Title: Afterglow Epilogue/57

Author: T. Claybourne  (t.claybourne@yahoo.com)

Rating: PG A/N I'd like to thank my Beta Reader Hawera, and season two Spike. You mused me.

Pairings: S/O

Epilogue ~Dream Again~

The children had gone off to their practices and Spike and Mia lay down for a nap.

Spike was jarred awake by Mia moving. His eyes opened and he saw a strange look on her face.

"Mia?"

"He's back, Spike."

"What? Who?"

"Mot. "

Spike sat up and brought her with him. "How do you know, pet?"

"I do. Call Willow. She'll probably confirm that the killings have started again. But that's not the problem. He knows, he knows I'm human now….and about our kids."

"You don't get psychic visions anymore. Are you saying you had a… the dream from last night, did you have another dream like that?"

"It was a little different this time." Mia swallowed, remembering the dream and the ending where one of the god's creature's stood sinking its fangs in to her daughter Willa. "But yes, psychic visions or not, they are there. It could be a prophetic slayer thing."

Spike made the phone call while Mia sat looking out the window at the ocean. It was then it came to her what she had to do.

Spike looked solemn as he got off the phone and joined her. "Two in Budapest."

"The Lurker demon trials you went through, am I strong enough with my Slayer powers to survive them?"

"What?"

Mia took a deep breath. "Spike, I know I'm thirty eight, but we are both in great shape with our work. In your opinion, if I faced the Lurker demon trials, could I survive?"

"Mia, love, I don't know what the bloody hell you are thinking, but you are not…" He stopped at her stare. "I barely survived them back then, Mia."

She grinned,"So you're saying, yes, it'll be no problem for me."

He held a straight face for a moment then grinned, holding back a laugh but his face sobered quickly. He sat down at the dining table and put his forehead in his hand rubbing his temples with his thumb and forefinger.

Mia went to the small cabinet where they kept the liquor and poured him a full glass of scotch: she placed it in front of him.

Spike looked at the glass, then at her. "I don't want to know this, do I?"

"Would you remember how to find that Lurker demon? And don't lie, I'll know."

Spike drank down the entire glass of whiskey. "It's vague but I think it's possible. Now, I'm through with the sodding suspense, woman. Tell me what you are thinking."

"Deep down you already know." Mia sat down across from him and looked him in the eyes. "I'm going there and getting my former strength and powers returned so I can deal with Mot again."

"Oh, that's a sodding relief. For a minute there I thought you were just going to ask to become a soulful vampire again and go take on the god of death by yourself."

"No, I just want the strength and power I had and well, I guess I could ask that if I pass the trials you have the strength you had at that time restored when I have mine. Seems a fair exchange: all of it together isn't quite as huge as a soul, now is it?"

"So, I guess we'll be asking Angel and Buffy to watch the kids while we're in Africa."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Willow was coming back from lunch. She had gone to a pub nearby as usual, but today she had splurged and had an ale with her meal. She was smiling about her dinner date tonight. She'd been seeing Tina for two months now but still she got a little tingle before a date. Coming round the corner she realized she must have left her office door open. She walked in and cocked her head in confusion: her printer was running. She moved to go around the desk but Spike stepped in front of her.

"Hi, Red."

"Spike, you guys didn't call. I would have met you at the airport."

"No bother."

Willow was confused. Spike looked different, but she couldn't put her finger on it

"You look different, what…"

"The African sun is a bit brighter than ours."

Willow nodded.

Mia stepped from behind the door and stood just a little to the side and behind Spike. "That and things didn't quite go as we planned in Africa."

Willow knew then what it was about Spike that had changed as she stared at the nineteen year old version of Mia.

"Oh," said Willow.

"Yeah." Mia stepped forward close to Willow. " You know, the minute it turned that color I realized how much I really liked Spike's hair platinum. He's so much more, I'm looking for a word….ah… unconventional or wait maybe I mean… exceptional that way." Mia looked at Spike. "Really… it's both."

Willow glanced at Spike and he smiled. Willow looked back at Mia. Willow had seen so much over her years in Sunnydale but suddenly looking into Mia's eyes she unexpectedly felt a… fear…. like none she had before. Willow searched her friend's eyes and she couldn't find anything else but malevolent evil staring back.

Mia cocked her head one way then the back the other way in a very predatory move, and in a blink of an eye she was behind Willow. "Spike, you were right, honey. I couldn't play soulful for too long." Mia morphed into her demon face and sank her fangs into Willow's neck, just as Spike put duct tape over her mouth.. "Sorry littlest witch, no screaming from you right now or . any noise for quite a while after." Willow recognized a look in Spike's eye's she hadn't seen since she was in High School.

The physical pain of the bite ripped through her neck and radiated through her shoulder and body. She felt the blood being pulled straight from her heart, and her heart seemed to pound in her head, slowing a bit with each beat. She was growing dizzy and faint.

Mia's voice spoke in her ear. "Spike and I discussed this, and we want to play this game right. Spike agrees that my way will be the most fun for everyone. So, I'm not draining you, just making you weak, so weak in fact you shouldn't be able to do any magic for quite a while. Let's face it, Willow, you are the only real weapon the famous Scoobies have left. There is an elderly watcher, a middle age construction worker, an aging Slayer slash soccer mom and… you. So it'll be you four, against our four. Let's see who wins.

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"New Game" Coming very Soon! It'll be the next story in the series now titled, " Diving into Destiny." The story is written and completed we just have to navigate the editing and the holidays. I hope every ones are very merry!!