Chapter 1:

“I didn’t say a word, Slayer!” shouted the agitated vampire. His expression a mixture of frustration, confusion, anger and longing.

Buffy’s eyes flashed with anger. “Well, I know you're thinking about it, so just stop! There will be no discussion of any spell induced kissage.”

“Then stop bleedin’ bringin’ it up!”

Buffy’s fist shot out and connected with Spike’s nose. “OW! You bloody BITCH!” Holding his nose to staunch the flow of blood, Spike glared at the defiant blonde who merely smirked at him.

Silently contemplating the young woman in front of him, Spike had a sudden insight. She was scared. Scared of what he made her feel. She's given her heart to his sire and then His Broodiness ripped it to shreds. Almost as bad as that was the soldier boy. He never held her heart, but he made her question her own self-worth. In blaming her for going to the suck whores, his own actions helped to damage the Slayer even more then Angelus had.

Spike shook his head. ‘If I could have one bloody wish, it would be to go back to that alley where we met. I would do things over and protect her from those wankers. I wouldn’t let them do that to her again, I wouldn’t do that to her again.

A sudden change in the winds direction brought a familiar scent to the vampire. Spike quietly alerted the Slayer. “Heads up, pet. We’ve got visitors.”

“What kind?” she asked in a hushed tone.

“Three, they’re human; two magic users and…” Spike stood and turned towards the three observers, finishing his sentence loudly. “Someone who builds robots.”

Buffy’s voice was filled with boredom and contempt. “Warren.” Following Spike’s lead, she turned in the general direction he had.

Realising they had been discovered, Warren and his two friends awkwardly stood from their hiding place, struggling to keep something behind their backs hidden.

“Jonathan?” Buffy was slightly shocked when she recognised the second boy. The third boy had her completely stumped though. “Who are you?”

“Andrew,” he said. Buffy shrugged and shook her head, showing a complete lack of recognition.

“I summoned the flying monkeys that attacked the high school during the school play, you know?”

Before Buffy could again shake her head, Jonathan spoke up. “Tucker's brother.”

“Oh...so what are you guys doing out here, in a graveyard, in the middle of the night? Don’t you know how dangerous that is?” Buffy asked, her features expressed a look of concerned curiosity. She noticed Spike taking a cautious step closer to her. Something was wrong here and it was clear that he sensed it too.

“We’ve got plans…and you're just going to get in our way, " Warren announced, his ire directed at the blonde slayer as he finally showed the duo what they had been hiding. The strange device looked like some weird type of Star Wars prop gun and he had it pointed directly at Buffy. “I’m just going to fix that problem, send you to a time when it will be too late for you to do anything.”

As Warren fired the gun, Spike jumped in front of Buffy, taking the full blast of the ray. Both disappeared without a trace.

“Um…Warren?” Jonathon cautiously addressed the taller boy. “Did you mean to send them into the past? ’Cause that setting is for travelling back, not forward.”

“Oh shit.”

*******

Spike opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings. They were in the alley behind the Bronze and Buffy was unconscious. Concentrating on checking her for injuries, he at first failed to notice the events unfolding at the other end of the alley. Hearing fighting, Spike looked up to see Buffy- a very young Buffy- fighting a vampire who was mouthing off about St. Vigeous.

‘Bugger’, Spike thought to himself. ‘Last time I make a wish on the bloody Hellmouth.’

Quickly considering his options, Spike picked up his Buffy and made his way out of the alley.

“Best go see your Watcher, luv.”

*****

When Giles opened his apartment door, he was shocked to see a strange young man carrying what looked like an older version of his Slayer.

“We’re from the future, mate. She’s out cold and I didn’t want to take her to her mum. Joyce doesn’t know about her being the slayer yet, and I didn’t think this was the best way to break it to her. Will you help us?”

“Of course, please come in.” Giles motioned to the couch, “You can just settle her over there. Does she need anything?”

Spike ignored the questions as he propped Buffy on the couch. Finally he turned back towards Giles. “You might want to get your Scotch, mate. It looks like we’ve got a lot to talk about.”

“Maybe you could begin with exactly who you are and why I just allowed a vampire to enter my home?” Giles smirked at the shocked vampire. He was just as shocked at having invited this creature into his house, but how often does one show up with one’s unconscious slayer?

“He’s an annoying pain in my butt,” Buffy groaned from her position on the couch.

“No, luv. That would be the stick up your arse. Now, get up. You got a watcher to confuse.”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Shut up, Spike! Now, can someone tell me where are we and what’s going on?”

"Make up your mind, Slayer. Do you want me to shut up, or to answer your questions?” Spike smirked. “It’s a bit difficult to do both.”

“Just answer the damn questions,” Buffy ground out through tightly clenched teeth.

“That thing the robot geek fired at us appears to have sent us into our own past. It dropped us into the alley behind the Bronze, where we first met. You were out cold, so I thought the best thing was to bring us to your watcher,” Spike explained.

“What are you talking about? Buffy looked confused. “Our first meeting was on Parent Teacher Night at the school.”

Spike swore under his breath. “No, luv. In our time, our first meeting was in the alley, but tonight I got you out of there and didn’t say anything to the other Buffy. It seems that we can affect the future and change things, including our memories.”

“Even if you didn't interact with my Buffy, surely this time’s version of you would still have initiated the contact that you remember?” Giles interjected.

“Your right Watcher, he would have - if I hadn’t taken over his body when we made the jump.”

“What?!” Buffy exclaimed.

“Oh dear, do you have any idea what this means?” Giles collapsed into his chair.

“Yeah, it’s gonna change everything and there’s nothing we can do to stop it,” Spike answered with finality.

Chapter 2.

“Yeah, it’s gonna change everything and there’s nothing we can do to stop it,” Spike answered with finality.

“What do you mean, ‘change everything’?” Buffy was totally confused.

“Well, the good news is that the people I killed the first time ‘round won’t die this time. Bad news is; Dru’s gonna know. We’re gonna have to decide what to do about her. I can go in and kill the Annoying One again, but Dru’s another story. I dust her and there’s no tellin’ what the Poof’s gonna do,” Spike started to explain before being cut off by Buffy.

“Why would Angel care about the Ho? He’s got his soul,” Buffy stated dismissively.

“Drusilla is Angelus’ favourite childe, we dust her and Soul Boy may not be able to control his demon. Can we take that chance, luv?” Spike asked Buffy earnestly.

“I think you need to tell me everything, starting with- Spike, is it?” Giles intervened. At Spike’s nod, Giles continued. “Then after I have all the facts, we can address the problems we may or may not be facing.”

Over the next couple of hours Giles was given an overview of the events the other two had already experienced. Explaining how William the Bloody had managed to stay undusted, get chipped, and start working with the white hats had the flabbergasted watcher reaching for his glass. Buffy’s second death and resurrection had him reaching for the bottle. The release of Angelus and Jenny’s death devastated him.

“Look, I know there’s a lot we have to look at, problems and whatnot, but the most immediate problem is the Annoying One and his Bloody St. Vigeous Day ritual. I took him out in our time, let me do it again. I can kill some minions as well and then get Dru restrained. If I chose the right minions to look after her, I can order 'em to stick to pigs blood until we’ve come up with some sort of plan of what to do next,” Spike suggested.

“Yes, perhaps that is the best idea,” Giles offered his weary agreement.

“I’m going with,” The Slayer stated, not expecting an argument. Heading to the door, she informed Giles that they would be returning as soon as possible. The Watcher offered them his spare key and said he'd make up their beds while they were gone.

*******

Spike walked into the factory and directly over to Dalton. He knew from his own experiences that the meek little bookworm was loyal to him.

“Go check on Dru. Stay there till I come for you,” Spike ordered the vampire then watched as he scuttled away.

Turning to survey the rest of the room, he noted the position of every vampire there. Knowing Buffy’s tendency to be impatient, Spike wasted no time in making his way over to the Anointed One. Without a word of warning, he grabbed Colin by the neck, snapped it, and threw him into the cage that was suspended by chains from the ceiling in the center of the large room. Setting the evil childe alight with his trusty lighter, Spike turned back to the room’s other inhabitants. “Who chooses to pledge their loyalty to me?” Spike asked the remaining vampires. Two stepped forward immediately, pledging allegiance. Spike sent the two to Dalton. “Well, by my count, that makes fifteen that choose to be dust,” Spike stated calmly, a grin of anticipation starting to form.

“Fifteen of us against one of you. Looks like you’re the one that’s gonna be dust, Spike. You should never have sent your backup away,” crowed one brave minion. It was obvious that he was delighted at the opportunity to take on the infamous Slayer of Slayers. The rest smiled or laughed in agreement as they all started to advance on the Master Vampire.

“Hey, Spike," Buffy’s voice rang out. "Is this a spectator sport, or can I play too?”

“Doesn’t seem fair, luv. There’s only fifteen of them,” Spike answered the disembodied voice, his demeanour serious while his eyes twinkled in amusement.

“You’re evil, Spike,” she reminded him. The minions spun in circles, attempting to discover the source of the voice.

“Oh, yeah! So I am.” Spike grinned, looking up at her. “Then come join the party, luv.”

As the minions watched Buffy’s perfectly executed forward somersault from the catwalk, Spike staked four of them. The remaining eleven didn’t take long to dust. Fluid and synchronized teamwork got the job done quickly.

Buffy waited while Spike had a hysterical Dru chained to her bed. After giving the minions strict instructions for her care and feeding, Spike joined Buffy and the two started on their way back to the watcher’s apartment.

“How come we remember our first meeting differently, Spike?” Buffy’s confusion laced voice broke through the silence of the night.

“Not sure, pet, but I think it’s somethin’ like that movie; you know, the one where the kid goes back in time and because he does somethin’ different it changes how things happened? He changed his own past.

"I think you don’t remember our first meeting 'cause, well…it wasn’t you that made the meeting happen, it was me, and this time I didn’t let you know-I mean the you of this time- that I was there, so if she didn’t meet me then, then you didn’t meet me at that time. She’s you, Slayer. What she lives through, you remember. Me, I’m different, I’ve got the one from this time inside me, and he’s got access to all my memories, so I guess I still know it because he knows it. You know what I’m sayin’?” Spike tried to explain his thoughts.

“So, what? We’re like Michael J. Fox and we have to find a way ‘Back to the Future’ before we change things so much we disappear?” Buffy grinned, making light of the situation.

“Luv, even if we could find a way to get back to our time, unless we can find a way to get Past Me out of my body, I can’t go back.” Spike tried to make Buffy understand the seriousness of their situation.

“There is no way I’m leaving you here alone, Spike. There’s no telling what sort of damage you could do to my life,” Buffy retorted angrily.

The clenching of his jaw and the closed expression on his face were her only indications that her words had affected him. They returned to the apartment in tense silence, their earlier comradery gone. As Buffy made her way to the small office opposite the bathroom where Giles had made up a bed for her, she heard Spike say in a quiet voice filled with sad resignation,

“You really don’t know me at all, do you, Slayer?”

Chapter 3.

When Buffy finally woke up, it was late afternoon. It had taken her a long time to get to sleep the night before. She had tossed and turned, Spikes words replaying over and over in her head. His words had haunted her; he had sounded so sad. It was times like this that she doubted her Watcher's teachings and the very foundations of that which she had been taught. Did the chip manufacture feelings, emotions? No, it only rendered him helpless, unable to hurt humans. He'd had to adapt, to learn to cope, and his insistence on supporting her, of loving her was only a charade, an elaborate coping mechanism to give himself purpose. He couldn’t feel, couldn't love... if he did, then Angel should have been able to. Angel agreed with Giles, demons couldn’t love. Spike couldn’t love, and with that thought she’d finally managed to fall asleep.

Looking over at her clothes, she felt a twinge of disgust. Wearing the same clothes for two days was bad enough, but the thought of putting on clothing covered in vampire dust made her quail in revulsion. Looking around the small room, as if an inspiration was there just waiting to make an appearance, Buffy considered her options. When Spike knocked on the door, she was still standing in the middle of the room in her underwear.

“Watcher dropped off some clothes for you to change into, pet. I’ll leave the bag outside your door. He dropped off some lunch, too.”

Spike hadn’t had much of a chance to speak to Giles before the watcher had left for the school, but he knew he needed to. Most of the night had been spent thinking over their situation, trying really hard to figure out the right thing to do. Though he was fine when it came to clear-cut choices between good and bad, the choices that weren’t so unmistakable had given him a great deal of trouble. He knew he could help his Buffy, but what else would it change if he did? Would he lose Dawn, or maybe Tara? He didn’t have enough faith in his own ability to make the right moral choice. He couldn’t do this on his own, but he didn’t want to put anything more on Buffy. He needed Giles and for a second time, he was going to ask for help. He just hoped this time worked out better than the last.

He did have an idea he wanted to run by his Slayer, he just hoped she’d be open to it. He knew he had to set it up carefully, explain the problem before he offered his solution. These days he had to step very carefully where she was concerned, caution had to be his catch phrase. Looking over at his notes on the coffee table, Spike decided to check them again. He had to get this right…for both their sakes.

Spike waited until Buffy had eaten her lunch before broaching the subject on his mind.

“I’ve been thinkin’ about our situation, Slayer, and I think I’ve come up with somethin’ that can fix our immediate problems and also offer us some help in the future.”

“What are you thinking about, Spike?” Buffy asked, intrigued despite herself.

“We have no idea how long we’re gonna be stuck here, right? We can’t live off your watcher, pet. It’s not fair on him. We’re gonna need clothes and food, but we’ve got no money and we can’t get jobs. Hell, we can’t do anything for fear that it'll upset the timeline until we have a better idea of what will happen. We need to talk it over with Rupes. But, there’s a way to get money that’s legal and won’t upset the timeline, I think,” Spike offered, his eagerness to please almost tactile.

“What’s the idea?” Buffy questioned suspiciously. Crossing her arms across her chest, she gave the vampire a hard and distrusting glare.

“Hear me out, Slayer, that’s all I ask,” he implored, desperate to show he didn’t have ulterior motives. With her cautious nod, he continued. “We can dig up the treasure of Amara and get your watcher to check for any magical items other than the ring, but the rest we can take to your mum’s gallery to be auctioned off. She gets the commission and we get the money we need. There’s gonna be a lot, so we can get the watcher to open an account to deposit it in and the funds can be used as a sort of Slayer emergency fund. Now, before you say anything, we get the watcher to look after the ring and that way we have it if we need it; like against Glory.”

“Sounds like a good plan, Spike. Of course I’ll be with you to make sure none of it goes missing,” Buffy stated unemotionally.

“Never doubted it for a minute, Slayer,” Spike replied coldly. Turning away from her abruptly, he left the room and headed for the bathroom. He was happy that she had agreed with his suggestion, but angry and hurt that she trusted him so little. Bloody Slayer was always running hot and cold. He loved her so much and he wanted so badly to help her ease her pain that he’d do anything for her. Anything. Why couldn’t she see that? Why couldn’t she see him? He missed the easier relationship they’d had when she first came back from Heaven. She had trusted him more before they’d kissed and while he wouldn’t go as far as wishing those kisses hadn’t happened, he missed being her friend.

Buffy watched him go. Deep down in the place where she hid her innermost thoughts, the ones she feared showing the world, her friends, and her watcher; she knew he would never betray her. She knew he had probably been up all night thinking of ways to help her. Not them. Her. She knew he would put her first; her needs, her wants, her desires. She knew, but she didn’t want to know. She wasn’t ready to know. Knowing and admitting she knew were two entirely different things and she couldn’t admit she knew. Admitting opened up too many cans of worms, too many other questions. Hard questions. She wasn’t ready for hard questions. Hell, she wasn’t ready for easy questions. So she buried what she knew to be true deep down in the place where she kept her innermost thoughts, and watched him go, never saying a word.

Chapter 4.

When Giles arrived home that evening, he had dinner with him. While the three ate in companionable silence, Spike noted that Buffy seemed to treat him better when the watcher was around. He considered this and the possible reasons while he drank his dinner. When they had all finished, the Watcher sat back in his armchair and informed the other two of the meeting he'd had with his slayer and her friends. “I was a participant in a very strange conversation with Angel and my Buffy earlier.”

“How do you mean, Giles?” Buffy asked as she shot a daggered glare at the snickering vampire beside her.

“I don’t want to upset you dear, but it appeared to me that Angel was acting a little suspiciously,” Giles offered hesitantly.

“Don’t go cryptic on me now, Giles. I need to know what happened,” she stated firmly.

Taking a breath, Giles looked hard at the older slayer, judging her openness to his upcoming revelations. He apparently found what he was looking for and nodded to her before continuing. “He seemed to be very casual when he asked my Buffy to tell him about her slaying activities last evening. He was particularly interested in what she had to say about the vampire she dusted outside the Bronze, but tried to hide his interest. He made a few suggestions relating to researching the St. Vigeous Day Ritual, none very helpful, I'm afraid. Apparently, when Buffy was fighting the vampire in the alley, she said she heard him call out for help to someone named ‘Spike’. Angel clearly recognized your name, Spike, but he said nothing. He did, however, say that he’d heard some rumours and that he needed to do a little more checking, but he might be able to remove the threat of the Anointed One for Buffy. As you can understand, Buffy was extremely grateful to him for this.” Giles’ expression was void of emotion as he imparted his tale.

Spike followed Giles’ lead on this, keeping his expression blank. He sat back and waited for Buffy’s reactions.

“That’s so weird. I remember that conversation like it just happened, you know? But that’s like, four and a half years ago for me and-and I remember thinking that Angel was being a little more weird than normal, but I was sooo happy that he was going to help me with the annoying one. Why do I remember it so clearly? Is it like what you were saying about her being me, Spike? That whole changing the future in the past deal?” Buffy questioned.

Spike noticed that the fact that she remembered the conversation so clearly was more important to her than the content of the conversation. He inwardly sighed at her need to avoid all matters that put Angel’s behaviour into question. The whole 'soul equals good, no soul equals bad' theory, was beginning to pull at him. The bloody great Poofter was gonna pay for that one day.

“What’s this?” Giles was intrigued.

“What? Oh Spike has a theory," Buffy told him and then looked to the vampire to explain further, as did the Watcher.

“Huh? Oh, well it’s not much of a theory, really. It's just my way of thinkin’ on the matter.” Spike started slowly, trying to explain what his thoughts on the matter were. “That ray that the nerds shot at us hit me directly and I got sent back into my old body, but the old me? He’s still in here. I can hear him. I can feel him. And he can feel and hear me. Not like having a conversation, mind you; it's more like a voice on the edge of my awareness. But Buffy here, she got hit by a filtered ray. It went through me and into her, so I figure that was why she didn’t get sent into her old body. Not enough power or somethin’. Thing is though, because he’s in here with me, he has access to all my memories. So even if he hasn’t lived through them, he knows what I lived through. Buffy on the other hand, isn’t in her old body, so their memories aren’t shared. They're still the same person, just at a different point in the timeline. So anytime somethin’ happens to your Buffy that’s different from what this Buffy lived through, this Buffy’s past changes and she doesn’t remember the difference. Her memories have already been changed. If we’re not careful, we could seriously bollocks up her life and the lives of the people she loves.”

“It’s an interesting theory, Spike, and one that I’m more then a little inclined to agree with. It certainly covers everything. However, it does leave us with some rather large problems,” Giles offered his opinion, all the while contemplating the intriguing vampire. He had noticed that Spike seemed far more concerned about the effects this situation might have on Buffy than any adverse effects it might have on himself. Giles had not been prepared for the apparent selflessness that the soulless vampire appeared to be displaying. This vampire was nothing like the watcher had always believed William the Bloody to be; the vampire that had many tomes depicting his violent nature. Giles longed to be able sit down with Spike and discuss all the events that had effectively changed this vampire into the individual he now was, rather than the monster that he was portrayed as in Giles’ books.

“Well, Spike came up with a really good idea about how we can survive financially and it helps my mom and us at the same time,” Buffy offered eagerly not even aware of how much she had come to rely on Spike. Spike however, was more than pleased at Buffy’s enthusiastic recant of his earlier ideas.

Giles’ shock that the mystical ring of Amara was actually real was quickly abated by his eagerness at hearing about the possibility of other magical items. The subject matter also gave him the opportunity to offer an idea of his own. “As my own magical abilities are limited, I was wondering how you would feel about allowing Miss Calendar to assist us?”

“It’s gonna affect the timeline, Giles.” Buffy considered her Watcher, momentarily contemplating how Jenny’s inclusion could change the events in her past. “But maybe that could be a good thing.”

Spike silently considered his own memories. If what he had been told and what he remembered was right, the Gypsy could help with more than just the magical items from the treasure of Amara. She could help get rid of the threat of Angelus. Then, maybe with a little encouragement, Angel would show his true colours and Buffy would see him for the manipulative lying bastard that he was.

“Only if you’re sure, Slayer.”

Chapter 5

“Buffy, I think it would be beneficial to us if you were to write down as many as possible of the adversaries that you remember facing from this time and how you vanquished them. That way only minimal time would be required to deal with those problems and we can focus more fully on the issue of you and Spike,” Giles suggested.

“Um…okay. Sounds like a plan. I’ll do it in my room. It’ll be easier to concentrate.” Buffy picked up a notebook and pen and moved towards the hallway “But, if you’re gonna question him about his past, remember he gets loud when he gets pissed.” She threw a smirk over her shoulder at the vampire doing the fish impression.

Waiting until he heard the door close, Giles turned to his companion and asked the question that had been burning in his mind all day. “What didn’t she tell me, Spike?”

Spike considered the earnest expression on the face of the man in front of him as he internally argued with himself. 'She asked you not to tell them…but that was the Scoobies from your time…and they all know now anyway…she didn’t tell him herself…but she didn’t tell you not to either…this isn’t the same bitter watcher that you know, mate…maybe he could help her…girl needs her mum…maybe…if I can convince the watcher…Joyce could help my Slayer.'” Making his decision, Spike faced the concerned watcher “She was in heaven. The Scoobies pulled her out of heaven and left her in her grave. She had to dig her way out. She needs help, Watcher.

“Her mum died, she faced a hell god and then she died and went to heaven. She was at peace and they ripped her out of there, Rupert. She thinks heaven didn’t want her. She’s angry and hurting, and she really doesn’t need any more bullshit in her life. I can try and protect her from it, but that just brasses her off. Girl needs her mum, Watcher. We need to tell Joyce everything.” Spike’s worry and concern for his slayer was etched deeply into his expression.

“Good Lord.” Giles sat back in shock. He sat forward, as if to speak on several occasions but, until Spike placed a glass and his scotch in front of him and he drank his first glass, he was silent with the exception of a few inarticulate sounds.

“Perhaps the council…”

“NO! She’d never forgive you mate. I don’t know all the details, but I do know she doesn’t trust ‘em…and mate?” Spike waited until he had Giles’ undivided attention. “What ever went on with the Council of Wankers made you not trust ‘em either.”

Giles considered Spike’s words, making a mental note to himself that when the opportunity arose he would endeavour to find out what exactly happened between his Slayer, himself, and the Council.

“Do you honestly believe telling Joyce is the best choice?” Giles seriously inquired of the vampire.

“Bloody hell, Watcher, I think it’s the only choice.”

“I don’t know Mrs Summers, but I don’t imagine she’ll take the news well,” Giles commented mildly.

“What? The news that her only child is destined to fight monsters until she dies? That she’s destined to die young? That she’ll never have a normal life with a husband, kids, white picket fence, and a puppy, or that my Slayer has died twice and was then ripped out of heaven? My advice…make sure when you tell her there are no axes around. Buffy didn’t get all her aggression from her slayer side.” Spike smirked at the watcher.

Giving the vampire a sour look, Giles pointed out an obvious concern. “How will telling Mrs Summers affect the timeline?”

“Joyce found out, in my time, in a couple of months. The Slayer had to dust a vamp right in front of her. Joyce didn’t take it well, and the Slayer had to rush off to stop the Poof from opening Acathla so they didn’t have much time to talk. If I remember right, the other Slayer got killed and the cops thought my Slayer had done it. Joyce wanted to call the cops and tell ‘em everything, and she and Buffy had words. It wasn’t a happy time, I can tell you. I think, or maybe hope, that tellin’ Joyce now, in some sort of controlled environment, it‘ll make it easier on Buffy an’ safer for Joyce, especially if the Poof still manages to lose his soul.”

Giles smirked at the vampire. “I take it you are not particularly friendly with Angel?”

Spike looked at the watcher, his expression hard. “Mate, even if you took away everything that he’s done to me, the things he’s put that girl in there through…” he shook his head in disbelief. “The way he’s manipulated her into taking the blame for things he did…and still, she thinks he’s a bloody saint. The bastard has been the root of almost all her bloody emotional problems and she just can’t see him for what he is. It’s taking everything in me to not just go out and dust the bastard now.”

“Tell me,” Giles ground out, a touch of Ripper slipping into his voice.

So Spike did, and an hour later he had found an ally in the last person he would have expected to.

“Tell me about you, Spike. I’ve noticed that you’re very focused on protecting Buffy and doing what’s right for her, but what about you? How are you coping?”

Spike was left momentarily speechless by the apparent concern in the Watcher’s voice. It was so unexpected. Few people had ever shown him such concern; his mother, Joyce and Dawn. He never dreamed he'd get that sort of treatment from Giles. The shock caused William to come to the forefront, and with tears in his eyes, Spike spoke softly, “I’m lost Giles.”

“What do you mean, Spike?” the watcher gently encouraged the tearful vampire.

“I don’t want to go back. Not to what it was like before,” he whispered; his head hanging in shame. “I want to be a better man, but none of them will let me. They won’t give me a chance. They won’t help me. I want to help, but they always question my motives. Oh, I know it’s not their fault. Angelus really did a number on all of them, but they take it out on me…guess that’s ‘cause they can’t or won’t take it out on him, not with his soul and all. But I don’t understand watcher, aren’t you white-hats s’posed to help? Maybe point me in the right direction? Encourage me? I’m a vampire, this is all against my nature, and it’s hard. Who am I s’posed to go to for advice when no-one believes me?”

“I’ll help you, Spike,” Giles offered the morose vampire. Neither man nor vampire noticed the click of Buffy’s door when it closed.

Chapter 6

‘No, no, no, no, no! This is not happening…but he seemed so sincere. NO! He’s a soulless demon. No soul equals no feelings. But Spike couldn’t lie to save himself, and that seemed sooo real. Okay, need to get a grip here.’ As Buffy’s continued inner argument unfolded, she moved in small circles around the room.

‘Let’s analyse this logically. I was doing well in psychology, even if the teacher was an insane-o Frankenstein’s monster making Nazi, I can do this. He said he wants to be a better man. Could the chip make him want that, or is it just because he knows he can’t be…well…what he was? Or does he really want to be a better man? Which is totally of the good if it’s true. He did pick me over the crazy ho, so that means she wanted to take him back and he could have gone anywhere and maybe found a doctor to get the chip out, but he stayed in Sunnydale, knowing that that meant keeping the chip or being dusted, even when I told him I wanted him gone and had him disinvited and everything. He stayed, Ooh, and then there was that whole beating he took from Glory, and he still didn’t tell about Dawnie. I told him I wouldn’t forget it, and I did sorta trust him when we were trying to escape. Even though he’d taken that whole beating and torture from the crazy hell ho, he didn’t hesitate to keep helping. I trusted him enough to leave Dawnie and Mom with him. He did stop that knight’s sword from turning me into Buffy-kebab. Nobody could say that him staying and helping to fight and look after Dawnie when I was in heaven was him just trying to get in to my…ah…good books, ‘cause…well…dead. And he was the only one I could talk to when my wonderful heaven stealing friends…Okay, not going there…

'So maybe he really is trying to be a better man and the chip just kinda made it easier to change…and really I did say I wouldn’t forget that whole Glory deal, and he knows not to mention any spell induced kissage, so maybe…wait a minute…he picked me over the crazy ho. He picked me over the crazy ho? Spike picked Buffy over Drusilla?? Spike totally worshiped Drusilla, but he picked me??? He stayed and he picked me over the love of his unlife??? Love?!? Spike loved Drusilla. Spike actually loved Drusilla…but, the books all say that’s not possible, demons can’t love. Angel said demons can’t love…and really, what with the effect of the soul and all, if demons could love then Angelus would have sooo totally loved me and he sooo totally didn’t…so we have like proof or something that demons can’t love…so how is it that Spike loved Dru…ooh…ooh, I know, maybe Spike’s like the exception to the rule and if I was like a friend to him I could totally help him be…well…one of the good guys…I could do that…and he’d be a really great help, what with the super powers and the fighting skills and the staying and all.’

Buffy smiled, but as she reached the decision to help him, she heard his voice replay in her mind, ‘I don’t want to go back’ and she froze, her mind reeling. “But, I need him,” she whispered to herself.

Buffy made a snap decision. This time there would be no leaving of Buffy, it was time to show Spike that he belonged and just exactly who it was that he belonged to. He belonged to the Summers women and the Summers women took care of their own. He seemed to be hurting just like she was; maybe helping him would help her feel better too. Squaring her shoulders, Buffy took a deep breath and left the sanctuary of her room.

“I feel like I’ve already failed her twice; I don’t want to fail her again, Giles.”

Buffy stopped as she heard Spike speak and wondered what he was talking about.

“Failed her how, Spike?” Giles gently asked Buffy’s question.

“I didn’t do a good enough job protecting Dawn; she got cut and Buffy had to sacrifice herself because of it. If I hadn’t failed, Buffy wouldn’t have died…then I failed her again by not stopping the Scoobies from bringing her back.”

“That’s crap, Spike,” Buffy interrupted him as she moved to sit next to him, her gentle tone at odds with her words. “You didn’t even know about the spell, how could you have stopped it? And you didn’t fail me on the tower, either. You tried your best, Spike; that’s the most any of us can do. You fell off a ten story tower and survived to look after my sister. You kept your promise to me and you kept me sane when I came back. You kept another promise to me, Spike. You kept my secret. You were the one that saved me from burning from the inside out with the dancing demon. You saved me, Spike. You never failed me, but I’m beginning to think that I've failed you.”

Spike’s look of shocked awe was enough to make Buffy almost cringe with guilt, but his words brought her world back into focus. “You under a spell again, Slayer?”

“Sheesh, Spike.” Buffy rolled her eyes. “It’s not like I have to be under a spell to be nice to you.”

“Wouldn’t know, pet,” Spike snarked back with a smirk.

Half-heartedly punching his bicep, Buffy grinned. “Shut up, Spike.”

“Make me, Slayer,” Spike teased.

Buffy’s speculative look caused the vampire much trepidation. “Okay, I claim you, Spike of Aurelius, in the name of the Summers women. You are ours.”

The answering “yours,” was out of his mouth before the poleaxed vampire could think. As his fish impression continued, Buffy smiled smugly at him. Lifting one eyebrow as she looked at him, she sardonically commented, “Well! I guess that worked.”

“Buffy, do you realise what you’ve done?” Giles asked mildly.

“Yep,” she answered, popping her ‘p’. “I claimed Spike…and even though it wasn’t a blood claim, I got his word and Spike always keeps his promise to a lady.”

“Actually dear, it’s a little more complicated than that. You just instigated the beginning of the mating ritual and had his demon cut his family ties to the Aurelian clan.”

“I what with the who?”

"I only bloody asked for a crumb, slayer," the vampire whispered in awe.

"I didn’t mean to," she said sheepishly.

"You said that when you made the bear, too." Spike pointed out, dryly.

“Oh, that sooo wasn’t my fault!” Buffy replied indignantly.

“Didn’t mean to? Are you saying you don’t wish to claim Spike, Buffy?” Giles asked sharply, concerned that the emotional vampire would be unnecessarily hurt.

“Oh, no, he’s mine Giles, but I sure as hell didn’t know about the matey thing.”

*******

“What the hell..?” Angel abruptly stopped walking. He’d just felt the family connection snap somewhere. Somewhere close. Extending his senses cautiously through the family bond, as he didn’t want anyone to know he was there, Angel felt for his Childer and through them his Grandchilder. There! There was the hole…Spike? Drusilla’s ire hit him like a ton of bricks. His childe was furious and for some reason it was all directed at him. ‘Well, it wasn’t my fault…I didn’t dust the little attention whore…maybe Buffy…no she was asleep when I stopped watching her.' Angel let his attention drift for a few minutes, images of his beautiful Buffy flitted through his mind, her blond tresses fanned over the pure white cotton pillowcase, the innocence of her face in repose. He shook his head as if to clear it of the images. Time to get back to the manner at hand. ‘What in the hell do I do now? Inconsiderate bastard, getting himself dusted before I had a chance to find out what he was planning. Oh well, at least he killed the Anointed One, so I can tell Buffy that problem has been handled. Best not to mention Spike though; it will only complicate matters. I’ll have to take the credit.' Angel’s deeply put upon sigh echoed through the night.

*******

Young Buffy sat up in bed, with a start. “Weird dream,” she mumbled as flashes of cerulean blue eyes and white blond hair played across her mind’s eye. Deeply chiselled cheekbones, full lips, and washboard abs completed the picture. Smiling to herself, she snuggled back under the covers with an almost inaudible ‘yum’.

Chapter 7

“Mrs Summers,” Giles smiled in greeting. “Thank-you for joining me.”

“Please, call me Joyce,” she said returning his smile. She allowed herself to be ushered to a secluded booth at the rear of the coffee shop. “Buffy speaks of you often, Mr Giles.”

“Rupert,” he offered graciously.

“Rupert,” Joyce agreed.

“Joyce, the…er…subject I need to discuss with you is rather a delicate one. I know that you will be shocked by what I am going to say, but I ask you to hear me out before you decide that I require psychiatric evaluation.” Giles smiled in amused self-deprecation, but his earnestness encouraged Joyce’s willingness to hear him out.

“Can I assume that this has something to do with Buffy?” she cautiously asked the librarian.

“Yes, but let me first assure you that Buffy has done nothing wrong,” Giles quickly assured the concerned woman. “I am sure that you have heard of the gangs on PCP that are supposedly plaguing Sunnydale?"

“Of course, what a terrible epidemic...” Pausing, Joyce gave him a terrified look. “You’re not suggesting that Buffy is involved somehow?”

“Certainly not,” Giles firmly interrupted the concerned mother.

“Oh, thank God!” Joyce was relieved to hear his negation of her fears.

“PCP gangs are…well…ah…they are actually the Sunnydale Police Department’s euphemism for vampires,” Giles finally managed to say.

“Vampires? Are you on drugs, Rupert?” Joyce scoffed, raising an eyebrow in scepticism. “Please don’t tell me that you share in my daughter's delusions?”

“Joyce, I assure you I'm neither crazy, nor is Buffy delusional.”

“This is ridiculous! What kind of sane person would believe in vampires?” Joyce gathered her pocket book, preparing to leave.

“Please don't leave, Joyce. Your daughter needs your help right now,” he begged her. Desperate to help his two houseguests, he offered her a solution, “What if I can show you undeniable proof?”

“Proof? That vampires exist?” She looked at him in amusement; “Oh, yes. Please, show me your proof,” crossing her arms and looking remarkably like her daughter, Joyce focused on Giles in expectation as she decided to call his bluff.

Joyce watched as Giles appeared to gesture to someone behind her, indicating that whoever it was should join them. As she felt the presence behind her, all the hairs on the back of her neck stood up; a feeling of deep foreboding overcame her. For a brief moment, she considered the possibility that her daughter’s tendency towards denial might just have been inherited.

“Joyce, I’d like you to meet Angel.”

Joyce turned to greet the newcomer. He stood tall, his expression pinched and sombre. She felt momentarily overcome as a wave of intense emotion swept over her. She absolutely hated this man and she had no idea why. Dawning recognition dictated her cold response. “We’ve met before. Buffy’s tutor, I believe was the explanation I was originally given.”

“Um…that was actually Buffy’s idea, Joyce.” Angel looked acutely embarrassed.

“Please call me Mrs. Summers,” she ordered. “Do you often lie at the request of a child, er…Angel, is it?”

“Buffy thought it was best. She was trying to protect you.” Angel attempted to salvage the quickly disintegrating meeting.

“Buffy is sixteen. Surely as the adult, you should have known better.” She dismissed him in disgust. Returning her attention to Giles, she made her demand. “You said something about proof, Rupert?”

“Angel is a vampire, Joyce. I am going to ask him to show you his true face, but as we are in a public place, you will need to remain calm. Angel, if you would?” Giles made his request of the vampire, but kept his eyes firmly on Joyce. He watched as she went through a gamut of expressions, fear, horror, disgust, shock, and finally back to horror.

“Oh, no…we had her committed…we didn’t believe…Oh Rupert, I’m a bad mother.” Joyce’s eyes filled with tears as she thought of her child and what she had gone through. Buffy had begged them to believe her. She had promised that she could prove what she was saying. She had pleaded with them to give her a chance, but furious and embarrassed over the burning down of the school gym, Joyce and Hank hadn’t even considered for a moment that their daughter might have been telling the truth.

Giles reached his hand across the table to Joyce’s, patting while he muttered nonsensical words, hoping to ease her guilt. While he waited for her to regain her composure, he motioned Angel to leave, much to the displeasure of the morose vampire.

When Joyce was ready, Giles told her about Slayers and the life Buffy was called to. He offered her books to read and offered to answer any question she had at any time. He told her about the most recent situation; about Buffy being torn from Heaven. He told Joyce about Buffy’s claim on Spike. He told her of Spike’s suggestion that she be told everything. He told her that Spike felt that older Buffy needed her mother. He made certain she knew that neither Buffy knew that he was talking to her and he told her why it was imperative at this time that the younger version didn’t find out.

He was not surprised when Joyce, after hearing of all that the older Buffy had and was facing, immediately demanded to meet the older version of her daughter, but he was surprised when Joyce also demanded to meet her daughter’s vampire protector. The one her daughter had claimed as family.

*******

“Um…we may have another problem,” Buffy informed Spike as she made her way into the living room from the bathroom.

“And what would that be, pet?” he asked cautiously.

“You remember that when something changed for the other Buffy, it changed for me too?” She tried to explain the confusing array of memories that seemed to assail her.

“Yeah?” He prompted her to continue.

“Well I woke up with another one of those moments.” Buffy’s face showed clearly just how confused she was feeling.

“Do you remember what you were thinking about, luv?” Spike’s concern started to blossom.

“Dawn,” Buffy replied absently, mentally going over her memories again. Abruptly stiffening at an obvious anomaly, she turned to Spike and shared her confusion. “Can you think of any reason why I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that my sister Dawn is fifteen and that she is one year younger than me, but I also remember her as being five years younger than me at mom’s funeral?”

*******

‘Oh, well, this is just perfect! Why do these things always happen to me? Okay, you’re the sister of the slayer that doesn’t stay dead, She doesn’t know that you’re alive, but she doesn’t stay dead. Note to self – bitterness, look into it. Concentrate, Dawnie! Pluses: Mom’s alive. Buffy’s kinda cool at this age. You’re only a year younger than her. Maybe this Buffy will let you research. Okay, liking the pluses. Could get used to it here. Minuses: no Spike. Well, there is a Spike, but this one’s still with the crazy ho-bag. This one doesn’t have a chip and isn't my best friend. Argggh! What do I do? Crap! I’m gonna have to sneak out and go see Giles. When this gets straightened out, I am sooo going to tell Buffy to slay Snyder. I just hate that little troll!"

Chapter 8

Giles ushered Joyce into his apartment. He was just getting her settled when he heard heavy footsteps on the stairs and a voice floated down.

"Oi, Watcher? The Slayer wants to know where you hide the good shampoo? When you had me chained to the tub, you hid it in the upstairs linen closet. She's right particular about what she puts on that shampoo commercial hair of hers.”

When Spike reached the bottom of the stairs, he noticed Joyce. His eyes moistened as he gazed upon the woman he had looked on both as a friend and a second mother. He whispered his name for her as one might whisper a prayer, “Mum.”

Joyce felt an overwhelming need to offer Spike comfort. She opened her arms to him and invited him in. As her arms wrapped tightly around the tearful vampire, she internally recognized him as one of her own; another child to love and protect. Her own eyes filled with tears of joy. Pulling slightly back from him to gaze into his tear streaked face, she smiled and offered him the most wonderful words he’d heard in more than a century. “Welcome home.”

Turning slightly to face the smiling watcher, Joyce shot him a look that promised pain and lots of it, her voice cold enough to freeze flame. “You chained him to your bathtub?”

Spike chuckled warmly, delighted at her protective stance. “It’s not like that, mum. It was the watcher from my time and I’d given him plenty of reason not to trust me. This one’s been nothin’ but kind to me.”

“SPIKE!” Buffy bellowed from the bathroom. “Where’s that shampoo?”

"Comin’, luv." Spike rolled his eyes at Joyce.

"EWWWWW!" she cried. her joke not successfully disguised as disgust.

"And she thinks I have a dirty mind," He chuckled.

Giles calmly walked to the bathroom door, “It’s in the cupboard under the sink, dear,” he informed her through the door, almost positive that he heard an embarrassed little ‘eep’ before she thanked him.

As Giles moved to rejoin Spike and Joyce in the living room, his front door was accosted by an abusive knocker and was opened before anyone could move.

“OH, MY GOD!” Dawn stood stock still at the sight of her mother hugging Spike. Evil Spike. Evil Chipless Spike.

“Easy on the ears there, Nibblet.” Spike grinned at the girl. This was his Dawn; he didn’t know how he knew it, but he did.

Dawn’s look of shock was exchanged for one of hope, as she asked in a voice that trembled with emotion. “Spike? My Spike?” His nod and gentle smile had her almost leaping into his comforting embrace. She wasn’t alone; her best friend was here too. She promptly burst into tears.

“Dawnie?” Buffy’s voice trembled as she spotted her weeping sister in the arms of her vampire.

“Buffy?” Joyce paused mid-step in her move towards her younger, weeping daughter.

“Mommy?” both girls whispered in prayer-like unison. Time seemed to freeze for an instant and then both weeping girls were in their mother’s arms.

~*~*~

The younger Buffy was busily doling out punch into cups, getting ready for the arrival of parents for Parent-Teacher night, when Willow approached her.

“What kinda punch did you make?”

“Uh…lemonade.” Buffy smiled, handing Willow a cup. “I made it fresh and everything.”

“How much sugar did you use?” Willow asked, smiling at her friend and taking a sip.

“Sugar?” Buffy questioned vacuously, her eyes wide in confusion. Looking back at the punchbowl, she failed to see Willow’s grimace at the incredibly sour taste of the lemonade.

“It's very good,” Willow offered loyally.

Buffy looked around the room to assure herself that there were no unwanted ears listening. Leaning into her friend conspiratorially, Buffy kept her voice low. “I had this dream last night about some droolworthy guy who sooo wasn’t Angel.”

“Really?” Willow asked excitedly.

“Uh huh! Wicked hot, and I think it was a Slayer Dream,” Buffy informed her. “It felt like I was being introduced to him or something; like I was destined to meet him and that he’s like really important to my future.”

“Have you told Giles? I mean with him being your watcher and you being the Slayer and it being a Slayer Dream, shouldn’t you be sorta going with the telling? ‘Cause he would be able to explain it and what are you going to do about Angel? Aren’t you sort of in love with him, ‘cause new guy could kinda cause you a problem there?” Willow babbled.

“Nah, I haven’t said anything,” Buffy admitted sheepishly, “I kinda wanted to see if I had…you know…another one tonight.”

“That good, huh?” Willow smiled at her friend.

“Better than chocolate,” Buffy assured her.

“Better than chocolate?” Willow responded, shocked.

“Ya huh,” Buffy confirmed.

“But what about Angel, Buffy?” Willow asked, her voiced laced with concern.

“Oh, he wasn’t in it. Just the blond hottie,” Buffy informed her friend cluelessly.

~*~*~

Angel awkwardly sat in his one chair in his dark basement apartment, morosely going over his meeting with the mother of his love. His demon was furious at Giles’ dismissal of him. How dare Giles discard him like that? He wasn’t even given the opportunity to prove he was a good man to Joyce. And Joyce; what was that ‘call me Mrs. Summers’ crap about? Angel shook his head in disbelief.

Buffy was not going to be happy when she found out that Giles had gone behind her back and informed her mother about her slayer destiny. Why was it now that Giles had suddenly decided to tell Joyce? And there was no way he was calling her Mrs. Summers, he was six times her age.

There was something wrong here; he could almost smell it. Giles had been adamant that Buffy keep her slayer identity secret. He wondered what could have changed the watcher’s mind and why now? Clearly there was something going on that he was not privy to. He was going to have to do something about that. How was he supposed to do what was best for Buffy if he wasn’t told everything? It looked like a little visit to the library was in order for the evening. It was time he and the watcher had a conversation. After all, he was the one who was chosen by the powers to help her. How could he do that if they withheld information? He was only trying to help. Giles should understand that he, Angel, always knew what was best.

Moving to the fridge to get himself some blood, Angel’s thoughts again returned to the meeting with Joyce. While he warmed up his blood in the microwave, he thought about her reactions to him. Granted, she may have had reason to be a little ticked over the tutor thing. After all, Buffy did lie to her. But it’s not like it was his fault. He didn’t tell Buffy to lie to her mother. If anyone was to blame, it should be Giles. He was the one that wanted Buffy to lie. Maybe letting Joyce know that would be the right thing to do?

He knew that Joyce might feel he was a little old for her daughter, that maybe their beautiful relationship was wrong, but he felt sure that if he explained to her that he was Buffy’s soulmate and that their love was true love and that true love can't be wrong, she would eagerly offer her support. Yes, Buffy was young and innocent, but he wasn't that much older when he was turned. Only twenty nine.

Chapter 9

“Let me see if I have this straight,” Joyce said from her position on the couch, firmly settled between her two daughters.

“At this point in time, I have a sixteen year old daughter, who is the Slayer – the one girl in all the world who fights demons, but she’s not actually the only one anymore because when she was killed by a bat-faced old master, known affectionately as ‘the ugly old git’. My daughter was then resuscitated by a young man who may or may not have a crush on her while her useless ‘poofter’ of a boyfriend stood by and did nothing. Because she did technically die, another girl was called.” Joyce paused for breath before continuing.

“My fifteen year old daughter is not actually my daughter, but an ancient mystical ‘glow-y key thing-y’ that a group of monks turned into an innocent child and sent to the slayer for protection from a ‘skanky ho hell god’, who wants to ‘stick her in a lock’. This would kill Dawn and pull down all the dimensional walls causing hell on earth. Dawnie is thought to have come to us in 2000, where she suddenly appeared as an ‘annoying' fourteen year old, but because of a spell done by the ‘stupid’ monks, everyone’s memories had been altered to include Dawn in our lives, making it difficult to pinpoint the timing of her arrival.

“Last night, when Dawn went to bed it was 2001 and she was fifteen. When she woke up, it was 1997 and she was still fifteen, but apparently all of our memories with the exception of Dawn, Spike, and possibly this Buffy, have again been altered to fit the reality of Dawnie being here, now aged fifteen. At this point we don’t have any idea why this has happened.” Joyce took another deep breath and turned to Buffy.

“This Buffy is my twenty year old daughter from 2001, who was sent back in time with Spike by a ‘bunch of nerds with a ray-gun’ and while Buffy is stuck here for an indefinite amount of time, Spike can’t go back because the Spike of this time is trapped in this Spike’s body…is that it?” Joyce asked her audience, her obvious amusement highlighted by a raised eyebrow.

“Wow, way to go with the non-wigginess, mom.” Dawn looked at her mother, impressed.

“You’re sure taking it better than you did in my time,” Buffy huffed, pouting.

Tearing his eyes away from her lips and stifling a groan, Spike offered a gentle rebuke. “In all fairness, luv, you’d been accused of murdering the other slayer, you’d just dusted a vamp in front of her, told her you were the slayer, and didn’t give her any time to process it before you told her you were off to save the world.”

“Stop using logic on me, that is so not fair,” Buffy pretended to whine, but when Spike smirked at her, she turned to Dawn and asked in mock seriousness. "How can he be so brilliant and yet so amazingly dense at the same time?"

Dawn giggled as Spike’s expression alternated between wounded for the insult and delight for the compliment.

Buffy’s shot up straight, her body still, and her eyes closed. Opening them wide she looked directly at Spike. “Na ah, that so did not happen.”

“What’s that, pet?” he quickly asked the shocked girl.

“I think I know what’s causing some of our problems.” Buffy diverted everyone’s attention away from Spike’s question.

“What would that be Buffy?” Giles asked.

“The claim, I think it’s causing a connection between all the Summers women. Like Dawnie, for example. When the monks sent her to me, what if they bonded her to me or something and when I was sent through time, the key part of her sort of recognized a distance between us and tried to like re-establish contact, or something, but because I was back in time…I don’t know, maybe the connection was weak?” Buffy tried to explain her way of thinking.

“And you think that the claim, because it was in the name of Summers women, made the connection stronger and ‘bit’s keyness brought her back here to us?” Spike finished her thought.

“Well...yeah. Ooh, ooh, and maybe the memory changes happen automatically to like protect Dawnie. The spell is muta-whatsey,” Buffy offered excitedly.

“That would be mutable, Buffy,” Giles gently corrected. “And that is certainly a feasible explanation.”

“So, what was the other Buffy’s memory change that brought on this little epiphany, Slayer?” Spike grinned at the girl, one eyebrow raised. He knew his slayer; he knew she had sidestepped his earlier question and he was mightily curious to know why.

“It’s nothing. I just remembered a conversation I had with Willow once,” She responded with forced casualness.

“About what, Buffy?” Giles’ interest was equally piqued.

“So not going there.” Buffy’s stubborn expression brooked no argument and Spike was suddenly sure that the claim was also having some sort of effect on the younger version of his slayer, which meant things were going to start getting real interesting, real soon.

~*~*~

“Buffy, I need to speak to you.” Angel caught the attention of the beautiful young blonde.

“Angel,” Buffy hissed at the brooding vampire, while she grabbed his arm and ushered him into the hall. “What are you doing here? It’s Parent/Teacher night, everyone will be arriving soon. You can't be here.”

“Look, I have something important to tell you and I didn’t think it should wait,” Angel firmly told the young girl.

“Well, can you like, hurry up, so you can move on to the part where you’re not here?” Buffy looked around frantically, terrified that Snyder, that little troll, would find them.

"Giles told your mother about you being the Chosen One," Angel patiently explained to Buffy. "I thought you should know what was going on."

“Oh, thank God. I'm so glad I didn't have to do that.” Buffy thought for a minute. “How'd she take it? Was she mad?” Suspicion suddenly dawned on the petite blonde. “How exactly is it that you know this?”

“I know you’re busy, I’ll wait in the library with Giles so you don’t have to deal with him alone.” Coat billowing dramatically, Angel ignored the question from the fuming blonde and left her to her Snyder inflicted duties.

~*~*~

“Giles, Angel just told the younger me about you telling mom,” Buffy told the watcher. “He’s waiting in the library for you and I think he expects her to be pissed at you, but from what I’m getting, she’s more pissed at Angel than you.”

“She’s not the only one,” Giles muttered, as he reached for the door. “I’m happy to see that you are able to utilise the memory changes, Buffy. I believe we can use it to our advantage."

“It’s getting really easy. I suddenly get a memory from when I lived through this time. It’s like a vision…sort of. It tells me there’s a memory change. I just tell you about the vision,” Buffy shrugged nonchalantly.

“Yes, well that is excellent news.” Giles smiled at her. “Right then, we had best be on our way. While we’re at the school’s Parent/Teacher night, what will you two be doing?”

“We’re heading over to the caves. We’re gonna take the digging thingies you got us and make a start on getting the treasure. We’ll probably be late, so we’ll take the key you gave us,” Buffy informed him as she and Spike moved to hug Dawn and Joyce goodbye.

~*~*~

Buffy and Spike worked well together. Spike had come to the conclusion that Buffy was certainly better to work with than the minions he’d had the last time he’d done this. In his estimation, they’d be through to the chamber in minutes. He wasn’t wrong.

When they got into the cavern, Spike walked directly over to the fabled ring of Amara. Picking it up, he silently handed it over to Buffy. Moving away, he grabbed one of the smaller boxes they had thought to bring with them and started to move around the room, placing specific items in the box. He directed his words over his shoulder to Buffy. “Just let me pick up the magical things, Slayer, and then we can pack up the rest.”

“How do you know which ones are magical?” Buffy asked curiously.

“I can sense ‘em. Magic always leaves a residual scent,” he explained offhandedly.

Once all the magical items had been found and packed into the small box, Spike marked it and left it by the entrance. The two of them then started to systematically go through the room and pack up the rest of the treasure. The companionable silence that they were working in was suddenly shattered by Buffy’s exclamation of shocked indignation.

“I can’t believe he just did that!” Buffy exclaimed furiously.

“What’s that, luv?” Spike focused on her, his curiously piqued.

“Angel! He just took credit for taking out the Annoying One!”

Chapter 10

“Hey guys, what’s the what?” Buffy came bouncing into the library; she seemed to be positively bubbling over with happiness.

Smiling indulgently, Giles came out of his office. He had voluntarily sequestered himself, in an effort to avoid the brooding brunette vampire and keep his temper from erupting. “You seem happy, dear?”

“Yeah, definitely lookin’ like you took your happy pills there, Buffster.” Xander joked, mentally doing a happy dance that the object of his desire hadn’t given the hated vampire any special greeting.

“Did something happen, Buffy?” Willow grinned at her friend and picking up on Buffy’s apparent happiness, she felt her own happiness bubble inside her in solidarity.

“Mom! She totally slammed Snyder,” Buffy gushed enthusiastically, “She told him that if he were like, an example of the people responsible for her child’s education, then it was no wonder that I had average grades. Which I should totally be mad about, ‘cause, hello, grades not that bad, but then she told him that he came across as a man that didn’t even like kids so maybe he should like, look for another line of work! So…not so much with the madness. I’m happy-Buffy.”

“Oh wow, can she be my mom too?” Xander asked, in awe. He momentarily thought of his own parents and stifled his groan of friendly jealousy, why couldn’t his parents be like that?

Willow, on the other hand, bit her bottom lip, internally debating whether to speak her concerns or not. Her belief that forewarned is forearmed convinced her to speak up, “You don’t think he’ll, like take it out on you, do you Buffy?”

“Don’t care,” Buffy shrugged, “The look on his face will stay with me forever.” Her smile seemed to light up the room.

“Buffy,” Angel waited until he had everyone’s attention, “You don’t have to worry about the Anointed One or his minions anymore. They’ve been taken care of.”

Buffy gave a happy squeal and raced to give him a human-breaking hug.

“Angel, are you saying that you are responsible for vanquishing the Anointed One and his minions?” Angel really didn’t like the disbelief that seemed to lace Giles’ question. Pausing briefly, he looked the watcher directly in the eye and replied firmly, “Yes, Giles. I am responsible.”

~*~*~

Silently Buffy and Spike manoeuvred the boxes filled with treasure into the safe at the Gallery; Joyce had given them the combination and alarm codes earlier. When they’d placed the final box, they made their way out of the walk-in safe, and reset everything before heading back to Giles’ with only the box of magical items. As they walked, Spike looked over at the still fuming slayer and attempted to refocus the direction of her thoughts; it was never a good thing to be around a brassed-off slayer and he didn’t want her to take her mood out on him. “Slayer, can I ask you a question?”

Looking at him warily, Buffy ventured cautiously, “What?”

“How does the memory thing work?”

“Oh that,” she was relieved at his question, she was seriously freaked by the other Buffy’s dream and in no way did she want to even think about the fantasies that the other her was now having, “It’s really weird. I know I should be wigged by having my memories disappearing, or I guess being replaced is really more accurate, but I’m not. I’m not losing the things I’m doing now, but my past is changing and that’s kinda scary ‘cause, you know, what if it gets worse or something? But then, what if it gets better?

“Right now, I don’t remember when I first met you. I remember you and I remember the whole Halloween incident and that I knew you then, but I don’t remember meeting you before then so how could I know you at Halloween? You get what I mean?”

“Yeah, I get it. But, when something happens to the other Buffy that changes your memories, you get a warnin’, right?” He tried to clarify the confusion.

Nodding excitedly in agreement, Buffy continued, “Its sooo cool, I get this like vision and it plays like a movie in my head, with me in the starring role. I see the situation so clearly and it’s like I’m suddenly reliving my memory, but it only happens with memories that are being changed, so that gives me a heads up that something’s different. Like before, I now have this memory of Angel telling us that he took care of the Anointed One, and although I don’t remember what happened in my time, I know that he didn’t take credit for it then and I know that you did it then. But I also know that you and I took the annoying one out this time, because that’s not a past past memory for me, I mean like four years past, twenty year old Buffy was involved not sixteen year old Buffy, so I know that memory can’t be altered.”

“I hate to bring this up luv, but since you mentioned the Poof, did you tell Giles about the Gypsy?” Spike knew this was going to be a difficult conversation for Buffy, but he honestly believed they had to get it out of the way before they got back to the watcher.

“No, did you?”

“No, but I think we should.” Spike offered his opinion, “Look we’re already changing history and yeah, we have to be careful, but, we might need the curse, luv.”

Thinking about it, Buffy knew he was right, but her own ambivalent feelings towards the teacher remained. She didn’t want the teacher to die. She didn’t want Angelus to make an appearance. If talking to Giles about Jenny Calendar could stop either or both of those things, then there really wasn’t much choice. “You’re right.”

~*~*~

When Buffy and Spike let themselves into Giles’ apartment, they found the agitated watcher pacing around his living room. Before they could say a word of greeting, he had launched into his tirade, “Do you know what that bastard did? Have you any idea of the height of that vampire’s gall? He actually berated me for hiding things from him. He told me that because he was the all mighty bloody champion, that the Powers That Be had called him to be MY SLAYER’S protector, that he should be the one to make all the decisions relating to Buffy. He told me that he EXPECTED a full report as to why I felt it necessary to go behind his slayer’s back and tell her mother about her calling, when I had previously been against the idea. The very idea, that that sanctimonious bore deems himself worthy of my slayer is farcical in the extreme and if that wasn’t enough, he then waited around for Buffy and took credit for the demise of the Anointed One and his minions!”

Buffy had never seen this side of her watcher. She had absolutely no idea what to say or do. She was terrified that if she said the wrong thing, she would set him off again and that was seriously the last thing she wanted. Looking to Spike for inspiration, Buffy watched in awe as the unfazed bleached blond calmly put down the box he was carrying, made Giles a drink and handed it to him. Spike then waited until Giles had finished his first and offered him a second. With the second drink, Giles seemed to calm down considerably and this helped Buffy calm down too.

Spike watched the watcher visibly relax, when his heart rate had slowed to a healthier speed, Spike took the opportunity to add some levity, “So, what you’re sayin’ is, that the Poof’s been sniffin’ his own hair gel and that he’s a bloody wanker.”

Giles started snickering, his snickers soon escalated into chortles and then onto a full out belly laugh, tears included. It didn’t take long for the other two to join him, his laughter was infectious. When their laughter had finally died down, Buffy took the opportunity to broach the subject of Jenny.

“Ah…Giles, you know how we told you about Angel’s curse being kinda shaky?” Buffy started, hesitantly. The idea of telling Giles about Jenny scared her; she didn’t want to hurt him.

“Yes?”

“Well I sorta didn’t mention that we knew of a way to get all the information on the curse that you need.” Buffy offered.

“How?” Giles was beginning to suspect that, as much as he wanted the information, he was not going to be happy about where that information was coming from.

“Jenny Calendar,” Buffy began, “She’s a member of the Calderash Clan, they’re the ones that cursed him in the first place.”

Chapter 11

Giles stared at Buffy, his expression blank. Slowly a smile started to appear, “Jenny is part of the clan that cursed Angel, you say?”

“Uh-huh,” Buffy answered him, still cautious, but pleased that he seemed to be taking it better than the last time he’d found out.

“Well that’s marvellous,” he beamed. But, when he noted the caution on his slayer’s face, his smile faded slightly. Realising he obviously didn’t have the full story, Giles did a quick mental calculation of all known facts, in an effort to ready himself for the rest of the information relating to the woman to whom he was slowly becoming enamoured.

“In our time,” Buffy paused momentarily, struggling to keep her anger at the gypsy out of her voice, it wasn’t fair on Giles to prejudice him for something the woman he cared for had yet to do. “Jenny didn’t tell us the details of the curse or her mission, until after Angel had lost his soul. I honestly believe that, had she told us, our lives would have been very different…and Jenny would have lived. I think by not telling us, she started a chain reaction that, well, that’s had devastating effects on all of us.”

Moved, by the soft sadness of her voice, Giles gently encouraged his soft hearted slayer to continue, “Go on, dear.”

Buffy really didn’t want to think of those times; the memories were too painful. The bitterness that she’d bottled up for years waited like a predator of the night. She was terrified that once she started, she wouldn’t be able to stop. She’d been the slayer for almost six years and even though she’d complained about wanting to be a normal teenager, if she was honest with herself, she would have to admit that given time, she would have found a way to make it work for her. Given time, she would have found herself.

It wasn’t being the slayer that had damaged her so completely; it was the people she’d trusted, loved, that had caused her the most pain. If she started this, if she told Giles everything, would it achieve anything? Would it help? Or would it just cause him pain? Would it just cause her pain? Ripping away the scab of a wound that had festered into a poisonous lesion would be a painful experience, but by attempting to cleanse the injury, would it finally be allowed to heal? Or would she be doing more damage? Taking a deep breath, Buffy made her decision; it was time to clean the wound.

“You have to remember, none of this has happened in this timeline yet. But, I can’t go through most of it again, Giles, I just can’t. I want to actively alter the events I lived through. I want your input on this, I know that changing my past doesn’t guarantee that my life, all our lives, will be better, but I don’t believe it’s possible to make it worse.” Buffy implored her watcher to recognize just how serious she was.

“I understand, Buffy,” he assured her.

“Okay,” Buffy took a deep breath and began her tale. “Jenny didn’t tell us anything, so the only actual knowledge we had at the time was that Angelus had been cursed by a clan of gypsies as retribution for killing one of them. We found out after Angelus returned that Jenny had been sent here by her clan to keep an eye on him. Apparently, up until the time he started working with me, they didn’t feel that the curse was under any threat of being broken. But, when he started to work with me, that all changed.

“There is only one way to break the curse. If Angel experiences a moment of perfect happiness, the curse will be broken. In my time, I gave him that moment.” Only the slight shaking of her hands betrayed the depths of her pain. Talking about this memory from her past brought with it all the emotions she’d long buried away. The wound had been opened.

“After Angelus reappeared, everything came out. I think we all felt betrayed that she hadn’t told us who she really was or that there was a possibility of the curse being broken; I know I was furious at her. If we’d known beforehand that the curse wasn’t stable, we might have been able to prevent hundreds of deaths and the not so little amount of psychological pain that that bastard put us through.”

Buffy stood and started pacing, her memories assailed her; the pain of them was almost palpable. “Jenny found a copy of the curse and started working on deciphering it, so that she could re-curse him. Most of us had agreed that if we could re-soul him, we would be saving a warrior for the Powers. Xander, of course just wanted him dusted.

“You had managed to get over your feelings of betrayal and had started a tentative relationship with Jenny, you were falling in love.” Buffy smiled sadly at Giles, “But then Angelus found out that she was planning to re-ensoul him and killed her, leaving her body for you to find.

“Jenny had managed to decipher the curse before she was killed and Willow found it. Willow was the one to curse him, but I really believe it was too much magic for her to be trying and it started her on a bad road. Most of the really bad things that happened after that can be traced back to Angel losing his soul; if we stop that happening…everything will change.” Buffy sat back down, she looked exhausted.

Contemplating all that he had been told, Giles started formulating a plan. He agreed with Buffy, that her past should be changed, but when he took into account all that Spike had told him, he realised something that she clearly hadn’t - the appearance of Angelus had been the beginning of the end of Buffy’s relationship with Angel. While he had no intention of allowing Angelus to be released, he also had no intention of allowing Buffy’s relationship with Angel to develop any further. It would appear that he and Spike needed to have another little conversation. However, for the moment, there were more pressing details to address. “Do you think we should invite Jenny to join us?”

“I think that sounds like a plan,” Buffy smiled tiredly, “But, for now, I’m going to bed…it’s been a long day.” She offered them both a ‘goodnight’ before leaving the room.

~*~*~

"Mom," Dawn hissed, "I just saw Angel hovering around outside like a giant bat." Dawn pulled her mother over to the window, and the two of them carefully peeked out the curtain. Sure enough, there he was sitting in the tree, outside Buffy’s window.

Joyce gave a growl that would have made Spike proud. "That idiot is really starting to get on my nerves." Joyce thought for a second. "I have a plan. You go talk him out of the tree, but give me enough time to get out there."

As Dawn made her way up to her sister’s room, Joyce made a beeline for the broom closet. Dramatically throwing the curtains open, Dawn glared at the brooding vampire in the tree, “You know,” she started casually, “Using the gel like that just makes your forehead look larger.”

Ignoring her remark and giving her a look as aloof as was possible from a vampire sitting in a tree, Angel announced, “I’m just waiting for Buffy.”

“Yeah, well, Buffy’s in the shower and stalker that you are, I think you’re just here to sneak a peek. Not tonight Brood Boy, Buffy’s going to be busy, so you can just make like a bat and fly away.” Dawn smirked, a look which reminded Angel eerily of Spike. Throwing a glare at the belligerent teenager, he made his way out of the tree. As he reached the ground he was momentarily dazed by a resounding whack to the head.

“Stay the hell away from my daughter.” Joyce ground out. With her axe held loosely but firmly by her side, she looked decidedly like a Valkyrie warrior.

Angel slowly backed away from the crazy woman in front of him. Seeing her like this, completely unbalanced had him coming to the hurried decision that he should be talking to Giles soon, Buffy needed to be removed from this unhealthy environment.

As he hurried down the street holding his throbbing head, he was distressed to hear the sound of the laughing teen in the window as she called out "Go mom! At least this time you whacked the right vamp.”

Previous
Next
OptionsAdd Story to FavoritesAdd Author to FavoritesSubmit a Review
Name: Jackofspikes
Review:

-- Styles ---- Format --ParagraphAddressPreformattedHeading 1Heading 2Heading 3Heading 4Heading 5Heading 6



Opinion of story? Liked itDisliked itNone


Note: You may submit either a rating or a review or both.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.


Terms of Service | Submission Rules | Contact Us
Skin created by Mandi

Chapter 12

Xander was the first to reach the library door, putting his hand to the door and opening it fractionally as he smiled over his shoulder at the straggling girls. As they reached him, Xander heard something through the opening that caused him to halt their progress and beckon them to join him in listening to the ongoing conversation.

“She hit me over the head with an axe, Giles. She is obviously unstable.” Angel spoke the words harshly, still smarting over the wound to his pride. “Buffy’s kid sister just laughed. There is no telling what Joyce will do to Buffy, I need to protect her.”

Xander looked at Buffy and judging from the look of fury on her face she was not pleased with what she was hearing.

Giles just looked at the fuming vampire in front of him; it amazed him that the more time he spent with soulless Spike the more he hated the brooding souled vampire he was forced to work with. Glancing past the vampire to the door of the library he noted that it was slightly ajar. There was no way that could happen unless someone was holding it on the other side. He really hoped that the person listening was his young charge; it was time her eyes were opened. “While I do not believe for one moment that Mrs. Summers is in any way unstable, what exactly is it that you are suggesting?”

“Can’t the council take over as her legal guardian, that way you could get her out of that mad house?” Angel eagerly asked.

Giles’ look of outrage was the first thing Buffy noticed as she silently entered the library and she was really pleased to see it. “Mad house?” She queried mildly, her crossed arms belying the calmness of her demeanour.

Spinning around at her voice, Angel gasped out her name, “Buffy!” Clearly panicked for the moment, he looked lost for words. Quickly deciding that the best defence was a good offence, he opened his big brown puppy dog eyes and made his accusation; “Your mother attacked me last night, Buffy.”

“Why?” She asked simply, her face devoid of emotion.

“I don’t know, Buffy, she didn’t say anything before she me hit from behind.” Angel responded, his tone grave.

“What were you doing?” Buffy again tried to get to the facts behind Angel’s bland statements.

Again giving Buffy his well practiced expression of pained martyrdom, Angel informed her of his innocent actions. “I’d been at your window, I was just checking on you. When I climbed down, your mother hit me.”

“Gee Angel, what was she thinking?” Buffy commented sarcastically, “She sees a grown man hovering in the tree and looking in her sixteen year old daughter’s bedroom window, how did you expect her to act? You could have been a Peeping Tom for all she knew. You’re lucky she didn’t just call the cops.”

Angel looked at her, his shock visible to all. He couldn’t believe it; she was supposed to be on his side. Didn’t she realise that her mother should have known it was him? He was her protector after all! Why didn’t Joyce know that he was someone she should be happy was looking out for her daughter? Joyce had had enough time to be told everything, hadn’t Giles told her his position in Buffy’s life? Maybe not, the watcher had been less that friendly with him recently. Maybe the watcher was trying to ingratiate himself into Joyce’s life and push him, Angel, out. It seemed like another talk with the watcher was on the cards.

Heaving a put upon sigh, Angel told Buffy and Giles he’d talk to them later, knowing that he would be getting Giles alone for the little chat he had in mind for the watcher. Nodding to the rest, he turned towards the stacks and made his exit.

The entire group waited in silence until Buffy indicated that Angel was indeed gone. Turning to her watcher, Buffy felt an urgent need for reassurance. “You’re not going to ask the council to do that, are you Giles?”

“No, of course not, Buffy; your mother is a wonderful woman and she’s doing a wonderful job raising you and your sister. Regardless of anything Angel might say.” Giles’ disdain for the vampire was clear in his tone.

Giles knew that during their talk the day before, Joyce and the older slayer had made the decision that they needed to talk alone. Joyce had made arrangements for Dawn to stay at a friend’s place for the night and Spike had volunteered to join Giles at the library to meet with Jenny. The younger slayer and her friends were going to the Bronze so Giles was not concerned with them walking in on them in the middle any of the conversations and accidentally discovering Spike. Giles knew that in order to talk with Jenny he needed to catch her before she went home for the evening, so after telling the group that they had earned a night off he made his way to the computer lab and invited the dark haired beauty to join him in the library when she was free.

Spike arrived at the library just moments after Giles had returned from the computer room. With Spike’s arrival Giles picked up the book he had been reading and handed it to the bleached blond vampire.

“What’s this?” He asked the watcher, his curiosity piqued.

“It’s a ritual I’d like you to look at,” Giles smiled at the vampire with barely contained excitement, “I believe you wanted to be accepted as a …er…whitehat?”

“Yeah?”

“Then I think you’ll find that to be very interesting, Spike.”

Before Spike could comment the doors to the library opened and Jenny walked in. Spike decided his questions could wait.

Giles introduced Spike to her as his friend and earned Spike’s eternal loyalty. Indicating that they should all sit, Giles waited until they had before he started. “Jenny, a situation has arisen with which we will require your assistance. There are only six of us that know about this situation and once you’ve learned what it is, I’m sure you will understand the need for secrecy.”

Jenny smiled encouragingly at the watcher, silently urging him to continue.

“Spike and…his companion were sent back in time, by non-magical means from four years in the future. They have already started affecting the timeline and from what they have told me I totally understand why. The reason it was important to bring you into this was because of your history.”

Jenny sat up very straight, wariness infused her, “What do you mean, ‘my history’?”

“In my time, your history didn’t come out until it was too late. Angelus was freed of the curse before you said anything and everyone paid the price – both you and your uncle died. I was in a bloody wheelchair at the time and the bastard couldn’t wait to brag.” Spike informed the shocked gypsy. “This time will be different, but we need you to get together with us and my slayer, so we can suss out our options. Reckon you can come ‘round to the watcher’s tomorrow afternoon?”

After assuring them that she would be there and wishing them a good night, Jenny left. After she had gone, Spike and Giles turned their attention back to the book and the ritual within. Spike read the ritual and all the relevant details about it twice before tuning to Giles and almost whispering his question, “Is it true? Can this really be done?”

~*~*~

Spike wandered aimlessly, his thoughts moving at a hundred miles a minute. The implications of the ritual existing at all flew in the face of everything that Giles, Buffy and the Scoobies of his time had believed. It could be very dangerous and failure would ensure his dusting, but to succeed…success could bring him his dreams.

Taking note of his surroundings for the first time in a good ten minutes, Spike noticed he was just around the corner from the Bronze. Thinking that Buffy might like some snacks he headed for the back door, flowering onions and an order of wings were calling his name.

Buffy sat in her chair, sipping at her diet cola and absently gazed around the room. The music was inviting, but she was getting a bit sick of the ‘accidental’ touchage that was coming from Xander. She wished he would get the message that she didn’t like him in that way. The room was crowded, so crowded that it was almost impossible to see the pool tables or the bar from where she was seated. However, sometimes mysterious powers come together and allow a moment, a very special moment, to happen. Just as Buffy was looking toward the bar, the crowd seemed to momentarily part and Buffy gazed into the eyes from her dream. Gasping in shock, she lost sight of him as the crowd moved back and he was hidden from her view.

“What?” Willow anxiously asked her friend.

“He’s here, Will. The guy from my dream.”

Spike picked up his order and hurriedly made his way outside. Heading directly back to the watcher’s, he muttered as he moved, “Bugger. Buffy’s gonna kill me.”

Chapter 13

”So sweetie, how are you doing?” Joyce asked her beautiful daughter once they had settled on the couch in Giles’ living room.

“Confused,” Buffy told her mother honestly. “We haven’t really made any big changes yet, but my memories are still changing. I mean…I totally get the whole cause and effect thingy, but I can’t work out how we’re causing some of these changes.” Buffy shook her head as if to clear her thoughts.

“Why don’t you tell me about the latest memory, maybe we can work it out together,” Joyce offered, encouraging her daughter to talk.

Buffy thought for a minute before attempting to vocalize her altered memories. “I had this whole scene replay for me earlier. I was standing outside the library with Xander and Willow, and Xander had the door opened just a little bit so we could hear Giles and Angel talking. The things that Angel was saying…I just can’t imagine the Angel that I know saying those sorts of things or acting the way he does. But I saw and heard it, so it’s kind of hard to reconcile what I know with…well, what I know.” Buffy turned to her mother, her confusion bringing tears to her eyes.

Joyce gathered her tearful daughter into her warm embrace and tried to help her emotionally scarred child. “Sweetie, have you considered that maybe the Angel you know, you only know through the eyes of the child that you were? That maybe in your timeline, you were so in love with him that you didn’t notice any faults and that now that you are seeing him from an adult’s point of view?

“Honey, I loved your father, but as we grew older we both changed and the people that we grew into had different goals and dreams, different beliefs. He wasn’t the man I fell in love with and I wasn’t the woman he fell in love with. Some couples grow together and some grow apart. Maybe the woman you are now needs something else in a partner and this is allowing you to see Angel clearly.”

Buffy wiped her tears and looked up guilelessly into her mother’s eyes, becoming vulnerable and young once again, “I don’t know if I ever really knew him mom. The younger me is already seeing the flaws, he hid them from me mom and maybe if I had seen it, maybe we wouldn’t have even been a couple, and then none of the badness that came after, would have come, you know?”

Joyce hugged Buffy tightly to her, running a hand gently down the side of her face. “I know, sweetie, but this could be a good thing too, honey. If the younger you, doesn’t go through the pain that you did, doesn’t that mean that you won’t have to live with it anymore?”

Smiling softly to herself, Buffy offered a heartfelt, “Yes.”

~*~*~

Angel sat in his only chair; the dark basement’s only source of illumination was a single candle. He knew there was something funny going on with Giles. He’d clearly known that Buffy was listening to them; Giles might even have set him up deliberately, trying to make him look bad in front of Buffy. Of course once he explained everything to his beautiful little slayer, she would understand that he, Angel, only had her best interests at heart. She would understand.

He pitied Giles; the poor man had clearly never had a true love of his own, so of course he couldn’t understand the connection between soulmates. But, that didn’t excuse Giles for doubting him in the matter of Joyce’s sanity; as if he wouldn’t recognise insanity, he’d perfected the art of making someone insane, who was Giles to question him?

~*~*~

“I’ll kill him!” Buffy spat out furiously.

Giles looked up from the book he was showing Joyce on slayers and, after a shared glance it was silently agreed that he would be the one to question the angry Slayer. “Who are you planning on killing, Buffy?”

“Spike,” she glared at the watcher, as if daring him to disagree. “He went to the Bronze and let the other me see him.”

“Was there a fight?” Joyce hesitantly asked, her smile well concealed. She was fairly certain that the emotion she was sensing from her daughter was a little closer to jealousy than anger.

“No, she saw him from across the room.” Buffy explained, her ire building by the minute. Dammed idiot, didn’t he realise that the other Buffy would be at the Bronze tonight…and what the hell was he doing going there anyway?

Giles and Joyce shared another glance; both had a good idea as to the source of the slayer’s anger. “I don’t understand the problem then Buffy, surely if they didn’t communicate in any way, her seeing him shouldn’t cause a problem, should it?” Giles innocently asked.

“No problem?” Buffy almost screamed, “She’s been dreaming about him, she just saw him and thinks he’s her destiny, a gift from the Powers, let her get her own damn gift!”

“Oh dear,” Giles commented, desperately trying to stop himself from laughing.

~*~*~

When Spike entered Giles’ apartment, it was to discover both Joyce and Giles in the middle of a laughing fit, doubled over and with tears streaming down their faces. Buffy stood watching them, her arms crossed and her foot tapping out her irritation, clearly not seeing the funny side of what ever it was that had the other two in near hysterics.

Slowly turning her head towards the sound of the door, Buffy’s eyes narrowed. “You,” she spat out in anger as she started to stalk towards him.

Moving behind the dining table, and fully intending to keep said table between him and the little warrior at all costs, Spike’s first thought was, ‘Bollocks. Spikey, me lad, you’re toast’.

“You did that deliberately.” She fumed.

“I forgot she’d be there, alright. It wasn’t bloody intentional,” he barked back; he wasn’t going down without a fight.

Buffy would not be halted, no table was going to stop her from getting to him; it was time for tactics. “Don’t think I haven’t worked out what you’re trying to do, Blood Breath. You’re trying to get her to fall for you so that I will.” Buffy announced with calculated accusation.

Spike stopped, frozen in shock at her wild and unfounded accusation, hell he hadn’t even thought of that. “Are you all sack of hammers, Slayer? I only saw her for a soddin' second and then I scooted right out of there.”

“What’s sack of hammers? Is that one of those weird British things?” She moved closer; almost there.

“Are you bloody crazy, is what it means, you stupid bint,” he snapped right back at her, getting right into her personal space and trying to stare her down. It was the flash of triumph in her eyes a fraction of a second before she grabbed his lapels that had him thinking, ‘You’re buggered now, mate’.

“She is off limits, Spike.” She almost growled the words.

“She is a child, Slayer.” He did growl out the words.

“So you’ve got no plans of trying your chances with her then?” she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“I don’t want her, Slayer, I want you and if I haven’t made that perfectly clear by now, it’s about bloody time I did.” Swiftly lifting his hands to the back of her shoulders, he pulled her to him, his lips crashed down on hers with bruising deliberation.

Chapter 14

When Spike’s lips touched hers, Buffy’s brain went on hiatus. The kiss prompted memories of other kisses. As he gentled his hold on her, softening the bruising punishment but not the intensity of the kiss, her hands seemed to move of their own volition to the nape of his neck, her fingers teasing the soft curls there. Pictures of engagement induced caresses, musical nights with movie ending kisses and passionate embraces under the stairs at the Bronze flittered past her mind’s eye. Buffy was lost in the moment, but a gentle cough from the watcher on the couch bought her back with a crash.

Pushing away from the kissable blond vampire, Buffy was stopped from launching into her usual litany of recriminations by her mother’s playful tease. “It’s nice to see you treating your gifts so well, dear.”

“Gift?”

~*~*~

Coat billowing dramatically behind him, Angel strode with confident purpose towards his goal. It was Saturday morning, Buffy and the others would still be sleeping, this time the watcher would face him alone.

He had returned to the Summers home in the early hours of the morning. Watching his beautiful Buffy sleep, he had seen her dreaming. Clearly the dreams had been of a sensual natural; writhing in the bed until she dislodged her sheet and mumbling things too quietly for him to hear. His cock had hardened painfully at the sight of her nubile young body. Soon. Soon she would be his completely. The fact that she was dreaming of him like that suggested he wouldn’t have to wait long at all.

As Angel entered the library, ready to battle the watcher, he found the place empty. Deciding to wait, he made himself comfortable at the table, mentally going over all that he had to say. He was sure he wouldn’t have long to wait.

~*~*~

“Buffy, may I ask you something?” Giles looked over at the petite blond.

“Sure, Giles,” she smiled over at the watcher from her seat on the couch.

Sitting forward in his recliner, hand clasped and resting on his knees, Giles was the very picture of seriousness. “Why are you so insistent that the council should not be brought into this?”

“Oh that reminds me, you have to contact another watcher. He’s in the Caribbean somewhere…um, Sam something.” Buffy looked at him expectantly.

“Sam Zabuto?”

”That sounds right. Can you contact him? He’s the watcher for the other slayer and we sooo don’t need Kendra turning up here too. You have to make sure he knows that there’s already a slayer in Sunnydale and that she should stay where she is.” Memories of the beautiful and exotic dark skinned slayer flitted through Buffy’s mind.

“It would be easier to go through the council, Buffy.” Her insistence for no council involvement had him puzzled. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out the cause for her reluctance to contact the council. They dealt with the supernatural. Surely this situation was something right up their alley.

Giving Giles a look that held him like a vice grip, Buffy plainly stated her position; “There are so many reasons why I don’t trust the council, Giles, but first and foremost is always going to be the Cruciamentum.”

“I didn’t?” the shocked disbelief in his voice, caused Buffy to study him curiously. He seemed totally horrified at the thought of being a part of the ritual.

“You did, Giles. You had me study crystals and while I was hypnotised you injected me with the serum that stole my powers.” Buffy’s voice filled with pain as she relived the night of horror. “On my eighteenth birthday, my father and I had a tradition, we would go to the ice-capades, but that year he cancelled out on me and just sent me the tickets instead. I asked you to go with me; I figured that you were a better father than he was, so, why not have you replace him in the birthday tradition too.

“I’d been getting weaker for days, but I felt safe knowing that I would be with you on my birthday.” So lost in her memories, Buffy failed to see the gentle watcher’s eyes fill with tears. “Apparently you stopped by the place where the ritual was to take place to check in on things and discovered the tomb of the vampire the council was going to use was empty and one of the guys looking after him was dead. That was when you decided to tell me what was going on.

“Long story short, the vampire kidnapped my mom and I was forced to face him to save her. I had finally managed to beat him, by tricking him into drinking holy water, just before you arrived to help. When we got back to the library, Quentin Travers was there.” Buffy spat out the man’s name, her distain for the head of the Council of Watchers obvious. “He commended me on successfully passing the test, but he said that you demonstrated a relationship with me that the Council deemed too close, like the way a father loves his daughter and you were fired.” Looking directly at the tear-streaked face of the watcher, and begged him; “Please don’t involve the council, Giles, I couldn’t handle being betrayed by you again.”

The devastated man sat silently, trying desperately to get his bearings. He couldn’t imagine any scenario that would have him agreeing to perform the outdated and barbaric ritual. Floundering in confusion, he lifted tear filled eyes to the daughter of his heart and pleaded with her to help him understand the upheaval his mind was going through. “Why would I do that? I don’t approve of the ritual. I swore I’d never put you through that. What could have happened to make me change my mind?”

“Angelus,” Spike offered from the hallway, his hair still damp and curling from his shower. “I don’t mean to intrude, Rupert. So tell me if I’m butting in where I’m not wanted.”

“Not at all, Spike. Please, if you can cast any light on this matter at all, I would be most grateful.” The distressed watcher almost begged his new friend.

Spike moved further into the room, mentally arranging his thoughts. “I think that Angelus damaged all of you, but you losing your gypsy girl, like you did, changed you Giles. You would never have admitted it, but on some level you blamed Buffy, and, more importantly, you blamed yourself.

“You believed that if you had been a better watcher, Buffy wouldn’t have hesitated when she had the chance to kill the bastard. I think that’s why you changed your mind about the ritual. You never wanted to lose another person you loved. If the ritual could harden her resolve and turn her into a more focused warrior, one who wasn’t governed by her emotions, then you would have accepted the need for it, the demand for it even.”

“That makes sense, in a scary sooo don’t want to go through it again way.” Buffy nodded in agreement.

“I think we need to do what ever we can to ensure that we never have to.” Giles offered solemnly.

~*~*~

Just after lunch, a brisk knock on the watcher’s door, had both Buffy and Spike scrambling for cover. Giles checked to make sure they were indeed hidden before he opened the door to a stranger. “My name is Brother Luther. I’m here to see the protector of the Key.”

Chapter 15

“Let him in, Giles,” Buffy demanded from the hallway.

Giles followed Buffy’s direction and the three were joined by Spike as they made themselves comfortable in the living room of the small apartment. The jovial little monk looked around the room in curiosity then, smiling broadly, he returned his attention to the group. “I’ll bet the last couple of days have been interesting.”

“Do you know what’s happened?” Buffy jumped right to the heart of the matter.

“Yes, dear. We do now, but it took us two days and a locator spell to find you. I must say, it gave us a bit of a scare when we woke and found the key gone. We thought the Beast had managed to get past our defences.” Brother Luther smiled benignly at the perplexed blond. “It is most important that you realise, though, that with the events of the last week you have managed to achieve the miracle that our order has been searching for, for a millennia.”

“Huh?”

“I think what Buffy is trying to ask is, what exactly is it you think we did?” Giles smiled indulgently at his confused slayer.

Choosing his words carefully, the monk hesitated before answering. “Would it not be best to have the key that is now your sister and her mother here too? I am sure that they will have questions that I will need to answer.”

Buffy, Giles, and Spike shared a communicative glance before Buffy suggested Giles make the call. Neither Buffy nor Spike wanted to take the chance of accidentally speaking to the other Buffy.

~*~*~

‘What the hell is taking him so long?’ Angel thought to himself. He’d been waiting in the library for what seemed like hours. Absentmindedly picking up the book that Giles and Spike had been looking at the night before, Angel flicked through the pages as he waited.

As the fates would have it, he stopped at the very same ritual that had had Spike so enthralled the night before. ‘Hmmph, if that was possible, I would have done it.’ Angel thought derisively.

~*~*~

“I am sure you have many questions, and I will try to answer them all, but I feel it is important to tell you about what is happening now and the miracle,” Brother Luther started. “My brothers and I have been the protectors of the key since it was sent to this dimension a millennia ago. We always knew that we were protecting it from the Beast, but we did not know when the Beast would arrive in this dimension. So, we have worked hard for many centuries, trying to find a way to dilute the power of the Key so the Beast would be unable to sense it. All our attempts have failed,” the smiling monk informed them, his smile not detracting from the seriousness of the conversation. “However, the events of the last couple of days have succeeded where we failed; the key is no longer detectable.”

“You’re not taking her back,” Joyce’s declaration was cut with steel.

“No, no, this delightful child is your daughter. The fact that she was born of the power of the key is irrelevant; she is yours now, and she and the world are finally safe from the Beast,” he assured her.

“But how?” Buffy asked.

The monk looked at the confused faces surrounding him, “Thursday morning, we awoke to find the key missing. We could find no trace of it in this dimension. One of my brothers has been gifted with visions, and that is how were able to understand what had happened. In the future, we sent the key to a new protector. We were apparently able to channel the key’s power enough to change its form, but without a blood link to the protector, the key would have remained inanimate. So in essence Protector, your sister was born of you,” he told Buffy. “Apparently, at some point after that, you were sent back in time by non-magical means. The blood connection demanded that the part of your sister that is the key follow you. She was unable to do that until the blood connection was strengthened. I am not sure how you strengthened the connection, but whatever you did allowed the Key from the future to connect to the Key from now and the two combined. The future key was brought to the past and absorbed the essence of our Key to do that, but the trip itself depleted the power of the key to such an extent that it is now undetectable. Once used, the power cannot regenerate itself, so many of the problems you faced in your time will now not happen.”

Turning to Joyce, the monk continued. “You will not suffer the illness that you were to have suffered in the future. The monks that sent the Key to you were not aware of the consequences of prolonged exposure to the Key. We have always been protected.”

“Oi! You bloody stupid git, you don’t say something like that in front of the girl.” Spike spat out in disgust as he reached for Dawn.

Batting Spike’s hands away in an attempt to get away from him, Dawn all but screamed her concern. “NO! No, don’t touch me. I kill the people I love.”

Ignoring both her physical and verbal protests, the vampire gently but firmly pulled the distressed teen into his arms. “’M already dead, sweet bit.”

While Spike rocked Dawn, Joyce went into battle mode. “How dare you,” she hissed at the apologetic monk. “You don’t deserve to be responsible for anything if you can speak so thoughtlessly in front of a defenceless child.” Adding her arms to Spike’s, she completed the circle surrounding and protecting her youngest. “It’s okay, baby. I’m alright and I’m right here.”

“Was there anything else you needed to say, before you left?” The Slayer crossed her arms across her chest, furious at how her life had been played with, furious that these thoughtless fools had been responsible for her mother’s death in her own time, but thankful that this time she would be able to keep both her sister and her mother.

Giles watched the family as they interacted, the researcher in him studying the actions of the unique vampire while the father in him was thankful that the girl he thought of as a daughter seemed to be warming up to this incredible individual. He cast his glance back to the monk that was responsible for the distress of the other child his heart had claimed as family and he seriously considered letting Ripper out for a bit.

“I am so sorry, I did not mean to course you pain, little one. If you need to blame someone for the trauma that you have faced, blame the monks that acted in desperation and without thought. Please do not blame yourself, you are innocent. Let go of your pain, child. You have been given a second chance and you can now enjoy your family. Please child, try and look on this as a blessing,” The monk pleaded desperately with Dawn, praying that she would hear his words.

Looking up at the monk from the safety of her mother’s and pseudo-brother’s arms, her face streaked with tears, Dawn asked, her voice small and innocent in its hope filled tones. “So, mom and Buffy won’t die because I’m the Key now?”

“You are more girl than key now, child. The time of the Key has past. You have changed it all by finding your sister.”

~*~*~

Okay, now he was getting mad, Giles probably knew he was here and was making him wait deliberately. Well, now, Angel was no fool, he could be patient with the best of them. Let’s just see who broke first.

Chapter 16

All feelings of animosity toward the monk seemed to ease as he pleaded with Dawn to look upon the events of the past week as a gift, a second chance. Her tears dried with the knowledge that she was no longer a threat to the dimensional walls; that the horrors of the previous year would and could not be repeated. She thought back to when she’d made her mental list of the pros and cons of her present situation and realised somewhat guiltily, that she had not even considered the consequences of being back in this time as an active Key. She hadn’t even considered the possibility of having to face Glory all over again. Thinking about it now made her mind whirl. This changed everything, but wouldn’t that cause a…oh, what was the word…

“Ooh, ooh! A paradox!”

“What do you mean, little one?” the bemused monk asked.

“Well now that I’m not the Key anymore, Mom and Buffy won’t die, and Buffy won’t be brought back from the dead and, well, what if all that had something to do with Buffy being sent back in time and that now stops Buffy from being sent back in time, then I won’t be following her because she’s like, still there, so I’ll still be the Key, but I’m not, so…paradox.” Dawn tried really hard to explain her thoughts, but she really feared that she had not done a very good job. Biting her lower lip, her eyes pleaded with them all to understand what she had been trying to say.

“The future is not written, child. We may get warnings of events that could happen if we continue on a certain path, but we have free choice so we have the power to change the events that have been foreseen,” the monk started to explain.

Both Buffy and Giles stiffened at the monk’s words. Giles was the first to react, “But…the Codex? Prophecy cannot be thwarted.”

“Of course it can. Prophecies are just warnings and the Codex is full of them. Most of the warnings can be easily averted. It’s not always easy mind you, but it certainly can be done. I like to call them our little early warning system from the Powers That Be.” Smiling at the group, as if sharing a joke, the monk had no idea of the distress his words were causing.

“So, I didn’t have to die at the Master’s hand?” Buffy asked flatly.

The monk looked shocked at her revelation, “But…I don’t understand. You were sent a guardian to stop that from happening.”

“A what huh?” A room full of confused faces stared at the monk.

“The cursed one,” he enunciated clearly, “He was sent to protect you from that prophecy. As family he would have been able to get close enough without too much suspicion to the Master to kill him, thereby averting your foretold death. This was his entire purpose for being here. I don’t understand, was he injured before performing his duty?” Confusion etched unfamiliar lines into his face.

“No, he wasn’t injured,” Ripper snarled. His ability to remain civil to the so-called champion of the Powers was going to require every ounce of self-control he possessed.

Buffy looked shell-shocked. She tried desperately to wrap her mind around the implications of what she had just heard. Angel had been sent here to save her? But…he had agreed with Giles. He had said the prophecy couldn’t be stopped, that there was nothing he could do. She would have willingly given her life for him, and she had believed that he would do the same for her. ‘Spike would have done it’, the traitorous voice in her head spoke up. “There had to have been a misunderstanding,” she pleaded with the group.

Spike restrained himself. Oh, he knew he didn’t have all the details, but he was smart enough to work out the story; his useless wanker of a grandsire has been meant to take out ol’ Batface and because he’d failed to do his job, the slayer had paid the ultimate price. He wanted to add his condemnation to the watcher’s, but the little voice he never listened to was screaming to be heard. ‘Don’t say a bloody word, you moron. She has to work this out for herself. You add your two bobs worth now and she’ll turn stubborn on you.’ This once, he listened to the voice.

“Clearly, there must be a misunderstanding. Perhaps there have been changes to his redemptive journey that I was not aware of.” Turning to Giles, Brother Luther made his request. “If you would be so kind, sir, may I borrow your telephone?”

“Of course,” Giles readily agreed.

~*~*~

“Willow, I just found a note from my mom.” Buffy propped the phone on her shoulder and picked up the note. “She said that she’s taken Dawn out, but I heard her earlier on the phone and they’re going to Giles’. You don’t think that Giles and my mom…ewww,” Buffy cringed at the thought. Oh, she loved Giles like a dad, but like her dad…away from her mom.

“Oh, no, Buffy, I’m sure it’s nothing like that. Giles likes Miss Calendar remember? At least I think he does. It’s kinda hard to tell, what with that whole keep-everything-to-yourself-cause-I’m-British thing he has going on. Ooh, ooh! Unless he wants them both and then that would be just plain wrong as well as ewww.” While attempting to cheer up her best friend, Willow often found that she’d managed to do the complete opposite.

“He cancelled training last night and told us to go out, and then when I got home, my mom was going out too, and she didn’t tell me where she was going and I’m thinking…do you think…Giles?” she almost whispered his name, as if afraid if she said it any louder it might make it true.

Willow didn’t really think Giles was like that, although the little crush she had on him might be influencing her opinion. She hesitated over her suggestion, “Do you want to go over to Giles’ and check it out?”

“Check what out?” Xander asked as he breezed into Willow’s bedroom unannounced.

“Who’s that?” Buffy asked from the other end of the phone.

“Xander just got here,” Willow answered Buffy first then, turning to her oldest friend, she filled him in on their suspicions. “Buffy thinks there might be something going on between Giles and her mom.”

“Have we ewwwed?” Xander snarked.

Willow waved her free hand dismissively. “Past the ewww’s and on to suggestions.”

“I’m on my way over, Wills. I think it’s time for a group meeting,” Buffy declared before she hung up the phone.

“Hurricane Buffy’s on her way over, huh?” Xander asked as he made himself comfortable on Willows bed and opened the bag of Doritos he had brought with him, shoving a handful into his mouth before he thought to offer any to Willow.

~*~*~

Angel smiled down at the picture of the beautiful sleeping girl he had drawn. He much preferred to use pencils or charcoal, but the pen had been the only thing available to him, so he’d made do. He’d had to go through all of Giles’ drawers just to find the pen and some paper, but the end result was worth the trouble. At least his skills had not been diminished by the use of the unfamiliar tool. Her face came so easily to him and at the rate he was going, he’d soon have another dozen pictures to add to his collection.

It was always easier to draw her when she was sleeping. Angel found it difficult to capture the right combination of expressions on her face when she was awake. It was also harder to hide that unattractive little bump on her nose. He wondered if she’d considered plastic surgery to fix the object that marred her perfection. Maybe he should mention it to her?

Chapter 17

After he made his phone call, Brother Luther begged the group to have patience until the next day. He told them he would return with a representative from the Powers, and that everything would be explained to them then. He was unable to give them any more information as his contact had been, at that time, unaware of all the facts himself. Assuring them all that their patience would be rewarded, he bid them all a good day.

Buffy watched the door that the little monk had gone through long after he had disappeared. She was so concentrated on sorting through her jumbled thoughts that she almost failed to recognise it when another memory change occurred. As she focused on the new memories, her eyes opened wide in horrified shock.

“Ewww,” she stated with great deliberation and amused disgust. Openly focusing her words at her mother, Buffy expanded on her less than pleased reaction. “The other Buffy thinks you and Giles are…um…sneaking around.”

Giles spluttered incoherently, Joyce blustered and blushed, and Buffy, Dawn, and Spike snickered.

Buffy’s comment managed to defuse the emotions that the monk’s visit had created. Each one of them visibly relaxed.

Looking speculatively at her sister, Dawn felt compelled to ask the question she’d wondered about since the monk had mentioned it. “Buffy, how did you strengthen the bond between us?”

“Oh…um…well, about that…” Buffy instinctively turned to her watcher in desperation. How the hell was she going to explain to her mom and her sister that she had basically linked them to a vampire without their knowledge or consent? This could seriously be of the bad.

Giles mentally rolled his eyes. ‘Oh, yes, that’s bloody typical, isn’t it? You get yourself into this mess, then I’m supposed to…Oh, I see what you're trying to do. Tying to deflect your mother’s wrath, are you? Well, not this time, my girl!’

“Buffy claimed Spike as belonging to the Summers family women. She was apparently unaware that a blood oath was not necessary, nor was she aware that the particular ritual she was performing was actually a ma….”

“Thank you, Giles!” Buffy jumped in to cut the watcher off, ‘jeez, can we say over-sharing?’

“You adopted a vampire?” Joyce lifted an eyebrow to emphasize her displeasure at her eldest.

Buffy found herself praying that the big eyed, innocent look still worked on her mother. “Actually, it’s more of a ‘we’ thing than a ‘me’ thing, mom.”

“Sooo, Spike is like my brother now?” Dawn couldn’t restrain her excitement.

Joyce held her hand up, effectively silencing both daughters. “Let me get this straight, please.” Turning to face Buffy, Joyce’s deceptively gentle voice sent warning alarms through the lot of them. “You performed a ritual that you had not bothered to research?”

“Uh…” Buffy was cut off before she could answer.

“Without knowing the risks involved?” Joyce was on a roll, working her way up to a full boil. Buffy’s half-hearted attempts to interject some sort of response were given the same amount of attention as her not speaking at all.

“Er…”

“Without knowing the consequences?” Joyce’s rapid fire questions followed one after the other.

“Um…”

“Without even knowing if it was the right ritual?” Joyce was holding nothing back, Buffy might be the slayer, but she was still Joyce’s daughter.

“Mooooom,” Buffy whined.

Joyce sighed in exasperation. “Even if you didn’t want to ask Rupert for some reason, why didn’t you ask Spike? Surely he knows all about the ritual?”

“Well it happened really fast. It’s not like I had time to tell Spike what I was going to do before I did it,” Buffy pouted.

“Buffy Anne Summers!” Joyce yelled. “Are you telling me that you didn’t even ask him for permission? You never asked him if he wanted this?” If Joyce were a teapot, her whistle would have just exploded.

“Of course he wanted this,” Buffy responded indignantly. Turning to the vampire in question, she slapped him on the arm and hissed, “Tell her, you bleached moron!”

Turning wounded eyes to Joyce, Spike asked her sadly, “Don’t you want me as part of the family, Mum?”

Joyce instantly drew the poor vampire into her embrace. With a wink at Dawn as he spotted her over her mother’s shoulder, she and Spike shared a conspiratorial little grin.

Noting Dawn’s smile, Buffy offered a disgruntled warning to Spike. “Yeah, well, lets see how much smiling you do when she grounds your ass.”

“She can do that?” Spike’s look of abject horror warmed Buffy all over.

~*~*~

The people standing around him looked at him as if he was crazy, but then how often do you see a short, smelly individual wearing a leisure suit and a fedora shaking his fist at the sky while yelling loudly, “What do you mean, ‘damage control’? I had it all set up!”

~*~*~

When Jenny arrived, there had been no need to hide. Spike recognised the scent of the gypsy he had met the night before. Jenny smiled as she greeted everyone until she came face to face with the older slayer for the first time, at which point her smile disappeared completely.

“This is going to cause a huge problem.” Collapsing heavily into the second armchair, Jenny looked around the room as if trying to grasp the magnitude of the situation as she saw it. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected anything like this. She felt like she’d just stepped into the imagination of Jules Verne. Quickly processing the little she knew, Jenny offered a suggestion. “I think you are going to have to bring in the others.”

Quelling their arguments with a quick wave of the hand, Jenny continued. “Willow has the mind of a scientist and she loves to research. Buffy will need to be told because there is no way that Willow will be able to keep a secret of this magnitude from her best friend, and really it is Buffy’s life that this involves.”

“And Xander?” Giles questioned dubiously. He couldn’t believe the lazy brunette would offer much in the way of help.

“Xander reads comic books and is into science fiction movies. He’s probably more knowledgeable about time travel and temporal paradoxes than the rest of us combined,” Jenny told them seriously.

~*~*~

Angel sang his slightly altered lyrics softly as he continued to draw images of the beautiful blond slayer.

“I remember my unlife, blood can be as cold as ice. A shadow of a man; no face in the mirror; crying in the night, the night goes into morning, just another day. Happy people pass my way. Looking in their eyes, I see my memories. I never realized you make me forget them, oh Buffy, well it’s time that you gave without taking, then I’ll keep you with me, oh Buffy, when you kiss me you make me start aching and I’ll have you someday, oh Buffy…”

~*~*~

Buffy, Willow, and Xander crept quietly into the library from the back entrance. They had come to the conclusion that the only way they could know for sure if there was anything between Giles and Buffy’s mom was to check it out for themselves.

The quiet singing from the main part of the library seemed to drift all around them, the acoustics of the room a perfect conduit for amplification. The melody was familiar, but the lyrics…

~*~*~

“Ewww!”

Chapter 18

Buffy shared her younger self’s reaction. Her mind was reeling. Angel, her soul mate, her one true love, was changing literally before her eyes into someone she didn’t know and it terrified her. He had been her role model, her balance, her safe haven. He had been the individual she had judged all others by. She didn’t recognise the Angel she was seeing, she could feel the duplicity of her emotions; she still loved him, but now she didn’t know why.

Buffy could feel her younger self’s growing discontent with the brunette vampire. The Younger Buffy was getting seriously weirded out by what she perceived as Angel’s creepy behaviour and more and more obsessed with the ‘man’ from her dreams, while the older Buffy was forced to go through every emotion with her. She felt like she was being torn in two. She didn’t know how to reconcile what she thought she knew with what she was seeing. She had heard her mother’s words, but she didn’t want them to be true. She didn’t want to be forced to acknowledge that she had been so wrong about Angel. The very thought that the Angel that lived in her memories was disappearing didn’t even occur to her.

Lost in her musings, Buffy was startled when Giles gently cleared his throat.

“Huh?”

“You ewwwed?” Dawn glibly reminded her sister.

“Oh…um…Angel’s in the library…there was singing…” Buffy screwed up her face in distaste.

“'nough said,” Spike snorted derisively. Looking around at the blank faces that regarded him, he expanded on his comment, “Makes Peewee Herman sound like Pavarotti…or for the younger generation, makes nails on a blackboard sound like one of those boy bands you like so much, niblet.”

Giles looked at Buffy with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity; suspicion that she wasn’t sharing the whole story and curiosity as to what Angel was doing in the library in the first place. He chose to voice his curiosity; “Why on earth is Angel at the library?”

“Not a clue, but the gang is there because they wanted to try and see what you and mom were up to.” Buffy grinned at the obvious discomfort of her mother and the watcher. At the same time she fervently hoped that she had successfully diverted the conversation.

“I’ll tell her that Dawn and I are spending time with Rupert so we can better understand what’s going on, but, that being said, I think we’ll need to organise a meeting with the others fairly soon.” Now that the decision to inform the younger Buffy had been made, Joyce was not prepared to mislead her daughter any more than necessary.

“I agree. However, I feel that it is important to hear what Brother Luther has to say first. Would Monday evening be acceptable?” Giles asked.

“We should have the meeting at my house, but I don’t want that Angel to be there.” Joyce’s dislike of the brooding vampire was quite evident.

Buffy made a split second decision; the threat of Angelus not withstanding, while she was feeling so ambivalent towards him, it might be easier if his invitation was revoked. Turning to Jenny, Buffy took a deep breath, before asking the question that she never would have believed she would ask. Not again anyway.

“Can you do a disinvite spell?”

Jenny carefully considered her words before speaking. “Actually, I have a special disinvite spell that you might be more interested in. I was going to offer it to Rupert.”

“Special, you say?” Giles queried, intrigued.

“Yes, it’s a mixture between a protection spell and a disinvite spell. Even if you invite a vampire into your home, they can’t get past the barrier and thrall doesn’t work on the person protected by the barrier, so they can’t be tricked to come out,” Jenny explained. She had worked for a long time to perfect the spell; she knew exactly how beneficial it would be to them all.

While Giles was delighting in the benefits of such a spell, Dawn was far from pleased, “No way! That would keep Spike out too.”

“Not if he’s in the house when I do the spell.” Jenny smiled at the teen, happy to alleviate her fears.

“Oh…cool.” Dawn tried to act nonchalant while she bubbled inside with glee. She couldn’t wait to see Angel’s face when he discovered that one.

“Yes, that does sound like the best idea,” Joyce beamed. Turning to Spike and placing a gentle hand on his cheek, she continued to speak “We can’t very well have family unable to get in, can we?” She watched as Spike’s eyes filled with awe at her words. “But if you ever try to emotionally blackmail me again, you will be grounded until Dawn graduates.” Spike smiled sheepishly as Joyce smirked.

Giles watched the playful family interaction and smiled indulgently. He was not surprised at his protective leanings towards the older slayer, but he was surprised that those feelings now seemed to include the mother, the sister, and the blond vampire. He realised in that moment that the differences in the two vampires was clearly defined in the way they perceived love, and he was unable to stop himself from speaking his thoughts.

“I admire you Spike; there are not many that are capable of loving so openly and purely.”

While Spike was shyly thanking the watcher, pleasantly surprised by the unexpected compliment, Buffy was stunned. “Um…Giles?” Buffy waited until she had his attention, “Okay, I get that Spike could be different, but shouldn’t you be like, more surprised or wigged or something? I mean, you know, there’s that whole ‘soulless demons can’t love’ theory?”

“Well, certainly the books all suggest that, but there has never been any proof offered with that supposition, and clearly anyone who actually took the time to talk to Spike would have to discount the theory as ludicrous,” Giles answered Buffy’s question, curious as to why the subject was even being discussed.

“It’s what you told me, told all of us Giles. When Angel lost his soul, he didn’t love me anymore. After everything was over, I asked him why and he told me that demons couldn’t love without a soul. You agreed with him. I didn’t believe Spike when he told me he loved me because of what I’d been taught. He told me a year ago, Giles, and I’ve only recently started believing that Spike’s feelings are real.” Buffy was near tears. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This couldn’t be happening. How many other ‘facts’ were wrong? ‘How much time have you wasted,’ the traitorous voice in her head whispered.

“I don’t know why I would have supported a theory that I’ve never thought much of. I can’t give you those answers, dear. Clearly something changed my opinion, but without living through those experiences, I couldn’t possibly reach a conclusion. I’m so sorry, Buffy.” Giles silently berated the prat he’d become. He had obviously done very badly by his slayer, but he had no intention of doing so again.

“It’s not the soul. It’s the level of humanity that determines the depth of your love,” Jenny quietly offered the clearly traumatised girl. “Without his soul, Angel has no humanity in him. His demon has destroyed it all. The soul brings with it a semblance of humanity, sort of like a residual echo, but that’s lost when the soul is.”

Buffy stared at the gypsy, wordlessly begging her to continue, to bring some light to the darkness that she felt surrounding her.

“If, because of everything you’ve believed for so long, you need some proof regarding Spike’s ability to love, there’s always the spell of Clear Sight,” Jenny offered hesitantly. Her own curiosity had her hoping that she would be permitted to do the spell. She didn’t doubt the vampire at all, but the spell would also allow her to gauge Rupert’s ability and that she was very interested in.

When Buffy hesitated with indecision, Spike took the opportunity to speak his mind. “I don’t trust magic. There are always consequences. That bein’ said, tell me about the spell.”

“It’s a simple incantation and it doesn’t actually ask for any gain or damage to the natural balance, so it’s not considered a spell of consequence. It has a specific time frame so it’s contained. It simply asks that the light of humanity become visible for a certain period of time. The consequence is that it cannot be person specific, all of us will see and all of us will be seen,” Jenny calmly informed the vampire.

Spike carefully considered the expressions on every face before turning once again to the gypsy. “Do it.”

Jenny nodded to him, closed her eyes and found her centre.

“From strike of twelve count twenty-four, that's how long the spell is for, humanity’s light I cannot see, so make it shine, so mote it be.”

Chapter 19

“Okay, so…what? None of us have any humanity?” Dawn asked, her confusion very evident in her tone.

Giles smiled at her. “No, dear, the spell doesn’t actually activate until midnight, and then it runs for twenty four hours.”

“Oh.” Dawn pouted, disappointed that she would have to wait to see the effects of the spell

“Shouldn’t we do something about the younger Buffy, so that she doesn’t come around here and discover this Buffy and Spike before Monday?” Jenny was concerned that if the situation wasn’t handled in a controlled environment, that it could turn very ugly very quickly. She herself had only a limited time to come up with some solutions to the loophole in the curse. She would not fail in her duty to her people. The brunette vampire would suffer for eternity, even if she had to find a way to modify the curse so it included the afterlife.

“Buffy, do you know where the other Buffy is at the moment?” Giles asked the blond slayer.

Buffy searched her memories; concentrating on her actions after the ‘singing incident’. Getting a clear picture in her mind, she answered decisively, “At mom’s place.”

Giles moved to the phone, explaining as he went that he would let the other Buffy know about the Monday evening meeting, whom she should invite and whom she should not.

~*~*~

Willow and Xander silently followed Buffy into the Summers’ living room. They moved like automated robots that had not been programmed to communicate. None knew what to say. To suggest that they were seriously squicked out would have been an understatement. Each were lost in their own thoughts

Willow surreptitiously peered at the other two as she sat down; her internal ramblings did nothing to calm her. ‘What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? Do I say something? What would I say? What could I say? I mean, it was Angel…and with the singing and the lyrics and ewww…very high with the creepiness and ick and what do I do now? Do I tell my best friend that the guy…er vampire that she’s in love with is sooo on my list with Cordelia of things to avoid at all cost? Or do I just do the best friend thing where I support her boyfriend decision without question? ’Cause not really sure I can pull that off…oh goodness, what do I do?’

Xander’s thoughts were dark. His glee at being able to use the freakiness factor against the object of his jealous hatred was tainted with a cruel edge. He felt a deep satisfaction in his belief that Buffy’s taste in boyfriends could, in the future, be used with some advantage. He convinced himself that the hated vampire would soon be gone and then the door would be left wide open for him. Surely Buffy would choose him now?

Buffy contemplated what she had heard in the library. ‘Okay, shouldn’t I be more wigged? Shouldn’t I be like crying or something? Unless I was wrong about the whole being in love thing? Huh? Who’d a thunk it? Dawn is gonna be all oooh-I-told-you-so, I sooo hate it when Dawn is right. Ugh, what if she finds out about the Angel singing, ‘cause Angel and singing…sooo not of the good…and he is seriously delusional if he thinks I’m ever giving him a happy, ‘cause that was just ewww. And what was he doing in the library on a Saturday anyway?

All three were snapped out of their thoughts by the ringing of the phone.

~*~*~

‘What was that? Angel jumped at the noise he thought he heard. Letting out his senses, he checked that he was alone. When he could sense nothing, he resumed his place at the table and tried to relax into his previous state.

Irritated that he had lost his train of thought and that he remained unsettled, Angel stood and started pacing. Pacing soothed him. It allowed his thoughts to calm and take on a steady rhythm. It allowed him to organize his thoughts. It allowed him to work though problems.

He turned his musings to the problematic subject of the watcher. Maybe he should have concentrated on Giles earlier, even though he would never admit that hours spent drawing Buffy was time wasted, he had to admit that it was lucky Giles had yet to arrive. He was no where near prepared enough in his arguments to deal with the wily watcher. It was obvious the watcher was avoiding him, the question was why? What was Giles hiding from him? Somehow Angel just knew that it was important and that it was something about him. He thought about confronting the watcher in his home, but dismissed the idea as giving Giles some sort of home ground advantage; no, the watcher couldn’t be allowed that much of an edge.

Angel’s demon whispered in his mind, soothing, enticing, beguiling; words of wisdom from a master manipulator, a true genius at psychological torture. Angel listened.

~*~*~

Spike watched as Buffy left the room on her way to bed. It had been a long day and while she hadn’t yet started showing signs that she desired to get back out to patrol, he knew she wasn’t far from it. His own need for violence had been pressuring him for days.

His daily updates from Dalton had convinced him that the need to do something about Drusilla was getting critical. William was trying to convince him that Dru would be better off dust, but the fear of Angelus’ re-emergence, was holding Buffy off making any decision. He was discovering that patience was seriously not one of his virtues.

“Spike,” Giles verbally nudged the unusually quiet vampire. “Are you alright?”

“Just thinkin’ ‘bout things, Rupert, it’s been a strange couple o’ days, you know?” Spike smiled at the gentle watcher. Thinking that now would be the perfect time to broach the other subject that seemed to be constantly in his thoughts; Spike opened the discussion with a question of his own; “Do you think this spell that the gypsy did, will be able to give us some sort of insight into my chances with the ritual?”

“I hadn’t considered that,” Giles honestly told the vampire. He thought for a moment before giving his considered opinion; “It will certainly tell us if the abilities you require are there, but I think it is equally important that you believe in your own capabilities. If you are in any doubt at all, it would not be safe for you to perform the ritual. Have you discussed the ritual with Buffy yet?”

“Not yet…don’t think she’s gonna take it well,” Spike reluctantly informed the watcher.

~*~*~

Young Buffy looked around her, okay, why was she at Giles’? She thought it was Giles’ place, it looked like his place, and she seemed to be moving funny, like she was walking through water or something. Hmmm? Okay, she didn’t seem to have any control over her body, must be dreaming, that was it. Her body made its way into Giles’ kitchen, and opened the refrigerator door. Her hand reached for a bottle of water, ewww, was that blood? What was blood doing in Giles’ fridge? And where the heck was that light suddenly coming from? Apparently her dream body wanted an answer to that last question ‘cause it turned in the direction of the living room, where the light seemed to be centred around…yum.

Chapter 20

Giles came slowly down the stairs, his shock at seeing himself glow in his dressing table mirror was finally dissipating. He was excited and scared at what effect the spell may have had on the vampire sleeping in his living room. He genuinely hoped that all that he had seen in Spike had been because it was truly there, but the little voice within that stubbornly spoke of council teachings urged caution.

At first he thought that the living room curtains had been accidentally left open, but his panicked gaze assured him that they had not. The light that had caused the living room to light up like a sun kissed silver cross on the brightest day was emanating from the couch. Giles gasped in delight. The vision before him was glorious. Spike was glowing, incandescent, luminous, effulgent. ’I pale in comparison’, Giles thought sagely.

~*~*~

“Giles, something seriously wiggy is going on,” Buffy told the watcher when he answered his phone, not even bothering to say hello in her rush to inform him of her agitation.

“Good morning, Buffy. What appears to be the problem, dear?” the watcher pronounced her name clearly, alerting his luminescent companions to whom he was speaking. He did not want them accidentally announcing themselves to the girl on the phone. Now was not the time.

“I’m glowing, Giles! I’m like glow-in-the-dark-Buffy. And mom, Dawnie, Willow, and Xander are glowing too. Everyone's light is different, but it’s like a glow-fest at my place! And there’s more, Giles. I didn’t tell you about the dreams I’ve been having, ‘cause I totally wasn’t sure if they were slayer dreams, but now I don’t know, ‘cause the uber-drool-worthy guy in my dreams was all glowy too. Then I woke up and‘You Light Up My Life’ takes on a whole new meaning.”

“You’re glowing, you say?” Giles thought quickly as he waited for her affirmation, he didn’t dare give anything away before the meeting; what on earth was he going to say to the girl?

“Uh-huh,” Buffy eagerly, but inarticulately confirmed for the stalling watcher. “Mom and Dawn can see it too, but Willow and Xander can’t.”

“Ah, yes, I see.” Giles really didn’t want to lie to her; he understood clearly how his acts of betrayal had affected her older self, so he searched desperately for an acceptable answer to give her. “I believe I know what has happened, Buffy, and I don’t believe it is dangerous, but I will have to take some time to check on some things. I will call you back when I have an answer to give you. Will you be at your mother’s?”

“Sure, Giles, soon huh? ‘Cause sun glasses in the house…sooo not cool,” Buffy offered a bit of sixteen year old wisdom before hanging up.

Turning to the two blonds as he hung up the phone, Giles informed them of the latest developments, “It appears that the spell has also had an effect on this time period’s Buffy.”

“How was that possible?” Buffy asked. She was totally getting pissed at the younger version of herself; she’d seen how Giles’ eyes had flicked to Spike at one point in the phone conversation, she knew what the younger her had said to him, and she was far from pleased. ‘I’ll give her uber-drool-worthy guy in her dreams…! That’s my glowy vampire,’ she mentally fumed. Startled at her unexpectedly possessive thoughts where the blond vampire was concerned, Buffy silently questioned herself, ‘Whoa, where the hell did that come from?’

“The claim,” Spike answered quietly. “It’s getting stronger now that Mum and Niblet have accepted it.”

Giles nodded his agreement. “Yes, it is as I thought. The question of course now becomes; what do we tell Buffy?”

When Jenny arrived a few minutes later, Buffy, Spike, and Giles were no closer to an answer.

The beautiful brunette gypsy smiled in delight at the very visual results of her spell. While not being particularly surprised that Spike rivalled Buffy in brightness, she was extremely pleased to note that Rupert, though not as bright as the blond duo, was equal in brightness to her.

When Giles informed Jenny of the conundrum they faced with what to tell young Buffy, the teacher was quick to come up with a suggestion. “I’ll ring her. I can tell her that I did a spell to show the depths of an individual’s humanity and I didn’t know she’d be affected.”

“Well, it’s not a lie,” Buffy conceded.

Jenny made her phone call. She had a moment of panic when Buffy had asked why her mother and sister had also been affected, but the quick thinking teacher managed to come up with a satisfactory response, “I couldn’t say, Buffy. But the spell will be over at midnight, so you don’t have to put up with it for long.” Fingers crossed, Jenny hoped that the young slayer would be satisfied. She was relieved when Buffy happily accepted her explanation and said her goodbyes.

The four sat down and discussed the matters that would be covered in the next night’s meeting while they waited for Joyce, Dawn, and Brother Luther to arrive

~*~*~

“Wanna go downtown and get some ice cream? You can describe to us how glowy the people are.” Willow grinned infectiously at the petite blond.

Buffy happily nodded in agreement. Maybe she’d even go and tell Angel about it. Looking over at Xander, already knowing that his willingness for ice cream would count as a big yes, she was a little perturbed by the darkness that seemed to surround his glow; she definitely needed to discuss the non-glowyness that was her Xander shaped friend with her watcher privately.

Buffy, Willow, and Xander left the Summers home, ice-creamy goodness on the horizon.

~*~*~

Giles unconsciously took a step back when he noticed that Brother Luther was not alone. Although both clearly shone with humanity and the second individual was as bright as Buffy and Spike, his size was a little on the intimidating side.

“Mr. Giles,” Brother Luther said, offering his hand. After shaking Giles’ hand, Brother Luther indicated his companion. “This is Garrett Wolf; he is our direct link to the Powers That Be for Good.”

Garrett was at least seven and a half feet tall with thick and wavy flame red hair that reached almost to the small of his back. He was dressed in what appeared to be a single shouldered short dress that was possibly made of his own hair. For some reason, Buffy was reminded of old pictures of Nordic Gods.

“Dragonflies,” Garrett gasped the word, clearly horrified. Moving closer to Giles’ table lamp, he turned on the watcher. “A Tiffany Dragonfly Lamp? You have to hide this when my wife comes to pick me up, she’ll never let me hear the end of it.” Encompassing the rest of the group, the man mountain felt compelled to explain. “The little woman adores dragonflies, even keeps them as pets. If she saw this lamp, she’d want one. Do you have any idea how much a Tiffany Lamp costs?”

Nonplussed by the open mouths and wide open eyes that faced him, Garrett continued, “OH! You should all call me Wolfie, no one calls me Garrett. Well, except the monks and some of the plains people, Oh, and some of my wife relatives. Actually it’s all of my wife’s relatives, but they just do it to annoy me; they weren’t happy when their little elven princess ran off with a giant.”

“There are giants?” Buffy asked, seriously unable to come up with anything else at that particular point in time.

“You’re probably more likely to recognise me in my natural form,” Wolfie explained, before morphing into his natural state and back.

“You’re a Bigfoot?”

Chapter 21

“We prefer to be called Forest People or Sasquatch actually, Bigfoot is so uncivilized,” Wolfie calmly explained to Buffy.

Clapping his hands together as if to announce a change in subject the giant redhead did just that. “Okay, so I understand that there have been some happenings that have caused a little confusion. The cursed one, the key and some time travel, right?”

“How ‘bout you tell us how it is that you know so much, mate, and who exactly you are?” Spike wasn’t about to take anything at face value, not when it came to his family. His protective stance was not lost on the other occupants of the room.

Buffy placed a gently restraining hand to his forearm; he wasn’t the only one who wanted those questions answered. Offering the second recliner to the huge redhead while Spike brought over a couple of dining table chairs, Buffy waited until they were all seated before asking Wolfie to continue.

“I’ll start with who I am, and what I do for the Powers.” Wolfie waited for them to acknowledge his choice before continuing, his musical voice at odds with his appearance. “My people are the Sasquatch; we are forest dwellers and rarely interact with the human world. The supernatural world is vast and much of it is hidden. The slayer would be welcome, but I’m afraid to say that the watcher’s council has made that impossible.”

“What do you mean the council made it impossible?” Giles asked, “I know they're a little stringent on their polices, but...”

“The council has a …ah…no tolerance policy, they teach that if it isn’t human – it is demon. They don’t accept that there are benevolent supernatural beings in the world, they believe there is just the slayer.” Wolfie explained to the ex watcher. “It is why they teach that the slayer fights alone.”

Wolfie watched as they mulled over what he had said, and thought about what still needed to be said. Oh well, best get on with it. “The Powers That Be are made up of three distinct factions, the Powers for Good, Evil and Balance. The Sasquach and Elves of this dimension have always been tools for the Powers of Good, as has the slayer. We were meant to work together. However, the people in control of the council have become fanatics and that actually works against you as the slayer.”

“How does it work against the slayer?” Jenny asked, knowing the dangers of fanaticism from her own upbringing, she felt this was an issue that Buffy should understand fully.

“Our peoples have had to hide from the slayer, as slayers have a tendency to slay first ask questions later. This has meant that she has lost her direct link to the Powers of Good and must rely only on her rather cryptic slayer dreams. Had we been working together, she could have just called me and I could have deciphered her dreams on the spot. My special gift is called ‘Clear Sight’; I see things through the eyes of the Powers you might say. They speak to me directly and I, of course, can speak to them.”

“What about that Whistler guy I met before?” Buffy sputtered. “He told me he was from the Powers.”

“Oh he works for the Powers alright, but he works for the Powers of Balance or sometimes, Evil; the damn fence sitter.” Wolfie let his contempt of the smelly demon be known as he muttered to himself, “Pick a side already.”

“Buffy, didn’t you tell me that this Whistler chap was the one that instigated the insertion of Angel into our lives?” Giles looked up from his notebook as he questioned the girl. He was having a difficult time repressing his own feelings of animosity towards the brunette vampire.

Buffy nodded mutely.

“What and you don’t think the Powers of Evil or Balance would want you on their side?” Wolfie asked, incredulously. He was starting to wonder if these innocents had any idea at all about the ‘real’ world.

“Did the poofter know?” Spike ground out his question through gritted teeth.

“The Cursed One?” Wolfie questioned then snickered after Spike’s terse nod. The blond vampire certainly had a way with words.

“Nah, he just got shown the pretty little school girl and was told his mission was to keep her safe.”

“Kinda fell down on the job in that respect, don't ya think?” Spike snarled. “She's died twice now.” Looking at the ground abruptly as the guilt of his own failure flooded his mind.

A gentle hand stroked his forearm. “Not your fault, doofus,” Buffy quietly assured him. Her smile turned her name calling into a term of endearment.

“You got stabbed then thrown off a tower you dweeb. You told me Buffy dying wasn’t my fault, but how can you expect me to believe that if you keep blaming yourself. It was my blood that opened the portal. You keep blaming yourself and I’ll have to assume you lied to me, Spike.” Dawn firmly informed the morose vampire. She wasn’t above using emotional blackmail to achieve her goals.

“Actually, if you are going to blame anyone, blame the Cursed One. If he had done his job properly in the first place she wouldn’t have died either time.

“We would never have used him, he’d already wasted a hundred years and couldn’t get his act together without some major incentives and the shaky soul wasn’t very trust inspiring. The other two groups decided on him for different reasons, I was told he was told he was supposed to save you, but that was just an excuse to see what he would do. See whether he’d ‘go the distance’ so to say. When he said he loved you we made the mistake of believing that love would make him do his job. The Powers for Good are sorry that you had to go though that, Slayer.” Wolfie turned his sorrow filled eyes to the girl in question. When she nodded her acceptance of his apology, he turned to Spike. “But you, William, you were an unexpected force; never before has an evil vampire gone against his nature to protect an innocent. You’ve got all the Powers jumping to attention.”

~*~*~

“Whistler,” Angel snarled. This was just what he needed, somebody else coming along and trying to tell him how to do his job. But then again maybe he shouldn’t be too harsh with the fashion victim demon, he had shown Angel Buffy.

“Easy now, big guy,” Whistler attempted to placate the moody vampire. “It’s just a little heads up from the Powers that something is changing the balance of power and you need to find out what it is and change it back.”

“Fine,” Angel replied, disgruntled. It’s not like he didn’t have enough on his plate, with the watcher situation still so unclear. Closing the door in Whistler’s face, Angel had a brief thought, ‘they’re supposed to be the all knowing Powers, how come they need me to find out what’s going on?’

~*~*~

“But the question of why Angel didn’t do his job has yet to be answered.” Ripper was furious. He damn well knew that Spike was special, but that didn’t change what Angel, the bloody pillock of protection, had failed to do.

“My guess is that he wasn’t told what he would have to do and he just never considered taking out the Master himself. He would have kept hoping that some other solution would present itself.” Wolfie answered sadly.

“I was planning on doing it myself, but Buffy beat me to it. I found out later that Xander had gone to Angel’s apartment and he was just sitting there. He was forced into action by a sixteen year old boy and when they found my slayer dead, he actually said that he would be unable to revive her because he was dead and didn’t breathe.” Giles was beyond incensed.

“What! You have to breathe to talk!” Spike was shocked. He didn’t think he had ever heard anything more stupid in his life/unlife. How was it possible that the slayer still loved the wanker, had her need for denial been that great?

Buffy hardened her expression; it was clearly time to get off the subject of Angel. Turning to the large redhead, Buffy firmly changed the subject. “You said something about telling us more about the Key and the time travel-y business?”

“Of course,” Wolfie said, subtly agreeing to the change. “Well, the Key has been depleted; Glorificus will have no way of discovering its location, so she is not a threat to you in this timeline. This has however, caused a major paradox, only seconded by your very existence in our timeline.”

“It wasn’t our fault.” Buffy pouted.

Wolfie smiled at the girl, completely charmed and highly amused. “I am aware of that, dear, as are the Powers for Good. Unfortunately, that doesn’t change anything.”

Buffy and Spike exchanged worried looks which quickly changed to confused ones when the sasquatch grinned at them and said, “At least you made the right choice with the claim.”

Chapter 22

“In what way?” Joyce felt compelled to ask. She still wasn't very happy about how the claim had come about. While she was delighted to have Spike in the family, the way her eldest had gone about it had left her less than impressed.

“Without the claim, this precious child would have been lost. The key within her would have reverted to its natural form and it would have taken the child with it,” Wolfie gravely informed the group. “The monks tried to cover all contingencies, but a man-made time device was not taken into consideration.”

“I’m not a child and I have a name you know! It’s Dawn,” Dawn said belligerently. Being told that you were lucky not to have been reverted to a ball of green glow-y mist did not induce happy emotions.

“My apologises, Dawn. I meant no offence.” Wolfie stood and bowed deeply to the emotional teenager in a display of respect.

Nodding her head regally, Dawn made a great show of accepting the gentle giant’s apology. She proved to all that she was a normal teenager, though, when her attitude suddenly changed. Her teenage mood swings were like watching a yoyo. “Did my absorbing the Key of this time stop or create a paradox?”

“The Powers told me that you already have an expert on paradoxes and time travel, so I wasn’t given any information on the subject. You will usually find that if humans created it, it takes a human to understand it. What you will need to tell your expert is something that he may not be aware of and the Powers felt that it will be important to any theories he may come up with. You must tell him that ‘time is not linear’.”

Wolfie waited until Giles finished writing before making his final point. “As to the claim, if you’re thinking of formalizing it, you might want to wait until you get the other Spike out of this one’s body. The younger slayer is probably going to want Spike, also, and this young lady doesn’t strike me as the type of person who would be too happy sharing her significant other.”

Spike was surprised that the general consensus seemed to be that he and Buffy were together. Not that he was complaining, but the slayer was a slippery little morsel and as yet, he had been unable to pin her down for a chat, so he was getting a mite confused at her attitude. When Spike unintentionally pouted his confusion; he was totally unprepared for the reactions his pout received.

“Oooh pout-y,” Dawn teased.

Buffy growled. A genuine rumble from the chest growl. Her mind was assaulted with images from a past/future Thanksgiving. Her slayer side felt threatened. Firm cool fingers grasped her chin and using just a little pressure, encouraged her to turn her head until flashing green eyes found tranquil twin pools of blue. Her name was being repeated quietly, but insistently.

Buffy looked around the room, her eyes widening noticeably as her panic escalated. What the hell was happening to her? Turning her gaze back to Spike, she slapped his arm. Hard.

“Oi! What was that for, Slayer?” Spike responded indignantly.

“’Cause it’s your fault! Whatever just happened here is your fault,” she replied sharply. She stood abruptly, clearly agitated.

“How the bleedin’ hell do you work that out? You were the one just about to go postal on the Niblet!” Spike accused hotly, stabbing his finger at her as he stood to face her.

“I wasn't. You’re overreacting, as usual. I had it all under control.” Why did he have to be so insistent that she not holiday in Egypt? It wasn’t like she was hurting anyone. Damned interfering vampire!

“Under control?” Spike snorted derisively. “You. Were. Growling.”

“If she tries to say it's from a sinus condition, she had them operated on when she was five,” Dawn informed the vampire with a smirk. She was all for sisterly solidarity, but being an annoying little sister had its place in their relationship too.

“Are they always like this?” Wolfie asked Giles as he continued to grin at the two bickering blonds.

“No, not always,” Giles chortled softly.

Suddenly, Wolfie bolted straight up in his seat. His eyes rolled back in his head until only the whites to showed. A feeling of deep peace flowed over the group; the knowledge that they were now in the presence of something pure, good, and loving almost overwhelmed them. Tears of joy stung their eyes as concerns and worries seem to lighten in their chests. Buffy and Spike fell to their knees in supplication. As the Glorious Presence seemed to fade from the room, each individual felt the gentle caress of It’s passing.

“Apparently somebody from one of the other camps noticed some of the changes. They’ve sent Whistler here to tell Angel to fix it. You may not have too much time left before you have to deal with him,” Wolfie soberly informed the group as a whole.

“Will I have to dust him?” Buffy’s voice was small and filled with dread at the prospect. She knew her emotions toward Angel were changing with her memories, but she wasn’t quite ready to let go.

“Sweetie, the choices you make will always be yours. Free will is very important to the Powers for Good, but it might make these decisions easier for you if you learn to use the slayer ability that the Council didn’t tell you about.”

“Huh?”

~*~*~

Angel paced as well as he could in his small basement apartment. He was tired and cranky. First Giles hadn’t turned up at the library by the time Angel had been forced to leave with the approaching dawn. Damned slacker. Now Whistler and the Powers were turning him into their own personal detective. The inconsiderate natures of others could really put him in a bad mood. When the watcher had kept him waiting, Angel had been forced to forgo his nightly visit to watch over his beautiful sleeping Buffy and that really should be his first priority. Giles was going to get an earful over that little debacle.

The knock at his door interrupted his internal rant. Furious he slammed open the door, ready to tear apart whoever it was that had disturbed him.

Buffy took an involuntary step back as the door was flung open. She mentally gasped at the vision before her. Praying that she could keep her composure, she tried desperately to remember the message she had come to give him. “Oh…er…hi Angel! I just wanted to…um…let you know that there’s not gonna be a meeting at the library tomorrow night, okay? So…um…bye.” She darted away from the door before Angel could speak.

Lost in thought as he closed the door, Angel tried to work out why she had acted so strangely. It was almost like she didn’t want to spend time with him or something. Knowing that couldn’t possibly be the case, he wondered if she had somehow been affected by whatever it was that Whistler had been talking about. He clearly had a lot to ponder. Sighing deeply, Angel resumed his pacing.

~*~*~

“Ability? There’s another slayer ability? Giles, you never said anything about any extras.” As always, when new information was discovered, Buffy turned to her watcher. Before he had the opportunity to respond to her accusation, she was once again assaulted with memories, but these were accompanied with feelings of absolute horror.

Buffy turned white and her knees went weak. Had Spike not been there to catch her, she would have fallen to the ground. She closed her eyes tightly in an effort to stop the images that seemed to be cutting to her very core. Her chest tightened and she started to hyperventilate. ‘Oh God, oh God, oh God’! she mentally chanted.

Spike gathered her into his arms and carefully lowered them both to the floor. Pulling Buffy onto his lap, he slowly rocked the distraught girl. He whispered nonsensical words of comfort as he rested his cheek on her head and rhythmically stroked her hair. He felt more than saw it when both Joyce and Dawn joined him. Between them, they enfolded Buffy within the comforting love and protection of family.

Slowly she began to calm. Wiping her face on his tee-shirt, she quietly whispered, “Sorry”.

Spike didn’t know if the apology was for breaking down or using his shirt as a handkerchief. He didn’t care either way. He focused on the trembling girl in his arms as she snuggled further into his embrace. She hadn’t leaned on him this much even when she was first pulled out of Heaven. She’d clearly had a terrible shock and he would bet his duster that it had something to do with Angel.

Well, maybe not his duster.

“You back with me, kitten?” Spike quietly asked Buffy.

Buffy had no intention of moving. She needed the connection that Spike was giving her. She felt safe in his arms and for the moment she desperately needed that. She didn’t bother to question how it was that the arms of a soulless demon could make her feel safe. She didn’t care what anyone else thought, not at this point in time. She needed him. She needed Spike.

“Don’t let me go,” she whispered her fear.

“Never, luv. Never,” He whispered in response.

Chapter 23

Once Buffy had visibly calmed down, Joyce hesitantly broached the subject that was lying heavily on everyone’s mind. “Was it another memory change, honey?”

Buffy gave a bitter little laugh and held Spike’s arms more firmly around her. “Oh, yeah,” she said, her tone indicating that this one in particular was a doozy.

“What was it, Buffy?” Giles asked with quiet insistence. “Should we be concerned about your younger self?”

“Well, she was freaked, but it was more an ‘I’m so not gonna let Xander know, ‘cause I don’t want to hear the gloating’ way…or a ‘oh, I have to share the wigginess of this with Willow’ rather than the total hysteria that was me,” Buffy told them with a self-depreciating smirk.

“But why did you act that way, Buffy? What did you see?” Dawn demanded. She was feeling a little freaked herself, she didn’t think she’d ever seen her sister react in such a way. Not even before she’d been Chosen.

“It’s kinda hard to explain,” Buffy told them. She knew she had to get it out in the open, because that was the only way she was ever going to be able to understand what she herself had seen. “I was…um…the other Buffy was really excited about the ‘Clear Sight’ spell, um…her, Willow and Xander decided to go downtown and grab some ice-cream and check out what she could see. The ice cream shop is really close to Angel’s and I…er…my younger self thought it would be a good idea to see how the spell effected him.” Buffy took a deep breath, steadying herself before she continued. “When he opened his door…” Buffy faltered. Her heart rate increased, as did her breathing.

“It’s alright, luv, just take your time.” Spike soothed the distressed blond. Buffy immediately felt calmer; Spike’s embrace was like a balm on an open wound.

Closing her eyes to get the picture clearly in her mind, Buffy described to them what she had seen. “There was this…like egg-shaped cage. It was glowing. And then there was this glowing figure next to the cage. I couldn’t see them clearly, but whoever it was seemed to be poking this stick like thing through the bars. Some of the bars looked darker then the others…like dirty water. But what was inside the cage…God…” She shuddered in remembrance. “It was Angel, but it was like a black hole or something, sucking all the light out of everything that touched it.” Buffy lifted tear filled eyes to her shocked watcher. “What does it mean, Giles?”

“Oh…er…” Giles turned panicked eyes towards the representative for the Powers of Good, his look clearly conveyed his message, ‘Bloody hell man, you’re supposed to be the expert on dream and vision analysis, you explain it’.

Gently clearing his throat to gain the attention of the confused blond, Wolfie waited for her to look at him before explaining her vision. “What you saw is a manifestation of the curse, Slayer. The parts that glow are the soul. The being inside the cage is what is left when the soul is removed. It’s clear from what you’ve said that the only part of Angel that has any humanity is the soul itself.”

“What do you mean by a ‘manifestation’ of the curse?” Joyce asked curiously.

“The curse imprisons the vampire within the soul and the cage represents that prison. The being on the outside of the cage is the rest of the soul, and the poking of the stick through the bars is the soul prompting the vampire to feel guilt,” Wolfie explained.

“But…he’s going insane,” Buffy whispered.

Wolfie nodded solemnly in agreement. “Yes, he is.”

“And the dark patches that Buffy mentioned?” Jenny felt her dread rising. She had a very bad feeling about this.

“The soul is being corrupted.”

~*~*~

“Buffy, I think you need to tell Giles what you saw,” Willow advised her best friend.

“I will, but please don’t say anything in front of Xander; you know how he gets,” Buffy pleaded with the redhead. She loved Xander, but he could be a serious butthead on occasion.

“Of course not, Buffy. No telling of Xander. My lips are sealed. But maybe you should talk to Miss Calendar, too. I mean; her ancestors did the spell in the first place, so she should be able tell you what it all means.” Willow excitedly bounced in her seat. Although she wasn’t excited about the obvious crushage than Xander still had going on for Buffy- ‘cause that was so not something to be excited about- the cool computer teacher that just happened to do magic was another story. Now that was something to get excited about!

“What ‘what’ all means?” Xander asked as he rejoined the girls at their table in the Ice Cream Emporium. Double chocolate goodness always made him happy.

“Oh…um, just that Miss Calendar will probably be able to tell us all about the spell.” Buffy smiled innocently at her curious male friend.

“Good idea,” Xander replied through a mouthful of ice cream.

~*~*~

“How come everyone else just glows, but with Angel I got the whole shebang?” Buffy grappled for something to take her mind off the whole corrupting of soul business.

“It seems you won’t have to work too hard on accessing your unused abilities.” Wolfie smiled cryptically.

“My what huh?” Buffy stared at the giant redhead blankly.

“Really! Must you, Buffy?” Giles sighed in exasperation.

Buffy grinned wickedly at her watcher and replied, “oh I must, I must.” Teasing Giles really did make her feel better.

Chuckling quietly at the quick-witted slayer, Wolfie explained, “You have the ability within you to see the lightness or darkness of each individual…much like some people can see auras. When you add that ability to the spell that your lovely friend here has done, you get what you saw with the Cursed One.”

“I miss Tara,” Buffy whispered as the mention of auras bought the gentle Wicca to mind.

Spike's head popped up. “When we get this all figured out, we'll see what we can do for the little witch, luv.” Spike was thinking that a little road trip out to bloody Podunk County wasn’t such a bad idea.

“So…what? She’ll be able to tell who’s good and who’s bad just by looking at them?” Dawn asked, not at all sure she liked that idea. Dawn could just see Buffy somehow using it to sabotage her when she was finally allowed to start dating. It was already gonna be hard enough with Spike and his tendency to be a little overprotective, she so didn’t need an all-knowing, interfering sister, too.

“Not exactly. The Slayer will be able to tell who she can trust and who she may have to keep an eye on. I suppose it could be best called having heightened insight,” Wolfie clarified for the young teen.

“Why has Xander’s humanity got a dark edge to it?” Buffy asked the question that had so concerned her younger self.

“I can answer that,” Jenny spoke up. “Seeing darkness in the glow of humanity indicates that the person has the potential for strong negative emotions like hatred or jealousy. If his humanity is surrounded, it means that he is letting those emotions rule him. Xander is going to have to be handled very carefully.”

“Perhaps I can help. You are having a meeting tomorrow night to discuss the matter of our time travellers, right?” Wolfie asked and waited for conformation before continuing. “Being told by a representative of the Powers of Good that he is considered the resident expert on the subject of temporal paradoxes will encourage his positive emotions to resurface, if we are careful.”

Spike gave a hoot of disbelief. “Hang about. You mean the whelp’s a bloody expert on something besides Twinkies and cheese curls?” and

Wolfie sent him a pointed look. “You should know better than anyone that things aren’t always as they seem, vampire.”

In spite of Spike’s amusement, the idea that Wolfie should accompany Giles had merit and was quickly agreed with by the rest of the group.

“Well, now that we’ve covered all that, we should really begin preparing for the ritual. We only have a few hours before we will need to leave,” Wolfie suggested. “That is, if you’ve decided to go ahead with it?”

“Ritual? What ritual?” Buffy asked. Her eyes narrowed as she focused in on the two individuals that seemed to have a clue as to what the giant redhead was talking about.

“Oh…er…” Giles hastily removed his glasses and proceeded to clean them as he stuttered in the face of his Slayers wrathful expression.

Chapter 24

Buffy seriously hated being left out of the loop. If there was some sort of ritual going on that these two knew about, then she definitely needed to be with the all knowing. No out of the loopness for this girl. Uh uh. Somebody better make with the explanations and be quick about it. Slayers- especially THIS Slayer- weren’t known for their patience.

Spike inwardly cringed. The Slayer was in the room and she was gunning for some answers. ‘Shoulda told her. Knew I shoulda told her. She’s gonna be right brassed off now, mate.’ Hey now, he could do this; he’d faced off against a hell god, hadn’t he? True, said hell god had left him lookin’ like a badly bruised avocado that had had the misfortune of being run over by a truck, but he’d survived…

Oh hell, who was he kidding? Buffy was gonna dust him.

Giles’ first thought was ‘oh, dear,’ which was quickly followed by a resounding ‘you’re her watcher, man. Show some backbone!’ Clearing his throat, Giles tried again. “It’s called the Ritual of Returning, Buffy. It is a ritual to Gaia, the Goddess who has also been called Mother Earth, asking her to bless the supplicant and return him to his original state.”

“Benefits?” Buffy snapped out her question as she scrambled to her feet. Crossing her arms, she faced the two Brits down menacingly.

“Spike will no longer be afflicted by vampiric drawbacks. His demon will be accepted as a champion for the Powers of Good,” Giles replied succinctly.

“And the drawbacks?” the suspicious girl ground out through gritted teeth. She knew there was a catch; nothing was that easy. Hell, if it was that easy, why hadn’t Angel tried it? Buffy inwardly cringed at the passing thought of the brunette vampire.

The pregnant pause in conversation was enough to let everyone know that there were indeed drawbacks, and from the worried exchange of looks between the watcher and the vampire, they were some pretty big ones at that.

“If my heart isn’t true, I’ll be dusted,” Spike answered her bluntly. If the Slayer wanted to know, then she was gettin’ the truth with no bloody holds barred.

“No,” Buffy rapped out decisively.

“What do you mean; ‘no’?” Spike stood and faced her, his mild tone belying his rising ire. ‘Why does this bint think she has the right to make my decisions for me? I’m a bloody master vampire,’ he thought indignantly.

“No,” Buffy repeated slowly, as if speaking to the mentally challenged, but being a lot less polite about it. “You are not doing it.”

“It’s not your bloody choice, Slayer,” Spike snapped at her.

The stubborn look that had quelled many arguments settled firmly on her features. There was no way she was agreeing to this ritual. Hell no! She needed him. There would be no risking of the vampire on her watch. “Oh, we’ll see about that,” Buffy responded smugly. Turning to her mother and sister, she petitioned for backup. “Tell him he can’t do it, Mom. Sic him, Dawnie!”

“HEY! No bloody fair, Summers,” Spike cried out indignantly. Ganging up on a bloke was dirty pool. When in the hell did she learn to be so sneaky?

“Oh, Buffy, I’m sure if Spike wants…why exactly do you want to do the ritual Spike? It just seems awfully dangerous to me.” Joyce wanted to stay neutral, but her concern for the blond vampire was fast eclipsing her attempt at impartiality.

Dawn tried another tactic, lifting accusing, tear-filled eyes to the vampire, she stated in a shaky little voice, “You promised to always look out for me, Spike.”

Spike rolled his eyes in frustration. All three of them…Evil! It was more than one vampire should have to bear. Somebody had to be testing him. Turning pleading eyes towards the watcher, Spike silently begged for a little back up of his own.

Giles didn’t know how much help he would be, he already had enough trouble saying ‘no’ to Buffy. Add two more Summers women into the mix and he was completely out of his league.

Wolfie watched in amusement. He had seven children; he knew master manipulators when he saw them. After so many years, he just knew how to beat them at their own game. “Anybody that was listening to this conversation would think that you three didn’t have any faith in our sunlight challenged friend.” He was careful to keep his tone only mildly curious. The trick was to never let them know they were being played. He watched their expressions as his words found their mark.

Joyce was the first to react to the giant’s words. She quickly assured the vampire that she believed in him, and that if he thought the ritual was necessary, then she trusted him. She would not undermine his precarious position by allowing her fears to cause him to question himself.

Dawn hesitated. She didn’t want her best friend to be dusted, but she had been one of the first to believe in him. Could she in all good conscience deny that belief when it was so important to him? Carefully considering the vampire in front of her, she was struck by an epiphany that showed a maturity that was way beyond her years.

“You want this pretty bad, don’t you?” she asked him quietly. She smiled at him when he nodded in agreement.

Which left Buffy as the last holdout. “I do believe in you, Spike, I do,” Buffy pleaded with the vampire to understand, her tears starting to overflow. “But, I can’t…I don’t want to risk you. Please don’t do this.”

“Oh, Buffy…luv,” Spike gathered the now weeping girl into his arms. “Please don’t cry, pet. I can’t take it when you cry. Your bloody tears undo me.”

“Then don’t do the ritual,” she begged him, her words muffled as she spoke into his t-shirt. “You don’t need it.”

“Slayer, look at me,” he spoke gently as he urged her to lift her eyes. “You’re right; I don’t need it. But I want it, Buffy. I want the chance to become something more than I am; to fight the good fight and know that not only did I pick a side, but that the side picked me. You know what I mean, luv?” Cerulean eyes pleaded with green for understanding and acceptance.

The moment seemed to freeze as the occupants of the small living room waited for the tearful blonde’s reaction.

“Okay, but if you get dusted, I’m having you resurrected just so mom can ground your ass,” Buffy grumbled from within the confines of his loving embrace.

The rest of the room chuckled in response.

With that settled, Spike spent the next few hours memorizing the ritual. Giles had retrieved the book from the library while picking up Chinese food for dinner. He, Brother Luther, and Jenny busied themselves with protection spells that could be used at a moments notice if any unexpected gatecrashers stumbled onto them. The ritual itself would be performed in a clearing in the woods to the north of town that Wolfie knew about. He explained that Gaia was an earth deity and as such an outdoor ritual was prudent.

Spike was uncomplaining when he was told to shower with the unscented soap that Wolfie had included in the supplies he had brought with him. He soon changed his tune, however, when told that his hair had to be gel free. Grumbling loudly while he showered and then dried himself, he unsuccessfully attempted to flatten down the riotous mess of curls that adorned his head. Finally giving up, Spike was startled to notice that someone had removed his clothes while he had been showering. “Oi! You lot. Where the bleedin’ heck are m’ clothes?” he shouted in irritation.

“I left them on the counter for you, Spike,” Wolfie calmly replied.

Looking in horror at the clothing that had been left for him, Spike was not shy about letting his displeasure be known. “They’re WHITE!”

“You wanted to do the ritual, bleach boy, so just shut up and put on the damned clothes.” Buffy was still not happy about the ritual, but knowing what else Spike had to wear was certainly moving her in that direction. Secretly, she’d always wondered what he would look like in white.

When he finally came out, she wasn’t disappointed, and her warmly assessing looks went a long way towards soothing the grumbling vampire.

When Spike was ready, the group headed out. Taking two cars, they arrived just outside the clearing about ten minutes later. Wolfie told them all to stay close to the perimeter of the woods. The natural circle of the clearing made it the perfect place for the ritual, but Spike could not be distracted or the consequences would be dire. Giving his last minute instructions to the nervous blond vampire, Wolfie ushered the rest of the group to the edges of the clearing.

Spike made his final preparations. As his last step before entering the clearing, he washed his hands in the bowl of clean water that Wolfie had provided. The giant had explained that clean water, or ‘khernips’, as the redhead called it, had to be used so that the hands that lit the incense could be recognised as unsoiled.

Buffy stared, completely mesmerised as Spike stepped into the moon-drenched clearing. His shirtless torso glistened luminescently in the still present glow of the Clear Sight spell. The soft white cotton trousers hid nothing of his muscular form. A garland of flowers adorned his head.

Spike purposefully made his way to the altar that Wolfie had prepared. Lighting the incense carefully, he began the ritual.

“Divine Gaia, mother of men and of the blessed gods, you nourish all, you give all, you bring all to fruition, and you destroy all. When the season is fair you are heavy with fruits and growing blossoms; and, O multiform maiden, you are the seat of the immortal cosmos, and in the pains of labour you bring forth fruit of all kinds. Eternal, reverend, deep-bosomed, and blessed, you delight in the sweet breath of grass, O goddess bedecked with flowers. Yours is the joy of the rain, and round you the intricate realm of the stars revolves in endless and awesome flow. But, O blessed goddess, may you multiply the gladsome fruits and, together with the beautiful seasons, grant me favour.” Taking a deep breath Spike asked his boon, “Allow me to retake my place as a protector of this realm, allow me to fight at the side of the Slayer.”

For a moment there was nothing; then the glow surrounding Spike seemed to grow in magnitude. Brighter and brighter, causing the ones that watched to shield their eyes in protection. It could have been minutes or hours, time seemed to lose meaning for them all. Finally, the light began to fade and they all stared at the vision before them.

The silence of the moment was broken by laughter that seemed to ring through the night.

Chapter 25

“Oh, bloody hell, that’s priceless!”

“Um, was that supposed to happen?” Dawn turned confused eyes towards the sasquatch.

“Oh, dear, I…ah…I don’t think…” Giles was at an absolute loss to explain.

“Well, he’s not dust, so…I thought it was meant to return him to his original form?” Buffy wasn’t freaked. Really, she wasn’t.

“That is his original form. I thought you understood this?” Now it was Wolfie’s turn to be surprised.

“Why are there two of him?” Joyce asked curiously.

“And why is one naked?” Dawn gulped, but managed to keep her eyes avidly fixed on the exposed vampire for the fraction of a second before her mother’s hand obscured her view.

Wolfie looked around the group; their faces were displaying all manner of confusion and shock. Well, except for the blond vampire sitting on the ground, he appeared to be greatly amused at the outcome of the ritual. “Perhaps it would be a good idea to move our explanations to a safer location,” the conduit for the Powers suggested.

“And how in the bloody hell do you expect me to get into the car?” The Spike that had performed the ritual gave the giant redhead a look of impatience which caused the other Spike to collapse again in gales of laughter.

“The principle should be the same, just morph into your human guise,” Wolfie told the blond as he moved in the direction of the cars.

“Um…and laughing boy?” Spike called after the giant, when he’d successfully returned to his human form.

“He stays with us.” Buffy’s tone brooked no argument as she moved closer to the two look-alikes. Throwing the exposed vampire the white robe that her Spike had been wearing earlier, she tersely instructed the blond to put it on. When she reached her Spike’s side, she boldly reached up and gently brushed his lips with hers. “Thanks for not being dust.”

The newly returned Spike scrambled quickly to his feet. “Oy, where’s mine, beautiful?” he demanded, only to land unceremoniously back on his derriere by a swift left hook from his older and wiser self.

“I don’t think so, mate.” The more experienced vampire snorted at his younger self derisively.

It hadn’t taken them much longer to make the return journey than it had the original sojourn into the woods, but tempers were seriously frayed by end of the return trip.

“Was I always this annoyin’, Slayer?” the older Spike questioned in irritation.

“Pretty much,” Buffy was quick to inform him.

“No bloody wonder you lot hated me,” Spike muttered in disgust as he pushed his protesting younger self to sit on one of Giles’ dining room chairs and stood sentinel just behind him.

“Oh yeah, and the attempts to kill all of us had nothing to do with it,” Buffy replied sarcastically.

Spike turned up his nose in contempt. “Sing us a new one, Slayer. That one’s getting old.”

Younger Spike totally ignored the bickering couple, more interested in finding out what had happened to him than listening to When Harry Met Sally: The Early Years. Spying the liquor cabinet, he wondered briefly what his chances were of convincing the watcher to let him have a drink. He didn’t think they were good. Looking past the very enticing bottle of scotch, the seated vampire noticed something. Something that was there that shouldn’t have been.

~*~*~

“So, have Dawnie and your mom been at Giles’ all afternoon?” Willow asked Buffy as the two girls entered the blonde’s bedroom and positioned themselves comfortably on the bed.

“Yeah, how wiggy is that,” Buffy commented in amusement. “They’re spending more time with him than I am.”

Willow cautiously studied her friend. “You’re not still with the mom/Giles thinkage?”

“Nah. Mom and Dawnie are just big with the slayer knowing for the meeting tomorrow night,” the petite blond assured the redhead. “I think mom’s planning on being the official caterer for the group.”

Willow grinned at Buffy. “Xander will probably bring donuts, anyway. Just in case your mom does the unthinkable and serves healthy snacks.”

Both girls giggled with the thought of Xander’s expression if offered carrot sticks and dip at a slayer meeting.

Willow sobered first, thoughts of the meeting had led to thoughts of Angel and the whole darkness within the cage thing that Buffy had described. Glancing nervously towards the window, the redhead suddenly felt exposed. ‘Could Angel be eavesdropping?’ she wondered briefly before noticing that his ability to hear even if he was there would be greatly impaired by the fact that the opening she was concerned about was actually closed. “Um…so, the window? What’s with the closure of the Buffy backdoor?”

“Oh, mom closed it this morning, so when they were working out there they wouldn’t disturb me. She said since I’d be using the front door from now on, she thought it was a good time to get the tree treated for pests,” Buffy explained to Willow.

~*~*~

Angel slipped out of his apartment at the first sign of darkness. Maybe if he hurried he could watch Buffy as she patrolled. The sight of his beautiful soulmate thanking him when he saved her was one that he relished. Being a champion chosen by the Powers gave him an indescribable feeling of invincibility.

Angel made his way to Buffy’s home. She may not have started her first patrol yet. She tended to be a little lax on the weekends, but he always managed to remind her of her duty. She looked up to him for his experience, his knowledge, and his righteous moral guidance.

It did not surprise the vampire that Buffy had clearly not left for patrol when he got there. He could see her moving past her window and she didn’t look like she was even close to being ready to perform her duty. As he moved closer to her tree, he noticed the distinct smell of garlic; obviously some idiot had decided to grow their own.

Standing at the side of the tree, Angel jumped, landing in a sitting position on the branch.

Buffy and Willow jumped in unison at the inhuman howl that seemed to be coming from just outside the window. The cautious Slayer moved in front of the terrified redhead and slowly made her way to the window. Pulling back the curtains, she was assaulted by a sight that would have been petrifying if it hadn’t been so darn funny. She gawked at the vision before her like one might view a traffic accident. It was horrifying to look at, but she was too fascinated by the comedic Jackie Chan-esque scene to look away.

~*~*~

Before young Spike could speak, Buffy made a series of delightfully obscure noises. It was unclear if she experiencing a vision that was making her laugh or cringe. Spike came to the conclusion that she was one very strange bint. Good thing he had a soft spot for nutters.

It took Buffy a few minutes to process what she’d seen and regain her composure. "Alright, who booby trapped the tree?" she said, tapping her foot impatiently as she glared around the room.

To say she wasn’t at all surprised when Dawn hesitantly raised her hand would have been correct, but when her mother also raised her hand, Buffy was astounded.

Shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts Buffy started her interrogation. “Okay, who’s responsible for the glue that made his pants stick to the tree?”

“Did it work?” Dawn countered, giggling.

“That depends, Dawnie. Did you want him to have to remove them to get away?” Buffy responded calmly.

“Ewww!” Dawn scrunched up her nose in disgust.

“Well then, what caused the shredding of his boxers and the unusual amount of pain for a vampire?” Buffy was finding it very difficult to ask her questions seriously while the slap-stick routine was playing in her head.

“Oh, um, well I might have mixed up some garlic juice with some Bengay and painted it on some tacks that I sorta glued to the tree,” the young brunette mumbled.

“I see, and what exactly was it that burned his boy bits when he climbed out of the tree?” Buffy glared hard at her sister.

“Probably the holy water that I watered the tree with,” Joyce answered, chagrined

It started with a tiny snicker, then a ladylike snort, and just like that laughter erupted from her body like an overdue volcanic explosion, starting with a small amount of seismic activity which grew until it couldn't be contained any longer and enveloped everything in its path.

Chapter 26

“This may have repercussions if Angel’s demon is indeed suffering from questionable sanity.” Giles’ quietly worded statement has a serious dampening effect on the laughter had that had enveloped the room.

The silence was heavy as each individual considered Giles’ remark. Younger Spike hated the idea of drawing attention back to himself, but he desperately needed a few moments alone to consider his options and maybe put on some more clothes. If he was honest with himself, he felt decidedly uncomfortable wearing nothing but a robe in front of the other two Summers women. Bloody ponce had really done a number on his head. “Er, hate to break up the thoughtful ponderings on the mentally challenged, but can I get somethin’ a bit less exposing to wear? I don’t really care to be showing off m’ manly bits to the kiddies.”

The momentarily blank faces that changed to flustered embarrassment brought forth a quiet chuckle from the seated vampire. Buffy was the first to give any indication that she was still capable of functioning after the bizarre events that the evening had produced. Motioning to her Spike to perform escort duty, she watched as the two look-alikes moved towards the bathroom, her Spike grabbing the bag of clothes he’d removed from the factory on his way.

Not willing to begin the discussion on the ritual without her Spike in the room, Buffy focused on her mother. There were other matters of importance to be addressed. “How are the plans going for the auction, mom?”

Joyce was relieved at the change of subject. She had been feeling terribly guilty about her part in the ‘tree incident’. She hated to think that she would be responsible for any adverse effects on the mental welfare of another being, even if that individual happened to be a cursed vampire that was stalking her daughter. She didn’t mind that he had been physically hurt; that was his own fault. He shouldn’t have been lurking outside her sixteen year old daughter’s bedroom window in the first place. But the idea that her actions could push the unstable vampire over the edge was causing her to feel more than a little self-condemnation.

“We’ve set it up for next Saturday, sweetheart,” Joyce told her. “There have already been a number of advanced bids on most of the items. I’m confident that you’ll do very well indeed.” Joyce gave a satisfied little smile to her daughter. She was really good at her job and was actually overjoyed at the response that they’d so far received for the treasure. She had every intention of ensuring that the two blondes became very rich indeed. Her own commission looked to be a staggering amount.

~*~*~

“Quit lookin’ at me like that, you git!” Spike growled at his older counterpart. “You know bloody well I’ve been stuck in your head for nearly a week. I’m not tryin’ anything shady. I just want to know…” His voice trailed off as he quickly looked away. He blinked rapidly in an effort to regain control of his emotions, but not before his more experienced double had spied the moisture in his eyes.

Gently, the senior blond vampire encouraged his younger self. “What do you want to know, mate?”

“Does it get better? Will this one love us?” the quietly whispered words were filled with anguish.

~*~*~

Buffy was curious as to the cause of the sombre expressions on the faces of the two Spikes as they re-entered the living room. Okay, that was going to get real old real soon. “Does one of you mind if I call you William? The two Spikes thing is gonna drive me crazy.”

“Fine with me, luv,” her Spike shrugged nonchalantly as he voiced his agreement. It was his name, after all.

As both Spikes were now dressed in black jeans and t-shirts, anyone who didn’t know them would be hard pressed to tell them apart, but Buffy seemed to know on some instinctual level which one was hers. Pointing to the new Spike, she firmly told him to place himself back on the chair he had first occupied. Leaving William to, once again, stand sentry.

Turning her attention to the only individual in the room that seemed to have the slightest clue as to what was going on, Buffy asked Wolfie to explain the ritual and all that had subsequently happened because of it.

~*~*~

As Angel desperately tried to get comfortable, he replayed the events of the ‘incident’ over again in his mind. Try as he might he was at a loss to come up with any explanation except that Buffy obviously had someone that was an enemy and they knew where she lived. Okay so the garlic might have been targeted at him specifically, but he was fairly certain that that was only because he was Buffy’s protector. It made him suspect that the perpetrator of the crime was someone they both knew. Someone wanted to separate him from his Buffy. Now, why did that make him automatically think of the watcher?

~*~*~

“When…er, William, performed the ritual, Gaia granted his petition. But you must understand that it was William’s demon that asked to be returned to his original form and not Spike’s.” Wolfie began his explanation, trying to impress upon them all the importance of this distinction. “In order for Gaia to accede to William’s request, Spike had to be removed.”

“Then shouldn’t I be dust? Not worthy and all that,” Spike asked curiously. Not that he wanted to be dust, but a bloke had to ask the obvious.

“You had already decided to follow the path that William had shown you while you were still inside him, Spike. Gaia knew that,” the giant informed the inquisitive vampire.

“Huh? Wait…but he’s evil,” Buffy automatically responded. She might be trusting of William, but Spike was an entirely different matter.

“Buffy,” Giles gently addressed the confused girl. “Look at him. The glow of humanity is almost as strong in Spike as it is in William.”

“What, so now I’m just supposed to trust him, too?” the flabbergasted slayer questioned.

“You could at least gimme a chance, Slayer,” Spike grumbled dejectedly.

Buffy was floundering. She had no idea how to handle this situation. She didn’t understand why everyone was looking at her like they were disappointed in her. She was seriously getting frustrated. Didn’t these people understand that she was the Slayer? She needed her black and white world to stay black and white; she wasn’t equipped to deal with shades of grey; not yet anyway. It was too much too soon. Everything was changing and she didn’t have the slightest clue how to cope with it.

Casting a quick but apologetic look at his counterpart, William pulled the confused girl into his arms. “It’s alright, pet. Take your time. Nobody’s sayin’ you have to deal with everything right now. We’ll suss it out when you’re ready.”

Everyone in the room heard the threat in the protective blonde’s voice. Not one of them was left in any doubt as to the seriousness with which William spoke or his underlying message. Buffy was not to be pushed.

Buffy relaxed as the feeling of being overwhelmed by her confused emotions receded within the strong arms of her protector. She felt herself slowly calming, his embrace soothing her shattered nerves. She felt safe. She felt like she was finally home. Maybe it was time to admit that she was.

Chapter 27

When Spike heard Buffy's muffled thanks, he tightened his grip on her fractionally. Keeping her securely within his embrace, he looked over at the red headed giant. “You were gonna tell us about the effects of the ritual, mate?”

“Of course,” Wolfie replied with a courteous nod of agreement. Sadly, he was of the opinion that this little Slayer had a lot to learn. He only hoped he could help her. “You asked to be able to retake your place as a protector of the realm, William. You’ve been returned to your original form,” Wolfie began to tell the vampire, but an unexpected eruption of laughter from the seated vampire interrupted him.

“Will you bloody well shut up, you gormless twit!” William growled in frustration at the amused blond.

“Oi!” Spike offered an indignant response as he stood and faced off against his older self. “It’s bloody funny, and watch who you’re callin’ names, you fairy.”

Buffy gently extricated herself from William’s arms. At his questioning look she gave him a shrug and the ghost of a smirk as she answered his unvoiced question, “Hey, I had to deal with him for the last four years. Now it’s your turn!”

William turned his vexation toward the blond pain in his arse that had just bollixed up his moment with his Slayer. There he was enjoying a nice snuggle, of which he’d had far too few of not to be well and truly brassed off at being interrupted. Wait a minute…what had the little pillock called him?

Spike was momentarily startled at the flashing gold eyes that turned on him in fury. Who knew the ponce could look so scary?

“What did you call me?” William snarled, incensed.

“What? A fairy?” Spike grinned smugly at the object of his humour. Crossing his arms across his chest and lifting an eyebrow sardonically as he bounced on his toes, he continued, “It’s what you are, innit?”

“I am NOT a bloody fairy,” William bellowed his indignation.

“You’ve got bloody wings,” Spike countered just as loudly.

“Boys,” Joyce gently reminded the two antagonists that they were not alone.

Instantly contrite, the two arguing blonds mumbled very similar sounding apologies. Giles eyed the Slayer’s mother with a look of impressed awe. ‘How on earth did she manage to do that?

William was suddenly struck by a horrifying thought, turning panic stricken eyes to the Sasquatch, he practically begged to be wrong, “I’m not a fairy, am I?”

Chuckling quietly, the red headed giant answered the blonde’s desperate plea, “No. You’re not a fairy.”

William’s relief was palpable. But, his expression soon changed to one of confusion and he was forced to ask for clarification, “Then what am I?”

“You’re still a vampire,” Wolfie quickly assured him. “But you’re the kind of vampire that hasn’t been seen in this realm for thousands of years; a pure vampire.” The large red head paused momentarily before making a hesitant admission. “The last pure vampire in this realm was used to make the First Slayer.”

“Huh? Wait…Okay, there is so much there that I need clarification on, but, gotta ask, he seems the same to me. I mean, he’s still my Spike, er William, right?” Buffy inched her way back into William’s arms. A wave of insecurity and possessiveness almost overwhelmed her. The need to stake her claim on the vampire under discussion caused her to mould her back more firmly into his chest and pull at his arms in an effort to tighten his hold on her. A soft kiss on the back of her head did much to calm the emotional girl.

“Only the nature of his demon was changed, Slayer. His personality, his humanity, and his experiences haven’t changed. All of these things make up who he is. The demon was only a small, albeit important part of it. He is no longer exactly what he was, but he is still who he was,” Wolfie gently reassured her.

Giles removed his glasses and cleaned them, his questioning mind forming his query as he did so. “You said William was now a ‘pure vampire’. How does that differentiate from the type of vampire that we have more experience with? I’ve never considered Spike to be a typical vampire.”

“You’re absolutely correct in making that distinction, Mr. Giles. Spike- or in this case, William- is not like other vampires. He is unique.” Wolfie acknowledged the watchers words. “Most vampires exist for blood, sex and violence. Some are more vicious than others and like to include chaos and domination. Others are less interested in violence, finding more than enough pleasure in blood and sex, but one thing they all have in common is the absence of a soul.

“Without a soul, or conscience if you will, a vampire is freed from the burden of guilt. He or she can act as selfishly as they like. They don’t feel the need to follow rules and they don’t have to care about how their actions may or may not affect others. All they care about is their own pleasure.

“While all vampires are capable of the full range of human emotions, they are usually too selfish to be capable of emotions such as love. This is where William is different. He loves selflessly.” Wolfie paused for a moment, allowing everyone a moment to fully comprehend what he was saying.

“Pure vampires are different again,” the giant continued. “A vampire itself is a combination of a human that has released its soul and a soulless demon. In the pure vampire, the demon has a soul.”

The researcher in Giles demanded more information. “How will this affect William mentally and physically?”

“Mentally he has been renewed,” Wolfie informed the watcher. Turning to William, the giant addressed him directly. “You’ve been forgiven for your past and have started again with a clean slate. The only mental anguish you’ll face is for your actions from now on and I believe that your decision making process will be easier. Physically, you are a protector of the realm; a champion. Your patron is the Goddess of Earth and Nature. Sunlight and religious items will no longer harm you. You will have an affinity with nature and animals that you should work at developing. You are stronger than you were, so time should be spent honing your fighting skills to allow for that and to learn how to use your wings in combat.”

“Can he fly too?” Spike asked sarcastically. He was quite willing to admit to being more than a little jealous.

“For short distances, but it’s mainly hovering,” Wolfie blandly replied with a lifted eyebrow and a challenging smirk.

“Bloody hell,” the two vampires responded in unison. The one that rolled his eyes in feigned disgust was not the one that had just learned he could fly.

Joyce cast a mother’s eye over the group that she considered family. Her two daughters had clearly had enough for the day and her two…vampires looked like they needed some processing time. Taking charge as only a mother can do, Joyce stood and clapped her hands together. Facing her eldest daughter, she said “I know that you probably still want to know about the origins of that other Slayer, honey, but maybe that should wait until tomorrow night’s meeting so that we don’t need to repeat it for my other Buffy.”

“I agree, Joyce. Everybody is tired and some of us may need some time to think about what we’ve learned,” Giles added his own parental concerns.

It wasn’t until Buffy, Giles, William, and Spike were alone that Spike realised he hadn’t asked his own question. “So…can any of you lot explain to me why I’ve got a bloody reflection?”

Chapter 28

Buffy turned confused eyes on the questioning vampire, before bursting forth with her barrage of questions, “You have a reflection? Why do you have a reflection?” Turning to her watcher, Buffy modified her words, “Giles? Why does he have a reflection?”

Giles loved it that Buffy looked to him for guidance and explanation, but her need to have immediate answers could get a little wearisome. Patiently, he made a suggestion. “Why don’t we ask Wolfie tomorrow night, Buffy? If he doesn’t know we can start researching it immediately.”

Buffy’s pout caused both vampires to shift uncomfortably and attempt to surreptitiously adjust their jeans. William narrowed his eyes at the younger vampire, barely managing to subdue a warning growl.

Spike rolled his eyes at the posturing older male. It wasn’t like he could control his reaction, now could he? Pillock! If he wanted to complain he should complain to the bint about that lip…bloody lethal that was.

“Okay Giles,” Buffy agreed tiredly. Turning her attention to Spike, Buffy considered him suspiciously. Speaking to the other two males, she kept her gaze firmly on the subject of her question. “So, what are we gonna do with junior?”

“He can have the couch, pet. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight anyway.” With everything that had been happening, William hadn’t had any time to really focus on the changes he’d gone through or what they would mean to his existence. A little late night introspection would be keeping him company this night.

Buffy nodded in acceptance of William’s suggestion. She looked towards the spare room, knowing that she needed to get some sleep, but reluctant to leave the side of her vampire. She didn’t understand why she was feeling so needy, but she wasn’t ready to question it either. She felt like she was breaking into tiny pieces. There was so much that she’d had to deal with in such a short time. She desperately tried to suppress the knowledge that she was relieved that the friends that she had given so much power to were not here. They would have tried to get her away from her vampire. That would have broken her. As it was she knew that she would get through this, but she also knew that that was due largely to the unwavering support of a watcher that had yet to betray her and a vampire that knew how to love. She had yet to thank either of them.

“Giles,” Buffy said as she looked over at the man her watcher had been. “Can I speak to you in my room, please?” As she walked past the two vampires she reached over to give William’s hand a quick squeeze.

Giles followed silently in her wake.

William and Spike were unable to hear the quietly whispered conversation between Giles and Buffy, regardless of how much they tried. “She’s not talkin’ about you, mate,” William quietly assured his paranoid companion.

Spike turned his attention to the object of his earlier derision. He didn’t even attempt to deny his concerns. “She hates me.”

“She’s not the one you have to impress.” William smirked at the younger male and watched as the light of realization flared in Spike’s eyes.

~*~*~

“Giles,” Buffy whispered, mindful of vampire hearing. “I want to do some research,” she told him. Pointing to the tomes in the large bookcase that seemed to dwarf the actual size of the room, she continued. “Which one will tell me what I need to know about claims?”

Giving the nervous young girl in front of him a considering look, Giles walked over to the bookcase and removed what he believed to be the most accurate volume in his collection. The fact that the book was also the most graphic was another point in its favour. He did not believe that she was ready for this sort of commitment. “This will give you all the information you need,” he informed her as he handed her the weighty tract. “But, Buffy, please think carefully before taking any action. You can have no doubts. You need to be very sure that you love him. He really doesn’t deserve anything less.”

Moving towards the door, thinking the girl was finished with him, Giles was surprised when Buffy’s small hand halted him.

“Right now I’m not sure of anything, but I do need to know, Giles.”

“The fact that I agree that you need this information is the only reason I am giving you that book,” his response was delivered in a firm and serious tone.

“I need to talk to him, Giles. I have to tell him what I’m feeling.” Buffy was almost desperate in her ache for the vampire. In the maelstrom that was her emotions, William was her safe harbour. She needed him to anchor her.

“I’ll send him in to you.” The watcher smiled at her as he reached for the door. “I’ll keep Spike company.”

~*~*~

“Luv?” William hovered in the doorway, unsure of his place.

Buffy motioned for him to come in and sit next to her on the bed.

Taking a critical look at the slightly shaking girl on the bed, William came to a decision. He entered the room, closing the door behind him. Slipping off the moccasins he still wore from the earlier ritual, William positioned himself so that his back rested firmly against the wall behind the head of the bed and opened his arms to her.

Buffy was quick to take up his offer and moved smoothly to slip into his tender embrace. Taking a few moments to calm within the safety of his arms, Buffy used the time to get her thoughts in order. “Everything’s changing, William, and I don’t know what to think or feel anymore. I need to tell you about some of it. I thought that, um, maybe, you could kinda help me work some stuff out?” She was afraid to look at him. She was afraid that she would see his disappointment at her lack of strength in his eyes. She was scared that he would look at her differently now that he had the blessing of the Goddess. She was terrified that he would now find her unworthy of him.

As was usual, William seemed to intuitively understand what she was going through. Placing a finger under her chin, he gently but firmly encouraged her to lift her face to look at him. “I’ve make a lot of mistakes, a lot of wrong bloody calls. A hundred plus years, and there's only one thing I've ever been sure of: you. I asked for a crumb, pet, and you’ve bloody well given me so much more. When I say, "I love you," it's not because I want you. It has nothing to do with me. I love what you are, what you do, how you try. I've seen your kindness and your strength. I've seen the best and the worst of you. And I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You're a hell of a woman. You're the one, Buffy. I would do anything for you.”

“See, that's just it, no one ever has just loved me unconditionally like that. Even mom and dad couldn't handle Buffy the Slayer. Of course they didn't know I was the Slayer at the time. Look, now I'm rambling. What I mean is how do you do that? Love with no strings...no clauses...I've only ever had love that came with curses and baggage.” Buffy pouted.

William widened his eyes in surprise. “Buffy, luv, I love like you do. That’s how you love someone. Complete, without reservations, the bad with the good. Why do you think you’ve been able to forgive every person you’ve ever loved every single time they’ve hurt you? The problem isn’t your ability to love, pet. It’s that you have a tendency to trust the wrong people and you’ve got bloody appalling taste in men.” His grin lightened the harshness of his words.

“I guess that’s true, ‘cause the man I’m interested in loves me but doesn’t want me,” Buffy replied with mock sadness.

William’s mind reeled, as he took in her words. She was interested in someone? Who? Who loved her but didn’t want her? He could only think of one person that her words could possibly describe and that thought horrified him. “You fancy the watcher?” he squeaked out his question.

“What? NO! Ewww,” Buffy scrunched up her nose in disgust.

William felt relief course through him, but it was quickly replaced by confusion. “Well, then, who the bloody hell…?”

“That would be you, stupid,” Buffy told him flatly. The images that his words had brought to her mind caused her to speak before she had time to be scared of her honesty, or had time to register her own admission. “Ew, now I’ve got Giles pictures,” she said, revolted.

“Wait a minute…you think I don’t want you? Have you gone barmy on me?” William just stared at her in disbelief.

“It’s what you said,” Buffy replied guilelessly.

Despite the rather wonderful turn the conversation had made, William wanted this little communication breakdown to be addressed immediately. He wanted this girl to be under no illusions about just how much he wanted her. “Buffy, pet, what are you talking about?”

“Before. You said you loved me and that it wasn’t about wanting me,” she replied with such innocence that William was momentarily floored.

Smiling down at the beautiful girl in his arms, William brought a hand up to gently caress her cheek as he explained, “What I should have said was that as much as I want you, loving you is about more than that, sweetness.”

“So you do want me?” Buffy confirmed.

“More with every passing minute,” William reassured her, his eyes darkening with desire.

Grinning impishly, her confidence restored, Buffy giggled as she told him, “You are so not getting lucky in my watcher’s home.”

William’s eyes sparkled with humour as he lifted the laughing girl onto his lap and her lips within striking distance. “Just need to make sure there are no lingering doubts, kitten,” he warned her with a smile before slowing bringing their lips together.

Buffy was left with absolutely no doubts.

“What about the poof’s flat? We could always send Spike to keep him busy.”

Chapter 29

At William’s joking comment, Buffy’s playful mood changed. She was saddened by the knowledge that she was just now realising. “The Angel I thought I knew…he never really existed, did he?”

“Nah, pet, I don’t suppose he did. But, luv, you need to remember somethin’. You were only fifteen when you met him; a bloody baby in comparison to the bastard. He played you, and when he couldn’t have you, he left. You spent three years in love with a bloke who just needed to make you feel a smidgeon of guilt to get you to forgive him anything. He manipulated you into thinking that he made greater sacrifices. You spent so much bloody time feeling guilty for having sent him to hell that you missed the most important fact about that whole bloody thing. Yes, you sent him to hell and the Powers brought him back, but, pet…they could have brought him back at any time. They left him there for five hundred years because they thought he deserved it. If the Powers thought he deserved it, why should you feel guilty?”

She smiled sadly at his rationale. Everything he was saying was true, but there were other things to feel guilty for. “William, it’s more than that. I mean, I get what you’re saying and I agree with you, but I feel guilty that I cost him his soul in the first place. If I hadn’t slept with him, none of it would have happened.”

“You didn’t cost him his soul. You broke his curse.” William was determined to make Buffy understand that none of what happened with Angelus was her fault and if they had to sit here all night talking things through, then that was what they would be doing. As far as he was concerned, Angel had hurt this girl for the last time.

“Huh?”

“It was a curse, luv. He didn’t get it because he was deserving of a blessing, he got it because he raped, sodomised, and murdered a young girl. It was meant to be a form of punishment,” William patiently explained.

“But he was doing good. He was on the road to redemption. He couldn’t have known that that would happen,” Buffy mumbled miserably.

“Buffy, he had a hundred years to find out. Angel was turned as an adult, luv. He had choices in every bloody thing he did. You can’t hold yourself responsible for his choices. All you did was follow your heart, you didn’t do anything wrong,” William begged her to believe him.

“William, my actions had consequences. I slept with Angel and he lost his soul because of it. Willow’s fish got killed and she was traumatised. Jenny was killed. Giles was kidnapped and tortured. I don’t know how many innocent people died. Angel had to spend five hundred years in hell and you…you eventually lost Drusilla because of it.” Buffy’s last few words were whispered. It was a guilt that she’d never voiced, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t feel it.

“Oh, kitten,” William sighed as he comforted the broken girl in his arms. “You know I love you, don’t you?” he asked then waited for her muffled ‘yes’ before continuing. “Good, ‘cause I want you to hear what I’m about to say with that in mind. You are barmy, pet. Stark raving bonkers. The only thing that you could possibly be considered even remotely responsible for in that whole little pity party is having sex with the poof and it’s also a responsibility that you share with him. And if anybody should take a larger portion of the blame for that one, it would have to be him. You were a bloody virgin and he was a twenty nine year old male slut when he was turned - by a bleedin’ prostitute I might add - then he shagged anything that moved for a hundred and fifty odd years before he got the soul. Personally, I think soul or not, the bastard is a sexual predator and the quicker we can get him away from your younger self, the better.” William’s voice got harder and more derisive the longer he spoke. His last sentence had been delivered with venom dripping from the words.

Buffy was stunned by the vehemence with which William spoke. She knew that he hated his grandsire, but she had no idea that his hatred ran so deep. Maybe he needed to get some things off his chest, too. Maybe this was the perfect opportunity for them to really talk things through.

“I don’t think that’s gonna be too big of a problem, Will.” Buffy gave a little laugh.

“How so, pet?” he asked. William loved the change of moniker. He only had good memories of being called Will and Buffy was adding to them.

“The other Buffy seems to have developed a definite ‘ick’ factor where it comes to Angel. It’s really strange. I can clearly remember being more upset over the actual ‘I told you so’ conversation with Xander than I was at my potential relationship with Angel being over. But, at the same time, I know that having sex with him was the start of one of the most horrible periods of my life- four months of being the plaything of a psychotic monster that wore the face of someone I loved more than anything or anyone else in the world. I don’t know whether I’m happy or sad to know I’m going to lose those memories. I mean, I know they are all of badness, but if I lose them how will I remember just how bad Angelus was? ‘Cause that’s definitely something I need to remember.” Buffy shared her concerns.

“Not really sure, pet. I’m startin’ to have a little problem with the memory thing myself,” William reluctantly admitted.

Buffy widened her eyes in shock at his revelation. Her mind whirled with possible consequences. One struck above all else and the very thought of it tore at her soul. She couldn’t let that happen. There had to be a way to make sure that never happened. William would help, he had to. She had to tell him, but the thought…the very thought of the possibility of …‘oh, God’ she thought in despair.

William grew concerned when Buffy’s heart rate increased and she started to hyperventilate. He’d never seen her this panic-stricken. Rubbing her arms as he repeated her name over and over, he tried to regain her attention. She seemed lost in some sort of waking nightmare. All he could do was continue to try and connect with her. He moved a hand to her face, gently rubbing his thumb over her cheek, all the while quietly begging her to return to him. Finally she lifted her eyes to meet his and William sighed in relief. “Was it another memory, pet?”

She nodded slowly, her eyes filled with tears. “But not a new one.”

“Buffy, please luv, what is it?” he asked, his tone was tinged with more than a little concern.

“What if you forget about loving me?” she whispered as her tears slipped from her eyes to make tracks down her face.

Smiling widely, he used his thumb to remove her tears, William easily answered her question. “Buffy, I fell in love with you the first time I saw you dancing at the Bronze. If you think that Spike is gonna be any different, you are off your bloody rocker.”

“But you wanted to kill me,” Buffy commented, mystified at where he had come up with that idea.

“It took me a while to realise it, sweetheart, but don’t you worry about it. We’ll make sure Spike realises it a lot quicker than I did.”

Buffy’s relief was palpable. “Good thing too, ‘cause I don’t really think it’s gonna take the other Buffy as long as it took me to realise that I love you.”

“What…what did you say?”

Chapter 30

“What did you say?” William repeated his question when the beautiful blond in his lap looked at him as if she had no idea what he was talking about. He silently prayed to whoever was listening that it hadn’t been his imagination, that she had actually said the words and she would repeat the magic phrase.

Buffy's inner Faith giggled with glee over the reaction from her vampire. She wondered what other reactions she could get from William. She also wondered how long she could play Barbie Buffy before he caught on. The very moment she realised his love could be taken from her, she had known just how much she loved him. His idea that they work with Spike to make him realise he was in love with the other Buffy was good, she had every intention of not only helping with that, but also giving the younger her a gentle push in the right direction. She didn’t think much of a push would be required if the dreams they were sharing were any indication. She finally understood that for her and William to have the happy ending she wanted for them, then Buffy and Spike had to get together soon.

Suddenly realising that there was a vampire waiting for a response from her, Buffy said the first thing that came to mind, “Huh?”

William could feel his frustration growing. He rolled his head around in an effort to lower his stress level. Bloody bint was gonna drive him crazy. He slowly counted to ten, having heard that it worked for other people. Not that he was a person, but it was worth a shot.

Buffy watched as William tried to calm himself. It was fairly obvious from his expression that he was desperate for her to repeat her words, but that he didn’t want to push her. She felt her heart go out to him. Maybe playing with him over this particular subject wasn’t the kindest thing she could do. Lifting a hand to caress his cheek, she was deeply moved when he nuzzled her palm just as a kitten would. The eyes that looked into hers were breathtaking in their emotional content. Love shone clearly. How was it possible that she had missed this before now? Had he always looked at her like this?

“I love you,” she whispered the words he was so desperate to hear.

William just looked at her. She had said them. She had uttered the three magical words. He was stunned. He was in shock, desperately trying to regain his footing. She had not only told him she loved him, but to all intents and purposes she looked like she meant what she had said. Nobody had been even close to saying those words since his mother. He didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. With a half sob of relief and elation, William tightened his embrace and held Buffy in a hug that would have broken a normal girl. He held on as a dying man clutches at a life raft. Buffy loved him. There was nothing the two of them couldn’t face, together.

~*~*~

“How are you coping, Spike?” Giles asked, concerned. The vampire had not really been given many choices. His body had been, for lack of a better word, hi-jacked. He seemed to be a little belligerent, but really, given his circumstances, Giles would probably be a little churlish too.

Spike eyed the watcher suspiciously, but found nothing in his features that indicated anything other than solicitude. With a heart filled sigh, Spike moved to the couch as he answered the man. “I could use a bloody drink, watcher.”

Without a word, Giles moved towards his liquor cabinet and grabbed the scotch and two glasses. Pausing, he grabbed a third glass, just in case William felt like a drink too. Making his way back to his recliner, Giles finally spoke. “William is my friend, Spike. I hope that we can also find some common ground.”

“How old is my…er…the other slayer?” Spike asked, momentarily flustered at his unconscious slip. He had never even met the bint, how was it possible that she was already affecting him this way?

“Young Buffy is sixteen,” Giles said, looking at Spike curiously.

“Then we’ve got common ground, mate.” Spike gave the watcher a hard look before continuing. “She’s too young to be in any sort of physical relationship, let alone a sadistic bastard like Angelus. We need to get her away from the poof.”

“From what this Buffy has inferred, I don’t think separating them will be at all difficult. I am concerned with the way Angel will react, however. He is unstable and obsessed and this concerns me deeply.” Giles shared his thoughts with the blond vampire that should, by all rights, have become the nemesis of his slayer.

“Maybe he can be told the truth? In controlled circumstances,” Spike suggested cautiously. He wanted to help. He wanted desperately to be a part of it. He was just so unsure of himself, his reception, and his ideas that he needed to go slowly. He had never been in the position where his opinion might matter. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that if he let these people get close and then they rejected him, he would never recover.

Giles watched the play of emotions flitter across the face of the vampire and wondered, not for the first time, how those fools at the council had ever come to the conclusion that demons were unable to truly feel emotion. The idea seemed absolutely ludicrous in the presence of this emotive specimen.

“That’s a good idea, Spike. Do you think we should discuss it with the others before the meeting tomorrow night?” Giles asked.

“It’s prolly gonna take all of us to come up with a workable plan,” Spike said in agreement. “But, from what the others were saying, we have a more immediate problem.”

“What’s that?”

“If the poof is stalking her, what’s to stop him from listening from outside the Slayer’s house during the meetin’?”

“Good lord, I hadn’t even thought of that!”

~*~*~

“You love me?”

Buffy tried to control the smile that threatened to break out at the look of absolute adoration and hope that William directed her way. She was a little overcome with a feeling of peace that seemed to have settled on her as soon as she made her admission. As she looked into his eyes, she felt her love for this very special vampire blossom and bloom. Her features softened as she stroked his face and smiled into his eyes as she asked, “How could I not?”

They shared a gentle smile as they gazing deeply into each others eyes, lost in the intimacy of the moment.

Buffy’s eyes widened as she was hit with an epiphany; a defining moment, a moment when a simple realisation was made monumental by the complete understanding of a second meaning behind a simple statement. “Death is my gift.”

“What’s that, luv?”

“It was around the time you got vamp-napped by Glory. I was afraid that I was losing my humanity. That being the Slayer was taking it from me. So I did this vision quest thingie and spoke to the First Slayer. She told me that I was full of love, and that I loved with all my soul. That was why I pulled away from love, because I was afraid to go through it all again after Angelus and not because I was losing it. She said I only risked losing my ability to love if I rejected it. Apparently love is pain, and the Slayer forges strength from pain. She said ‘Love ... give ... forgive. Risk the pain. It is your nature. Love will bring you to your gift.’. She also told me that death was my gift.”

“Well I hope there’s a refund policy on that gift, ‘cause you’re bloody well taking it back.”

Chapter 31

“See…that’s what I thought too,” Buffy told him excitedly. “But that doesn’t make sense. I was or am, whatever, supposed to ‘risk the pain for love’, but I already loved Dawnie so there was no risk in loving her. The only type of love that I was scared of was boy-girl type love. I think that’s the type of love the First Slayer was referring to. Again, not Dawnie. So, if we go with the idea that cave slayer was talking about romantic love, we can move on to the next bit. She said; ‘love will bring you to your gift’. I think she meant that by taking the risk and loving someone, I would get loved in return, by my ‘gift’.”

“And death is your gift?” William eyed the excited girl sceptically; he hadn’t reached the all important epiphany that she had.

“Yep,” she announced happily.

“And we don’t want to return your gift of death because…?” the confused vampire prompted her.

“Because I like my gift, silly.” Buffy grinned at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

William was having a really hard time deciphering the twists and turns of Buffy’s reasoning. He mentally went over everything that was said. This time he got it and with a smile he teased the grinning blonde. “Thought you loved your gift, pet?”

“I do, but I like it, too. You were right, you know. Back when you gave us the ‘love is blood’ speech. Angel and I were never friends, but you were also wrong in a way, too. I love you more than anything, but I like you too, William. I really, really like you.” Buffy smiled sweetly at her vampire.

~*~*~

“Got some spell books we can look at, watcher?” Spike asked calmly. The man in front of him was clearly shaken and the vampire took it upon himself to take charge. “I’ve got a fleeting memory of a new disinvite spell being done. If you show her a selection of spells that can stop someone from being a nosey bugger, your gypsy should be able to tell which spell won’t affect the one she’s already doing.”

“Excellent idea, Spike,” Giles said, relieved. “I have a number of tomes we can look through in the bookcase.”

~*~*~

Angel snuck into the factory as best he could. He still felt like he was on fire from the waist down, and his silk boxers chafed painfully against his wounded flesh.

He had been unable to find any comfort in his apartment. His mind refused to let go of his distrust of the watcher. Thinking about the problems that seemed to be surrounding him, Angel found himself wishing that he had access to a seer. Someone who could give a clue telling where to start. Someone like Drusilla.

He didn’t want to talk to her - that would only lead to bad things - but, if she was in one of her moods, she might unwittingly give him the information he required.

Angel let out his senses and found his favorite childe. Making his way as quietly as he could towards her location, he was pleased when she started speaking loudly enough for him to hear.

“Naughty children, traipsing around the stars and mucking about, making all the players turn and twist unsure of their lines,” Drusilla said, whimpering. “Daddy isn't daddy and the sweet, brave knight hides in the sun and mummy can't reach him. Her. All for her, now she has them all. There’s no room for me, no room at all. She has them both - the present and the future. Such a greedy, greedy girl. Doesn’t play fair. Doesn’t share. Daddy will be so cross when he sees the sunshine doesn’t belong to him anymore. Daddy doesn’t like to share either, you know.” She turned her head to the doll at her side.

“Dust. Dust. All that's left is dust. No, Miss Edith, it can't be fixed this time. The stars have changed...realigned. The gods wish it so.” Drusilla dropped her head back to the pillow, tired out from the small exertion. “You should be more careful who you listen to, Daddy. That's how you got in trouble in the first place. Listening to grandmum instead of your dark princess. I warned you.”

Angel eased back for the bedroom door, his mind reeling. She had given him a lot to decipher until that last little bit, but there was no way he was staying around to listen to a round of ‘I told you so’ from his insane childe. Dru might have warned him that the damn gypsies would seek revenge if he hurt their favorite daughter, but the little bitch had laughed at him when he had dropped his pants and nobody laughed at Angelus’ cock and got away with it.

Drusilla smiled as she felt her very bad daddy leave the factory and turned to her silent companion. “Remember, Miss Edith, listening at doors only leads to wickedness. Truth and lies all intertwine and no one knows which witch is which,” she cackled madly.

~*~*~

“Jenny.” Giles smiled at the beautiful computer teacher. Making sure that they couldn’t be overheard, Giles told her of the complication that Spike had pointed out to him the night before. “Spike suggested that I show you these five spells we found. He thought that if you had a selection you might be able to find one that didn’t interfere with your disinvite spell.”

“Well I’m glad somebody’s on the ball. It would have been a disaster if Angel found out before we were ready to tell him,” Jenny commented as she flicked through the spells. She pointed to one. “This one will work.”

Giles smiled eagerly, happy to note that the spell she’d picked was one of the ones he had chosen.

After making their final arrangements for the meeting at the Summers home, Jenny walked out of the library and Ripper enjoyed the show.

~*~*~

Buffy walked through the door just ahead of Willow and Xander. Glancing to the right, she noted that the dining room table had been set up as a buffet. Nodding her head in the direction of the table, she shared a giggle with Willow when the redhead noticed the vegetable sticks and assorted dips.

Moving to the left, the trio entered the living room and greeted Buffy’s mother and sister. Making themselves comfortable on the couch, the trio of teens turned their attention to the watcher

“We asked you to meet with us here for a number of reasons, but before I get into those reasons, I have a guest that I would like you to meet,” Giles told them. Turning towards the kitchen door, he waited for Wolfie to make his entrance. The shocked look on the faces of the teens made his lips twitch in amusement.

“This is Garrett Wolf. He is a representative for the Powers That Be for Good. We have recently learned that the Powers are made up of three different groups, those that act for good, for evil, and for balance. Mr. Wolf - or Wolfie as he prefers - is able to directly converse with the Powers for Good and has a particular gift for seeing things clearly. For example; your slayer dreams, Buffy. Mr Wolf can decipher them.” Pausing to check that the giant was ready for his show and tell part of the evenings activities, Giles continued after Wolfie gave him a nod. “Mr. Wolf is a Sasquatch.”

“Get outta here!” Buffy excitedly exclaimed.

In response Wolfie morphed into his original form for a few moments before morphing back.

“Great merciful Zeus!” Xander exclaimed, leaping to his feet. “He’s a Wookie!”

“Xander, sit down,” Giles ordered the exuberant youth, exasperated. “There is more.”

Giles waited until Xander was once again seated before continuing. “A little less than a week ago, I was asked for help by two highly unexpected visitors. I have not mentioned this to you because, as you will soon see, it is a situation that could cause some major problems.”

“Stop with the cryptic, Giles,” the young Slayer demanded.

“We decided to bring each of you into this for very different reasons. Willow was asked because of her exceptional intellect, Buffy because it can affect her directly, and Xander because…well, according to the Powers, Xander is our resident expert,” Giles concluded.

“I’m an expert?” Xander looked stunned and very confused.

“Yes, expert. You with the freaky knowledge of sci-fi and things no one else has outside of a Star Trek convention. You're the only one of us with the entire collection of Star Trek commemorative plates,” the senior Slayer quipped as she entered the room from the kitchen.

“It's no wonder it took you forever to get laid, Harris,” William snarked as he followed his girl. Taking up his position directly behind her, he pulled the unresisting girl back against his chest and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“That’s him! That’s the guy!” the younger Buffy hissed excitedly to Willow. Turning to face the object of her recent desires, Buffy pouted prettily as she told him shyly, “I’ve been dreaming about you.”

William couldn’t help but smile at her.

“Smile at your own bird, Tinkerbell. That one’s mine,” Spike snarled from the kitchen doorway.

Chapter 32

At Spike’s comment, pandemonium broke out.

“Whoa…twins?” Xander hesitantly offered, looking at Giles for guidance.

“Lucky Buffy!” Willow whispered to the young girl next to her.

“I’m WHOSE?!” Buffy spluttered indignantly.

“Tinkerbell!” Dawn collapsed in hysterical giggles.

“Bit,” William growled in warning before turning to his younger self. “Look what you’ve bloody well started, you git.”

“Is it my fault the girl finds that funny?” Spike snarked back, his expression innocent.

“ENOUGH!” the young slayer shouted as she brought her fist down on the coffee table turning it into kindling. “Ooops.”

“Mum, don’t worry about the table. Harris is bloody brilliant with carpentry. He’ll make you a new one.” William hurried to head off any more distractions.

Xander jumped in, positively glowing at the unexpected praise. “No problem, Mrs Summers. I’ll make it stronger too. Just in case it has to face any other slayer related situations.”

Joyce gratefully accepted his generous offer before turning back to young Buffy. “What were you going to say before the table so rudely interrupted you, dear?”

The younger Buffy gawked at her mother. Mom has a sense of humour? Who knew?

“She wants to know what’s going on, that is, until she was distracted by Mom the Comedian,” Buffy senior joked as she answered the question directed at her younger self.

“Can we start with the Wookie?” Xander asked, sending suspicious glances towards the giant redhead.

“Can do, Scoobie doo,” Wolfie quipped.

“Hey! I’m nothing like Scoobie. I’m more Fred,” Xander argued.

“You eat all the time and you scream like a girl, Harris. Sounds like Scoobie to me.” William snarked.

“He's not wrong, Xan.” Willow snickered at her friend.

Willow giggled, Xander pouted, and Buffy was distracted by the twin pools of blue that she kept getting lost in.

Senior Buffy made the executive decision to take the momentary silence as the perfect opportunity to grab control. “Xander wanted Wolfie explained,” she said as she turned to Giles, encouraging him to continue. “You might as well tell them the whole story.”

Taking a deep breath, Giles ensured everyone was comfortable before he began. He explained the presence of William and the older Buffy, Dawn and her Keyness, the monk, and Wulfie. He told the younger blond about the slayer abilities that they hadn’t been aware of. When he got to the part of the story that involved the ritual, Xander interrupted him.

“Wait a minute.” The young brunette stood, horrified and pointed at the two blond vampires as he pulled out a large cross from inside his jacket and brandished it wildly. “Are you telling me that they are vampires?”

William walked calmly over to the protesting youth, wrapped his pale hand around the religious icon and handed it to Spike as he placed his other hand on Xander’s shoulder and physically encouraged him to retake his seat.

As William silently returned to his place next to his Buffy, Spike gallantly bowed to the other slayer and offered her the youth’s cross. Young Buffy giggled in response.

Giles removed his glasses and cleaned them before continuing. “Pay attention Xander. There are things you may yet learn.”

Giving the sulking youth a stern glance, Giles continued. The watcher explained the ritual and all that it had involved, including the results. Turning to Wolfie, Giles paused in his tale to ask the question he had been presented with the night before. “Perhaps you could tell us why Spike has also been affected by the ritual. He now has a reflection and apparently no problems with holy relics?”

“When William performed the ritual and Gaia expelled Spike from his body, Spike had already made his decision to work for Good. Gaia accepted this and rewarded his decision. The reflection was given back to him, so he could learn to face himself. He will be harder on himself than any of us can be. It is the corruption of evil that makes holy water and other relics react adversely to vampires, by whole-heartedly embracing Good, Spike will no longer be rejected. If he too chooses to go through the ritual, he will then be allowed in sunlight, his body will warm, his need for blood will reduce to a few mouthfuls that will be taken care of if he and the slayer mate; he will have a heartbeat and his demon a soul,” Wolfie elaborated on what he had already told the first group.

“William doesn’t have a heartbeat,” elder Buffy stated.

“His body is still adjusting to the changes. It will come,” The giant assured her.

“What do you mean by mate?” Willow asked curiously.

“If the young slayer and Spike fall in love, they can be mated. A mating is a serious and eternal commitment. It’s a marriage without the possibility of divorce – which is why it is so serious,” Wolfie explained.

Xander sat in stunned silence. When he spoke, it was without thinking, “No! Buffy is not going to get into yet another freaky relationship. It’s bad enough that we have to put up with dead boy. I’m not putting up with another dead guy that can’t make up his mind which side he is on.”

“Xander, we apparently need your ‘expertise’ to get us out of this mess, but if you think you have the right to tell me – at any age – who I can and can’t go out with, think again. If you’re still under the delusion that I would date you, get over it. I wouldn’t have dated you before the hyena incident, there is NO WAY I would date you after it.” This wasn’t her Xander, so Buffy had no trouble putting the mouthy brunette in his place.

“Hyena incident?” William questioned suspiciously.

“Mr. Harris, I think you and I need to have a little talk - Powers representative to Powers representative.” Without giving the boy a chance to say yes or no, Wolfie led the embarrassed teen into the kitchen.

~*~*~

“Your destiny lays elsewhere. You’re going to be blessed with a wonderful woman that adores you and a job that you love. You get to play the hero many times by saving your friends from getting blown to bits. How satisfied would you be if you were the one being saved all the time; to be the weaker of the couple? It's hard for even the most secure man to pull off,” Wolfie earnestly told the unhappy youth, then watched as the boy puffed up with pride at being called a man.

“But you need to understand the importance of what is happening now. Buffy and William, or Buffy and Spike, are meant to be together, because he will ensure that she lives to see her twenty- fifth birthday.” Wolfie tried desperately to get Xander to see the bigger picture.

“What happens when she turns twenty-five?” Xander asked fearfully.

“At that age, the slayer will be offered a gift from the Powers. She knows nothing of this, and we can’t let her know about it, either. She has to make the choice on her own, just as you must decide if you will help them.” Wolfie pleaded with the youth to hear him. “If you don’t, the future I have just told you about may not come to pass.”

“What’s her name?” Xander whispered.

“Anya,” Wolfie replied just as quietly.

~*~*~

“Right. So, what else do we need to know, G-Man?” Xander questioned easily as he returned to the living room. Denial was always a pleasant place to visit. Teasing the librarian was always a fun thing to do.

“Xander, if you call me by that infernal name one more time, I'll let the ‘Wookie’ eat you,” Ripper smugly warned the playful boy.

Xander gave the chuckling sasquatch a sideways glance, saying, “He doesn’t know you’re a vegetarian, right?”

“You’d better hope so, whelp, or the librarian just made a comment that questioned the sexual orientation of both of you.” William grinned in amusement.

Giles shrugged, unconcerned which way they took his comment. He knew what the next subject up for discussion was. He let them laugh while they still could.

Young Buffy stood. She looked directly at her older counterpart and snarled, “You and I are going to talk. Privately. And we’re going to do it now.”

Chapter 33

Young Buffy stomped into her room. She was not a happy little camper. Everything she thought she knew had just been turned on its head. Demons could be good. Demons could choose to change sides. Demons could be super hot and could go through rituals that changed them, and did that make them demons still?

Her life had been basically stolen from her by some all powerful beings and it looked like it was going to get even freakier than it was. She already felt like she had no control over her life, what had she ever done to the Powers to make them want to punish her like this? She just wanted to be a normal girl.

Older Buffy felt the now familiar wave of new memories sweep through her. All of the fears, concerns, and self-centeredness of the younger version hit her like a tidal wave. With the same impact came the realisation that somewhere along the way she had grown up. Maybe she could make the transition easier for the young slayer and by that make it less painful for herself.

“Stop,” Buffy firmly told her younger self. “I’m getting all your thoughts as soon as you think them. I need for you to listen to me for a while, okay?”

The girl pouted in displeasure, but seated herself on the bed anyway, grumbling as she did so. “Fine. But we seriously have to do something about the two Buffys name-y thing, ‘cause it’s gonna get uber confusing.”

“Fine. Call me…Joan.” Joan lifted an eyebrow, silently daring her to comment. When the only response she got was a small giggle, she continued. “You put so much importance on normal that it’s taken on a whole new meaning, and it’s screwed up my life because of it. The truth is that what you really want is to be able to go out when you want without the burden of responsibility. You don’t want to grow up. To you, normal means being a teenager and living a fun life without any worries butting in on Buffy playtime. Do you have any idea how shallow that makes you? Do you want to go back to being a Cordelia clone?”

At the look of indignation on Buffy’s face, Joan rushed to clarify her point. “That’s not normal. Normal means being responsible. Normal means dropping out of college when your mom dies and getting some sort of menial job at minimum wage to make sure your younger sister is taken care of. Normal is paying bills and hoping there is enough left over for food. Normal is pretending to be happy so that your friends don’t worry.” As Joan said the words to Buffy, she felt the last vestiges of her delusions about normal fade away.

She made her way over to the white-faced girl and knelt by her side. Taking hold of both of Buffy’s hands, Joan made her offer. “Why settle for normal? If you let me help, maybe we can both get something that is so much more.”

~*~*~

“The little slayer’s a feisty one, ain’t she?” Spike mused as he watched the retreating forms of the two girls. He had been captivated by the fire that he’d seen in the eyes of the young blond.

“You have no idea, mate,” William told him enigmatically.

“Um…can I ask a question?” Willow requested meekly, but clearly directing her inquiry to the more mature vampire.

Cocking his head slightly to the side, William looked at the young redhead curiously. Giving her a smile of encouragement, he gently urged her on. “Go for it, Red.”

“How come you’re not all growlly and scary? I mean, not that you couldn’t be, ‘cause I’m sure you could be…if you wanted to. It’s just that you’re not and you’re a vampire and um, well, shouldn’t you be?” Willow babbled nervously.

Spike chuckled at the young redhead. ‘Now this one could be bloody amusing’ he thought to himself.

William smiled as he received Spike’s thoughts. He did love it when Red got all flustered. “The growling and the trying to scare someone is all part of the bloodlust, pet. Spike and I have better control over that than the fledges you lot come in contact with. Truth be told, I’d probably still get that way if someone threatened one of you. I have a tendency to be a bit protective.”

“A bit?!” Dawn snorted indignantly, “You threatened to eat Bobby Miller if he so much as looked at me again!”

“He was trying to look down your top!” William retorted angrily. He was still brassed that the chip had stopped him from doing any real damage to the wanker. Little bastard was definitely lucky that day.

“I was wearing a sleeveless turtleneck shirt, you dweeb!” Dawn fired back. She was still pissed that the vampire had spoiled a perfectly sweet moment with a boy that she had been fixated on all summer.

“Yeah, well, he was still looking at things he shouldn’t be lookin’ at,” William muttered unrepentantly.

“Stupid vampire,” Dawn muttered in reply.

“Anyway, it’s not like the whelp wouldn’t have reacted in the exact same way if he’d seen it,” William really wasn’t about to admit to defeat at the hands of a cranky teenager.

“He wouldn’t have threatened to eat him!” Dawn snapped at the vampire, her hands on her hips and clearly in no mood to back down either.

“Who is Bobby Miller?” Joyce asked, amused at the blustering duo.

“Someone who is far too young for our Niblet to even consider dating now,” William replied smugly.

“Stupid time travel,” the sulking teen grumbled.

~*~*~

It was a subdued Buffy that returned to the living room with her older counter-part. She silently made her way back to her seat, not daring to look at anyone as she moved.

The older slayer watched her go. When the young girl was once again seated, she made her way to the side of her vampire. “I’ve decided to go with a name change also, to hold down the confusion factor. You can all call me Joan,” she announced.

William grinned as he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “You want me to start calling myself Randy, luv?”

“Not if you ever want to feel that way again,” Joan snarked back just as quietly.

The rest of the room’s occupants were left to wonder about the look of amused shock on the vampire’s face.

“Private joke,” Joan mumbled before turning to Giles. “It might be best if you got it over with, Giles.” She knew that the watcher was not looking forward to telling the younger scoobies about Angel, but it had to be done.

“Er, yes, well…” Giles removed his glasses and cleaned them nervously, his mind trying to formulate the best way of explaining the situation. “I have avoided one particular individual’s place in the events of the last week because, quite frankly I have been at a loss to know what to say.”

“Angel,” Buffy said flatly. Images of the cursed vampire and how he had appeared to her during the Clear Sight spell came rushing back. Both slayers were assaulted by the memory that neither of them wanted to ever have to face again.

Chapter 34

Giles started hesitantly. He told them all about Angel’s curse, and then he explained to Buffy what it was that she had seen.

Jenny explained her part in the curse and the real reason they had done the spell of Clear Sight. She also explained about the new disinvite spell that she had done.

Buffy almost wept in relief.

Wolfie told the group about the Powers That Be and which of the factions that Whistler worked for. He also explained why Angel had never been considered an option by the Powers for Good.

Giles took up the tale again and informed them what purpose Angel was given for his involvement in all their lives. Buffy’s in particular.

The growl that came from the direction of the fireplace started low and escalated as Angel’s perfidy became obvious.

Spike was in trouble.

He tried desperately to hold on to his self-control, but his demon was enraged beyond comprehension. The thought that this child had been sacrificed because his supposedly soul having grandsire didn’t have the balls to take out old Batface was enough to have both his demon and his humanity up in arms. His eyes flashed between gold and blue. Gold eyes locked onto the neck of the golden goddess seated on the couch. His inner demon screamed ‘MINE’ as his growl reverberated through the room.

William acted on instinct, reaching his younger self in seconds. He grabbed his younger self, wincing as the back of his t-shirt shredded under the pressure of his emerging wings. Dragging the shaking vampire into his embrace, William held on to him with both arms and wings.

Buffy, Willow and Xander stood in awe as they saw the pure vampire’s wings for the first time. Each wing stood as tall as the vampire who wore them. They were thickly feathered and a colour so pure and snowy pale that it just seemed wrong to call them white. They sparkled with an iridescent light, each feather shimmering with a luminous glow that left those that were watching him struck mute at their beauty. They looked exactly as Buffy had always imagined an angel’s wings should, but they were much more flexible, curling and undulating gently as they closed protectively around the irate vampire.

The emotions that emanated from the pure vampire were peaceful and calming. A low-pitched hum that sounded suspiciously like a purr was echoed by the soft growls of the younger distressed vampire.

“So what’s with the grr-fest?” Xander asked with the innocence of an oblivious child.

“Spike’s just a bit brassed at the poof, give us a minute and we’ll have it sorted,” William calmly informed the anxious group.

His calm demeanour didn’t hold however. “Bollocks!” he spat angrily. “Slayer, need a hand, pet,”

Joan’s head shot up. “Crap!” She rushed to Williams’s side and helped him coax the feral vampire towards the basement. Turning her head to lock eyes with her younger self, Joan ground out her order, “Deal with him.”

~*~*~

He knew there were people in the house, but he couldn’t hear or smell anything. His senses didn’t seem to penetrate the building for some reason. Angel looked around in confusion. He could smell the residual scents of a couple of strangers, Buffy, her family, her friends, the watcher, and one more that seemed vaguely familiar, but it was one he couldn’t quite place. If there were that many people in there, why couldn’t he hear them?

Moving towards ‘the tree’, Angel stopped. The chafing from his pants had him mindful of the last time he had visited. Maybe the front door would be the best option this time. It was time to get some answers. Changing directions the brunette vampire headed towards the front door.

Angel was surprised when the door opened before he even had the chance to knock. His beautiful, glorious Buffy stood framed to perfection, the backlighting from the living room giving her an ethereal glow. Her perfection was not at all marred by the masculine clothes that she wore. He really would have to talk to her about her wardrobe choices.

“Buffy,” he breathed out her name huskily.

“Baby cream might help you with that chafing, Angel,” she deadpanned. She was seriously pissed at everything this vampire had forced her to go through. She wasn’t about to get into it with him now. She had a feral vampire that needed her and there was no way she was going to stand here wasting time with the creepy vampire when she could be downstairs keeping the crusty version of herself away from the really yummy stud muffin that was damage-bound in her basement. “What are you doing here, Angel?”

“You said that there was no meeting in the library this evening,” he replied quietly, his voice laced with accusation. Big brown eyes stared sadly at the slayer, clearly sending the message that Angel was very disappointed in the small blond.

Rolling her eyes in irritation that she had no problem in sharing with the brooding vampire, Buffy sarcastically made her observation. “You do know that this isn’t the library, right?”

He wondered briefly if she was deliberately trying to annoy him. “I know that, Buffy. You forgot to tell me that the meeting would be held here instead.”

“No I didn’t,” Buffy said, looking at him as if he was crazy.

“Yes you did, Buffy. You didn’t tell me about this meeting. The only reason I even know about it is because I came by to see if you were patrolling,” he told her earnestly.

“I didn’t forget to tell you about this meeting, Angel, because you were never invited to it in the first place,” Buffy impatiently corrected him. “I have to go, I’ll let you know if we need you for anything,” she told the flummoxed vampire as she closed the door in his face.

Angel stood there in shock. What the hell did she mean he hadn’t been invited to the meeting? He was the Champion for the Powers. He should be running the damn meeting, not standing on the outside looking in. Not being told that he’d be contacted if he was needed. He was Angel, the only ensouled vampire in the world. There was no way he was putting up with this. The little lady apparently needed to learn a lesson as to who was the one in charge and he was just the vampire to teach her. Curling his hand in a fist, he pounded on the front door.

Dawn threw the door open. “Rude much?” she glared at the furious vampire. Dawn had dealt with the mood swings of a grieving vampire; Angel didn’t worry her in the least. “Buffy told you we were busy. Is English your second language?”

“I want to talk to Buffy,” Angel demanded as he went to push past the smirking teenager.

The barrier held firm and kept him out, though. Angel was stunned. They had done a disinvite spell? When had this happened? “Buffy will just invite me in again.”

“And I’ll have you charged with stalking,” Joyce calmly announced as she joined her youngest at the door. Giving the vampire a hard look, Joyce made her position clear. “You are not welcome in my home or on my property. If you return here, I will have no option but to protect my children. I’m told that fire works just as well as stakes.”

“Joyce, I was chosen to protect Buffy by the Powers That Be,” Angel tried to explain to the insane woman.

“My daughter died, which means you failed. You don’t honestly think that you would ever be trusted to protect her again, do you?” Joyce asked in disbelief.

Angel didn’t know what to tell her. He needed some time to come up with the right response. He needed some time to think, to pace and to work out what the hell was going on here.

He left without a word.

~*~*~

Buffy carefully walked down the stairs to the basement. The closer she got the quieter the growling sounded. As soon as her feet touched the basement floor her eyes sought out Spike. His growling was now at a minimum, but the Slayer could still see he was clearly agitated. She walked slowly across the floor; totally ignoring the other two until she was standing in front of the vampire she felt in her soul was hers. Raising a careful hand, worried that any sudden movements might upset him, she laid her hand on his bumpy forehead, caressing his face while humming a soothing tune.

William stepped back from the oblivious couple. Reaching for Joan’s hand he pulled her to him, never taking his eyes off the bizarre vision of young Buffy soothing the beast within Spike.

Chapter 35

Buffy kept humming and stroking his forehead as his eyes flickered between gold and blue. Slowly, his shaking subsided and he began to purr. Her gentle ministrations brought him a sense of peace. Calming him. As he focused on the compassionate blond beauty that showed him no fear, the demon lost his heart and his bravado.

Lifting suddenly shy blue eyes to meet sparkling hazel ones, Spike whispered his thanks as he lifted his hand to gently brush his knuckles over her cheek.

“Better?” Joan asked hesitantly, still wrapped in the safe arms of her own love.

“Am now,” Spike answered her, his eyes never leaving Buffy’s. He felt overwhelmed by emotions that were so strong that he could have sworn they were tangible. She was so generous in her caring that he felt blessed to be in her presence. He had never felt like this before. All other loves paled in comparison to the tiny slip of a girl that he knew without a doubt he would gladly dust for. He would do anything it took to be worthy of her. He would earn her love. Then he would worship her body and teach her the true meaning of pleasure. His imagination showed him images as his body reacted to her closeness.

“Sixteen, mate,” William gently reminded his younger self in amusement, knowing without a doubt that anything worth having was worth both waiting and fighting for.

“Bugger!”

~*~*~

“Have you told me everything about the time travel and changes to the time line?” Xander asked once the basement group had returned and the topic had been decided on.

Giles looked at his notes. “Ah, yes. I was to tell you that ‘time is not linear’.”

“Oh, man. Not good,” Xander muttered with concern. His mind jumped from one scenario to the next. Each different scene giving him more problems that the last. He was starting to feel the pressure of being chosen for this. Self doubt crept in. This was so important and he was terrified that he would fail.

Standing abruptly, the agitated boy began to pace, desperately trying to come up with something to help.

“Xan,” Joan tried to capture his attention. “Calm down. You can do this. Just talk to us.”

“No offence, Buff…um Joan, but it’s geek speak. Not so mix-y with Buffy speak.” He gave the older slayer a lopsided smile.

“Okay, then how about this. How can they both exist in the same time? Don’t you like dissolve or something?” Dawn barrelled in with the question that had plagued her. She was terrified that both versions of her sister and her best friend were going to disintegrate in front of her.

Xander looked at her blankly for a few seconds, trying to work out what she was asking. When he made the connection, he clarified first. “You mean the saying ‘the same matter can't occupy the same space’?”

Dawn nodded, afraid to speak.

“They’re not the same,” Xander calmly informed the frightened girl. At her shocked expression, Xander continued. “Willow could probably explain it better, but basically every cell in your body is replaced every couple of years. That Buffy,” he pointed at Joan, “is completely different from our Buffy. She’s also heaps older, so there is no way that they could be considered the same matter. And Spike is totally different from the fancy fairy…”

“Oi!” William exclaimed indignantly.

“Oh, I like you,” Spike told Xander with a grin.

“Be happy that he didn’t call you an angel, dear. Then we’d have to stake you on principle,” Joyce playfully teased the pure vampire.

“I have an idea,” Xander tentatively offered. The joking was fine, but he needed to take some of the pressure off himself. “I can’t do this off the top of my head. I need to discuss it with someone else who understands. That way we can sort it out together. If I invited a couple of guys I know to a meeting in the library and gave them this scenario as a solvable problem, between the three of us we should be able to come up with something. Is that okay?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Joan smiled at the boy.

~*~*~

Walking home with William and Spike gave Joan the chance to replay the sweet scene she had just witnessed and remembered, giving her the odd sensation of being the young girl it happened to and being the older girl that watched it happen. She could see it from two very different perspectives. She could be both Buffys. While young Buffy watched a very shy vampire and thought ‘what a cutie’, older Buffy would think ‘he would be so pissed if he knew I called him a cutie’. It was truly a weird experience.

Joan could easily see that while Spike had fallen for Buffy hook, line, and sinker; Buffy was far more cautious with her heart. She had seen the looks the two had been giving each other throughout the meeting, but it was Spike’s whispered ‘good night’ as he leaned slowly in to kiss the blond teenager on the cheek that had Joan’s heart racing in synchronistic beat to Buffy’s.

Damn, he was hot.

~*~*~

After saying goodnight to Joan- well actually he’d snogged the breath out of his slayer- William made his way purposefully back to the watcher’s living room. It was time to teach the younger model a thing or two.

With a nod at Giles, William took his position next to Spike as the watcher stepped to the other side of the younger vampire. Unexpectedly, they grabbed the startled blond firmly under the arms and lifted him. Ignoring his protests, they carried Spike to the couch and dumped him unceremoniously before joining him.

“Spike, m’boy, we need a bit of a chat,” William stated firmly, his voice without rancour.

“Huh?” the confused blond responded inelegantly.

“Angel will be at the meeting at the school tomorrow, Spike. We need to ensure that you remain in control,” Giles gently told him.

William smirked. “Yeah, let the pillock dig his own grave.”

“You must not show aggression, Angel will do that,” Giles counselled. His animosity towards the brunette vampire had grown to such an extent that sanity be damned, he wanted the supercilious egomaniac to pay for his arrogance.

“The last thing we want is for either Buffy to feel sorry for him. Dozy bint’s got a saviour complex.” William acknowledged begrudgingly.

“I’ll control myself,” Spike promised resolutely. His confidence all but disappeared with his next question, “What about Buffy, how do I make sure I don’t bollocks that up?”

William shook his head sadly at a memory from his past. “Never ever tell her that her boobs are too saggy to hold a guys attention. It doesn't work. Just gets her mad.”

Spike widened his eyes in disbelief and Giles looked at the pure vampire in horror.

“Oh, and don’t use chains to get your point across. That really brasses her off.” William was lost in his memories, oblivious to the looks he was receiving. He continued making observations while he moved a finger to each digit of his other hand. “Don’t call her cutie. That one gets you a broken nose.”

“What can I call her?” Spike sarcastically asked his clueless look-alike.

“When I figure it out, I'll let you know,” William muttered miserably before continuing. “Might be best to stick to Slayer or Buffy. Kitten. She likes kitten. Well, I think she likes it; she hasn't hurt me when I've called her that. Oh, yeah! Let her do her own slaying. Getting in her way gets your nose broken. Don’t ever have a robot made in her image. That one will make you wish you could get your nose broken.”

“Is there anything that doesn't get your nose broken?” Spike asked, fascinated. He didn’t know if he should be brassed off or just really turned on by the imagery the other vampire’s words were inspiring.

“Protecting the Bit and Mum's about it.” William chuckled indulgently. God he loved that woman.

“And protecting her?”

“Oh, no! No, mate. That goes under letting her do her own slaying.”

“Let me guess. Broken nose?”

“Bloody right,” William sighed heavily.

Spike grinned at William. “What about snogging?”

“Depends on her mood,” William informed the younger vampire sagely. “Let her do the snogging. You're just the willing slave, mate. Get used to it.”

Giles gasped like a landed fish. “Buffy isn't like that at all.”

“Your Buffy isn't like that, Watcher. She's only sixteen. My Buffy's a full grown woman,” William countered.

“I am aware of that, William, but you need to remember that it is sixteen year old Buffy that Spike wants to impress.” Giles wondered briefly why he was participating in this incredibly bizarre conversation.

William gave the watcher a hard look. “If Spike's lucky, and he treats her right, both Buffys will be better for it, watcher. My slayer’s quit the council, been abandoned by not just one but three men that she cared for, found her mother dead on the couch, and has died twice. That doesn't cover the things that the rest of you lot have done to her over the years.”

“What do you mean, William?” Giles felt compelled to ask.

“I spent the summer taking care of the Niblet, Giles. She told me lots of things. The monks were very thorough with their memories for Dawn,” William informed the curious watcher. “Hyena possession and the way you lot treated Buffy when she came back from her Dad’s, to name just a few. We can’t change those things, but I’ll be twice damned if I let Spike’s Buffy go through some of the other things that my Buffy did. Not gonna happen, Watcher.”

Chapter 36

Giles waited with gleeful anticipation. He had left a note under the brunette vampire’s door, informing him of a meeting at the library at eight o’clock. The rest of the group would be present and accounted for by seven. That would give them plenty of time to ready themselves for the confrontation with the self proclaimed champion to the Powers.

He couldn’t wait.

Buffy, Willow, and Xander were the first to arrive, and Dawn followed them in moments later. Each of them was quickly sucked into their own musings about the evening to come.

Willow had tried all day to get Xander to tell her what the giant Bigfoot man had said to him. His whole attitude about Buffy had changed, and she wondered what could make her stubborn friend make such a swift about face. Maybe she’d find out tonight when the weird stalker vampire would find out that he wasn’t the Cordelia Chase of the demon world.

Xander couldn’t wait for the meeting. He didn’t know him well, but Spike seemed like the type of vamp who would get great pleasure out of mocking Mr. I’m-so-sorry-for-myself, a job that Xander himself had developed a great fondness for. Actually the older blonde vampire, William, seemed like he had more than a little anger directed at the brooding one, too. Maybe they could take turns mocking the vampire with the apparently shaky soul.

Dawn was beside herself with joy. Things were looking so good. Here she was, sitting with the scoobies, waiting for a scooby meeting. In short, being treated like an equal. It was so cool. And if that wasn’t enough, at least one set of her best friend and sister were together and set number two looked like it was definitely moving in that direction. To round things off perfectly, like a cherry on a sundae, the giant forehead was about to find out that he was responsible for almost every bad thing that ever happened to Buffy. Personally, she hoped either Spike or William ripped him a new one.

Buffy felt guilty. Not guilty enough to give up the new totally drool-worthy potential boyfriend, but guilty enough not to want to hurt Angel anymore than he was going to be hurt.

She couldn’t get over the fact that her mother adored the two versions of her blonde hottie. Her mother hated Angel. The Summers matriarch had even told her to ‘go for it’ with Spike. Were moms supposed to like totally approve of their teenage daughters boyfriend choices?

Jenny arrived next and Joyce entered the library a little before seven. Joan, William, Spike, and Wolfie arrived not long after.

A petite female followed the lumbering giant into the room. Cascading curls of red tumbled down her back. Golden flecks sparkled as the lights hit them. A straight part and the front side bits tied back with what looked like ivy allowed the occupants of the room to see her peaked ears. Large, emerald green eyes sparkled and an enchanting smile hinted at a playful nature.

“My wife, Llwethyn,” Wolfie introduced her.

Llwethyn smiled at the group in greeting. “I’m not here to interrupt your meeting. I would prefer to sit by the door and just wait for my husband.” Her voice was musical. It hinted at harmonic nuances that promised a breathtaking cantata. If she sang for them, none would have been surprised to hear her voice produce both melody and harmony at the same time.

As the redheaded elf made herself comfortable in the chair Giles had provided, Buffy made her way over to Joan and the two blonde vampires.

Spike’s striking blue eyes followed her every move. He wanted to hold her, assure himself that she wasn’t some figment of his imagination. He wanted to bask in the purity of her scent. Taste her as they shared their first kiss. He could imagine her lips even now, soft and warm as they lightly caressed his lips…‘hold on. When the bloody hell did I get so good at imagining things?’ Spike thought as he realised that his Buffy was kissing him hello and he needed to be participating.

William snorted his laughter as he received Spikes memories and suddenly remembered what he had been thinking the first time Buffy kissed him. The absolute ridiculousness of the situation had him roaring his mirth. Of all the bloody poncy things to do, he’d been so busy imagining their first kiss that he’d almost missed the real thing.

Spike snaked his hands around the petite waist of the beautiful blonde. As their lips parted they looked deep into each other’s eyes and smiled.

The sound of William’s merriment slowly broke into the little world that Spike and Buffy were creating.

“What the bleedin’ hell is so funny?” Spike asked, irritated that his moment with the little slayer had been interrupted.

William wiped the tears from his eyes as he struggled to regain control of is humour. Preparing to tell the younger version of himself exactly what it was that had him crying from laughter, William suddenly stiffened as he felt a malevolent force heading in their direction.

Spike felt it a split second before Joan and moved protectively in front of Buffy as he faced the library doors.

Giles immediately reacted to the fighting stances of the warriors for the Powers of Good and moved to join them. They would stand united as they faced the coming threat.

When the double doors to the library slammed open, Wolfie moved with superhuman speed to stop one of the doors from hitting his wife.

Joan rolled her eyes and slapped William lightly on the chest. “Sheesh, way to overreact, bleach boy. I thought we had something to worry about.” She turned her back on the confused brunette vampire and made her way to the table.

“Try using those vamp senses before you come barging into a room next time, Angel. You might have hurt Llwethyn,” Buffy gently rebuked him.

“Ah, yes, Angel. Nice of you to turn up forty five minutes early,” Giles stated sarcastically.

Angel glanced around the room, taking in all the occupants. He couldn’t work out what was going on. There seemed to be two Buffy’s, a giant, an elf and…

“Spike,” Angel growled as he prepared to launch himself at the evil that these fools had unknowingly allowed into their midst. His leap was forestalled when the blonde vampire snorted at him dismissively and took a seat at the table, where he was joined by a second Spike and one of the Buffy’s.

“Spike, buddy, I saved you a seat,” Xander told the younger vampire while he furtively watched the brunette, hoping for a reaction. Angel’s expression took on the appearance of a fish out of water and Xander knew joy.

“What the hell is going on here?” Angel demanded.

“We invited you to this meeting to inform you of two different matters and to ask your opinion on a third,” Giles replied. He pulled a chair out and left it facing the table but not close to it. “Please, take a seat.”

Returning to his own seat, Giles waited for everyone to settle before he started.

Angel glared at the blonde vampire. He didn’t know what was going on or who these new people were, but he was going to find out. For now, he would just listen and watch. When the opportunity presented itself, he had every intention ridding the world of two blonde vampires.

“Alright…” Giles broke off what he was going to say when Angel interrupted.

“Why don’t you start with Spike,” the brunette vampire ordered.

“Because that particular situation is none of your concern, Angel. However, the curse is,” Giles replied coldly.

“My curse is not up for discussion, Giles. I’m a representative from the Powers That Be. It isn’t your place to question me,” Angel countered just as coldly as Giles but far more pompously.

The moment of tense silence was broken by the gales of laughter coming from Xander, Spike, William, Dawn, Joyce and Wolfie.

Once they had settled down, Jenny spoke directly to Giles. “I managed to translate the curse, Rupert. I think I’ve come up with a solution, but I would like everyone’s thoughts on the subject.”

“What is your plan, Jenny?” Giles eagerly asked the beautiful teacher.

“Look, we are NOT discussing my curse. We ARE going to discuss why you’re letting an evil demon continue to exist.” Angel stood, his fury escalating.

“Don’t worry, Angel. If we don’t solve the problem of the curse, you won’t continue to exist,” the watcher said indifferently before turning back to Jenny and ignoring the speechless vampire. “You were saying, Jenny?”

“We can’t anchor the soul, because it’s not his, but I can alter the curse and bind the soul to Angel’s sanity and his demon,” Jenny explained.

Joan was confused. “How will that change anything?”

“He can still lose his soul or his mind, but if I bind his demon to both, if he loses one he’ll lose the demon too.” The Gypsy smiled smugly.

“What’s left?” Dawn asked, curiously.

“Dust,” Joan and William answered in unison.

“So…no down side then?” Xander quipped.

“We can’t allow Angelus to get loose. If Jenny does the spell and we don’t tell Angel how the curse can be broken, his demon is gonna do everything in his power to make sure the curse never gets broken. Self-preservation will ensure that he keeps doing what he’s been doing. I say do the spell.” Joan made her position clear.

“I agree,” Giles backed the older slayer.

Xander smiled coldly at the brunette vampire. “I say we bypass the spell and just dust him.”

“I’m gonna have to go with Joan on this one,” Willow quietly voted.

“I’m sorry, but with everything that we’ve learned recently, I’m going to have to agree with Xander and say dust him now.” Joyce politely gave her firm decision.

“I’m a dust him vote too.” Dawn crossed her arms and gave the stupefied vampire a hard look.

William shrugged, “Don’t care. Either way; Angelus is out of the game, and that’s all I care about.”

“I abstain,” Spike was not about to give his feisty little slayer any reason to punch him in the nose. This didn’t seem to come under the category of protecting Nibblet or Mum.

Buffy looked around the room and bit her lip in indecision.

“This is ridiculous!” Angel exploded. “Look, I’ll put it in small words so you can understand it. I am the champion of the Powers. Spike is an evil vampire. Stop worrying about me and dust the true evil.”

“Man, he’s gonna start foaming at the mouth soon, you want to borrow my cross?” Xander grinned at the blonde vampire seated next to him.

Grabbing the offered item, Spike gave the youth a wink and a smile. “Thanks, mate.”

Buffy turned her eyes from the pole axed brunette vampire to the gypsy. “Do the spell.”

Jenny nodded and moved into Giles’ office.

“Buffy,” Angel whispered in shock.

“I’m sorry, Angel, but there is no way that you can convince me that the chance that Angelus might get free is not something that I should be worried about. Even a small chance is too much of a risk,” the Slayer quietly but firmly verbalised her reasoning.

Turning to the watcher, Buffy moved the meeting forward. “The next subject, Giles.”

“Yes, well, the matter actually involves something you made reference to several times already Angel.” Giles directed his attention towards the brooding vampire.

“Finally,” Angel snorted in disgust as he gave a malicious grin to Spike and William.

Giles held out his hand towards Wolfie and introduced him to Angel, “This is Garrett Wolf. He is a conduit to the Powers That Be for Good.”

Wolfie nodded to the brunette vampire. “I’d offer to shake your hand, but it would be very painful for you. I have a natural defence against unclean flesh.”

“How come you can touch William and Spike?” Willow asked innocently.

“Both have received Gaia’s blessings. Their flesh has been cleansed.” Wolfie smiled at the little redhead.

“It appears, Angel, that you have been given some misleading information. That Whistler works for the Powers is true, but he allowed you to believe that he worked on the same side as the Slayer. He doesn’t,” Giles emotionlessly told the clueless vampire.

“I don’t believe you,” Angel growled out harshly.

“Irrelevant,” Giles responded disdainfully.

“The only reason the Powers for Good didn’t intervene was because they wanted to see if you had the potential to become an ally. You were given one job. Protect Buffy. Buffy died under your protection.” Wolfie bluntly informed Angel.

“HEY! That wasn’t my fault. It was a prophecy,” Angel indignantly protested his innocence. Turning to the tiny blonde slayer, he opened his big brown puppy dog eyes and pleaded with her. “You know it was, Buffy. I would have done anything to save you. It devastated me that there was nothing I could do.”

“You were supposed to face the Master yourself, you pillock,” the Watcher spat out, the sight of the vampire trying to manipulate his Slayer infuriating him.

“Huh?” Angel responded in shock, his usual skills at verbalisation deserting him.

“You should have taken him on yourself, blood breath. But no, you decided that your best course of action was to sit in your apartment and brood,” Xander accused, his own disgust at the vampire’s attitude only slightly clouded by his actual dislike of him.

“Look, this is all pointless. It happened. Deal,” Buffy insisted. All this talk of her death was wigging her out. “We were talking about Whistler.”

“But Buffy…” Angel started to say.

“Moving along, grand dad. The Slayer wants us to talk about your contact to the Powers-That-Like-To-Mess-With-You for Evil,” Spike steadfastly supported his Slayer. His demon was loudly protesting the undusted presence of the other vampire, but he was keeping it tightly controlled.

“Shut up, Spike. Nobody wants your opinion,” Angel snarled.

Dawn was incensed. “That would be your opinion, Angel. We always want to hear from Spike,” she snapped.

Angel looked around the room, shocked to see most of the people nodding in response to Dawn’s statement. “But, he’s evil,” he spluttered.

“Broken record much,” Dawn snorted, rolling her eyes.

Spike leaned over to quietly comment to William, “Bloody hell, mate, just flash him your wings to shut him up, will ya?”

“William, I bought you several more t-shirts, dear.” Joyce subtly encouraged the pure vampire to act.

“Come on, Tink.” Spike grinned and then made a statement loudly enough so that the rest of the room’s occupants could easily hear. “Think about it. You can sit on his left shoulder and tell him what he should do, and I'll sit his right...”

Amused laughter filed the room. Only Angel didn’t get the joke.

Angel decided it was time to take back control of the situation. Turning to the giant who had been the catalyst for the questioning of his champion status, the brunette vampire argued his case. He became more and more aggravated as his arguments continued to be unsuccessful. The escalating conversation was watched with interest by the rest of the group.

As Angel continued to argue with Wolfie, Xander leaned over to Spike. “Ya think he’s stupid enough to hit the wookie?”

Nodding his head in the direction of the small elven woman seated by the door, Spike replied with a grin, “I hope so, I bloody well hope so, mate.”

“Her?” Xander asked confused. “But she’s so tiny.” Llwethyn caught their speculative glances and gave them a sweet smile and a cheery little wave.

“Mate, when you meet a truly dangerous man, his bint is always tougher,” Spike wisely explained to the young man.

“Bloody hell, even you- I mean, ‘I’- know better than to brass off an elf.” William said to Spike, joining the quiet conversation.

“Why is that?” Giles asked, never having heard much about elves.

Spike stepped in with the answer. “They may not be quite as powerful as a Slayer, but they’re evil, vindictive bitches that usually travel in packs from three to twenty.”

“And this differs from human women...how?” Xander asked innocently.

William turned to face Xander slowly. “You met the Master, right?” At Xander’s nod, he continued. “Well, the stupid bugger tried to turn one.... she literally ripped off his balls and fed them to him.”

Xander’s eyes grew huge and he swallowed convulsively as Spike continued. “Why else do you think the whore turned Angelus?”

“That was my Aunt Llwinivera,” Wolfie proudly informed them, the subject distracting him from the argument he was having with the brooding vampire. “She had them bronzed and keeps them mounted over her fireplace.”

All the males shuddered.

“How could she still have them if she fed them to him?” Willow asked innocently.

“She ripped them out of his stomach,” Wolfie grinned, shaking his head indulgently. “That woman’s the original diesel dyke.”

“ENOUGH!” Angel roared. “I will not be ignored. I am a champion for the Powers on the road to redemption. I will not let these fools pull me from the path, and I refuse to allow them to pull you from the path either, Buffy. Come with me now.”

“Hang on a minute, gramps. First of all, Buffy is the chosen one; she’s not on any bloody road to redemption. And second, from what everyone here has been saying, you claim that you aren’t the same person as Angelus, right?” Spike confronted his overbearing grandsire.

“That’s right,” Angel looked down his nose disdainfully at the impertinent childe that was addressing him.

“Angelus is responsible for all the evil, right?” Spike persevered.

“Yes,” Angel rolled his eyes and he hoped that the annoying little bastard would get to the point soon.

“Then why do you need redemption?” Spike crossed his arms and waited for an answer.

Every person in the room sat in stunned silence. Not one of them had ever even considered things from that point of view. It’s seemed so simple. If Angel was innocent of blame, why did he need to be redeemed? It was the demon that needed redemption, not the soul.

Joan was astonished. All it had taken to remove the last vestiges of her illusions about Angel had been a simple observation from an intuitive blonde cutie. Spike’s simple statement had finally broken the chains around her heart.

Her vampire was sooo getting lucky…as soon as they found a place of their own.

Turning to Angel, Joan spoke with deceptive innocence. “Wow, you’re so lucky that Spike figured that out for you. Now that you know you don’t need redemption, you could always try the ritual that my William did.”

“What ritual?” Angel narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“The Ritual of Returning.” Joan smiled innocently. She didn’t believe for a minute that he’d survive the ritual.

“I’ve read that ritual, Buffy. There’s no way that it would work. Don’t try telling me that it worked on an evil, soulless vampire like Spike,” Angel spoke with derision.

Joan smiled sweetly at the disbelieving vampire before turning to her own. “Up for a little show and tell, baby?”

William’s eyes twinkled with mirth as he stood and removed his t-shirt. His naked chest gained gasps of appreciation from several directions. Moving away from the table, he failed to see the glare his girl gave the gaspers.

“Damn, I age well, don’t I?” Spike guffawed at the lethal look the pure vampire aimed at him.

“Actually, no aging at all, you pratt. Immortal, remember?” As William shifted into game face and spread his wings, Angel doubled over in pain.

“Gee, that’s only meant to happen to minions of evil,” Wolfie blandly commented on the brunette vampire’s distress.

Shifting back to his human guise, William replaced his t-shirt and decisively took control over what would happen next . “We need to decide what to do about Dru.”

Chapter 37

“Drusilla?” Angel had no idea what the idiot was going on about and didn’t really care. His entire body felt like it was on fire. The chafing he’d received two days before was only just beginning to heal and this new attack had caused the pain to flare up again. On top of that, whatever it was that had just happened had left him feeling weak and disoriented. In the shape he was in now, he’d have trouble beating Xander. There was no way he could take on the combined forces of Buffy, the older Buffy look-a-like and whatever the hell Spike was now.

William rolled his eyes. It was clear that Angel wasn’t listening to a word that anyone had to say. Turning to Joan, he silently passed the baton and hoped that she’d have a better chance at getting through to him.

“Um…can I ask something?” Willow inquired nervously, raising her hand as if she were in class.

Smiling indulgently at the shy redhead her Willow had evolved from, Joan encouraged the girl to speak. “Go for it, Wills.”

“Well, it’s just that I was, you know, thinking… a-and I was wondering about the spell that Miss Calendar is working on. I know that it’s been decided and all, but really there are some other things that we might not have thought about and I have thought of them, so I thought I should, you know…mention them.” Willow gasped for much needed breath. She hated bringing the subject back up, but she needed to be sure that they were doing the right thing.

“What’s that, Willow?” Buffy looked at her friend with concern. If babbling Willow was braving the attention of the group then it had to be important.

“Well, Miss Calendar said the soul wasn’t Angel’s. Whose is it? What happens to it if Angel, you know…dusts? Is it still bound to his demon? Because that would be totally of the wrong. If the soul is being corrupted by the demon, like they told us all last night, what’s to stop him from still turning evil? He’d still have his soul, but there are lots of people with souls that are like completely evil and doing evil things,” Willow rushed out all her concerns.

“WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?” Angel bellowed in frustration.

Jenny, who had been standing at the door of Giles’ office, heard the young girl’s questions and chose to ignore the vampire hated by her clan and answer the redhead’s concerns. “The binding will only be while he still exists. On the death of his demon, the soul will be released. It’s true that the soul is being corrupted by the demon, but a simple cleansing of the soul and an added protection to it will stop that from happening. The problem is that the soul requires its continuing vengeance and as that is such a negative emotion it can be difficult to control. The cleansing should give the soul a measure of closure, but don’t worry my clan will always have an eye on him,” Jenny explained, smiling at the inquiring teenager.

“Whose soul was it, Jenny?” Giles had to know. He was dreadfully afraid of the answer, but he had to know.

“His victim’s,” Jenny whispered. She was deeply ashamed of the truth, but these people deserved to know.

Only Xander noticed the shamefaced expression on the face of the vampire he loathed. “You knew,” he accused, disgusted. His reasons for hating the brunette just seemed to be multiplying.

All eyes turned to Angel at Xander’s accusation.

Angel abruptly stood. His strength had returned. Turning to the person closest in proximity to him, he was going to get answers and he was going to get them now. Grabbing the front of the giant’s fur shirt, the vampire only had time to snarl before he felt himself being hoisted into the air.

“Baby...baby? Put the evil vampire down?” Wolfie begged his wife.

Angel flew over his head and crashed into the steel cage.

“Sweetheart, I meant set him down easy,” he admonished gently. His wife grinned as she coloured a delightful shade of puce and shrugged her shoulders.

“She doesn't patrol, does she?” Joan asked Wolfie, pointing at his blushing bride.

“Yeah...but,” he started.

“Good. ‘Cause me, her, and a few of her friends...I think the Mayor and Adam just got easy.” Joan smiled and walked over to check on the vampire in the cage.

Wolfie turned to William and Spike. “But she’s like a nympho on crack after a bit of violence,” he whined.

The two blond Brits dissolved into gales of laughter. Giles, losing his usual British reserve, joined them as Wolfie pouted.

“Any of her friends called Anya?” Xander asked with youthful exuberance.

William’s head shot up, his mood sobered immediately. Eyeing the sasquatch, he suspiciously asked, “Anya?”

Wolfie met his gaze. “He needed to know, and you and Joan have to work out how to get her here,” he replied.

William rolled his eyes. “I’ll put it on the list.”

Joan waited for Angel to look up at her from his position on the floor of the cage. “So…you gonna behave now?” she chirped brightly. All remaining sympathy for the brooding vampire had disappeared with the knowledge that he knew more about the soul than he had ever mentioned.

“You’re not Buffy,” he growled at her. “Why do you smell like her?”

“Okay, the sniffy thing? Gross.” She delicately scrunched up her nose as she spoke. “I am Buffy, just four years older. I’m the Buffy that met and beat Angelus. I’m the Buffy that you psychologically tortured for months. I’m the Buffy that sent you to a hell dimension for five hundred years. Might be a good idea to think before you speak, Sparky; you seriously don’t want to piss me off, because if I could send you to hell when I did love you, imagine the damage I can do now that I don't.”

William kept his eyes on his girl as she spoke to his loser of a grandsire. He felt his heart expand and beat for the first time in over a century. His breathing became erratic as he struggled to understand what was happening to him.

Wolfie moved swiftly to his side and helped the struggling pure vampire to sit. “Just breathe. Calm down and concentrate on breathing.”

Wolfie was quickly replaced by Joan. She held his hands, looked deeply into his eyes and started speaking. “Honey, look at me. I’m right here and I love you. You need to calm down and tell me what’s happening.”

William was at a loss, he couldn’t find the words. As he took their advice and concentrated on controlling his breathing, he moved Buffy’s right hand to his chest.

As Joan flew back to her distressed boyfriend, Spike took over her position by the cage door. A quick flick of his eyes got Llwethyn to position herself by the library door. Neither of them was overly concerned for the pure vampire as they had a pretty good idea what the problem was.

Buffy was torn. She wanted to help the older version of her potential cutie with the perfect abs, but she didn’t want to get in the way of her older self. She was still really miffed that she’d been glared at for her innocent appreciation of a set of drool-worthy abs that by all rights were hers anyway. She couldn’t believe how possessive she’d gotten. A quick glance over at Spike assured her that Angel wouldn’t be going anywhere yet, so she allowed her concentration to be focused on the struggling vampire at the table.

Angel realized that the room's entire focus was on the irritating menace that was calling himself William. The brunette vampire snorted to himself ‘What a fucking drama queen!’ He glanced at the blond vampire standing between himself and the swinging doors of the library. It wouldn’t be difficult to leave this mad house. Then he could go and find out what was actually going on. He bet if he grabbed Xander he could have the idiot singing the whole thing in minutes. He casually pulled himself into a standing position and forced himself to wait a few more seconds before attempting to inch his way past the second blond vampire, but before he was clear a fist popped up to block his exit. It surprised the elder vampire so much that he was unable to stop before his face slammed into the clenched hand and he was back where he started – sitting on the floor.

“Did you really think you could get past both me and the elf?” Spike drawled disdainfully, not even bothering to look over his shoulder at his disgraced grandsire. “Slayer’s not finished talking to you yet.”

Chapter 38

Joan’s eyes widened as she felt the strong beating of his heart under her hand. Her smile lit up the room.

William couldn’t remember a time when he had seen his girl smile like that. He felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes. She was smiling because of him. He reached for her and hugged her tightly to him. They would do this, change everything for the better. Together there was nothing they couldn’t achieve.

“What is it?” Joyce asked tremulously, terrified that something bad was happening to one of her boys.

William smiled shyly at the concerned mother. “Got me a heartbeat, mum.”

Joyce and Dawn rushed over to William and joined Joan in their family hug.

“I am so proud of you,” Joyce said, smiling through the tears in her eyes.

“I have the coolest best friend in the whole world,” Dawn whispered in his ear.

William grinned at the teen before kissing her on the forehead and ushering her and her mother back to their seats. Turning to face the brunette in the cage, William crossed his arms.

Even though his eyes never left Angel’s, William spoke to the group in general. “By my count, we’ve addressed the matter of his soul and warned him about Whistler. If he chooses to keep working for the bastard, that’s his problem. He steps out of line and he becomes ours. We tend to solve our problems,” he announced with cutting finality. There was no doubt about his message to Angel. If the brunette vampire stepped out of line he would be dusted.

“That takes us up to the last little problem- Drusilla. We want to give her peace, but we’re not sure how your demon will react to that; what with you having so little control and all,” William coldly informed the elder vampire then stood silently waiting for his response.

Spike moved back to the table. He was not concerned with Angel escaping now. He knew the bastard would stick around for the Dru conversation. He didn’t even think about what he was doing, he just automatically walked over to Buffy’s seat, picked her up, and sat down with her on his lap, his arms draped loosely around her waist.

Buffy seemed unconcerned by his actions, as she also acted automatically. She placed her arm around his shoulders and kissed his cheek.

Giles had to stop himself from giggling like a school boy at the look on Angel’s face. His forbearance was sorely tested when Xander did not find it necessary to hold onto the same restraints.

Angel tried to get his mind to take in the two things at once. They wanted him to dust Drusilla, and Buffy- his Buffy- was sitting on Spike’s lap and kissing his cheek. It was too much. His demon was screaming. He was losing control. This was not the way it was meant to be. Drusilla belonged to his demon and Buffy was his.

“MINE,” he roared in game face as he began to leap towards the girl.

He was grabbed from behind and unceremoniously dumped on his face back in the cage. The door was closed and locked before he could see who had dared to manhandle him. As he scrambled to his feet and turned, he discovered an elf with arms crossed and a smug smile.

“There’s an empty spot over my mantle place just begging to be filled,” the beautiful elf happily informed him.

Angel shuddered at the thought.

“What was all that about, with the bumpies and the grrr and the mine and the trying to attack?” Buffy demanded indignantly; still safely ensconced on Spike’s lap.

Spike softly chuckled at her butchering of the English language. She was a bloody joy to behold. He had no intention of letting this one get away. He was beginning to enjoy the feeling of falling. It looked like it was going to be one hell of a ride.

Angel reined his demon back in. He couldn’t believe he’d made such a critical error. He needed to do some serious damage control. If he was ever going to save Buffy from what ever crazy spell she was under, he had to play it smart. Lifting his sad brown eyes to meet her green ones, he began his game. “I’m sorry, Buffy. I don’t know what happened. I think it’s a spell or something. But you don’t have to worry about Drusilla. I’ll take care of her,” he informed her sincerely.

“Would that be like you ‘took care’ of the Anointed One, Angel?” Giles spoke with deceptive mildness. He knew exactly what the pillock was trying to accomplish and he had no intention of allowing it to happen.

“What do you mean, Giles?” Angel asked innocently, wondering how much the watcher knew.

“You told us that you dusted him,” Giles reminded him, his tone mildly curious.

“I said I was responsible,” Angel hedged.

“Giles asked you straight out, blood breath. He asked if you’d dusted the little creep and you said yes.” Xander pushed a little harder, he had no idea why this was important, but if Giles thought it was then it must be.

Angel glared at the hated teen. “Don’t call me ‘blood breath’, I didn’t hear you call Spike anything like that,” Angel complained with a whine.

“Ah, but I like him,” Xander mocked the sulking vampire. “Now answer Giles’ question.”

Angel mutinously refused to answer. Crossing his arms, he glared at everyone as if daring them to push him.

“Giles, what’s going on? Angel said he dusted the creepy little vamp. What am I missing?” Buffy asked, confused by the direction of the conversation.

Angel glared at the watcher, daring him to speak. It would be just a watcher’s word against a champion. He had nothing to worry about.

“The truth,” Giles raised an eyebrow at the posturing vampire as he responded to his Slayer. “William slayed the anointed one. Joan was with him and between them they removed all but four of the vampires- Drusilla and three others that pledged allegiance to William and have been taking care of Drusilla on his orders. All of them have been partaking of blood from the butchers since William’s intervention.”

Buffy said nothing. She wasn’t overly surprised, Angel had always been secretive in a sneaky stalker-ish way. She was more surprised that it had taken her this long to really see him. Nodding her head to acknowledge her watcher, she moved things back to the subject they had been dancing around all night. “So, Dru. Are we dusting her or what?”

Angel tried to plead his case to the small blond killer of his kind. “Buffy, please, don’t ask me to do this. She’s my childe.”

“Would that be the childe that you dumped as soon as you were cursed? The childe that you abandoned after making sure that she was totally dependent on you? The childe that I’ve bloody well taken care of for the last hundred years? The childe that is ill and possibly dying from garlic poisoning? Would that be the childe that you’re suddenly so concerned about, Peaches?” William snarled, absolutely disgusted at the manipulative vampire.

“End of discussion, she deserves peace. William or Spike have both been her major caretakers for the last hundred years, they both think she deserves an end to her suffering. Everyone in agreement raise your hands now,” Joan’s Slayer had taken control.

She looked around the room, only Angel did not have his hand raised.

~*~*~

Drusilla sat, chained to the bed in her room at the factory. Her two caregivers were in their own room. She could hear them as they played. There was no one for her to play with anymore. Naughty little pixies with their wings fluttering all around her, telling her secrets she didn’t want to know. They spoke to her of so many things, showed her pictures of more. “Pairs. Pairs, doubles, and troubles all around. The light burns so bright in them all. Oh, how it burns. Princess will be going home soon. No more cakes, no more tea. Daddy won’t be able to save his princess this time.”

Chapter 39

If anybody had been looking out their window as the group walked by, they would have seen an unusual sight– that is, unless they were a resident of Sunnydale– then they would have denied seeing anything at all. There were two tiny blond girls, obviously sisters. Actually they could have been twins had one clearly not been older. Another set of identical twins, male and apparently sharing a deep affinity for black. They were followed by a giant of a man with a wealth of body hair– probably a basketball player– holding the hand of an absolutely tiny redhead that appeared to have some sort of birth defect on her ears, an older gentleman who seemed out of place and wearing tweed, a pretty little redheaded teenage girl, a tall brunette youth and a large, rather lumbering man who appeared to be wearing an excessive amount of hair gel. An odd group who clearly had other places to be.

As the made their way to the factory, each member of the group seemed lost in their own thoughts.

Joan worried that William would react badly after the fact. She was terrified that her new found love would be in jeopardy because he undoubtedly still cared for Drusilla. Would he ultimately blame her for the loss? God, she hoped not. She loved him too much to want to see him go through any pain. She’d already given him enough of that over the years and she never wanted to hurt him again.

Buffy peeked over at the gorgeous blonde that had grabbed her hand as soon as they started walking. She was right on the cusp of falling madly, truly, and deeply in love. She felt these wonderful little goose bumps travelling up her arm as his thumb stroked the over-sensitized flesh between her thumb and forefinger. Her heart seemed to expand and shrink every time he glanced her way. His every action, gesture, his every word seemed to capture her attention. It wasn’t enough, though. She wanted more.

William thought again of the changes he had gone through over the last couple of years. Every time he spoke to the younger version of himself, he was astounded at how immature he seemed. Bloody perfect for a sixteen year old, if you asked him. Mentally they were probably the same age. He was at a loss to understand why his slayer would think even for a moment that he could prefer the younger her. The girlish giggling alone was enough to make him want to invest in a set of industrial strength ear plugs. His slayer was a work of art, while the young one was still a work in progress as far as he was concerned. If he thought of Drusilla at all, it was only the fleeting thought that if Angelus thought what he’d done to her was artwork, he really was truly one sick fuck.

Spike surreptitiously peeked through half closed eyes at the gorgeous blond whose hand was safely captured in his. She was looking at her feet and nibbling at her bottom lip- the lip that seemed to call to him, asking him to nip at it every time he saw it. He wondered what she was thinking about, but then he was always wondering that. Always thinking about her and hoping she was sparing a thought for him. He was still a little thrown by her earlier lip lock. He certainly hadn’t expected her to take the bull by the horns so to speak. And the way they’d just seemed to automatically fall into the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing worried him. He didn’t want to bollocks it up, but she was so bloody young. Were they moving a bit too fast? He realised that he wanted to take it slow. He wanted to get to know her, to revel in all those new moments and discoveries. He wanted all the first time things in a new romance that he’d never experienced before. He wanted what the human that he had once been had never been blessed with.

Wolfie let his eyes drift to the four warriors leading their little group. Joan was so scared of doing something to screw up her new relationship that she was missing the simple joy that true love can bring. Buffy was allowing her budding sexuality to rush something that should be taken slowly and thereby enjoyed more. William was finally realising his own growth and Spike…well, Spike the impulsive was finally growing up. William would help Joan, and Spike would slow Buffy down. They would get there in the end; their destinies were safe, but the giant had to chuckle at the thought of the trouble they would cause themselves on the way. His own life would become more complicated with his involvement with the Slayer’s team, but his wife would be the last person to complain about that. She wanted to join the team, too.

Llwethyn focused all of her senses on the vampire behind her. She hated that he was back there. She was a creature of nature and of purity. Vampires didn’t offend her, she recognised the need for balance, but that unnatural curse did. The façade of the fake soul could not hide the malevolence of the demon from her. His evil emanated from him like fumes of noxious gas. She wondered how someone as pure as the Chosen One could stand to be this close to him. The warrior elf was hard pressed to not follow her relative’s example. The empty space above her mantle was just screaming out to be filled, and really, it wasn’t that expensive to get things brassed.

Giles considered the wisdom of allowing the two teenagers to accompany them. An undertaking such as they were embarking on could have serious repercussions and both Willow and Xander seemed to attract danger. It was of course possible that in Xander’s case this was because the boy had a remarkable knack for inflaming tempers with his often inappropriate and inane commentary. Actually from that point of view, it was perfectly understandable that the boy be attacked in the first place.

Willow watched Buffy peek at Spike and then Spike peek at Buffy. It was so cute. Why couldn’t she have something like that? Taking her own quick little peek over at Xander, she inwardly sighed in frustration. What would it take to get him to notice her? Like really notice her? Maybe if she talked to the giant Wookie man? He was all-knowing guy. Or maybe Joan? She was from the future, so maybe she could share or something? There had to be something she could do. Maybe a spell?

Xander was surprisingly thinking about paradoxes. Ever since they’d asked him to be all helpful guy- Mr. Expert as chosen by the Powers That Be- the issue hadn’t been far from his focus. The problem was; the more he thought about it, the more certain he was that his hypothesis wasn’t going to make them happy. The two guys that he’d proposed the problem to were meeting with the group the next night. Xander really hoped that they could come up with a better theory than he had.

Angel didn’t know what to do. He could feel his demon fighting to gain control. It was taking everything he had in him to keep it at bay. The thought of them dusting his precious work of art was sending the demon into a frenzy. Angelus screamed to get out, symbolically beating on his cage. Angel could feel the bars that held the demon in check bending under the weight of the attack. How long would the prison hold him? Angel feared it wouldn’t hold him for very long at all, but he said nothing. He didn’t want Buffy to think of him as weak.

~*~*~

Drusilla had moments of lucidity. She knew they were coming.

She welcomed them.

Chapter 40

“Dalton, this is my friend Rupert Giles. He is to be treated with the utmost respect. Please show him the books you’ve collected.” William ordered the minion as the group stepped into the factory.

Angel snorted in disbelief. These people were insane! There was no way that the minion would leave the Watcher alone. He’d be drained in minutes. ‘Good riddance to bad rubbish,’ his demon whispered from inside, all the while looking for a way to break out of his prison.

William walked purposefully towards the room he knew held his dying sire. He knew that the others would follow. He wasn’t surprised to find Spike walking beside him rather than Joan. He knew his girl. She was giving him space.

Joan slipped her hand into Buffy’s. She wasn’t sure if it was to offer her younger self support or because she needed the support herself. Buffy seemed to be a lot less insecure than she did.

Drusilla scared her. Not the vampire, but the female that William/Spike had loved for over a hundred years. What sort of hold did she still have over him? What if she said or did something that made William or Spike change his mind and leave her? She couldn’t lose him now.

She knew with absolute certainty that William needed to do this. She trusted him. But then he wasn’t the problem…she was. Drusilla.

Buffy wondered what had Joan so freaked that she was left with the possibility of having her hand broken. ‘Who the hell is this Drusilla anyway?’ she mused.

“You’re not mine anymore, are you Sweet William,” Drusilla’s voice floated over them all, her words more statement than question.

Surprisingly, in a voice filled with compassion, understanding and a certain amount of innocence, she continued, “Have you come to send me back to my family? The pixies told me, but I was afraid to believe them.”

“Do you want to go back, Princess?” William asked, curious.

“Oh, yes. Please. Daddy killed them and then he killed me. We should already be together, but Daddy wanted me to stay with him, and then he went away. Now that you have your sunshine, princess is all alone. Just the pixies whispering, always whispering, and Miss Edith are with me now. I’m tired, dark knight. Help me get home?” Drusilla whispered.

Angel stepped forward. “Daddy’s here Dru. Let me help you get better, sweetheart.”

Ignoring Angel completely, Drusilla continued to address William. “Miss Edith has told me things that I have to share first.” She was desperate to hold on to her clarity this once. She could feel the voices calling her off to play. She knew that what Miss Edith had told her was important, so she fought the desire to follow the entreaties from the ones that lived in her head. ‘Not this time, my pets,’ she silently told her inner voices.

Turning to Xander, she offered him a soft smile. “The best will come from what you fear is the worst. Trust yourself and follow your path. Soon, you will be an unknowing instrument, rest assured that you will shoulder no blame. You will always be needed.”

Turning to face the young redhead across the room, Drusilla offered her some advice, “Little red witch must learn control early.”

“B-but I’m not a witch,” Willow stuttered nervously.

“You will be, little one. A powerful one too. You can choose to help or harm, choose wisely. Learn control,” Drusilla warned her before turning once again to Spike, “Sunshine is what you were looking for, my knight. She’s effulgent.”

“Enough of this. Dru, you need to rest. It’s alright childe, Daddy’s here. I’ll look after you now,” Angel spoke softly as he moved closer to his ailing childe.

She shrank away from him, his presence clearly agitating her. “No,” she hissed.

Angel pressed forward and Drusilla pressed herself further into the bed, whimpering and pulling weakly at the chains that held her in place.

Xander bravely stepped in front of Angel, stake drawn. “She doesn’t want you near her, dead boy.”

Angel snarled and backhanded him before anyone could move. Event’s seemed to move in slow motion. Xander lifted off the floor, twisting midair with the force of the blow. The youth landed face down on the bed where the vampiress lay and a cloud of dust billowed out from under him.

The room seemed to freeze in shocked silence until Angel stepped forward menacingly.

“You will die. Nobody touches my family but me,” Angel snarled at the shocked boy.

Spike got to Xander before Angel had a chance. Dragging the terrified youth off the bed, Spike pushed Xander behind him. “You’ll be goin’ through me, Angelus.”

Llwethyn stepped up to his side, joining the blond vampire. Wolfie positioned himself on his other side.

“He killed Dru,” Angel growled. His eyes flickered gold as his demon fought to gain control. “He deserves to die.”

“You killed Dru, you bloody hypocritical poofter. Twice. This time the whelp just happened to be the instrument you used.” William joined the throng. “Dru warned him and told him he wasn’t to blame.”

Xander sagged in relief. He hadn’t made the connection between what the vampiress had said and what had just happened. The feeling of shock and overwhelming guilt faded.

Angel’s demon finally gained control.

“You can’t save ‘em all, boy,” Angelus sneered at the younger vampire, ignoring the older one completely.

Laughter rang out behind him, causing the furious vampire to spin to see just who it was that dared to find amusement at his expense.

“Actually, yes he can.” Joan laughed. “Let’s not forget that William can incapacitate you by just going into game face. In case you missed it, Angelus, you’ve got two slayers, a trained watcher, a sasquatch, an elf, a master vampire and a pure vampire to face. Ya might wanna rethink the threats, big boy,” Joan explained the facts of life to him, her contempt clear in her voice.

Moving faster than anyone anticipated, Angelus grabbed Buffy around the throat and pulled her protectively in front of him.

Spike roared in outrage but was prevented from acting as both Llwethyn and Wolfie held him back.

“Move and I’ll snap her neck,” Angel warned them all.

Buffy twisted in his arms and faced him without an shred of fear. “Did you forget I’m the Slayer?” she asked innocently.

Angel sneered and narrowed his eyes, then widened them comically as he felt the point of the stake pressing into his chest. Moving slowly, he released his grip on the grim faced girl and stepped back.

“Thanks.” Buffy gifted him with a brilliant smile and then thrust her stake home. “I needed the extra room.”

Angel’s dust drifted to the ground unnoticed as Spike swept Buffy into his arms.

Chapter 41

Xander wandered into the library. He tried to focus on the subject of the meeting they would be having, but the events of the night before kept playing over and over in his mind.

A Vampire had not only saved his life but had actively offered himself up as a protector to a human.

Xander had never had another male stand up for him like that. True, the only men in his life so far had been his dad, Jesse, and Giles. Jesse probably would have had it been necessary and Giles didn’t need to because Buffy would, but his dad was a different story. ‘He’d probably ignore the threat if there was something on the TV that he wanted to watch, or if he was too drunk, and even then he’d probably join in the bashing of the Xan-man,’ he thought bitterly. His father tended to either blame him or ignore him.

Spike. They weren’t even really friends. Sure, they had been cautiously friendly to each other, but they hadn’t really moved into the ‘friends for life’ club yet. The vampire seemed to stand in a group all of his own. He wasn’t a demon that needed to be killed on sight. He didn’t have a soul, but he was still one of the good guys. It totally went against everything that Xander had believed in, so now he was questioning those beliefs.

“Hey, Harris,”

Xander looked up at the greeting to find the individual he had spent most of the night and day thinking about. Maybe Spike would have some much needed answers.

“Hi Spike,” the youth said as he joined the vampire at the table. “Waiting for Buffy?”

Xander had to smile at the way the tough master vampire shyly nodded and only just managed to hold his excitement in check. ‘Dude, you are sooo owned by the Buffster,’ he thought, amused.

“Um…can we…er…talk?” Xander asked uncomfortably.

Spike tilted his head to the side and studied the youth. Clearly the boy had something on his mind. Spike fervently hoped it had nothing to do with the time related problems they had. “What’s this all about, mate?” he asked gesturing to the chair next to him.

Xander thought about what he wanted to say as he moved to sit down. “I…I guess I want to know why?”

“Why, what?” Spike asked quietly.

“Why are you so different? I mean…I hate vamps. Why don’t I hate you?” Xander whispered. He desperately wanted to understand. He needed to know he wasn’t betraying Jesse.

Spike considered the miserable boy. There was clearly something more to this than Xander was letting on. The vampire had the feeling that whatever was at the bottom of the boy’s concerns and how he addressed them would have a profound effect on their relationship.

“Not really sure, mate. I think it’s a combination of a lot of factors. Part of it has to be that I’m not like the vamps you lot meet because I’m not a minion.” Spike answered carefully. “I was turned as a childe; to be a companion rather than a worker. The vamps you meet are usually minions that have been turned by other minions. You see them straight out of the grave and completely lost to their blood lust. Most of them are brainless gits that you should bloody hate.”

“Darla was the Master’s childe,” Xander said to himself, unaware that he had actually spoken out loud.

“Yeah, the bitch was the favoured childe of old batface. I heard Angelus dusted the diseased whore, how did you know her?” Spike asked with gentle curiosity.

“She turned my best friend,” Xander replied flatly. The pain of his loss was evident in his voice. “I never told the others, but he was still sorta the same, just with no restraints. It didn’t matter to him if something was…you know…morally wrong.”

Taking a deep breath, he continued. “He wanted Cordelia when he was alive but she wasn’t interested. We were the school geeks as far as she was concerned. When he saw her that night, he was gonna rape her, kill her, and turn her.” Xander was lost in his memories, horrified by what had happened, what he had been forced to do. “I had to dust him,” he whispered in a guilt ridden voice.

Turning desperate eyes on the blond vampire at his side, Xander begged for some sort of explanation. Something that could help him cope with the near overwhelming guilt that had plagued his nights. “What if he was like you? What if he could have been saved, too? What if I was wrong?” he voiced his inner-most fears.

“Listen to me, Xander. You can’t think like that. I was never like other vamps. One of my first actions as a vampire was to dust someone that I loved more than anything in this world. Turning had changed her so much that she wasn’t the person I loved anymore, and I knew that she would have hated what she had become. I saved her from that. Just like you saved your friend,” Spike spoke with earnest conviction. The memory of his mother’s turning still weighed heavily on his mind.

Xander looked at Spike with hope filled eyes. He so wanted to believe what the blond was telling him.

“What was his name? Tell me about him,” Spike gently encouraged.

“Jesse. His name was Jesse,” Xander smiled sadly as he remembered his friend.

When Buffy and Willow arrived at the library they were surprised to see Spike and Xander laughing and joking together.

Willow felt like she’d been the one sent back to a time when Xander and Jesse had been inseparable. She knew that when they lost Jesse they’d also lost a part of Xander’s sparkle, but something had given it back to him and she suspected it had something to do with the laughing blond vampire that Xander was sitting with. Willow didn’t know how Spike had done it, but she would never forget the gift he had returned to them in Xander.

Buffy stood in shock. The new ability that she’d been trying to master was showing her something had changed. When she looked at them directly she couldn’t catch what it was, but when she let her eyes lose focus she could see it plain as day. The darkness that had been slowly enveloping her Xander-shaped friend had receded. She had noticed it was lighter the day before, but now it was almost gone. The light shining from her super drool-worthy vampire was shining brightly. His glow seemed to be hovering over Xander. If Buffy didn’t know that such things were impossible she might even describe it as almost protective. ‘Looks like Bigfoot’s gonna have to do some work,’ she mused thoughtfully.

Chapter 42

William paused at the door of Giles’ spare room; the room that for the moment was acting as the older slayer’s bedroom. He didn’t like to disturb her when she was in there; he knew that she was having a great deal of trouble coping with the duel memories of Angel. She had already confessed to him that she was having difficulty reconciling her memory of dusting him when he had threatened her and the memory of him returning from hell .

William understood her confusion. He knew that Buffy had dusted the bastard, hell he saw her do it, but he had memories of having the wanker tortured. Memories that he knew hadn’t happened in this time line. If his memories of the great poof weren’t enough, he was now having memories of bonding with the whelp, the same whelp that he remembered treating him with abuse and hatred for years.

Maybe he shouldn’t disturb her. Maybe he should let her be and sort out his own confusion by himself. It wasn’t like she didn’t have enough to worry about.

As he turned to return to the living room, Joan opened her door.

She gazed listlessly into his eyes; expressive eyes that mirrored her emotions. Blue eyes that looked haunted, tired, and confused. She knew how he felt. They both needed time to process. But that wasn’t going to happen unless they could get the younger versions of themselves to stop changing things. Something had to be done…and soon. If they didn’t do something William and Joan would be locked into a continual replay of memories, unable to function at all.

Silently, Joan stepped into the comforting arms of her love.

~*~*~

Spike was so busy laughing at the story Xander was telling him that he missed the entrance of the beautiful girl he was waiting for. Resting his head on the table as he gasped for unneeded air, he failed to notice her approach.

“Whatcha doin’?” the tiny blond asked perkily.

That got Spike’s attention.

“Well, hello, cutie.” He smiled as he turned to her. Gently tugging her down on his lap, he placed his arms around her waist and leaned in to gently brush her lips with his.

Buffy felt her breath catch, as she momentarily lost herself in the depths of his darkening blue eyes.

“Where are Joan and William?” Willow asked, unintentionally bringing Buffy’s attention back to the library.

Buffy and Willow looked expectantly at the blond vampire.

“They didn’t want to upset the visitors, thought it best if they weren’t here for our little pow-wow,” Spike informed them.

“Oh, yeah,” Xander shook his head slowly in agreement, his eyes widened as he pictured the likely reactions of the two people he had invited. “There would definitely be some freakage over the double vision.”

When Spike asked Buffy about her day, Willow took the opportunity to slip away. Knocking softly on Giles’ office door, she entered quietly when his smile told her she could. “Um…I was wondering, cause I noticed that something was wrong, well it might not be wrong but it just looked wrong and that could be my imagination but if it isn’t and nobody else noticed and something bad happens and I could have helped but didn’t say anything, well that would be of the bad, so…”

“Willow,” Giles gently, but firmly interrupted her ramblings. “What is it that you noticed?”

“Oh, um…are Joan and William alright?” she asked, worried.

Giles removed his glasses and contemplated the young girl in front of him. He should have known that Willow would notice something. “They are fine, Willow. They are just having a little difficulty dealing with all the new memories and reconciling them with what they still remember from their own timeline. They just need some time.” He smiled in reassurance.

“Oh, wow…that would be hard. Is there anything we can do to help?” The little redhead offered eagerly.

“I don’t know that we can help, dear,” Giles informed her sadly.

Willow thought for a minute, the beginning of an idea tickled at the edges of her mind. Willow had always found it easier to talk problems through, out loud, as she worked her way to the logical conclusion. “Okay…so William and Joan have all these new memories to deal with and they’re not getting a chance to deal with them because new memories keep coming, so what they really need is a way to stop the new memories for a little while so they can process what they already have before the next lot hit them. The best way to stop the new memories would be to make sure Buffy and Spike don’t do anything different from what they did the first time round; kinda hard what with William being all evil the first time around, still wigging about that. But we could get some relief for Joan if she can tell us what she was doing, then Buffy can do that and Joan won’t have to deal with new memories…oh, oh, oh if we get Spike to stay with William for a while and not interact with anyone else, then William would get some sort of relief, too.” Willow grinned triumphantly at the amazed watcher.

“Willow, I do believe you have found the solution.” He smiled in delight. His smile faded into a look of dread as he glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of the two blonds in the library proper.

Willow followed his gaze and understood his look; telling Buffy and Spike that they needed to take a break from each other was not going to be easy. A cheeky grin crossed her features as an idea came to her. “Buffy’s mom?”

Giles’ expression lightened considerably at the prospect.

~*~*~

Joan’s head shot up as the new memory hit her. All the negative feelings she had been experiencing found a focus and white hot rage exploded within her.

When William realised exactly who it was he was remembering his own anger climbed, he was startled back to reality when the front door of the apartment slammed.

It only took him a fraction of a second to realise that his girl was gone, probably on the way to the library and if her exit was any indication, pissed beyond measure.

‘Bugger!’ he thought as he took off after her.

Automatically shifting into game face to make the best of his vampiric speed, William forgot about the wing factor until he felt his t-shirt tear under the pressure of his emerging wings. He was delighted when he realised that the gentle flapping of his wings as he ran enhanced his speed to such an extent that when compared to a normal vampire, the vampire would have felt like he was running backwards.

It only took him moments to catch up to his slayer, and one look at her face told him all he needed to know. The Slayer was pissed. He called to her, trying to get her attention, needing to stop her from doing something she would later regret. He needed to calm her down.

Catching hold of her in arms of steel, it was hard to say who was more shocked when they lifted off the ground to hover about fifty feet above the street.

Eyes widened with shock met, then focused on the ground below them before returning to meet in mutual amazement.

Joan gulped. “Kinda not good with the whole height thing,” she told him shakily.

“Focus on my eyes, kitten,” he gently encouraged. “I need you to calm down, pet. You need to think rationally. These idiots are likely to be the solution to our little problem. We can’t damage ‘em…yet.” His cheeky grin and eyebrow wiggle got her giggling.

She sighed deeply, placing her head on his chest, drawing strength from his comfort as they slowly drifted to the ground.

Taking a moment to kiss him softly in gratitude, Joan drew back her shoulders and turned towards the school. “Time to go terrorise some nerds.”

William grinned in appreciation and followed her lead.

~*~*~

“But it doesn’t work that way, too many paradoxes,” the small brunette informed them all.

“Oooh, unless they’re like the Bajoran prophets that live in the wormhole and time has no meaning, ‘cause that would be way cool,” the slight blond boy cried excitedly

“Bajoran prophets?” Giles forced himself to ask.

Before the boy could answer, the swinging doors to the library slammed open and the Slayer and her Pure Vampire consort made their entrance.

“Okay, so remember when I said we were sent back in time by three nerds?” Joan asked with deceptive perkiness. “Well, meet two of them,” she snarled in fury.

Jonathan and Andrew cringed in fear.

Chapter 43

Xander’s eyes widened in shock; paranoia quickly set in. Was this whole thing somehow his fault? He turned pleading eyes towards his friends. “Please tell me I didn’t do this,” he whispered.

“Huh?” Joan responded, shocked that he had come to that conclusion.

“Nah, mate, this is all Jonathan, Tucker’s brother, and Warren the robot builder. Don’t blame yourself for a second, Harris,” William firmly assured the distressed teen.

“Warren the who what?” Buffy asked guilelessly.

“Robot builder,” Joan responded. A memory suddenly surfaced and she tuned quickly to her mother. “Oh! If a computer salesman named Ted asks you out, mom, tell him no and then let us know.” Joan ordered, shuddering in disgust.

Joyce widened her eyes in surprise before assuring the elder slayer that she would do just that.

“Mom’s dating now?” Buffy asked in horror.

“Apparently not very successfully, pet,” Spike chuckled as he pulled his girl back down on his lap.

Before Joyce could respond to the cheeky blond vampire, Willow grabbed her, pulling her aside for a very quiet conversation.

Not noticing the interaction going on between the redhead and her mother, Joan turned back to the two visitors and considered them seriously before giving Jonathan a rundown on the history she had with him. She told him how she saved him from committing suicide, how he had been the one to honour her at their prom, how he’d done a spell to alter reality and that she’d ended the spell and saved him from the monster of his own creation. Finally she reminded him of how she had treated him after the spell when he had felt ostracized by everyone else. Her eye’s sparkled with unshed tears when she whispered the question that had been burning inside her. “Why? What did I ever do to you that would make you do this to me?”

Jonathan lowered his eyes in shame. He couldn’t imagine anything that this girl could do would ever deserve the way he and his companion had apparently treated her in the future. He vowed that he would not repeat the behaviour.

“But he won’t do it now. We won’t,” Andrew offered innocently. “You changed the flow.”

“What does that mean, exactly?” Giles asked.

Andrew shared a glance with Jonathan. The small brunette nodded then took over the explanation. “You have to imagine that time is like a river with a really strong current. Normally you move with the flow of the river. If you do something big enough you can change the course of the river ahead of you, but because of the current you can’t affect the river behind you.” Turning to face Joan, he continued. “To be able to change the direction of the river behind you, you have to actively get out of the river and move further upstream. Whatever it was that our future selves created made that happen. And just by being here, you’ve changed the flow of the river.”

“But…the Powers said, um, time isn’t linear,” Dawn offered hesitantly.

“Yes, little one. But you are thinking linear means a straight line,” Andrew replied, attempting to project an air of wisdom.

“Uh…it does mean a straight line,” Willow commented firmly, lifting an eyebrow and regarding the little blond sceptically. She really wasn’t sure that listening to anything Andrew had to say would be totally of the wise.

“It also means one dimensional, Willow.” Jonathan said quietly.

“So, you’re saying time isn’t one dimensional?” Giles asked, thoughtful. Removing his glasses, he proceeded to clean them as his mind raced over the possibilities that this information offered.

Buffy looked around the thoughtful faces and wondered if she was the only one that wasn’t getting the significance of what was being said. “And that means…?”

Xander regarded his friend sadly, before trying to explain his theory in a way she would understand. “I think what’s happened here, Buffster, is that we have two dimensions stuck together as one. Two worlds that, at this point in time, were exactly the same…”

“Wait…you mean like ‘Sliders’ and Quinn Mallory?” Buffy interrupted excitedly, with a little bounce on Spike’s lap.

“Sort of, but unlike ‘Sliders’, Joan and William brought their original dimension with them.” Xander focused on his friend as if willing her to understand. “At this point in time, their dimension hasn’t split with ours. It’s the only theory I can come up with that explains the four of you and the changing memory thing.”

“So, what? You’re saying that they’ll go back when the dimensions split?” Spike asked carefully, still trying to process the information that they’d received.

Xander glanced at the couple in question furtively before giving his friend an affirmative nod.

“When?” Joan ground out between gritted teeth. She had a really bad feeling about this.

Jonathan shifted uncomfortably before answering the question in a guilt laced whisper. “In about four years.”

Joan took a deep breath to steady herself, the horror of the situation threatening to overtake her completely. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that if she had to go through four more years of memory changes that she was going to lose the tenuous grip she had on her sanity. Tuning frightened eyes to William, she whispered her fear. “I’m not going to make it.”

Wrapping the terrified blond within his arms and wings, the entire room heard his firm response.

“Not an option, Summers.”

*~*~*

As William calmed her distraught daughter, Joyce made her way over to Buffy and Spike.

“I need to talk to the both of you.”

Joining them at the table, Joyce smiled at the younger version of the embracing couple. “I need you both to know that I completely support your relationship and that what I’m going to ask you to do has nothing at all to do with trying to come between you in any way.”

The two blonds shared a worried glance before cautiously nodding for Joyce to continue.

“Joan and William need a break from the changing memories and I need you two to help them with that.” Joyce told them calmly, her demeanour serious.

“How?” Buffy asked suspiciously as she tightened her grip on Spike.

Joyce knew her daughter well enough to know that if the suggestion didn’t come from Buffy, she’d get very stubborn and very quickly. “Sweetie, I’m not sure. I’m not as knowledgeable about these things as you. Can you think of anything?”

Buffy nibbled at her bottom lip as she considered her mother’s question. She hadn’t really taken the time to think about what it would be like for the older version of herself. So much had happened in such a short time, she’d been hard pressed to process it all once, let alone think about what anyone else was going through. She guessed it would be kinda wiggy to have to deal with uber-badness that her older self was dealing with. With that in mind, she was forced to acknowledge that she might not be the best person to ask. These were the sort of questions she usually left up to her watcher. She pouted, knowing instinctively that she wasn’t going to be happy with whatever solution he not only already had, but had clearly shared with her mother.

Grumbling petulantly about sneaky mothers and their guilt trips, Buffy faced her watcher. “What’s your suggestion?” she asked.

Before Giles could answer her question, Wolfie stepped forward.

“You need to claim Spike.”

Chapter 44

“Did I miss something? What happened to the whole let’s-just-separate-Buffy-and-Spike-for-a-little-while thingie we had going on?” Willow asked, confused.

“Claim him? I would have thought that would make the situation worse, not better?” Giles was completely confounded by the new turn of events.

“What? Wait! There was separating?” Buffy was pretty sure nobody had mentioned any separating to her and she really didn’t like the idea of that at all.

Spike heard the word claim and went into mental picture overdrive. A sharp smack across the back of the head by William brought him abruptly back from his happy place.

“Hey!” Buffy shouted indignantly.

William snickered inwardly when he suddenly found himself facing a very pissed off younger version of his love. The expression on her face made his unbroken nose twitch in anticipation.

“Nobody messes with my boyfriend,” she snarled, her fist heading directly for his much abused proboscis.

A slight breeze indicated his movement, her fist hitting nothing but air.

From behind her William leaned in, taunting. “You need to be quicker than that, slayer,” he chortled. This wing thing was turning out to be a bit of alright.

Joan walked forward, clipped William over the back of the head and faced her younger self. “Happy?”

“Oy!” William responded, unhappily pouting. “He deserved it. He was having…um…naughty thoughts and she’s only bloody sixteen.”

“Oh, how would you know?” Buffy snapped in response and just like that the gravity of the situation became real. She cringed at the thought that everything she was thinking including all her very private little fantasies in relation to a completely biteable boyfriend were being shared with another. Joan was getting it all. And it so didn’t matter that she and Joan were basically the same person, ‘cause as far as she was concerned if she could see the other person then they had no business in her head. “Oh! No, no no no, we have to fix this right now. There is way too much sharing going on. Buffy thoughts need to be Buffy thoughts.”

Wolfie faced the older slayer. “It was easier at the start, right? When you first got here?”

“Yes,” Joan responded tightly. Her younger self was seriously becoming a pain in the ass.

“You placed a familial claim on William. Your mother and sister are part of that claim, but so is Buffy. Because the dimensions haven’t split yet, there is only one mother and sister. There is not meant to be two Buffy’s, so the claim you placed is overcompensating. The stronger it gets, the more obvious the memory changes and the emotions that come with those memories will become. If Buffy places a similar claim on Spike, it will balance out the claim. The memory changes will go back to being what they were, which was manageable for you. Buffy and Spike won’t need to be separated, and you will be able to focus on more important things,” Wolfie hastened to explain.

Joan prayed that her younger self would co-operate.

“What’s this familiar claim thing-y, Giles?” Buffy asked. It didn’t matter to her that there were probably at least four others in the room that could have answered her question. The Slayer asked her Watcher.

“Familial, Buffy,” he automatically corrected.

“Whatever,” Buffy waved her hand in dismissal.

Giles sighed in resignation. He reminded himself that, if Joan was any indication, at least his slayer would get a little more attentive in the future. Marginally. “The familial claim that Joan placed upon William is a simple incantation of a few words. It is non-invasive and non-violent. However, by accepting the claim William’s ties to his vampiric family were severed completely and new bonds were made with the Summers family. The Ritual itself is a precursor to a mating ritual. It is, for all intents and purposes, an engagement…of sorts.”

He allowed that little piece of information to sink in. “It is a serious step and not something to be rushed into lightly,” Giles told them, before shooting a slightly reproachful glare at Joan. “But, if you are both agreed that it is a necessary step to help Joan and William and not a firm commitment to mate later on, I can not see any reason why this would hurt either of you. Perhaps it would be best if the two of you did a quick patrol around the school while you discuss it?”

Both blonds shared a glance and nodded in agreement, silently moving as one to leave the library. Both deep in thought.

Buffy stopped walking, looked up at the stars and sighed deeply. She was out under the stars every single night, but she was hard pressed to remember the last time she had taken the time to really take in the beauty of the cloudless expanse. The stars truly were beautiful. Turning to her companion, she smiled. He was beautiful too.

“So, what do you think?” she asked lightly.

“I think this is gonna rely on you, luv. I was sold on the idea as soon as a claim was mentioned. But, then, I’m already thinkin’ that I’d prefer facing the sun than be without you,” he told her softly as he lifted a hand to ghost over her cheek.

As their eyes locked, Buffy felt the fluttering of butterflies in her stomach as it suddenly became harder to breath. Unconsciously, she stepped closer to him. As his lips drifted closer, she felt drawn. Endless moments passed until finally they met and Buffy saw stars exploding in celebration.

~*~*~

Wolfie approached the younger slayer as she sat on one of the benches in the student lounge and stared out through the windows into the night beyond the glass.

“Spike said you wanted to talk to me?” he offered hesitantly, a little unwilling to interrupt her musings.

Glancing over to the hovering Sasquatch, Buffy smiled and encouraged him to join her.

Gathering her thoughts together, the young girl thought about what she wanted to say before she tried putting it into words.

“I need you to explain something to me,” she started hesitantly.

“I’ll try,” he offered in return.

“I’ve been working on the new slayer vision-y thing, and when I walked into the library today, I saw something.” She closed her eyes, in an attempt to recapture what she had seen. “When the spell that Miss Calendar did started, Xander had this uber creepy darkness around him. It sorta got lighter during the meeting on Monday, but today it’s almost gone. And Spike was all glow-y, but his um, glow wasn’t just around him, it was kinda hovering around Xan…like it was protecting him or something.” Buffy opened her curious eyes and looked to the redhead for explanation.

Wolfie smiled; this he could answer.

“Your young friend was allowing his own jealousy to guide him. What he has learned over the last few days has changed his attitude. The lightening of the darkness he was being surrounded by shows us how far he has come. He’s a remarkable young man with a very bright future ahead of him…now.”

Buffy grinned. “So, he’ll be less with the touchage now?”

The redhead smiled enigmatically and nodded in agreement.

“And the whole Spike-in-protection mode?” she asked cheerfully. The explanation of her friend had relieved her considerablely.

“Exactly that. Spike is a very protective individual. He loves absolutely. He and Xander have bonded and now Spike’s demon considers your friend as ‘his’ to protect. He’s a lot like you in that respect.”

“Huh?”

“You love them all, so your aura hovers protectively over them all. Spike’s will too, given time to get to know the rest of your friends as he now knows Xander.”

Buffy’s smile lit up the room.

Chapter 45

“I’ve been thinking about it and I just don’t understand,” Buffy said. Noting the look of confusion on his face, she was quick to elaborate. “Oh! Not about the whole Xander and the encroaching darkness thingy. I mean the memory thing. That, I don’t get. They’re from a different dimension or something, so why are their memories changing and how does this whole claim-y thing work? It just seems like a big step to take when we haven’t known each other very long. Not saying no,” she rushed to assure him. “But, you know…” she trailed off in confusion.

Wolfie regarded the miserable girl with sympathetic eyes. She was so very young. So much love to give to the world and yet unable to cope with the constant barrage of loss that life would throw her way, or, as in Joan’s case, had already thrown her way. He couldn’t help but believe that the introduction at this point in time of a loyal Spike might just make all the difference. She might still know heartbreak, but maybe now she wouldn’t have to go through it alone.

Taking a deep breath, the clear seeing Sasquatch attempted to clarify things for the confused slayer.

“I’ll try,” he told her, smiling. “You are the Buffy of Joan’s past. But Joan may not be the Buffy that you are to become. I want you to imagine that you are sitting at a desk and in front of you on the desk are an apple and an orange. You have four main choices; take an apple; take an orange; take neither; take both. Let’s say you choose the apple and move away, but when you look back, there is another Buffy facing the same four choices. This continues until there are four Buffys, each with a different choice. You look around and you notice that it’s not just Buffy that this is happening to, it’s everyone. Every time there are different possibilities, a new dimension is created. The Buffy that sat down at the desk originally is the past Buffy to the other four, but the Buffy she will become will be determined by her choices and the consequences of those choices.

“Joan’s choices so far have altered events already. They have affected your choices. And in turn, your choices affect Joan because you are her past. If you do anything differently than what she did when she was you, the new memories replace the old ones. However, when you reach the point in time where you choose the apple and she chooses the orange, the separation will be complete. She will continue on with her new timeline as will you with yours.”

“But Xander and Jonathan said that that was in about four years. Wouldn’t that also change if we’re changing events? You know; making different choices?” Buffy asked ingenuously.

Wolfie’s eyes shot wide open with the implications of her simple question.

“Shit!”

Buffy watched in amusement as the Bigfoot raced towards the library. She idly wondered if he would remember to return to her so they cold finish their talk.

~*~*~

“The circumstances have changed.” Wolfie spoke directly to Xander as soon as he re-entered the library.

“Huh?” Xander sensed this was important, but he was a little lost on the subject matter.

Wolfie took a deep breath; a much needed pause so that he could gather his chaotic thoughts. “The dimension that Joan and William are from wasn’t created until a certain number of other dimensions came into being first. But that’s all changed now. We have no idea how long it will take for the dimensions to split again.”

“How does this affect Joan and William?” Joyce demanded. One good look at her daughter and she knew that the older version of her Buffy needed to be first priority.

“Um…well, it’s potentially good news,” Xander replied with exaggerated zeal.

“Potentially?” William asked, eyebrow lifted in derision as he stubbornly clung to his knowledge that the whelp treated him like dirt and no visit down memory lane was going to stop that.

Xander and Spike shared a look, neither understanding the animosity that they both felt clearly coming from the pure vampire.

“Potentially, your dimension could split off at any time from now on.” Glancing quickly away from Joan, he told them the rest. “But it also means that you could be stuck here for longer than four years, too. There’s just no way to know for sure. We can probably come up with couple of theories, but nothing concrete.”

One look at Joan’s stricken face was enough to tell them all that leaving the situation as it was, was just not acceptable.

~*~*~

“Sorry about that,” Wolfie apologised to the little blond slayer as he returned to her side.

Buffy smiled before asking how her question had effected the situation.

“It means that Joan and William could either leave us at any time, or they could be stuck here for longer than four years.” Wolfie informed her honestly. He was of the opinion that the teenager was not one to be patronised.

“Oh! She’s so not gonna take that well,” Buffy responded sagely.

“No,” the representative from the Powers That Be replied sadly. “So, where were we?”

“Well, I think I’m covered with the whole dimension confusion, and I sorta get the memory thing, but not quite all up with the why it’s getting worse or anything to do with the claim. I don’t really get why it’s so important or what the difference is going to be or how it’s done.” Buffy blurted out with a rush. It was times like this that she really wished that she had more Willow-like smarts. Hell, she’d take Xander-like smarts at this stage…as long as she didn’t have to dress like him, that is.

“The problem is caused by a group of factors. The memories are just a part of it. The other parts are what you can help with by claiming Spike.” Wolfie tried to make it easier for the girl to understand. “As it stands, the claim that Joan placed on William is sort of amplifying all that’s coming from you and Spike. Everything that you’re saying or doing is being delivered to the both of them in surround sound and at aggravated levels.” The Sasquatch needed to ensure that she totally understood what her older self and the pure vampire were experiencing. “If this continues for too long, they will become so inundated with memories that they will end up in a coma-like state.”

Buffy’s horror was genuine. She silently berated herself for her complete self-absorption. She’d had no clue that things had been so difficult for the older couple. She had been too busy coping with the wigginess that was Angel and the total hotness that was Spike. The fact that they were apparently in deep trouble had never even crossed her mind.

~*~*~

“I claim you, Spike of Aurelius, in the name of the Summers women.” Buffy’s voice was strong and firm, drawing all eyes to her. Joyce and Dawn moved swiftly to her side and the three Summer’s women faced the gobsmacked vampire. “You are ours.”

His whispered “yours” echoed clearly through the room.

Joan sighed in relief, just before she fainted.

Chapter 46

William caught her before she hit the ground and cradled her inert body tenderly in his arms. Wordlessly, he carried her to the table and took a seat. Focusing on the blond beauty in his embrace, he used his senses to evaluate her condition.

“Is she alright?” Buffy asked fearfully, silently berating herself for not helping the pair earlier.

All eyes focused on the unconscious slayer as if they could wake her by will alone.

Wolfie closed his eyes, reached for his centre and asked for guidance. He was relieved to learn the truth. “She’s fine,” he announced with finality. “The PTB’s needed to talk to her directly. She’ll be back with us soon.”

~*~*~

Buffy/Joan looked around in confusion. Either the library had gone through some sort of instant weird-ass makeover, she had finally suffered that breakdown she had been promising herself, or she had somehow been transported away from her love, family, and friends – none of these options filled her with joy.

“You are our Chosen One. You please us. You are the first to embrace their destiny and their gift.”

Buffy/Joan watched in awe as the golden beauty floated towards her. She knew she was in the presence of a Power, and that it was the same presence that she’d felt in Giles’ apartment when Wolfie had been contacted. She didn’t know whether to bow or kneel or get pissed at being dragged here…and where exactly was here anyway?

“You have our thanks for many things, Chosen One, but we have brought you here for a reason. On your plane you sleep. We are sorry that you were given no notice, but we need your help and knew of no other way to make you understand the urgency of the situation. We also felt that you needed to hear directly from us an absolute truth.” The Goddess smiled benignly at Buffy as her words seemed to bloom in the Slayer’s head.

“We let you go not because we did not want you; your place is assured with us and it broke our hearts to let you return. We let you go because the winged one and the world needed you more. You are our gift, our representative, and one of our two most beloved of children; you and your champion. We love you both and we desperately wanted to keep you, but he needed you to fulfil his destiny. He did not ask, but his heart bled, and you still had so much more to do. We are grieved that you would think for even a fraction of a moment that we did not want you. Never think that, Child of Light. We would keep you close to us always if we could.”

Buffy/Joan felt the trickling of tears as they ran down her face. Her heart lightened and the weight that she felt she had carried forever eased in the face of the sincerity and love she felt pouring from the glowing being that regarded her with such tenderness. She felt the healing that had begun with William’s love finally allow her fractured psyche to mend. The tears of cleansing flowed as she felt herself held and comforted.

~*~*~

“Is there anything we can do? In the meantime, I mean, ‘cause all this sitting here and doing nothing is kinda wiggy,” Willow asked in frustration. It wasn’t that she wasn’t happy to sit around and watch Bu..er Joan sleep, but they still had other things that had to be done, didn’t they?

“Shouldn’t we be concentrating on getting them home?” Jonathan hesitantly asked, not entirely sure that he wanted them to focus on him again, but intuitively knowing that they really did need to address the problem that his future self had clearly been a part of.

“I still don’t understand how it all happened in the first place; what it was that we actually did. Maybe if we knew that we’d be able to come up with something?” Andrew offered carefully.

Giles watched his friend completely tune out the people around him. William held Joan to his chest and stroked her hair as he watched for the smallest sign that she was waking. The watcher had never felt so helpless in his life. He prayed to whoever was listening that the Pure Vampire would not have to wait too long. William looked so very lost.

~*~*~

“Thank you,” Buffy/Joan whispered with heartfelt gratitude. Taking a deep breath the Slayer seemed to straighten and radiate power, stronger than she’d been in a very long time. “You brought me here for a reason?”

“The cursed one.”

She had expected any number of reasons, but the thought of Angel had not crossed her mind for an instant. “Um…you know he’s dust, right?”

The Goddess smiled in amusement.

“Okay! Enough of the cryptic smiling. What exactly is the problem?” the Slayer asked testily, pretty sure that she was so not going to like the answer.

“In your time, he has done much good.”

“And…?”

“We would like to send him back.”

Buffy/Joan gaped at the smiling Goddess. “But he’s nuts!”

“Time flows differently in the plane he was banished to. He has been healed.”

The petite blond rolled her eyes in disgust. “Fine! He’s been healed. But what’s to stop him from becoming all stalker-nutso guy again? What’s to stop the whole possessive vamp crap from starting up again? How can you be sure he won’t start on the whole Spike-is-evil bandwagon, or trying to kill Xander, and what about the shaky soul?”

“All good questions, Chosen.”

“Well, some answers would be of the good!” she snapped sarcastically.

“We would ask that you ask him.”

“Huh?”

The Goddess gently smiled in benevolence as her wishes formed in Joan’s head. “We ask that you meet and talk with him. You still remember some good in him, while your younger self does not. We hope that your approval will pave the way for him to return safely. There is one who can help him move towards his redemption, but we need to get him to his guide, and for that we need you.”

“But I don’t wanna,” she whined.

“Do you chose not to show him clemency?” the Goddess asked with gentle curiousity.

Joan pouted. Being one of the good guys seriously sucked on occasion!

~*~*~

Joan’s eyes fluttered open and the first thing she saw was the love and relief that flittered through the eyes of her vampire. Smiling up at his gorgeous face she gently brushed his cheek with her hand. “Hey, you.”

“Welcome back, beautiful.”

“Do you want the good news, or the bad news?” she asked with a sheepish grin.

Chapter 47

Spike watched as Joan explained to one and all what had happened to her while she’d been with the Powers. He felt the bile rise to his throat as he thought about the higher ups insistence that Angelus be redeemed. His demon screamed at the unfairness of it all. Unsouled, the bastard had a kill rate that could be compared to the entire Nazi faction; souled, he had been a simpering, gutter-trawling, rat-eating, useless, waste of space that had spent a hundred years in a self-involved pity party before being tempted by his paedophilic tendencies to actually do something and even then he’d screwed it up. How in the HELL did he rate special consideration from the bloody Powers-That-Liked-To-Mess-With-You? It just wasn’t bloody right!

William watched as his younger self struggled to keep his displeasure to himself. ‘Displeasure?’ He thought derisively. Displeasure didn’t even begin to cover it. He couldn’t fault Spike for anything he was feeling - the Pure Vampire shared his ire. There had to be more to the whole situation than he was seeing. This couldn’t be just about Peaches. Turning to the giant redhead, William ground out his question. “Why? They didn’t want to use him before, what’s bloody changed? What is so all fired important about Peaches?”

“He’s not important…but his team is,” the giant explained calmly.

“What?!” Buffy asked with wide eyed disbelief. “What team? Angel has a team? When did Angel get a team? Shouldn’t I like know about that or something?”

Joan gazed at the Sasquatch speculatively. “Not yet, he doesn’t, but in my time he had a group of people working for and with him.” She idly wondered just how much she didn’t know about the goings on in L.A. and if the PTB’s had even more surprises for her. She was fully aware that she didn’t have the whole story, but in all honesty she would have to admit that if Angel was doing his job and his job was not in Sunnydale then maybe, this once, ignoring the situation was of the good.

Wolfie nodded in agreement. “Those that will join him have important destinies to fulfil, but he’s what brings them all together. The Power’s need them and unfortunately that means they need the cursed one too.”

“People actually work for Dead Boy?” Xander asked, shocked.

Joan grinned at the brunette. “Kinda depends on if you consider Cordelia a person, I guess.”

“Queen C works for the Incredible Forehead? Strangely, I’m more surprised by the thought of her actually working at all!” Xander quipped.

“Yeah, isn’t that like against her religion or something?” Willow felt the need to add.

“Yeah, there's Catholic, Protestant, and the extremely wealthy.” Buffy snarked.

Spike snickered and set off the rest of the room.

“I hate to put a damper on things, but do we know anything about the condition of his soul?” Jenny asked quietly once the laughter had settled down.

“The Power’s have stabilized it and made it permanent. They said it was the least they could do,” Joan replied, scrunching her nose up in derision. Considering that he’d had his soul when he started his whole Buffy-obsession, she really didn’t think much of the soul in question.

Jenny felt an overwhelming sense of dread. If the soul was permanent and under no conceivable threat, what was left for her to do? Would the Clan allow her to stay? She hadn’t even informed them yet that he had dusted, fearful that they would remove her from where she was, but even if he was being brought back, if his soul was anchored, would they now say that her duty was over? That she had to return to the fold? The thought that she would have to leave now that her relationship with Rupert was starting to move forward upset her much more than she would have thought possible given that they hadn’t even been on a date yet. What was she going to do?

Giles removed his glasses and cleaned them out of habit as he tried to organize his thoughts. A distasteful thought came to him. “How long will we be forced to endure him before we are no longer obligated?”

Joan mumbled something as she looked down at the floor. Not even William’s close proximity allowed the Pure Vampire to understand her words.

“What was that, Kitten?”

“Till…um…graduation,” she offered, embarrassed by feelings of guilt. She was the one that had offered him clemency after all.

The out-pouring of ‘good Lord’s, bloody hell’s, what’s, and a single ‘craptastic’, were not altogether unexpected.

It didn’t take long for Joan to give them the rest of the news. Angel would be back soon, but because of the differences in time between the dimensions no definitive arrival time could be stated. They would all just have to be on the lookout for him.

Grumbling aside, the rest of the meeting was dedicated to Joan and William’s descriptions of what had happened to them for the benefit of Jonathan and Andrew. General consensus seemed to be that the two ‘experts’ were to have been party to creating the problem in their future, so maybe they could help prevent it in the older blonde duo’s past.

As the meeting continued, Spike watched as Xander drew further into his shell. It wasn’t like he could point a finger and say ‘there, that’s what you’re doing wrong’ to William. The Pure Vampire wasn’t exactly saying anything that was wrong. He was polite and answered all questions, but it was there, the indefinable something was there for everyone to see and it was really beginning to piss Spike off. He had an idea on what his older version had against his friend, but the blond could not stand by and watch the teen get hurt. It was getting time to have a little chat with, well, himself!

Wolfie watched as William’s aura slowly darkened; insecurities and past grievances eating away at his purity. The giant forest dweller steeled himself, intuitively knowing that he needed to give the blond the same peace that the Power’s had given Joan. “William? Can we go for a walk and have a chat?”

“Oh you can bloody well count me in on that little convo, mate. Tink and I are definitely gonna have some words!”

Chapter 48

After the two vampires and the Sasquatch left the library, Dawn took the opportunity to ask the question that had bugged her for years. “Granted my Latin isn’t up to Giles’, but doesn’t the invitation over the front doors mean that vamps can come in anytime they want?”

Buffy, Willow, and Xander looked at her blankly.

“Your point being…?” Buffy asked her sister in the universal tone specifically designed to piss younger siblings off.

“Wouldn’t that mean that you’re stupid and endangering everyone here by holding your meetings in a place that has full vamp access?” Dawn snapped back acerbically.

The three original Scoobies shared a wide eyed look of realisation before turning accusing eyes towards the Watcher who suddenly looked as embarrassed as his three young charges.

Joan chuckled quietly, wondering why it was again that they’d tried to keep this part of their lives away from the little brat. She certainly seemed to share Spike’s uncanny ability of cutting things to the bone. Thinking of the vampire made her wonder what the three males were discussing…and if she was going to have to hurt someone.

~*~*~

“You need to let go of your anger, William. It’s beginning to affect your aura,” Wolfie carefully started to explain.

“I may not have lived as long as you, but I still have your memories floating around inside. I know how he treated you. I also know how you treated him!” Spike snarled. Pointing his finger back towards the library, he continued his tirade. “That boy hasn’t done a bloody thing to you. You’re blaming him for something that in all likelihood he’s never gonna do. Not now. You’re bloody well holding onto a memory that you are going to lose over time. Your biggest bloody bitch was that they never saw who you had become, that they kept your past actions against you. Well guess what, genius? You’re doin’ the same thing to Harris. Stop being a hypocritical wanker!”

William stared at his younger self; his mouth gaping in shock.

Wolfie snickered at the look on the gobsmaked vampire’s face. Maybe this wouldn’t be as difficult as he’d first thought. “I wouldn’t have been game to say it quite like that…but he has a point.”

~*~*~

Buffy was mortified that her baby sister had been the one to point out what should have been obvious to them all. She didn’t know whether she felt worse or better when Joan had informed them that in her time they had moved the meetings to a shop!

Joyce moved to the counter and glanced at the leaflets that were lying there. Picking one up, she turned back to the group. “Is this Cultural Exchange Program something I should know about, Buffy?”

“You don’t have the room to be host to an exchange student, mom,” Joan gently informed her mother before turning her attention to Giles. “You need to find a spell to make something unbreakable then we need to go to the museum and perform the spell on the seal of an Incan Mummy.”

“Is this an urgent matter, Joan?” Giles asked wondering how much time he had to find the correct spell.

“In my time the seal was broken the day we went to the museum. That makes it next Thursday. If it gets broken this time a lot of people are going to die.”

“Right then, to the books it is.” Giles acknowledged Joan’s unspoken plea for action and made his way to the cage where he kept his more dangerous spell books.

Buffy grinned at her older self. “You fought a mummy? What’s next, the Werewolf or Frankenstein’s Monster?”

Joan grinned back. “We’ll meet a guy we might be able to save from becoming a werewolf in a few weeks, but you’ll have to wait for a couple of years to meet the new age version of Frankenstein’s Monster.”

“Get out!” Buffy exclaimed with wide eyed awe.

“Oh! And you get to meet Dracula the year after.”

“Whoa, Buff, you get to meet all the cool monsters!” Xander joked.

Joan smirked in a manner entirely reminiscent of her love. “Well, Drac makes you his bug eating monkey boy, Xan, and Willow dates the werewolf, so it’s not just Buffy.”

She joyously laughed at the expressions on their faces. For the first time in a long time she felt pure happiness. She had finally made peace with herself.

~*~*~

As William came through the doors to the library he was momentarily stunned by a sight he had never seen before. Buffy- his Buffy- was laughing with abandon. He may have to call her Joan, but to him she would always be Buffy. She lit up the room with her beauty. Her eyes sparkled in amusement. She was a Goddess to him; a bright shining light that taught him to believe in heaven. His own smile of joy echoed hers as he reached for her and together they were breathtaking.

~*~*~

“I’m sorry,” William offered sincerely. His guilt flayed him once he’d taken the time to notice the hurt that he was responsible for placing in the eyes of the youth that faced him uncomfortably. He’d hurt the lad publicly; it seemed only fitting that his apology be equally public. “I’ve got no bloody excuse.”

Xander threw William a lopsided grin and shrugged before his smile turned cheeky. “You could always make it up to me by telling me about Anya.”

William lifted an eyebrow and smirked without malice. “Well, at the moment she’s the patron saint of scorned women; a vengeance demon. Want I should call her?”

Xander rolled his eyes in mock aggravation. “Do I ever get to date a normal girl?”

Joan chuckled. “Hate to break it to you, Xan, but in my time every girl you have ever dated either was, had been, or would be supernatural in some form or another. Go you with the equal opportunity dating!”

“Did you tell him he’s s’posed to date the cheerleader yet?” William happily asked his girl.

“Noooooooooooo!” Xander cried as he repeatedly hit his head against the library table.

Chapter 49

The next couple of weeks flew by. Everyone was first kept busy with the search for the correct spell for the Inca Mummy’s seal, followed by the news that Joyce’s gallery had managed to net Joan and William a huge fortune with the auctioning of the Treasure of Amara. The two super-beings happily went house hunting and managed to find a gorgeous three story Victorian with immediate occupancy not too far from Revello that not only catered to all the needs of Joan and William, but knowing that eventually the house would belong to Buffy and Spike; it got their stamp of approval too.

The large ground floor library was quickly utilized by Giles, and all of his tomes were soon settled in their new home. The spacious living room was unanimously voted the new scooby headquarters and three of the five bedrooms were designated as Scooby retreats…to be used as needed. One of the remaining two bedrooms was given to Spike, while the master bedroom and it’s beautifully restored adjoining bathroom was the one area in the house that was listed by Joan as being completely off limits to anyone one but her and William.

Joan had announced in no uncertain terms that the room was theirs, much to the delight of the bleached blond Pure Vampire. Unfortunately, they had been so busy with spells and plans and shopping and moving that neither one of them had been ready to take their relationship onto the next level. They had discussed it and both wanted their first night ‘together’ to be a memory making experience, and for that they needed Spike to visit Giles and a night off from everything... and maybe the next day too. William had been pushing for two days, but Joan had just grinned and hit him over the back of the head while she told him he was still evil.

The older slayer had been so intent on making sure Ethan Rayne would not be a continuing thorn in the side of her younger self that when Buffy casually mentioned that Cordelia had invited her to a frat party, Joan did not immediately remember the significance of the invitation. It nagged at her though, prodding her unconscious until the point where she gave up what she was doing and concentrated on what it was that was bothering her.

“Oh shit!” she exclaimed as she finally remembered her and Cordelia’s fun night of being the sacrificial lambs to a big snake. Grabbing the phone she rang the only person she could think of that was available to give her and Buffy a lift to the party. Giles had talked Spike and William into driving him in the Desoto to L.A. to collect the books the watcher had in storage. Oz hadn’t been introduced to the group yet, and Cordy would be already at the party.

“Mom?” Joan said as the number she was ringing was answered.

~*~*~

A group of figures dressed in hooded cloaks encircled the large well in the floor of the basement. One, standing on the stairs to the upper levels of the abode lifted his sword as he spoke, “Machida,” he reverently incanted the name as he moved down the stairs to join his brothers.

“In his name.” The rest of the group followed his lead.

Again the leader spoke, “We who serve you, we who receive all that you bestow, call upon you in this holy hour.”

“In this holy hour,” the group recited.

“We have no wealth, no possession... except that which you give us. We have no power, no place in the world... except that which you give us. It's been a year since our last offering; a year in which our bounty overflowed. We come before you with fresh offerings. Accept our offering, Dark Lord, and bless us with your power. Machida!” His voice rose in exultation.

“Machida!” his followers cried.

Tossing stones into the well at the centre of the basement one at a time, he continued, “Come forth, and let your terrible countenance look upon your servants and their humble offering. We call you, Machida.”

“In his name. Machida.” The words echoed through the chamber, rousing the three girls that had been chained to the wall.

As the group waited for the arrival of their demonic benefactor, Cordelia took stock of the situation. This was all Buffy’s fault. If the blond had agreed to come then maybe she would have a chance of getting out of here, but noooooo….little miss boring had point blank refused to come. Loser. Now what the hell was she meant to do? Looking over at the two girls with her, she was fairly certain that the one she didn’t know, with the scanky hair and the dirty clothes and the half dead look about her was probably going to be of more assistance than the girl she did know. Harmony Kendall was just NOT the person you wanted with you in this sort of situation.

As the demon rose from the well, Cordelia screamed. Half man and half snake, the creature snarled at the three girls. They were his offering, his token, his dinner. He revelled in their fear.

“For he shall rise from the depths, and we shall tremble before him.” The demon’s priest continued the ritual.

“You know, it’s probably the smell that causes that. I mean seriously, personal hygiene becoming an issue…ew.” Joan quipped as she lightly skipped down the stairs.

The priest snarled at her as he moved to intercept her, sword drawn. “You dare?”

Effortlessly batting the steel away, Joan slammed him with a right hook and turned her gaze back to the demon dismissing the boy as inconsequential before his body even hit the floor. “Hey, reptile boy! Lets dance.”

“No woman speaks to him,” one of Machida’s followers yelled as he tried to rush the focused blond, only to be thrown back against the wall for his efforts.

“Buffy!” Cordelia yelled in relief before remembering that she had decided that this whole situation was the small blonde’s fault in the first place.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m comin’,” Buffy snarked from the stairs as she followed the path of her older self. “Don’t even try blaming me for this, Cordy!”

While Joan faced the beast the ritual had called, Buffy faced the human followers, muttering all the time about stupid frat boys, cheerleaders, and their delusions of grandeur.

Cordelia watched silently, still in shock that not only did she NOT know that Buffy had a sister that looked enough like her that, except for the hair, they could be twins, but worse, neither blonde seemed to have any fashion sense at all.

~*~*~

“Pet?” William spoke quietly as he held her in his arms in their brand new bed in their brand new home. “How long do you think it will be before we can take that break we’ve been talking about?”

“Well, we should have some time after Halloween before Ford turns up.” She turned in his arms so that she could smile up to him. “Why? You getting frisky, honey?”

Scooting down the bed so that they were nose to nose, William turned his lust filled gaze onto her. “What makes you think that, gorgeous?” His husky voice reverberated though her whole body, teasing her.

In what seemed like slow motion he moved forward until his soft lips met hers.

Chapter 50

"But I don't get it. Why can't I just be a witch? I could even be like Glinda the Good Witch; instant positive power, nothing dark. Gabrielle isn't even super strong, how is that gonna help anything? All she gets to do is be Xena’s sidekick and wear that almost-a-skirt-and-top," she grumbled unhappily.

“She’s an Amazon Warrior Princess who welds a mean staff, Will. By becoming her, you’d get all sorts of neat skills the will enable you to protect yourself and others without the years of training that those sorts of skills would take to develop. You may not always have a handy spell ready or the correct ingredients, so this way you get another option. You don’t need help with the magic, you’re already gifted with that power, and it will grow the more you learn. The best witches take the time to study their craft and I know how you like to be the best. This way; you can be protected and still spend your time concentrating on the magic thing.” Joan carefully chose an argument that would appeal to the petulant teen.

“At least Gabrielle is better than what I have to be,” Dawn couldn’t help adding. Who knew being a Scooby would require her to take one for the team? She still couldn’t believe they expected her to dress up as a doctor! She’d offer to swap with Willow if she thought for a second her sister would allow it. Being the baby sister blew chunks!

After finally convincing the redhead it was for the best, Willow, Xander, and Dawn purchased their costumes at Ethan’s and Buffy was sent to Party-hire for hers. Since Snyder had insisted that she ‘volunteer’ to chaperone a group of younger children as they Trick or Treated, the fact that she would still be the slayer rather than a victim of the spell meant that she would easily be able to corral the youngsters for the few moments that the spell was in place, but Willow, Xander, and Dawn would be effected in much same way that Xander had in Joan’s time. It was hoped that as Xander had been able to draw knowledge from his pseudo army memory over the years, the three teens would now benefit even more. Xander himself had decided to go for an upgrade. This time he was going as a special Ops commando. He wanted the added bonus of extensive hand to hand combat to be a part of his arsenal.

Joan, Willow, Jenny, and William kept an eye on the front entrance of the shop. Giles, Xander, and Spike waited in the dark alley at the rear. Buffy and Dawn headed to the school.

The plan was simple, as soon as the spell went into effect, William and Joan would enter the store and the pure vampire would continue on to the back entrance. Jenny would deal with Willow, then they too would enter, ensuring that Ethan didn’t leave through the front. William would open the back entrance and Giles, Spike, and Xander would enter and guard that door. Xander would be instructed to break the statue of Janus and Giles would be the one to grab the chaos worshiper. Then Joan planned on having a little conversation with the irritating pain in her butt.

~*~*~

Joan was not overly surprised when the plan went down without a hitch Ethan was easily subdued and his shock at their apparent knowledge of the spell and how to break it stunned him into silence. The addition of a furious Ripper into the mix ensured the embarrassed sorcerer’s co-operation.

Once Willow and Xander were deemed free of the spell, Joan sent them and Spike to Buffy to assist her with the clean-up of the spell's aftermath. She then shocked Giles with her knowledge of Eyghon before explaining to both the watcher and his old friend the danger they were now in.

She, William, and Jenny had gone over the situation with a fine tooth comb and had decided to go for a pre-emptive strike. Summoning Eyghon and binding the demon within a circle, William entered the circle and allowed the beast entry, easily defeating it. Jenny then bound the sorcerer’s powers while adding a curse.

“That curse won’t affect you unless you try to get the binding removed,” the gypsy informed the defeated man. Stepping into his personal space, she added a warning. “But if it does kick in, know that every spell you attempt will rebound and only you will be affected. My people excel at curses, Mr Rayne. You really don’t want to test that.”

~*~*~

After dealing with the frightened children, Buffy, Willow, Dawn, Xander, and Spike made their way to the Bronze. The events of the night had changed the original events as they had known it would, but Joan had informed Buffy of one event that they needed to make sure did happen. So while everyone enjoyed a drink, Buffy slipped off to find Oz. It was time for Willow to meet him.

~*~*~

Buffy’s joy at her friend’s blossoming relationship with the monosyllabic guitarist was overshadowed by her discovery that her old friend, Ford, was planning on setting her up. Her pain at his betrayal was lessened by the knowledge that Spike was so incensed over the whole thing that they’d physically had to restrain him from, as he put it, teaching the boy a whole new level of pain. Jealous protective boyfriend wigging had a certain butterfly inducing thing going for it.

Spike had been somewhat placated when he’d been allowed to rip to shreds the vampire that Ford had eventually got to help him.

After the situation had been dealt with, Joan and William made a quick trip to Los Angeles. The sight of Chantarelle, or Lily, as she would later call herself, had reminded the older slayer of the Family Home Shelter, so she decided to go and close it down sooner rather than later.

The addition of William by her side and her own years of experience made the trip a relatively short one.

~*~*~

As the Order of Taraka had not been hired, Careers Day went off without a hitch and Giles’ phone call to Jamaica ensured that Kendra would stay were she was.

Spike, at Joan’s prompting, had hired the skating rink to surprise his girl. He had also managed to spend time there prior to the date in order to refresh his own rusty skills. Buffy danced with a master vampire around the rink for hours.

After he had kissed her goodnight at her front door, Buffy floated up the stairs in a joyous haze. She’d never been happier.

~*~*~

Spike watched in amusement at the sexual tension between his friend and the brunette cheerleader escalated. All the denial in the world wasn’t going to stop that little situation from exploding…and soon. He just hoped he had ring side seats for it.

~*~*~

Joyce informed Joan when Ted approached her at the Gallery, and the four superheroes dealt with the robot quickly.

~*~*~

While William and Joan took care of the Gorches, Buffy and Spike dealt with the Bezoar demon.

~*~*~
With each change to the timeline, Joan changed. Horrifying memories of being swallowed alive by the beast disappeared in an instant. Sadness over her lacklustre dating history with Angel faded into the ether as the memories were replaced with the fun that Spike exposed Buffy too. Memories of sneaking out and her mother’s disappointment in her were changed to visions of her mother’s approval as she left the house with her doting master vampire boyfriend. There were productive patrols interspersed with shy kisses and hand holding, movies, dancing together at the Bronze, moonlight strolls and picnics, and talking. Anything and everything was covered as the pair took the time to really get to know each other. And through it all, Joan fell more deeply in love than she’d ever dreamed possible.

An idea struck the older slayer and she began to plan.

Suggesting that she and Buffy take the evening’s patrol alone, Joan took the opportunity to talk with the younger girl.

“I need to tell you about my seventeenth birthday.”

Chapter 51

“You know that none of this is gonna happen, right? I mean, after my, um, our birthday, will you even remember it?” Buffy asked curiously, really not understanding the reason her older self had chosen to tell her about the whole Angel and sex is a seriously bad thing.

“I remember having this conversation now, so that means that even though it won’t happen, we’ll always remember how evil Angelus is,” Joan tried to explain her reasoning. “I also had another reason.”

Buffy considered the older blonde suspiciously. She had a feeling she wasn’t going to like what she was about to hear, but knew that Joan was going to say it anyway. “Okay…spill.”

“William and I have never, um, well, made love and I, ah, want to kinda change that on my birthday. I want to be able to bask for a while…you know? I was hoping that you and Spike would hold off for a while; that way both of us get to experience our first time with our vamp.” Joan blushed as she spoke, really not comfortable with the subject, even if, technically, she was talking to herself.

Buffy giggled in response, relieved that it wasn’t anything bad.

“Chill, it’s fine. Spike and I are so not ready to get horizontal. Feel free to bask in the salty goodness that is William…but, um, let’s not share…’Kay? ‘Cause - uber weird!”

~*~*~

Unbeknownst to William, Joan made all the arrangements. After the joint birthday party at Revello, Spike would stay at Giles’. She asked her mother to send William on a last minute errand so she could set up the bedroom. All that would be needed when they returned was for Joan to light the candles.

~*~*~

Joan stopped at the door to their bedroom and turned to her love. “I spoke to Wolfie and he told me about the ritual,” she quietly told him, blushing at her own forwardness.

William tilted his head to the side and smiled gently. “What ritual, pet?”

Opening the door so that he could see the prepared bedroom, Joan whispered her answer, “The bonding ritual to become mates.”

The room was awash with the muted light of tall, vanilla scented pillar candles. The black satin sheets stood in stark contrast to the blood red rose petals that littered the bed in decadent beauty. A soft melody emanated from the stereo.

The vision of love and seduction that the room symbolized was lost on the pure vampire. All he could see was his love and all he could hear were her words. His eyes darkened in desire as he reached to gently caress her cheek. “Are you sure, luv? There’s no going back from this, you know?”

Smiling softly she answered him, “I love you, and I want this more than anything. I only have one request.”

Drawing her into his embrace, he asked her what she wanted.

“Tonight we’re alone. Tonight we’re ourselves. Buffy and Spike.”

“Buffy,” he murmured reverently before claiming her lips as he had already claimed her heart.

Moving further into the room they slowly and silently undressed each other. Two sets of eyes darkened with desire. Spike changed guises, his wings billowing dramatically. Golden orbs looked down on pools of ocean green.

With his first word they felt the faint tendrils of eternal earth magic surround them. “I claim you as my eternal mate. I belong to you. I offer my life for you. I give to you my protection, my allegiance, my heart, my soul, and my body. I take into my keeping the same that is yours. Your life, happiness, and welfare will be cherished and placed above my own for all time. You are my mate, bound to me for all eternity and always in my care.”

“Yours, eternally; as you are mine. I belong to you. I offer my life for you. I give to you my protection, my allegiance, my heart, my soul, and my body. I take into my keeping the same that is yours. Your life, happiness, and welfare will be cherished and placed above my own for all time. You are my mate, bound to me for all eternity and always in my care.” Buffy returned the claim fully.

“Eternally, yours.”

With the completion of the ritual words, Buffy offered her neck.

Spike drew her pliant form to him, laving her neck with soft swipes of his tongue, gentle licks and soft nibbles, slowing pulling her blood to the surface to her symphony of pleasure-filled moans. His hands drifted up and down her sides in lazy strokes, stoking the fire within them both. As she lifted her arms to encircle his neck, his hands rose to firmly grasp her shoulders. His wings embraced her as his razor sharp fangs sank home.

As his first mouthful of warm liquid ambrosia was swallowed, Spike was pleasantly surprised and aroused as hell to feel his mate decimate Drucilla’s mark with her own strong bite.

After three strong pulls of each others blood, their stained lips met. Carefully slicing her tongue on his fangs, Buffy moved back to her mark and licked it, sealing the bond. Spike moved to do the same.

As their combined blood mixed, the marks closed and both felt the bond snap into place. Their lips met to complete the ritual. Wind whipped around them, lifting them from the floor and gently spinning them as swirling bright pin points of lights caressed their bodies. The lights faded as the magic and wind receded and the newly mated pair drifted back to the floor.

Without releasing her lips, Spike shifted back to human guise, lifted his mate into the cradle of his arms, and moved towards the bed.

Mouths fused together in passion, they fell onto the bed together. Soft silk sheets combined with the velvet touch of the rose petals teased the nerve endings of Buffy’s already sensitized flesh.

Limbs intertwined until it was impossible to tell where one started and the other stopped. Each touch elicited a heightening of their inner fire. A need to be joined completely compelled them both.

Buffy reached for his turgid length. “I need…Spike, please…” she begged almost incoherently.

Spike covered her face in kisses as he moved to cover her. “I need you, too, my goddess, my beautiful golden girl.”

As he entered her, Buffy was overwhelmed with the feeling of completion. He filled her in a way that no other man had. Angel, Parker and Riley faded into obscurity; a forgotten memory.

“Oh, God…you’re so tight…and warm…you’re burning me up, kitten,” he whispered reverently as he started to move within her. “You feel like home.”

Buffy moaned in agreement; her body matching him thrust for thrust, mentally berating herself for waiting so long. This was heaven; she felt warm, safe, loved.

She reached for his lips, desperate for more of his bone melting kisses. The intensity of their coupling soared, at odds with the sensuously slow pace they maintained.

Breaking free from his sinfully soft lips to breath, Buffy kissed along his jaw to his neck, licking, sucking and nibbling her mark.

Spike purred in delight, before moving to his own mark and showing her exactly what she was doing to him, all the while keeping up the slow rhythm of his strokes.

With each swipe of his tongue, each gentle suck on his mark, her passion intensified and her inner fire reached new heights. With his gentle bite, she felt her world explode around her, automatically biting down on her mark and bringing on his own powerful release.

Moments of euphoria seemed like hours as they basked in the aftermath of their combined orgasm. Shifting slightly to the side, Spike drew his love into his firm embrace and softly kissed her lips. “I love you, Buffy.”

“I love you, too, Spike.”

As they moved together, their passion renewed, Buffy was struck with an irrelevant thought, ‘guess that breaks the Buffy birthday curse once and for all.’

~*~*~

The next few weeks flew by. Sadly, they had not been quick enough to stop Oz from being bitten by his cousin, but at least this time they had been able to tell him what was going to happen before he changed for the first time. This meant that he was safely within the library cage when the full moon rose, and the werewolf hunter was never alerted to his presence.

Joan and William had a permanent cage built in their basement, giving Oz a place to go that wasn’t quite as public as the library. Joan warned him about Veruca and told him of his future self’s journey to Nepal to gain some control over his wolf. Willow was his staunchest supporter, helping research his condition and all the possible avenues of help that he could utilise.

When Xander told the group that he’d witnessed Amy’s use of magic, Joan suggested an intervention of sorts; inviting the young witch to join Willow and Jonathon in their magic lessons with Jenny. The senior Slayer fervently hoped that all three witches would learn at least that magic had consequences.

Jenny informed Giles that she would be following Angel to L.A. when he finally moved there and Joan suggested that the watcher contact his old friend Althanea to arrange for a mentor. She argued that if the new teacher came soon, the three witches would have just over a year to learn to trust their new advisor. She was terrified that the loss of their teacher would have a detrimental effect on trio.

Jenny’s decision left Giles at a bit of a loss, but his developing friendship with Joyce allowed him to weather the break-up with the Gypsy with far less grief than Joan’s Giles had.

William spent much of his time with Wolfie and his wife, learning how to utilize his new skills and powers.

When Buffy was hospitalized with the flu, she was able to recover in peace as Joan and William dealt with der Kindestod, and Spike stayed by her side.

Life on the Hellmouth ran relatively smoothly, until Sadie Hawkin’s day and the arrival of the ghosts of James and Grace...and Angel.

~*~*~

Buffy walked into the kitchen, happy to leave all discussion of the ghosts that were inhabiting the school to her older self. At least Joan knew what was going on. As she grabbed a soda from the fridge, she thought about the tragedy of the love story. She could kind of understand where Grace was coming from, being in a relationship with someone that the world considered wrong for you. She knew without a doubt that the Council would never approve of her relationship with Spike, even if they knew that he was totally on the side of good. Bottom line; he was a vampire and she was a vampire slayer.

Try as she might, she couldn’t understand James. He had killed the woman he loved because she broke off with him. That was a selfish kind of love, wasn’t it?

As she continued to think about things, she absentmindedly placed her hands in her pockets and felt the scrape of paper. Lifting it out she saw it was a Class of '55 Sadie Hawkins Dance flyer. Placing the flyer on the kitchen counter she felt overcome by lethargy as a faint female voice whispered to her, ‘I need you.’

Moving like an automaton out the kitchen door she neither saw nor heard the three that followed her.

As she reached the school, the swarm of wasps that had covered it parted and the doors opened for her. She didn’t notice Joan, William, and Spike darting in behind her at supernatural speed.

Joan had wondered which of them the spirits would approach, but given that she was mated to William she had believed it more likely that Buffy would be called. Her only fear was that since so many changes had been made, things might not go the same way they had for her.

Following her younger self, she realised something else; in her time she’d been taken over by James, but Grace had taken over Angelus. If he wasn’t here, who would be acting in his place?

~*~*~

In front of the school trophy case, a blinding light shone. As it receded, the naked body of a male stirred where he lay.

~*~*~

Joan look on in shock as Angel – a very naked Angel – played out the part of James. Last time, she’d been James. She’d been the one to shot Grace in the body of Angelus. This time Angel would be the one with the gun, and Buffy wasn’t bullet proof!

Crap!

Spike knew he had to let things play out, but it took every ounce of self control not to rip the poof a new one when the bastard grabbed his Buffy as she tried to walk away from him. He knew that Buffy wasn’t in the driver’s seat, but that was only a small solace.

Angel/James took a step back from Buffy/Grace and lifted a revolver, cocked it and aimed. “Love is forever. I'm not afraid to use it, I swear! If I can't be with you...”

“Oh, my God!” Buffy cried as she turned and ran from him.

Spike chased his girl even as Angel screamed at her from behind. “DON'T WALK AWAY FROM ME, BITCH!”

Spike kept as close to Buffy as he dared. With a gun in play, all bets were off.

Joan and William followed Angel as he ran after Buffy onto the balcony, yelling for her to stop; to not make him shoot her.

Buffy begged him to calm down and give her the gun and Angel became more upset, telling her not to patronize him.

The gun seemed to go off on its own.

Spike darted forward, in front of Buffy, taking a bullet in the chest. The power of the blow sent him spinning into Buffy, causing both of them to tumble over the balcony to Buffy’s shocked cry of ‘James’.

Angel silently walked to the edge of the balcony, James only seeing Grace. Closing his eyes in defeat, he walked away.

With William’s assurance that Buffy’s heartbeat was strong, he and Joan followed Angel to the music room.

Buffy/Grace stirred first. Spike’s body had broken her fall.

As Buffy moved away to finish the final scene between the two ghostly lovers,

Spike groaned and pulled himself up. ‘Bloody hell, I hate getting’ shot!’

As he stumbled into the music room Spike witnessed the poignant kiss of two lost lovers.

A bright light appeared in the ceiling as the spirits of James and Grace moved on.

As the light faded, Buffy and Angel opened there eyes and broke their kiss.

“Buffy,” Angel whispered huskily.

“EWWWW! Angel lips! Lips of Angel!” Buffy yelled in disgust as she threw herself away from him.

~*~*~

It was soon discovered that William couldn’t touch Angel without burning him, so it was a very pissed Buffy and Joan that were forced to help the newly returned, weak as a kitten vampire out of the school and back to his apartment.They ordered him to stay there and told him that they would be around to help him recover.

William got Spike home, removed the bullet, and then bandaged him. Buffy arrived after she’d showered to get rid of Angel germs and brushed her teeth several times. She really didn’t want to be stuck with Angel breath while she nursed her guy.

~*~*~

Once everyone had been brought up to date on the events that had transpired, Joan asked the Scoobies to get samples from the school’s steam room. When Willow produced positive results from her tests for contaminants, Joan anonymously sent a copy of the results, a sample, and the internet repost that Jenny had managed to discover relating to experimental steroids the Russians had worked on to the Sunnydale Board of Education, the Police, and Child Protection Services.

She was pleased when Coach Marin was removed and charged. At least this time he didn’t die.

When the statue of Acathla was discovered and brought to the Sunnydale Museum, Joan got Xander to put his new commando skills to use and let him come up with a plan to destroy it.

News of Kendra’s death in Jamaica came on the heels of the successful lets-destroy-the-big-ugly-statue mission. Changing events had ensured that Joan didn’t remember the Island Slayer, but she did remember Faith, and a quick phone call by Giles to the newly called slayer’s watcher warned them of the danger of Kakistos. Joan hoped it would be enough, but just in case it wasn’t, she, William, Buffy, and Spike found and destroyed the Glove of Myhnegon. Gwendolyn Post would just have to find some other way to get her power fix.

The addition of Joan and William into their lives gave Buffy the chance to grow into her calling and to accept it. The long summer gave them all time to learn to work together as a well oiled machine and plan for the upcoming year where they would have to deal with the mayor, a newly healed Angel, and perhaps Faith, but at least this time, Buffy would not go into her senior year broken.

To be continued in Book Two.