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There are two versions of this chapter. As a birthday present for Wolfspider, I extended the first scene between Aiden and Emma, going beyond the "fade to black" I have here. However, I know that there are some people who aren't interested in reading much about any couple except Spike and Buffy, so I'm posting the original version here, with the scene clipped. Nevertheless, I have made the full text of this scene available for anyone who would like to read it, and it can be accessed here: http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/addielogan/wtdb_9_alt.html Bear in mind if you do follow the link to the scene that it is NOT the full chapter, only one scene, and that you should go back to this page after reading it and pick up where you left off.

*** *** ***

"Sorry Spike's being so protective of me, too," Emma said once she and Aiden had gotten significantly out of earshot of the campsite. "I mean Buffy and Dawn I get, but I don't know why he's bothering to care one way or another about what I do."

"He has a brother's concern for you," Aiden replied. "It's clear to see."

Emma blinked. "Spike's not my brother."

"Our families are not always the ones we are born into, Emma," Aiden said. "Sometimes we do not find them until later, when we need them the most."

"I haven't had a lot of luck with families," Emma muttered.

"Do you not have one?" Aiden asked, a frown creasing his face.

"Oh, I do," Emma said. "I just…can we not talk about this? Please? It's…it's not a good subject for me."

Aiden observed her body language and facial expression, the small light he carried illuminating her. "Someone hurt you," he stated.

"Which would be why I don't want to talk about it," Emma said. "I…" She looked way from him. "I can't."

"Then we won't," Aiden replied. He took her hand, pulling her softly until she stopped with him. He pushed her multi-colored hair away from her eyes. "I cannot lie, Emma. Every word I speak must be truth. So when I tell you you're beautiful, I mean completely—all of you. Not just what I can see with my eyes."

Emma looked away from him again, the intensity of his gaze too much for her. "You don't know me, Aiden. We only met yesterday."

"I touched your soul last night. You can't tell me you didn't feel that as well. Being with you…it was more than just a physical act. In my centuries of existence there have been many, many women, but not a one of them did to me what you did. You shook me to the very core, Emma."

Emma raised her eyes slowly, her surprise clear in them. She had felt what he described, too, but had thought it was just because she'd never been with a man who possessed Aiden's experience or talent. Had there instead been something more to it? Was her immediate attraction to this man and willingness to share his bed so quickly indicative of something that she did not yet understand? It was possible… Since she'd become a Slayer, Emma had felt as if a veil had been lifted off the world, showing her things she'd never begun to imagine could exist before. Could what she was already feeling for Aiden be one of those things? "Aiden, I…"

Aiden cleared his throat. "Let's continue to the spring."

Emma nodded, willing to let this particular conversation drop. The physical aspects of whatever was happening between her and Aiden she could handle, but anything else was just too much too soon. She let him bring her to the spring, waiting as he lit a fire there the same way he had back in the other chamber.

"So there's nothing in that water waiting to eat me, right?" Emma said, walking over to the spring and looking into the clear water.

"No. Most of the creatures native to this dimension survive in sand, not water—there's much more of it."

"Okay then." Emma stood up straight, facing Aiden as she slipped out of her clothes and let them fall to the ground. "So…are you gonna join me?"

Aiden watched as Emma stepped into the water, flipping her head back to dampen her hair and then coming up again, her tanned skin and colorful tresses now damp. He grinned slowly as he disrobed, approaching the spring. "Oh yes, little Slayer. I will most definitely be joining you."

*** *** ***

Spike's eyes zeroed in on Buffy's feet as she took off her boots, and a frown creased his brow. "You told me you were fine walking, Buffy."

Buffy looked up, startled by his harsh tone. "I was."

"You bloody well were not! You're feet are badly swollen—they had to be bothering you. You should've said something."

From her own pallet, Dawn glanced at the couple, but quickly looked away again, deciding it was best that she stay out of it.

"I was fine, Spike," Buffy said, her arms firmly crossed over her chest. "I told you I was fine and I meant it."

Spike took a deep breath meant to be relaxing, though the ticking muscle in his jaw let Buffy know how close his temper was to exploding. "You spent all day walking through the desert, Buffy, and your feet are severely swollen. You're putting the baby at risk."

"I am not! I'm not going to hurt the baby, Spike."

"Yes you are!" Spike's yell vibrated off the cave walls and Dawn's head snapped around again, unable to continue to feign disinterest in the argument. "The first trimester is when miscarriages are most common, Buffy, and all of this, it's only putting stress on your body. I should've made you stay back in the temple. Sod that, I should've made Aiden send you right back home."

"You couldn't make me do anything, Spike," Buffy snapped. "I've got a world to save."

Spike's eyes narrowed. "You're not just the Slayer anymore. You're a mum now. There's a child growing inside of you that needs more protection from you than anyone else out here. Don't you get that? She's weak and she's helpless, and you're the only one who can keep her safe." Spike spread his hand out over her belly. "That's our baby in there, Buffy—and you're going to kill her."

Buffy opened her mouth to respond, but then shut it again as she burst into tears.

Spike's anger softened immediately and he pulled Buffy into his arms, wrapping them tightly around her. "Shh…don't cry now, kitten. Please sweetling, don't cry."

"I…I don't wanna kill our baby, Spike," Buffy said, clinging to his black t-shirt.

"I know, princess. I know. I'm sorry I said that like I did, I'm just…I'm worried about the both of you, is all."

"And you're mad at me, too," Buffy said, sniffling.

"No, I'm not." Buffy looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "Well, yeah, okay, maybe a little because you're not exactly using your best judgment right now, but it's not really you I'm cross with. It's those bloody Powers that Fuck with You. We should be planning our wedding and getting ready for the birth of our first child, not going up against yet another apocalypse."

"I know. But we'll get to do all that when we get back home. We'll get through this fight just like all the others, and then we can have our wedding and our baby," Buffy said softly.

Spike cupped her damp cheeks in his hands, looking into her eyes. "I'm gonna hold you to that, Slayer."

"I wouldn't expect anything else from you."

Happy that all seemed to be right with her sister and brother-in-law-to-be again, Dawn lay down on her pallet and closed her eyes.

*** *** ***

Aiden and Emma returned to the campsite quietly, careful not to disturb the other three who they knew could already be asleep. Aiden kept his arm wrapped tightly around her, smiling slightly at the way Emma so easily welcomed the embrace.

He led her over to the third, currently unoccupied pallet, stopping beside it. "I have another one in my pack if you would rather not share this one with me," he said, keeping his voice down. "I don't mean to presume anything."

"You're not presuming," Emma said. "I would've been more upset if you hadn't just put down one for us."

"I'm glad for that." Aiden lay down on the pallet, opening his arms for Emma. She moved into them without hesitating, nuzzling her face against his warm chest. "Good night, my little Slayer," he whispered, brushing a gentle kiss against her forehead.

"Good night," Emma whispered back, responding to his kiss with one of her own against his collarbone.

*** *** ***

Buffy heard Emma and Aiden return, their voices too soft for her to completely understand, although their tones made their warmth towards each other obvious. Seeing Emma take to Aiden so quickly made Buffy feel even sillier about ever worrying that something could be happening between the younger Slayer and Spike, since it was clear that Emma did not have her heart set on stealing Buffy's fiancé.

And Spike… It was as clear, too, as it had always been, where his interest remained—in her. And now, in their family as well. He was sleeping behind her, his body pressed tightly against hers with one hand resting protectively over her belly. She knew if there was anyone in this world she'd have to consider Spike putting before her, it was the child growing inside of her now, not another woman—and that suited Buffy just fine. His concern should be for their baby.

And so should hers…

Buffy had read that some women had difficulty accepting that their bodies became in many ways something else during pregnancy. Suddenly, they were sharing the most personal of space with someone else, someone growing inside them, seeking nourishment from them. She'd also read that this led some women to resent their babies, and while Buffy felt nothing of that sort, it was definitely something she was having a hard time completely wrapping her head around.

One thing Spike had said in their earlier argument stuck out in her mind. She wasn't just the Slayer now—she was a mother. She'd been the Slayer so long that that had been her primary focus, and she'd pushed her body time and time again in order to fulfill her duties. Exhaustion and physical pain were things she had lived with on a daily basis, things she'd come to expect. She'd never thought twice about pushing herself beyond her own limits because she'd never put herself first. She was the one girl in the all the world who could fight back against the darkness, and that meant she had to give everything she could to protect everyone else.

But that wasn't the case anymore. She was no longer alone as the Slayer—far from it. It wasn't even as it had been before, with Faith or Kendra sharing the Slayer title. Because that was really, in many ways, all they'd shared with her—the title. When it had come down to the big battles, the real sacrifices, it had still landed on Buffy's shoulders. Even when it had technically been the Chosen Two, she had still been the Chosen One.

She didn't have to carry that burden anymore. Even if she was in charge of the Slayers, they were now an army. In the battle in Los Angeles against the forces brought forward by Wolfram and Hart, Buffy had fought, yes, but she had been the general in charge, not the lone soldier facing a martyr's challenge. And now, well, her body wasn't hers alone either, and the one person who did need her protection the most was growing inside of her, depending on her to take care of herself so she could take care of her child.

Buffy knew that Spike had been right. She wasn't taking care of herself, and she shouldn't be out here. She needed to stop thinking of herself as the only Slayer, as hard as that was going to be. She knew she'd never be able to step back completely, but she didn't have to fight every dragon that crossed her path anymore. She had shared her power. It was time to share her burden.

Her eyes shifted to Emma, the light of the fire allowing her to just make out the form of the younger woman, her small body wrapped tightly around the much larger one sharing her sleeping pallet. Something was different about Emma. She wasn't like the others who had been Called along with her, and at first, Buffy had perceived it as a threat. But the more she was around her, the more Buffy realized it wasn't a threat at all. It was the same sort of feeling Buffy got from Faith, only less hostile, more comforting. Emma wasn't part of the group like the other girls. She was an individual—she was a Slayer.

Emma hadn't come to fit in with the others in the month since she'd arrived in London, instead setting herself apart. She had seemed on the outside to be the one who would cause the most problems, yet as Buffy had gotten to know her, she'd seen how strong she was and how quickly she'd been willing to step up and fight. When that sand demon had gone after Dawn, Emma hadn't panicked, and she hadn't simply waited for orders as Buffy had seen many of the other girls do. She hadn't been confused or lost. She'd acted. She'd done exactly what Buffy herself would've done, leaping into the fray with her only thought being to protect.

Buffy knew that there had always been many Potentials at any given time, waiting for the current Slayer to die for their chance at being Called—whether those Potentials knew it or not. She'd assumed before that it was more or less at random, any one of the Potentials having just as much of a chance at being the next Slayer than any other. But as she looked at Emma now, Buffy wondered if maybe that wasn't true at all. Was there one Potential with more, well, potential? Was being Called as the Slayer less the lottery that Buffy had thought it to be and even more destiny than she'd previously considered? Was Emma different from all the other new Slayers because she was the one in all of them that would have been a Slayer no matter what—the one who had truly been waiting for Faith's death in order to be Called?

If that were true, then what did that say about Buffy herself? She'd always seen her Slayer destiny as something thrust on her, something that had taken her away from the path she should have been on. She should have had the life of any other girl that had been like the one she'd been in L.A.

Only looking back, that didn't seem right at all. She didn't know that girl anymore, didn't even really remember what it had felt like to be her. But being the Slayer… Sometimes it scared her just how right that felt, how complete staking a vampire could make her feel. She had never been meant to be anything but the Slayer. It was who she was just as much as if she'd been born knowing it. And this place now, where she was, was where she'd always been meant to be. The path she was on was truly hers.

Her mind wandered to another time, when she'd stood in her living room and listened as almost everyone she cared about turned on her, questioned her ability to lead. Anya had told her then that being the Slayer didn't mean that Buffy was better than anyone else—just luckier. She'd said Buffy had just happened to be Chosen, not because she was truly different than anyone else, but because it had just happened that way by sheer chance. But that wasn't the case at all, was it? She had been Chosen because she was different. The others who had been Potentials when she was Called hadn't become the Slayer because they weren't her. Something inside of her—whatever it may be—gave her the strength to be a true Slayer where others would always fall short.

And that was in Emma, too…

Buffy could feel it now, could feel the connection flowing between her and the other woman. She was truly her sister Slayer in a way the other girls were not. And it was why Emma was here now, why she'd been plucked out of the mass of girls and brought to Buffy's attention. She had changed the course of the other girls' destinies, shared her own power with them and created an army.

But the power inside of Emma had always been meant to be Emma's. It was the true power of the Slayer.

"Our power," Buffy whispered.

"You say something, kitten?" Spike muttered sleepily behind her, rubbing his nose against her hair.

"No," Buffy said, turning in his arms. "Go back to sleep, baby."

"Love you," Spike murmured as he drifted off again, the sound of it making Buffy smile.

"I love you, too," she replied, her own eyes closing, finally allowing herself some much needed rest.

*** *** ***

I guess the muse really did finally wake up on this one, letting me post two chapters so closely together. Please review!





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