Liam tried to focus on the vampire that held him captive, “Oscar,” he tried to keep the breathless sound out of his voice; he tried to sound like the vampire he had been, “You don’t have to do this. You can let me go,” he begged as he strained to hear him moving in the darkness that had suddenly become part of his world again. His eyes frantically searched the darkness as he felt the blood pounding throughout his body, “I swear,” he choked on the fear in his throat, “no one will know. No one will follow you- just let me go.”

Oscar’s voice came out of the dark, “So you can send the Slayer after me?” he laughed heartily, “No one will be finding you,” the voice sent a long-forgotten chill down Liam’s spine. It was a horrifying feeling, and he didn’t want to be feeling it again, “until I’m finished with you. There will be a reckoning, you know. I’ve made sure of that.”

Even in the dark, Liam knew that Oscar was near. He knew that tone. He was toying with his prey, batting the mouse around a little before the kill. Sometimes it made the taste of the blood so much sweeter with a pinch of fright.

It had been hundreds of years since he’d been the victim, and now as he stared blindly, searching for something, Liam’s mouth began to feel dry and his heartbeat was loud in his ears.

He held his breath, trying to still the fear. His mind raced and thoughts came screaming into his consciousness. Thoughts he hadn’t entertained in centuries.

Please…if you’re going to kill me…do it quick…please don’t…he closed his eyes as what he’d done to little Diana Lendman came back to him, “I’m sorry. Please don’t…” he was speechless with fright as he spanned the black for something; somewhere that he could focus. He knew what he’d done as a vampire, the kind of grief he’d caused, and he could only hope that Oscar hadn’t studied his prey too closely.

Because he saw little Diana’s eyes as they pleaded with him not to do the things he had in mind to do-pleas that fell on profoundly deaf ears, and a cold, shriveled heart.

He could even remember laughing at the tears that ran down her cheeks as she cried out for her father.

He could remember feeling the wetness on her face because he felt it now on his own as Oscar came slowly out of the shadows, his face contorted with grief and justice denied, “Did she beg too?” he asked.
*******************************************************************************

As she looked into her Daddy’s eyes, Jonina saw the softness that she’d seen in her Papa’s eyes and smiled, “I love you, too, Daddy,” she mumbled as she began to snuggle into her pillows with her toy rabbit at her side.

He watched her as she drifted to sleep again and sighed with contentment. He glanced down at the soft light of the silver ring around his finger and longed to be near his wife again.

He slowly turned, suddenly torn between what he knew and the frighteningly wonderful unknown that waited for him.

When he reached the threshold of her door a warmth overwhelmed him the likes of which he thought only belonged to his dream life, and hearing her voice call him back made him feel safe, “Daddy…” her voice called softly.

He turned and saw her eyes shining mischievously in the dark. She quickly scrambled out of the bedclothes and hopped out of bed, scurrying close to him. She looked up excitedly at him, “I have an idea,” she said as she confidently took his hand in hers, “Follow me.”

He wasn’t sure what she was saying, or where he was going as he was gently pulled along, bending his knees so that her little hand would not have to strain to hold him, but he knew in his heart that his youngling would never lead him astray.
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Georgina knew that she should leave them be, let the little family heal, but they had been through so much darkness that she had to help the light shine again.

She carefully pulled her van, which was filled to the brim with the boxes of the season, each covered in bright paper and bows, into the small lot in front of the little brick building on Jennings Street and noticed the warm light pouring from the windows.

She smiled as she looked at her dashboard clock. It was three in the morning. If she didn’t know the true nature of her friends, and the owners of the Synergy Dojo, she would have called the police.

As Georgina made her way out of the van, the sound of laughter wafted to her ears, it was a good sound. A sound she had wanted to hear again in this place.

She rang the doorbell, and was pleasantly surprised to hear Buffy’s jovial, muffled voice, “I’ll get it! Jonina Irene Dustin, it’s three in the morning! I don’t care if your Daddy is catching on. You should be in bed!”

Georgina waited patiently for the door to open. She looked down and noticed a bit of white in the dark. It was an envelope with the name William A. Dustin printed on the front in small block letters in black ink. Georgina reached down to pick it up and put it in the pocket of her coat just as the door opened, and she could see Buffy’s smiling face, “Georgie come on in, maybe you can talk some sense into Joni,” she shook her head, bemused by her daughter, stepping back to let Georgina inside, “She was taken to that place when she was two weeks old and suddenly she’s eight,” her eyes widened and she shrugged, shutting the door, “How she even knows how to talk is beyond me; or about Sesame Street, I’ll never know. She came back much less traumatized than Spike did. I just don’t get it.”

“Maybe she had someone looking after her? She’s a lucky little girl, to have you two to love her.”

“No Georgie…we’re the lucky ones.”

Gentle laughter drifted down the stairs, “What’s going on upstairs?”

“Oh that,” Buffy laughed, “is a crash course in the English language-Jonina style. What are you doing here so late…or is this early?”

Georgina smiled sheepishly, “I wanted to play Saint Nick. But, it’s hard for me to fit this old jalopy down a chimney,” she jokingly gestured to the wheelchair she used, “Personally, I’m waiting for a cool jet-pack. But, you gotta roll with the punches.”

“Yeah, but if you’re not careful you could get knocked out.”

“The goodies are out in my van,” she reached into her pocket to take out the envelope, “And, I found this on the doorstep,” she said, handing the envelope to Buffy.

Buffy frowned as she looked at Spike’s name on the front of the envelope. She flipped it over and opened the flap. Inside was an instant photograph of a seemingly sleeping Angel. Sleeping…or dead. Buffy gasped, as she read the words on the white that framed the image.

Her hands began to shake as she read the words: For little girls lost. Happy Holidays!! Regards, O.

The photo floated to the floor of the dojo, and Buffy screamed for Spike as she ran upstairs to him, and her little girl.