Answers (Part 1)

Kennedy was sat with her arms crossed, and a scowl etched across her face, playing every bit the role of petulant child. After throwing a third dirty look across at Buffy Spike reached out and struck her cheek, sending her reeling back into the recliner a little.

In shock the young slayer looked up at the venom in the ex-vampire's eyes and addressed everyone else in the room asking, "You're all just gonna stand there and let this demon hit me? Wow, talk about losing the mission big time."

"Not a demon anymore," Spike told her, through clenched teeth.

Kennedy rolled her eyes, then Giles informed her that he was very tempted to hit her himself. "If anyone has lost the mission, I should rather think it's the person trying to kill a human mother and child, you stupid, insolent girl."

Buffy just sat back and watched the scene. She couldn't help but feel her watcher might have been on Kennedy's side not five months previously.

"What information you got?" Spike demanded, bringing the conversation back to topic.

"Like you don't already know," the girl snapped. "Should have all the deets on your hell spawn."

Before the ex-vampire could lash out again he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder, and feelings of peace radiating from the touch. In surprise he turned round to find Willow standing at his back, then his eyes went wide in fear.

"The protection spell will hold," the Witch reassured him, knowing what he must be thinking. "Just let me talk to her, okay?"

He thought about it, for a moment, then nodded and went back to sit with his mate.

Kennedy glared at her ex-girlfriend, then suddenly jumped up and tried to move past her to assault the pregnant Slayer. Willow froze her in place, before the others had a chance to react, then levitated the stuck form of the girl easily into the kitchen, where she shut the door behind them.

The remainder of the group looked at each other, and Xander half-jokingly questioned which girl they should be more worried about.

"Is there something we're missing?" Vi whispered to Rona.

"Heard she once skinned a guy alive," was the response, and Vi went deathly pale.

Inside the kitchen the ex-lovers faced off. There was a long silence, and a lot of looks, until finally Willow asked, "Is the information you found remotely reliable, or is it anyway likely you're targeting my best friend to get back at me?"

"Please!" Kennedy spat. "Get over yourself."

"I know you better than you think, y'know."

"Whatever."

"Kennedy, you know this is crazy. You can't seriously want to-"

"You just left," the girl interjected, as her bravado fell away in an instant. "You just left, and I'm not supposed to be bitter?"

"Sweetie," Willow started.

"Don't you dare sweetie me!"

The Witch nodded. "I'm gonna let you lose, okay?"

In ten minutes she had the full story, and Kennedy was on her way from the house again, on the understanding that they'd conclude their own issues at a later date.

"So, what's the deal?" asked Xander, hoping the whole situation could now be easily fixed and attention returned to sorting out his own drama.

Willow found the website her ex had told her about, and projected it magically up onto the wall, allowing them all to read the ramblings of an obviously slightly loopy dark seer in Papa New Guinea.

"This guy had a vision about me?" Buffy asked, summarizing. "About us?"

"Looks like," confirmed Willow.

The Slayer was looking down at her belly when her next question came – in a quiet voice, laden with fear. "What does this mean?"

"Doesn't mean a damn thing!" Spike insisted, but Buffy wanted to hear that from her watcher.

Giles read over the text several times, before deciding it A- was "a lot of rubbish," and B- shed "no light at all on the whereabouts of Buffy's soul."

"There's no evidence to indicate he knows anything other than you were due to have a child, and the extraction seems to be a different matter entirely."

"Damn," Xander stated, throwing down a book that was older than he was in frustration. The watcher gave him an irritated glance, then looked past him to the tense younger slayers who were still standing watching everything unfold.

"I don't believe we'll require any more assistance," he told them, "Thank you for coming to our aid. Perhaps you should patrol?"

Rona nodded and made her way to leave – Vi trailing behind.

Just as the door shut the phone rang and Spike picked up, fully expecting to find Faith on the other end, wanting an update. He was not best pleased to hear the voice on Riley Finn coming out of the receiver at him.

To be continued...