A million thanks to Mari for her wonderful beta work. As always, Sotia deserves a prize for her help and support.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



*Heathrow Airport, London, UK*



“You may now unfasten your seatbelts and welcome to London.”



Spike smirked as he got out of the chair, never having bothered to fasten the bloody seat belt in the first place. London. A long time had passed since his last visit to the land of his youth and turning. Now he had a few house calls to make.



~~~***~~~



*Spire building, WRH offices, London, UK*



Mister Mark Pendelberry waited impatiently to be received by his new boss.



“Mister Giles will see you now,” said the buxom secretary and he gave her a tight-lipped smile as he hurried to open the glass door and step inside the office of Rupert Giles, the same office that had been occupied by the late Mr. Finnegan, a representative of the equally late Senior Partners. This firm is going to the doghouse if we keep this up.



Giles barely raised his eyes from the legal documents and surveillance reports he was perusing, his search for the souled vampire known as Spike well known throughout the firm. “Go ahead, man, I haven’t got all day for your musings.”



“Yes, quite. I am pleased to inform you that we have ascertained our quarry.” Having unleashed the bomb, Mark watched with quite a bit of enjoyment as his new boss threw down the papers he was holding and gave him his full attention. Promotion, here I come!



“Well, what are you waiting for? Spit it out, man!”



“The vampire landed at Heathrow ten minutes ago, on a plane from the US. He apparently boarded in New York after traveling there by car.” At Giles’ impatient hand signals, Mark continued with the report sure to send him on route to a corner office, “We have intercepted him as he was inquiring for flight information for Edinburgh and a car is currently on its way here with him. I trust you will find this satisfactory?” he asked unable to contain a self-satisfied smirk.



“I consider you personally responsible for getting him here with the utmost secrecy. Nobody outside this office must know that we have him, save from the team at the airport. Do you understand?”



Mark felt a knot in his stomach at the tone Giles was using. Apparently, the Ripper part of him was not as far away from the surface as prior intelligence had let on. This will do nicely. “Of course, sir, I will make all the arrangements myself.”



After Mark exited the office, Giles canceled all his appointments for the remainder of the day and walked over to the floor to ceiling windows from where he had a clear view of the Houses of Parliament. So, the bugger is really back. We’ll just see what he wants this time.



~~~***~~~



*Rio de Janeiro, Brazil*



She needed air. Her father had always said she should lead, but she was pretty sure he never thought she would be leading a contingent of Slayers and a law firm. All those pesky people asking her this and that, unable to perform even the simplest duties without her consent. Part of her reveled in the attention and importance, but part of her was simply fed up with all the simpering idiots around her. So what was a Slayer in need of relaxation and without a girlfriend to do? She went out slaying.



The night was silent, the gentle breeze and the background noise from the latest all-night party the only thing disturbing the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. All of a sudden, her tinglies told her her prey was close. Turning around, however, she could only see a team of street sweepers going about their duty. She scanned the area, trying to pinpoint the source of alarm.



Out of the shadows, a man with raven hair appeared, dressed in a business suit and an overcoat that was in stark contrast to the sweltering Brazilian heat. Vampire! Just as she was about to charge and get her quota of violence for the night, though, she recognized the face of the creature – Dracula.



“Good evening, Slayer. Beautiful night, is it not?”



“There are no more orders for your protection anymore, demon, so yes, it is a beautiful night for you to blow away in the wind.”



Spreading his arms in a sign of non-aggression, Dracula stood his ground. “I did not come here to fight you, but I do admire your energy.” Relaxing a bit, he pinned the intrigued Slayer with his dark eyes. “I’ve come because I made a mistake almost six years ago. You were the Slayer I was seeking, not that disappointing girl, Buffy.”



“What do you mean?”



“I mean that I have declared war on all manner of demons and night lurkers. I intend to eliminate their scourge from the Earth and restore it to Christianity. This was my mission more than half a millennia ago and if you look closely, you will find that it isn’t that different from yours.”



“You are nothing like me. I am a Slayer, a warrior of light and you are a demon, a vampire. You are the scourge you’re trying to destroy. Do the world a favor and start with yourself,” Kennedy spat at him, her hand tightening on the stake.



“Oh, but I am. The reason for my downfall all those centuries ago was my attempt to deny the darkness lurking within each of us. Now that I have embraced it, I can once again take my place as the vengeful hand of God, ready to strike down the heathens and bring forth His will. You, Slayer, have that darkness within you even now. I hear it calling to me, whispering in your ear to join me as my Queen while we rid the world of all those that oppose us.” Dracula decided that trying to talk her into anything was proving too time consuming, so he slowly began to use his thrall on her, confident she would accept him in the end, but deciding to cut the discussions short.



“You want me to what?” Kennedy asked with disbelief evident in her voice.



“I want you to join me. Someone as powerful and beautiful as you is destined to do great things. You should be a true leader, not some puppet hidden away in this gaudy country, sweltering in the ungodly heat.” Seeing that both his words and his thrall were beginning to work on Kennedy, Dracula stepped in closer. “Let me show you all that you can be, let me help you fulfill your destiny. You will not only be first among vampires, you will be first among Slayers as well.”



“I kill vampires.” Despite her words, the hand holding the stake had lowered and her grip on the wood had loosened considerably. She had also eased from a fighting stance into a more relaxed pose.



“And you will continue to do so. I told you, I have declared war on everyone. Join me and be all that you can be.” Another step closer.



“I don’t-” Kennedy trailed off and closed her eyes as Dracula trailed his fingers up her hand. She let the stake fall to the ground and roll away. As his hand reached her neck, she felt tension building in her womb. Both his hands framed her face and she felt his cool breath on her neck, eliciting a gasp from the dazed Slayer. All she felt afterwards was rapture as his fangs pierced her neck and she felt the pull of his mouth on the wound. The small part of her brain still able to think clearly through the orgasmic haze concluded: So, this is what Buffy craved. Now I get it. Then, after what felt like seconds and centuries of bliss at the same time, she felt something wet against her lips and greedily savored the rich taste and hint of power. Finally, like a switch being thrown off, it all went dark.



As Kennedy went limp in his arms, Dracula lowered her on the stretcher his minions posing as sweepers had prepared for her. Together they would be on their way to their new home in Romania very soon.



Without warning, his senses were assaulted by a familiar presence and he turned only to stand face to face with the golden eyes of a woman he hadn’t seen for about a century.



~~~***~~~



*Sighisoara, Romania*



Tangled together, sated after a vigorous bout of lovemaking, Xander and Dawn were cuddling before they had to leave for Istambul.



Raising himself off the bed, he gave her an apologetic smile when she pouted for his leaving her side. He fumbled into the pockets of his jacket and took out a small rectangular felt covered box. Getting down on one knee at the edge of the bed, he had to struggle a bit to get the words out. Dawn raised herself on her elbow facing him, uncaring of her nudity.



“I was going to do this later tonight, at dinner, but,” he grinned a bit, shrugging his shoulders. “I’ve known you ever since you physically came into our lives and I have memories of you even before that. We haven’t always been on the best of terms, but then again, who has?” They both smiled at that, remembering some of the most taxing moments they had been part of back in Sunnydale. “I’ve lost the woman I loved once and I couldn’t bear it if I ever lost you, so,” he said, holding out the box and opening it to reveal a white gold ring with a large diamond surrounded by a crown of smaller ones. “Dawn Summers, will you be my wife?”



Blinking back tears of joy, Dawn nodded her head furiously and allowed Xander to place the ring on her finger. “Yes. Oh God, yes!” She then tackled him with a squee and they both dissolved in relieved laughter and proceeded to celebrate their engagement properly.



~~~***~~~



*Slayer Headquarters, Scotland, UK*



Buffy strode into the library where Willow was looking over some ancient tomes.



“Hey, Wills, what’s the what with the sword in Istanbul? I heard you pulled Xander and Dawn from their vacation and sent them there. Why?”



“I’m sorry I had to do that, but they were the only ones available. I’m researching this sword and all the others, including Alia, are out hunting for Dracula.”



“What’s so important about this sword? Couldn’t the team we have there handle it? What does it do, open another Acathla?” Buffy asked taking a seat at the table and trying not to take her anger out on Willow. She knew Xander was going to propose, but that was their little secret and she wasn’t happy that anything might put a damper on those plans.



“No, nothing like that. Apparently it’s the sword of Stefan the Great, a ruler of Moldavia and family friend of Dracula.”



“Him again? How much has he been doing right in front of us and we never noticed?” Buffy got up again and started pacing the floor, frustrated that she couldn’t get the time to sit still and figure out more about Spike. He was out there and nobody had found him yet. Damn vampires and their disappearing acts.



“Yeah. Apparently, this guy could cut in half a man and his horse in one swing. Not something we would want ol’ Drac to have his hands on.” Willow frowned trying to figure out all the implications.



“So why now? Why not in the past? Didn’t he have like a thousand years or something to get it?”



“Five hundred years and no, I don’t know why now. That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” Putting down the book, she looked up at her long time friend as she paced. “Buffy, what’s with the pacing?”



“I’m just worried.” At Willow’s inquisitive look, she sat back down in a huff and elaborated. “I’m worried about Xander and Dawn. I’m worried about the Wolfram and Hart thing. I’m curious about Faith and Wood’s relationship and I want to know where Spike is!” She raised her voice gradually as she spoke. Catching herself, she threw an apologetic look at Willow and shook her head. “Never mind, forget I said anything.”



Grabbing her friend’s hand, Willow tried to find out more from the usually reserved blonde. “Buffy, we’re doing our best, but none of us knew where he was for three years. He’ll come back to you. He always does, even when nobody wants him to. It’s what he does.” As she spoke, Willow realized just how far the two of them had gone from sharing a dorm room years ago. “And why didn’t you tell any of us what you really felt for him? Maybe talking about this will make you feel better.”



Getting up again, Buffy looked torn. “Maybe later, Wills. Now we have other things to worry about. I’ll go check up on the teams.” With one more look, Buffy left, leaving Willow with a frown and an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. I hope I won’t have to go fishing inside her brain to get her back again.



Buffy walked down the halls thinking. Lately it seemed that whatever she did, her thoughts always turned back to Spike. The way Willow put things gave her a chill down her spine. She hoped her friend was right. He had promised so many times that he would be there, both in word and by his actions. Pushing her feelings to the back of her mind for what felt like the millionth time, she started looking over the reports that were coming in from the Slayer teams.



~~~***~~~



*Cleveland Contingent Headquarters, Cleveland, USA*



After a grueling workout, Connor came in the room he was sharing with Julie. Once inside he noticed she was sitting on the bed, staring into nothing. Not wanting to disturb her yet, he took his sweaty shirt off and started looking for a clean one.



Despite all the injuries, both external and internal, he was almost fully healed and had started sparring with the other Slayers, Okay, so mostly with Julie, in order to get his strength and agility back. Throughout his whole life, he’d worked out in one way or another, practiced at least one form of combat, such as judo in his “normal phase”, and generally kept in shape. Now he was almost as good as he’d ever been, thanks to Spike, his dad and to the Slayers. Which brought him back to Julie, the surprising girl he hadn’t been expecting. She had stolen his heart and kicked his ass a few times. My kind of woman.



Sitting on the bed beside her after wiping off the sweat and putting a clean shirt on, he encircled her waist with his hands and put his chin on her shoulder. This finally seemed to pull his favorite Slayer from her daze and she turned in his arms, kissing him with borderline desperation.



“What is it, Jules? What happened?” He asked getting worried by the tears now streaming down the lovely girl’s face.



“Please don’t leave me!” She begged, clinging on to him even tighter.



Startled by her outburst, he whispered in her ear, telling her how much she meant to him, how fortunate he felt for having her in his life, something so precious, so unique, something unlike anything he had ever experienced. “I love you, Julie.”




“I love you, too.” Taking a deep breath, she looked into his eyes, swallowed and finally told him her secret. “I’m pregnant.”



Connor blinked. In his mind’s eye, he recalled the pictures of himself as a baby, surrounded by the members of the AI team, now mostly dead or… otherwise. He remembered that time with the possessed Cordelia, something that still made him shudder. He remembered a couple of births that had occurred on the other side, while they were fighting. After a couple of seconds had passed in silent contemplation, he gazed deeply into the green-blue eyes of his lover, something about them always reminding him of the sea. The love he felt for her built up inside him, encompassing him in an almost palpable heat. Finally, it was too much to contain and he got off the bead, hands still tightly bound around her waist, and started twirling her around the room letting out a whoop of joy.



Kissing her all over her face and neck, he professed his love for her over and over again, thanking her for her gift. He finally stopped and as she wobbled slightly from the dizziness, he dropped to his knees and kissed her stomach. The door burst open, revealing a disheveled Angel and Kasumi. Turning his face to them, Connor beamed. “You’re gonna be a grandpa.”



Kasumi used her index finger to close Angel’s mouth, his muscles clearly unable to do the job as he gaped at his son and his girlfriend. She couldn’t help thinking for a brief moment that until Faith gave birth they had two pregnant Slayers in the same house. The joy!