A/N : I don't know how much longer it's gonna take for me to get to an end with this story. Several chapters yet I think as we have this whole True Chosen debacle to fix and then a happy Spuffy ending of course, cos I would never let you guys down on that score. Anywho, thanx to the latest reviewers - spuffy-monica, Spuffy2008, Brunettepet, funkydevil206, LiLi, Sandra, Ember91, and Moluvsnumber - you rock as always.
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 19

A knock on the door startled Illyria and Xander from their kissing and brought Spike running from the kids bedroom.

"Who the bloody hell is that?" he asked, grabbing up his sword and making sure his friends were well armed too.

"Whoever it is will be met with caution" Illyria said, stepping towards the door and listening for some clue of who or what might be on the other side. Another knock was all she heard and then the frantic mutterings of a strangely familiar voice.

"It is a man" she frowned slightly as she turned back to Spike and Xander, "I believe it may be the one who gave Buffy her ring"

"But he's evil, right?" Xander checked, "Or possibly not. How are we supposed to know?"

"No way to for sure" Spike said with a shake of his head, "Plan on findin' out though" he said as he pushed past Illyria and stood by the door.

In one swift movement he opened it, grabbed the man on the other side by the throat, hauled him inside and pinned him against the wall. Davy yelped as a sword was pointed towards his gut.

"Don't think we were properly introduced, mate" Spike smirked, "Name's Spike, good mate of Buffy's, bloody in love with her if you must know, so you see I don't take too kindly to hearin' you might have been upsetting the lady in question"

"I never meant to" Davy grimaced as the tip of the sword grazed his stomach on every breath, "I..I like Buffy, I do, I never wanted to hurt her"

"You never wanted to" Xander echoed, "But you did it anyway?"

"I had to, you don't understand" Davy tried to tell them, Spike's gaze never wavered and the hand holding the sword never shifted, not even a fraction.

"Then make me understand" the ex-vampire almost growled as he pulled the other man off the wall and flung him onto the couch. Putting one booted foot up on the coffee table, Spike leaned his weight forward, sword still aimed at Davy though from further back now.

"Here's the plan, junior" he said as Illyria and Xander stood either side of him, looking almost just as menacing as the bleached blond, "You are going to tell me everything you know about the ugly-ass demon that's after Buffy's and my kids and you're gonna do it now, and if I get the tiniest hint of a lie coming from you, well, it's a long time since I was evil and used torture but where those I love are concerned..." he left the threat hanging as an almost-evil smirk came over his face. Davy's eyes shifted nervously to Xander who explained.

"Oh you're gonna be julienned real nice if don't you talk fast" he said simply, knowing Spike wasn't playing around, and that he himself would get very angry if this guy didn't do as he was told so the Buffster and the kids could be saved.

"I'll talk, I will" Davy assured them, "but if you don't like what you hear, you're not gonna... slice me, are you?" he asked nervously.

"Begin your story!" Illyria demanded, "Or I'll shall grow bored and commence cutting your flesh simply for the purpose of my own amusement" she said menacingly and Davy swallowed hard.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you..."

"Uh, was killing the demon the best plan?" Dawn said as she peered over the remains of said creature, the contents of it's head spilling out on the ground near her feet, "I mean, how do we get info now?"

"I don't know, sweetie" Willow shook her head, glancing between the demon carcass and her best friend as she stood at the other side of the building with her back to the rest.

"Buffy?" Giles called as he approached her, "Buffy, are you quite alright?" he checked as he reached her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I did a stupid thing, didn't I?" the Slayer said, not moving still.

"Well, perhaps the destruction of the demon was a little hasty given that he could have given us so much more information" her Watcher sighed, "but you were upset and..."

"No" Buffy interrupted, "I didn't mean... I meant with Davy, trusting him, loving him even. That was my stupid thing, thinking it could be so easy, that somebody could love me..." she felt so silly for getting teary about it. She had Spike and her kids and all her friends, it shouldn't matter that Davy had betrayed her, not really. In her heart she knew she would have broken it off with him when all this was over anyway, but it still hurt to know of his betrayal, to know he probably didn't care about her at all.

"Buffy, I know you're hurting" Giles said gently, "but there is more at stake here than you seem to realise" he explained, "Whoever or whatever this Davy is, he is not the leader of this plot to take the children. He and the demon have a master of some kind, and I fear if we do not find her and destroy her, Eloise and Chloe may still be in very great danger"

Suddenly, with a deep breath, Buffy turned to face her friends once again. Her full General mode from last year took over as she addressed them one by one.

"Okay, this thing has a boss" she said, tipping her weapon towards the dead demon, "Giles, Andrew, do some research. Look up anything that could maybe control a thing this powerful, any obvious connections" she told them, "Willow, think you could work up some mojo, maybe cloak this thing or whatever so nobody finds it?"

"Sure" the red head nodded, "Could use a hand maybe, Dawnie?" she said turning to the younger Summers who said she was happy to stay and help the witch.

"Okay" Buffy agreed, "I'll head back to the apartment, check on the others. We meet back there tonight"

"Er, what about Davy?" Andrew squeaked, almost too scared to mention his name, "I mean, if he's more Lex Luthor than Clark Kent, shouldn't we research him too"

Buffy seemed to consider the idea for a moment and Giles added his own opinion.

"We could check the public records" he suggested, "Check his family history and so forth"

"His Mom was a Watcher" Buffy told them, "Her name is Mary, she was Watcher to an Italian Slayer in the seventies, that's all I know" she shrugged, "Might be a place to start"

Giles nodded as he and Andrew left, though the Watcher was wondering if all Davy had told Buffy was a lie. He certainly didn't remember an Italian Slayer in the seventies, but then some didn't live as long as others...

Leaving her friend and sister to perform the necessary spells on the dead demon, Buffy headed back towards her apartment, not realising she was in for a shock when she got there.

"You think he's lying?" Xander asked Spike as they stood across the room from Davy. Illyria was still standing over him, axe in hand should he decide to do anything stupid.

"I dunno, mate" the bleached blond admitted, "I don't wanna take any chances with him but you really think that quaking heap could be the mastermind behind a plan like that?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not so much" Xander admitted, "but this Master chick sounds like she's all five fruity flavours of crazy"

"Yeah well, dealt with the psycho type before" Spike told him, "Reckon I can handle another, even if she is a little more demony that she ought to be"

"What're you gonna tell Buffy?" the brunette wanted to know and as the ex-vamp opened his mouth to answer the very woman appeared behind him.

"What're you going to tell me about what?" she checked as she came through the door, heading for her friends until she noticed Davy on the couch and Illyria standing over him.

"Buffy" he said uncertainly, wondering whether he should be relieved or more worried by her presence.

"Don't talk to me" she said, shaking her head as she covered the rest of the distance between them and stood at Spike's side, "Why is he here?" she asked, all business-like. Spike saw the pain in her eyes and just wanted to hug her but this wasn't the time, she was the Slayer right now, nothing else.

"Came lookin' for you I reckon, we sort of intervened" he smirked, "Got the whole story out of him, Slayer, he's not the big threat"

"The demon's master is his master too" Xander chipped in, "and it's not so much an it as a she"

"He, she, it, whatever" Buffy shrugged, "She's a demon and she's after our kids, so she's going down" she said, sharing a serious look with Spike.

"I'm right there with you, luv, always" he assured her, "but it's not as simple as the demon aspect... Buffy, she's a vampire but not like the rest"

"They all dust the same when they get staked, Spike" she reminded him, "Even the Chaka Khans or whatever the proper name was for those Uber-thingies"

"Turok-hans, luv" he smirked at her unintentionally humorous mistake.

"This girl wasn't exactly your average chica, Buff" Xander explained, "even before the vampyness"

"Xander, you of all people know I hate riddles" Buffy sighed, "Tell me what's so special about this Master vampy skank"

Spike took a breath, looking down and then up at her before he answered.

"She was a Slayer, pet" he told her at last, "Only one I ever heard of that got turned"

Buffy didn't have an immediate answer to that.

"So, you and Andrew, huh?" Willow smiled as she and Dawn headed back towards the apartment, the sun rising and bathing the beautiful city in pink and gold. The demon's body had been cloaked from sight, their work for the moment was done, and they had some catching up to do.

"Yeah, me and Andrew" the brunette smiled almost shyly, "I know that probably seems weird to you but, he's a total sweetie, and he loves me a lot. I love him too"

"I always wondered about you two" Willow admitted, "The little smiles across the table when we were talking battle plans, and how you were the only one he ever let touch his markers or his big board" she giggled.

Dawn when a little red and hid behind her hair. When she appeared again she looked more serious.

"Did things not go well with Kennedy?" she asked carefully, mindful of upsetting the witch.

"She... well, we kinda drifted I guess" the red-head explained, looking mostly at her feet, "We needed each other, back in Sunnydale, with the fighting and all, but I... I don't know if I can explain"

"You don't have to" Dawn told her with a quick shake of her head, "If it hurts or whatever"

"No, it's not..." Willow sighed, "I just think maybe I was looking for something that wasn't there or something to take my mind off what wasn't there" she smiled sadly.

"Tara?" Dawn guessed.

"There's never going to be another one like her" the red-head said as she looked out at the sky, "But what I think I realised was, that's okay" she nodded firmly, "If there was more than one, she wouldn't be half so special, and I like that she'll always be special. She'll always be my girl" she smiled, looking to Dawn who did the same.

"I get that, that's nice"

They climbed the stairs of the apartment block, up to where the Summers girls all lived, and where their friends were waiting. They had no clue of the story that waited for them too, the true tale of an old vampire slayer who wasn't quite as dead as she ought to have been.

To Be Continued...