffy was somewhat stunned to see the man she considered one of the strongest men she'd over known begin to cry.

"William" she said as she went towards him, kneeling in front of him and reversing the position they'd been in earlier, "I am so sorry" she told him, "I wish I'd've known you were in LA, if I had, I swear I would've told you, I would"

"Not upset, Slayer" he promised her, wiping tears from his cheeks with the back of his hand, smiling crookedly when he looked down at her, "Not really anyway, just in shock I s'pose... I'm a bloody father" he said with a slight chuckle, it just seemed so unbelievable.

"You are" she confirmed, "I'm just so glad you believe me" she told him, as he took her hands in his, "I mean it's so crazy, vampires aren't supposed to be able to... but you did Spike, we did. It can't be anybody else"

"I can't soddin' believe it, Buffy" the bleached blond told her, "I mean I do believe it but... never much saw myself as the father type" he laughed, and even Buffy managed a slight giggle through her mixed tears of guilt, relief and joy to have told him the truth at last.

"Spike, we have to protect them" she said seriously, "These visions that Illyria and Xander had, someone or something is gunning for our kids"

"I know, baby" he said, running his hand over her hair, "but we'll protect them" he promised, "We'll protect our kids" he told her, loving how those words sounded. 'Our kids' he repeated over and over in his mind. As insane a concept as it was, it thrilled Spike beyond words to know it was true.

To Be Continued...