Title: Living In Danger
Author: MSKBSwedish
Rating: Mature
Summery: Set four years after the first story 'Midnight Sun'. Buffy and Spike's daughter Linn is now four years old and it's up to Spike and Buffy to protect their little girl from demons and other sorts of evil when the word gets out that the Slayer and the Slayer of Slayers have a child together. Set as M for heavy adult themes at times.
Note: I own nothing of the Buffyverse.

Chapter Five – Play With Fire

Merely hours had passed. Spike couldn't go outside with the sun being up and Buffy was in shock. She hardly said a word. Her slayer had taken over her as it always did at a time like this and she kept a stern yet blank look on her face. Her jaw fluttered every so often when she would grind her teeth together in anger.

The last time her daughter had been taken from her was right after her birth and the reaction was much different. The last time Linn was taken from her, Buffy's emotions were raw and she was far from stable. This time, she was a mother who was stewing in anger.

Spike called Xander, Willow, Anya, Tara and Giles to the house and told them what happened. When they all arrived immediately they went to Buffy's side. Buffy barely spoke two words to them. They could hardly get her to speak. Between the shock and her slayer instincts she kept her mouth shut for the most part.

"We need to go out there find her. Whoever took her had to be human or demonic." Spike explained as he paced.

"How do you know it wasn't vampire-related?" Giles questioned the vampire.

"Because I was awake this morning when Buffy came home from patrol and the sun was coming up. Everything was fine. I could hear her heartbeat from our bed room, Giles." Spike informed the group.

"So then we rule out vampire. What humans or demons know about Linn?" Willow asked curiously.

Spike shrugged. "Unless someone is secretly telling our life stories to the hell hounds, I got nothing." Spike put his hand on Buffy's shoulder and closed his eyes momentarily.

"What about Cordelia or Angel? Cordelia was there for Linn's first birthday." Xander suggested.

"Even if Cordelia knew, she would have no reason to tell anyone else and I hardly believe she would do anything to jeopardize my niece." Dawn sighed before running a hand through her long hair.

"Well in high school Cordelia couldn't even keep a secret that she asked someone else to keep, Dawn. She's never been the best with keeping them." Xander informed Dawn who didn't know Cordelia like the others did.

"Still, that doesn't make sense Xander. What would she have against Buffy and Spike that she would do such a thing. I just don't believe it was her." Willow couldn't bring herself to believe that a former member of the Scoobies had anything to do with it.

"Oh come on, Will! You know she's been shacking up with the Angel and the others in LA. She probably shacked up with them so hard, they gave her all the money in the world." Xander's tone was definitely bitter toward Cordelia.

"Xander!" Willow chided the man.

"Will everyone just shut up?" Buffy shouted. She stood up suddenly and looked around the room. "My daughter is out there somewhere without her father or her mother!" Buffy's voice began to crack. "My baby is afraid... And alone..." Tears splashed down onto Buffy's cheeks as she spoke. "Right now I don't care who has her. All I care about is getting her back. So if you want to argue about high school drama and old news, I suggest you leave. If not, get it together and help me find my god damn daughter." Buffy shook momentarily before turning and walking up the stairs. She couldn't be around the arguing. She couldn't handle it. Not right now. This wasn't what she needed.

"Mummy! Daddy!" Linn cried out. Her little hands wrapped tightly around the cast iron cage that she had been thrown in. They had taken Mr. Teddy from her. She was scared, frightened and alone.

"Please! Mummy! Daddy! Help!" Linn screamed once more.

Her little lungs were beginning to hurt along with her throat. She would more than likely lose her voice if she didn't rest it.

Linn sat down in the corner of the cage. She wrapped her arms around her body and hugged herself. "I'm sorry mummy and daddy. I didn' mean to make you mad." Linn cried into her hands. She thought it was her fault. She didn't know that it was never her fault.

Footsteps could be heard coming from a few feet away.

Linn looked up. She wiped her eyes and tried to stop crying so she could see whoever it was.

"Mummy? Daddy?" Linn called out. She wished so much for it to be her mother and father. Even her Aunt Dawn or Aunt Willow would be good enough for her. She wanted to go home. "I'm sorry!" Linn cried into the air.

"Hush!" The voice was dripping with disdain for the child. It caused Linn to jump and hug herself tighter as more tears fell down her cheeks. "Bloody hell you are just like your mother! Can't stop crying all of the bloody time!" The voice growled in her direction. "You talk too much too like your father." The voice laughed. "Either way, shut up!" The voice yelled loudly.

Linn whimpered as new tears fell from her eyes and into her hair as the blond locks covering her face which were dirty and messy from being transported to wherever she was. She tried not to cry or speak or make a noise. Whoever it was in there with her wasn't happy with her and she didn't want to get hurt.

Looking around a little, all Linn could see was a fireplace, a television set which was turned off, a few candles here and there, some lit, some had been going too long that they burned, a couch and a table placed between the couch and TV. The walls were gray and dark like concrete. There were wild vines along some areas of the wall where they had come through the cracks.

The stranger stepped toward the cage while Linn was trying to calm herself. Her eyes traveled up the tall woman's figure. She wore a long black skirt and a red long sleeve shirt. Her hair was jet black and long which framed her long thin face.

The strange woman knelt down in front of Linn's cage and studied the little girl who in turn was studying her.

"You have your daddy's eyes, little one." The woman's voice was slick and cold like ice. "But you resemble your mummy so much more." The stranger added.

"Where is my mummy and daddy?" Linn asked, her voice trembling.

The woman chuckled evilly. "Oh dear girl." The woman stopped laughing and looked into Linn's eyes. "I'm your mummy now."

Spike walked up the stairs to see the door to their daughter's room ajar. It had been closed and Spike had a feeling that he knew just who had ventured into the room.

The vampire pushed the door open slowly. Proving his suspicions right, Buffy sat on Linn's bed, holding their daughter's pillow in her arms and hugging it to her body. Spike could see the tears that slid down Buffy's cheeks and wet the pillow in her hands. She looked like she was smelling the pillow. Spike wondered if it was comforting for Buffy and in actuality, it was a little. It still didn't bring her little girl home.

Buffy lifted her head when she realized someone was in the room. She cast her eyes up on the father of her child. When their eyes connected, Buffy couldn't take the shame that she felt. She broke down all over again before burying her face in her daughter's pillow.

Immediately Spike pushed the door shut and joined Buffy on the bed. He reached out and hugged the slayer to his body, emitting uncontrollable sobs from her lips. Her body shook in his grasp. Spike pressed his lips to Buffy's forehead and closed his eyes.

"I-I-I just w-w-want her h-home!" Buffy sobbed.

"We will find her, Buffy. We will find her and we will slaughter whoever took our little girl from us." Spike reassured his girlfriend. Spike's anger towards the situation would only be fixed when he could get his hands on the person who kidnapped their daughter in the early morning hours.

"Sh-sh-sh-she... she..." Buffy tried to speak but her words were cut off by the sobs in her throat.

"Shh. I know, love. I know." Spike sighed. "We must remember that she is a special child, Buffy." Spike was trying to be the voice of reason for Buffy when no one else could. "Our Linn will be just fine. I can feel it." Spike said as he sighed. He could sense his daughter's life. He could feel her essence almost. He didn't know how but he could. If he didn't feel that, only then would he know that something was seriously wrong.

Buffy cast her eyes up to look into Spike's eyes. "Promise me, Spike. Promise me that we will find our baby. Promise me that whoever did this will pay for taking her from us." Buffy's eyes had glossed over quickly to anger, raw emotional anger.

"I promise, Buffy." Spike cupped her cheek, wiping some of her tears away with his thumb. "Whoever took Linn is going to pay. I will be sure that their death is slow and painful and that our daughter will be safely returned to our arms."

Leaning back against Spike, Buffy gripped the pillow in her hands and held it tight to her body as she cried. She didn't know if she could take it.

...TBC...