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. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Death was always the beginning of things wasn’t it? Or was that life? It’s always hard to tell when you’ve died more than once...


The sun was blaring with warmth and light. The Californian terrain was typical, a desert with bushes and a few trees, far off hills that could be mistaken for mountains and a general feel of dryness. The air was cool and the breeze was gentle with hardly a cloud in the sky, typical weather like any other day in a place that hardly rains or changes seasons even. The thing that wasn’t typical under the intense morning sun was the large crater that had once been a city only a few moments before. The city of Sunnydale was no longer.

On the rim of the crater were a solitary yellow school bus and a small group of people, mostly young and female. At the front of the group, on the very edge of where the land suddenly drops, was a short woman with beautiful blonde hair, a little oddly shaped nose and green eyes that spoke of unimaginable pain. She held herself with confidence and authority, as if she was a leader and a warrior. Her gaze was focused on the crater. Her thoughts, what she had lost and what she had gained this morning, were overwhelming her.

“Buffy!” A younger girl with long light brown hair called to her.

Buffy turned ever so slightly. “Get in the bus Dawn, I’ll be right there.”

The rest of the small group was getting back onto the bus, ready to go to their next destination. The group had suffered injuries and needed care. Instead of making plans on their next move, the group knew they needed to seek medical attention. Buffy knew she had to get moving, that she couldn’t stay much longer. Unwillingly her thoughts drifted to the events that had happened over the last seven years in the city that now was no more. The graves of her mother and friends were down in the crater. Her home was gone; her future was a blank slate. She had perhaps a hopeful future of moving on from past hurts. All because of Spike, the vampire who loved her, whom she loved, who was now dust and ashes. He gave his life, or perhaps his unlife, and saved the world in the battle that had just ended when the city fell. She had to say goodbye, she had to leave, but her feet had seemed to have grown roots and she couldn’t turn.

Buffy knew she had to leave immediately. The group depended on her. She would count to 10 and turn. Just as she reached to the count of 9 she abruptly stopped and tilted her head toward the crater. Stress and exhaustion must have caused her to hear things. But when she faintly heard another cry for help she knew she wasn’t just hearing things.

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The last thing he had felt, the last thing he could remember was a woman, who had entranced him, biting his neck and then everything went dark. Everything was dark again as he woke; he was hot and horribly uncomfortable lying on an uneven ground. As he breathed in the air he choked on the surrounding dust. A slight panic jumped to his throat when he realized he was being crushed. In a flurry to stay alive he pushed on the offending panel above him. It wouldn’t budge. Another shot of panic coursed through him and he pushed again. This time it did budge, hope surged in him and he frantically fought to get to the fresh air he could smell just above him. After a final push and a scramble to clear the various rubble that seemed to have fallen on him he was finally standing in the open air.

William was suddenly short of breath. Last night he had been in London, the night had not been good to him. He had been horribly rejected by the woman of his affections, embarrassed at a social event and then seduced or accosted by a strange woman. Now he woke from that night to a desert, an unfamiliar desert, at the center of some crater. How he got here, why he was here, he had no idea. He turned around in a rush. Obviously there had been some tragedy that occurred here recently. He looked down at himself and found he was still in his clothes from last night. He felt his body, worried about any injuries. Sure enough his left side felt quite sore.

Another panic washed over him. He was injured and he had no idea how he was going to get out of the crater, let alone survive in a desert like environment. Again he spun around, now terrified he was going to die alone in the middle of some unknown place. He scanned the ledge of the crater, hoping to see anything, any hope for his survival. He thought he saw a person and not caring if it was mirage or real, he yelled.

“H-Help!” His voice shook. William didn’t know if his voice would reach, or if even his echo would carry that far. He could barely see, his glasses were missing, and he didn’t even know if there was really anyone around who could help him. He had to continue to try.

“Help!”

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Buffy’s eyes went wide. She couldn’t see where the voice was coming from but she could hear it. She turned and ran towards the bus. At the doors she yelled to her friends.

“Xander, Giles, there is someone in the crater!”

Giles, an older man with kind and worn eyes behind soft spectacles, turned to face Buffy. His face held a certain disbelief that anyone could have survived the collapse of the town. “Are you quite sure? I wouldn’t think that was possible.”

Xander, her dark haired friend with one eye and an eye patch, looked shocked at the news as well. “No one could possibly be alive after that demolition act.”

“I know what I heard. Someone is down there and needs help.” Buffy’s tone was clear, she wouldn’t hear any arguments.

A red haired girl with an air of innocence, or perhaps false innocence, quickly stepped forward. All other occupants of the bus looked at Buffy with concern and confusion. Most were in pain. They needed to leave. “Buffy, what could we possibly do to help? I mean most of us can hardly stand.”

“That’s OK Willow, I didn’t mean for us to delay anymore.” Buffy looked back at Giles. “I want you to take everyone to safety.”

It only took a second for her words to sink in. “You can’t seriously mean you’re going to rescue the person in the crater yourself? You’ll both be stranded here.” Giles looked and sounded slightly incredulous at her heroics, but he should have been used to them by now.

“Yeah, I think it would be best to just call some rescue center or better yet once we get to a hospital we could inform them of the situation.” Xander added in a hopeful tone.

“No, it’s dangerous down there. We don’t know if the person can survive long enough for a rescue team to get here.”

“Buffy, who could be alive down there? Everyone left a few days ago.” Dawn chimed in, she was obviously worried. Her sister was her only family left. Even surviving an apocalypse didn’t exactly make you invincible to accidents, neither did being a Slayer. Dawn glanced at the blood on Buffy’s shirt and frowned.

“I don’t know Dawn, but I have to help.” Buffy turned to Xander, “Do you have any supplies here like rope or water?”

Xander didn’t argue and said, “Let me check” as he went to the back of the bus in search for the items.

Buffy turned to Giles, “Take care of them while I’m gone. I think the nearest town is about an hour away, if you could get them there and come back to pick the mysterious survivor and me up that would be a load off my mind.”

Giles looked at Buffy for just a moment. Their relationship has been strained over the last few years. Giles had suspected that trust between them had been stretched paper thin. That she was giving him these instructions seemed almost like a beginning to rebuilding that fragile trust. “Of course, but please, do be careful.”

“Always am.” Buffy smiled at him, but her smile was tense, as if she was forcing herself in a show of bravery.

Xander came back to the front of the bus with a single water bottle. “Sorry, I couldn’t find any rope but I found this. I think it’s the only one.” He handed her the water bottle. “You want me to come along too?”

“Thanks, but I think it’ll be best if I go alone with only one water bottle.” Buffy looked to her friends and her sister, Dawn. “See you soon.”

They all said a quick goodbye and soon the bus was driving off towards the next town in a hurry. Buffy watched the bus just for a moment and then turned toward the crater. Buffy steeled herself for one more trip into Sunnydale. And hopefully it would be her last.

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William had decided that his cries for help may have fallen on deaf ears, or rather no ears at all. Clutching his side he began the hurdle of trying to climb over the wreckage of the city to get to the wall of the crater and perhaps find a way over it.

He began his trek in the direction of what he had thought was a person on the edge of the crater, why he had yelled for assistance in the first place. The shape had disappeared, which seemed like a good sign, but he had no idea if his mind was playing tricks on him. As he climbed over the rubble he saw many odd things, nothing seemed familiar, and again he wondered if his mind was going. The remains of buildings seemed to be have been made of different material than he was used to. There were contraptions that he had no idea what they were used for, some with sparks flying out of them. He saw pictures of people in odd clothes and the pictures were in color. Nothing made sense. Color photographs seemed like a fantasy and the carriages looked like they were made of metal with no fastenings for horses. The fires that seemed to have sprouted made it seem like he had somehow landed in hell.

Or the world had been turned upside down. He was moving only for self preservation, but the more he saw as he continued to walk on the more numb he began to feel. His thoughts turned to his sick mother. He hoped she was alright and far away from this catastrophe. But again, he had no idea where he was. He was lost and alone, more so than he had ever been before. Unable to hold it in, he let out a sob. His life had been one of few accomplishments. He had nothing to show for his almost thirty years of life. And now, he might die, and nothing of him would remain in this world.

The panic was gone, it had faded sometime ago, and now he seemed to be empty inside. He was probably going into shock, and he almost laughed as he realized that it was most likely true. With what happened last night and what happened this morning he knew he had done something so horribly wrong that fate had given him this ill begotten lot in life.

William continued walking, staring blankly ahead, just trying to survive. He was thirsty, but he knew not where to get water. He was tired but knew if he stopped he would not be able continue. Because of the haze, smoke and his tears he hardly caught sight of the person that was walking toward him. When he did finally see that he wasn’t alone, he stopped walking, too stunned at what he saw.

Ahead of him was a woman, she was so oddly and indecently dressed. She wore pants and a loose white blouse, a fashion he never saw on a woman before, even the most indecorous. Her blonde hair blew behind her as she walked toward him; her balance was off as she made her way around the debris and various objects between them. His heart seemed to have skipped a beat as he continued to watch her. She was full of poise and vigor. She glowed. Awe struck as he was, he snapped out of his reverie just in time for her to see him clearly. She yelled a greeting to him and speed toward him.

But then when she was finally close enough to see his face clearly she stopped dead. Her eyes went wide with something of disbelief and shock. He had no idea why she looked at him that way, as if she knew him. She gasped and then covered her mouth with her hands. When she finally spoke her voice was a raspy whisper.

“Spike!?”

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Buffy had been relieved to find the mysterious survivor at first. When she first saw him and tried waving him down, he had seemed like a mini Giles, with a tweed suit and a stiff posture. Her thoughts had caused her to smile; only a mini Giles could survive a city falling on him. But as she got closer to him she noticed things about him, his height for one thing, and the next was the shape of his shoulders. When she got even closer, to see the details of his body and face she stopped, unable to process the person who was in front of her.

He looked a bit tan, his hair was curly and light brown, but his bright blue eyes were so very much the same. The person in front of her was Spike. She gasped and covered her mouth. Buffy realized perhaps something had happened to him for his appearance to so suddenly change. That didn’t matter so much as the fact he was here, with her, standing in front of her. He survived.

“Spike!?” Was all she could mutter, her tears had begun to fill her eyes. Before she could step closer he spoke.

“I-I beg your pardon?” His voice was nervous and unsure, almost like a stranger.

“What, pardon who?” Buffy seemed thrown off by his question.

“Why did you refer to a spike? Do I have a spike somewhere on my person?” He looked genuinely bewildered and cautious, Buffy wasn’t sure if the innuendo was on purpose or he was just plainly oblivious.

Her confusion lasted only a second. This was Spike, of course he was going to make bad jokes, soul or not. Her tears dried the moment her anger began to form. “Spike, now isn’t the time to play games.” She shook her head; his tone and his words seemed to have pushed a button. “I thought you were dead! Dust, gone with the wind kind of dust, and yet, here you are making me walk-“

“I apologize for interrupting you M-Miss but perhaps you are mistaking me for another? I-I’ve only just got here to this awful place and wish to get someplace safe as soon as possible…as I suggest you do the same, a woman shouldn’t be here in a dangerous place like this.” His voice cracked with panic and nerves.

Buffy couldn’t believe her ears and ignored the woman statement. Either he had gone insane again or was trying to get her angrier. She had to quickly get to the bottom of it, because hanging out here wasn’t something she wanted to do any longer than necessary. “Spike, listen, Sunnydale just collapsed after your little heroic move with the amulet. You’re right, we need to get out of here, but we can’t afford for you to be off your rocker again if we are going to get do that.”


She gazed at him steadily praying she got through to him. He seemed stunned for a moment, but his confusion returned quickly, this time his panic was more evident in his nervous shuffling of his feet and his quick glances at the surrounding area.

“Miss, I’m not sure what you are talking about or to whom. I i-implore you that we should continue on before something dreadful happens.” He looked so very desperate at the moment that Buffy was now just as confused as him.

Buffy wasn’t sure what may have happened for him to be acting like he lost his memory or personality but at that moment she had finally noticed he was standing in the sun and he wasn’t burning. As quick as she could around and on top of the rubble she closed the space between them. He stepped back at her sudden movement, completely taken by surprise and almost fell before balancing himself. Buffy put her fingers to his neck and hardly noticed as he turned red. When she felt his pulse she stepped away from him and let out another gasp.

“You’re alive-I mean…I mean you aren’t undead!”

He looked at Buffy with fear and began to shake. She could tell he was thinking she was the crazy one. “Y-Yes, well unless this place is some kind of afterlife I assure you I am quite alive.”

Buffy had no idea what to make of the man before her. He looked almost exactly like Spike, his face, his eyes, his shape and even his voice. His clothes, his hair, his way of speaking and the way he acted were different from the Spike she knew only yesterday. A soft click and turn and her mind began to add up the obvious.

“What’s your name?” She asked slowly, almost timidly.

He looked at her in shock and confusion, as well as in apprehension, it seemed like he finally understood her. “Pratt, William Pratt of London.”

“What was the last thing you remember before you were here?” Tears were threatening to emerge again. Buffy didn’t know if she could handle the answer she was now expecting.

William hesitated to answer. His continued to shake and his cheeks again began to color. “I-I was leaving a social event for the evening when I seemed to have been accosted by a strange woman before…before everything went dark.”

Buffy swallowed, “Did she bite your neck?”

His eyes went wide, and he simply nodded.

Buffy sighed and looked down to cover her tears. It seemed that either Spike lost all his vampire memories when he became human or somehow when Spike died his human self was transported here. After she quickly wiped her tears she looked back at William and pointedly checked his neck. There were no marks as far as she could tell.

Buffy could feel William stiffen under her glare and touch as she checked his neck. “I’m quite fine, thank you.” He raised his hands to push hers away.

Buffy sighed and then looked him in the eyes. “William, I know of a way to get out of here, I actually came here to look for you since I heard your cry for help. So I need you to follow me. Can you please do that?”

William straightened a bit and looked as if he wanted to say something before nerves got the better of him. He swallowed and nodded. “Lead the way Miss?”

“Buffy, Buffy Summers of Nowhere.”

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William almost felt insulted by the words spoken and actions taken by this strange woman. At first this Miss Summers thought he was an acquaintance of hers, but the things she spoke of made absolutely no sense. Then she had the audacity to speak to him like a child, calling him by his first name and talking slowly like he was daft. He rarely lost his temper, especially to women, but after her inspection to his neck and her display of no respect for his personal space he felt as if he wanted to argue back at her. But he did not, his lack of confidence along with the strain of this ordeal had caused him to give in to his fears and simply follow her. Despite the fact she was a woman, he felt he could at least trust her enough to get him out of the crater.

Miss Summers did seem to know the quickest way to the edge of the crater, and she was quick and agile enough to take care of herself. At times he wanted to assist her in certain climbs but she was too independent for any help. He could not show her any courtesy because she did not seem to allow it, her manner of walking and the way she carried herself reminded him of a man, though she was far from it. She seemed like a war general ready for battle. It added to his already insurmountable confusion. This place was so strange, too strange for his liking.

He had wanted to ask questions, but the walk did not seem appropriate since both of them had to concentrate. He was ever so grateful that she had water on her in a neat little bottle. He drank from it and felt immediately better. He didn't think he would ever get used to his surroundings or even the odd creature that was leading him onward. He didn’t even want to try and figure her out at the moment, even the way she introduced herself was peculiar. She announced she was of Nowhere, which again is perplexing and could mean many things. Questions he wished to ask about her would have to wait for his continued acquaintance with her, if that was even possible or desirable, asking them now would hardly be appropriate and down right rude.

“We’re almost there, just after this building, er, well not so building, we’ll be able to start climbing up.” She called to him from a little way ahead. Miss Summers hardly needed to rest, and again her strength amazed him.

As soon as they reached the wall of the crater, William sent a silent prayer of thanks to whoever was listening. Miss Summers had taken them to a part of the wall that had a little ledge that wound up to the top rim of the crater. It would make the climb up much easier and safer though still dangerous. He had taken his top coat off long ago, but now he wrapped it around his waist and rolled up his sleeves, freeing his hands and arms. He would be grateful to get to a tailor for new clothes and an inn for a bath; he knew he was simply indecent with sweat and grim.

Once on the top, perhaps things would make a bit more sense. William began to follow Miss Summers up the small ledge and reminded himself to ask her only the questions that needed to be asked for now.

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Buffy fell to the ground as soon as she reached the top of the crater. She was exhausted. After the long battle this morning and then the trek that seemed to take forever she was ready to sleep for a whole week. Add to fact that she now had a dependent Spike, or William, that didn’t know where or when he was tipped the scale so that her fuse was awfully short. She prayed the William wouldn’t wig, at least too much, when he found out everything she knew he would find out soon, but that was probably asking too much.

She was glad that they didn’t speak much on their walk. Buffy had to collect her thoughts and figure out what to tell him. She knew it was probably best to tell him as much of the truth as he could take, but he seemed fragile. She didn’t know if even a small amount of truth was something he could handle. But it was better if he found it out from her than when he saw a modern town or god forbid, the car that should be arriving shortly.

Buffy could hear William’s ragged breath, and she stood up gracefully to assist him with his last hurdle over the edge. When he finally got over and on level ground he could hardly stand. He probably wasn’t used to so much physical excursion. William bent over and held himself up by his hands, which clung onto on his thighs for support. His face was drenched in sweat; his hair clung to his forehead.
Buffy watched William as he ran his hand through his hair, slicking it back and making him resemble Spike even more so. Her heart lurched at the sight and she looked away.

“My God…” Buffy turned back towards William who was now standing straight and looking around at the vast horizon. “H-how…?”

“Don’t worry; our ride will be here soon.” She tried to reassure him, but she had failed to even reassure herself. Giles might have been held up for the same reasons that made her life miserable, fate hated her.

He turned to her in shock. “You mean a carriage? Surely the horses would expire from the heat and weight!”

“Well, it’s not really horses that will be coming for us…” and with that Buffy thought about the military or the National Guard, or any rescue team and how Sunnydale’s collapse seemed to have gotten little attention from those who should be paying attention.

“If not horses Miss Summers, how do you expect us to get out of this desert?” His voice betrayed his emotions and it contained enough panic that made Buffy realize that she had to at least tell him the year and what was coming to pick them up.

Buffy caught his eyes and prepared herself for the meltdown. “William, there is something I need to tell you.” She tried to make her voice as soft as possible.

“Please, I-I sincerely don’t mean to be rude, but since we hardly know each other could you please refer to me as Mr. Pratt?”

Buffy was taken aback by that statement, which she felt came out of nowhere, “What? I, yes, of course, Mr. Pratt. I’ll call you Mr. Pratt from now on, no problem.” She hid her unease at this statement by glancing at the road and hoping the approaching black dot was Giles.


“You wished to tell me something?” Buffy heard the eagerness and desperation in his voice, and sighed again.

“Last night, for you, the year was 1880 correct?” She tried to get her voice as even as possible; she was racing for time as she heard the car engine coming closer.

William was flabbergasted at her question, “Yes, of course the year is 1880-“

Buffy interrupted him, “Was, the year was 1880.”

William looked shocked yet again by her words and he stiffened. She could tell he thought her rude for cutting him off. “What year is it then, dear Miss Summers? I couldn’t have slept over half a year!” His voice had risen and his tone was decidedly incredulous, it seemed he didn’t care how rude he sounded. Perhaps he was worried he had been in a coma.

“More like 120 years of sleepiness, the year is 2003.”

Just then, as William was looking at Buffy like she had lost her mind a car stopped only a few feet away, making as much noise as possible, gaining William’s attention and perhaps his willingness to believe that he wasn’t in Kansas anymore.

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William was hurting; his side felt as if the constant reference to spikes this morning was actually referring to the pain. His side felt as if spikes were being drilled into his flesh. He wasn’t sure how he got the injury but it was another reason that tested his already trying patience. Miss Summers had to be mad, it must explain why she wore men’s clothing, acted like one and spoke in a completely ridiculous manner. It would also explain why for some reason she thought it was the year 2003. At first he was completely taken by her looks and mannerism, and even perhaps thought it was quaint when she called him by his Christian name, but after spending time with her it was obvious something was terribly wrong with this woman.

He held respect for women, probably more so than most of his peers, he knew he was a romantic, but he also respected the rules and thoughts of society. She was indecent, she was not someone with whom he should have continued acquaintance. But she also needed help, in more ways than one; he noted the blood on her blouse and felt a certain pull. She was injured and she had come to rescue him. Mad or not, she held enough compassion and selflessness to help him and he knew he was being inconsiderate.

His eyes were boring into Miss Summers, she was crazy but she looked serious in her claims. He knew he was rude looking at her like this but he just couldn’t comprehend how this could have happened, to her, to this town, to him. The world was going mad and that was perhaps the reason for Miss Summers’ lapse.

The odd sound, loud in its approach, was the only thing that could have pulled him from Miss Summers’ infuriatingly stern gaze. The source of the sound abruptly stopped close to them and he turned. What he saw he couldn’t comprehend. He opened his mouth to speak but abruptly closed it and tried again, with little success. A metal carriage, with no horses in sight, had just appeared out of nowhere, like magic. Breathing deeply he tried to calm himself. When he was unsuccessful he began to hyperventilate. He barely noticed when Miss Summers came closer to him and put her hand on his arm. At this point he didn’t care.

“It’s a car Sp-Mr. Pratt, a horseless carriage, nothing to be panicky about. It can’t hurt you.” Her slow words again drew out his anger before he was overcome with more than one emotion.

His panic had been jumped started when he first saw Miss Summers after he had been worried about going into shock. It was odd that she could make him feel so strongly, but sure enough, her words were causing a storm in his heart yet again, but not in an encouraging manner. He turned away from the…car…as Miss Summers called it and walked back to the rim of the crater, peering down into its depths. He was trying to come to terms with what exactly was going on and failing badly.

He heard what sounded like a door being opened and closed but chose to ignore it a moment longer. It was obvious someone had been in that horseless carriage and had just gotten out. He dimly heard the conversation behind him.

“Giles!” Miss Summers called to the new comer.

“I see everything went well with the rescue then?” The new comer had a British accent and it was obvious that the new person was male, perhaps a bit older. The fact that there was something familiar here in this strange world calmed him. When he heard Miss Summers hurried whispers to this Mr. Giles his fear, panic, and confusion returned full force. He decided to turn and introduce himself as it was proper, even if he was at his wits end.

“What!?” Mr. Giles shocked exclamation caused William to miss a step. Luckily he didn’t trip and continued on his way. He noticed Miss Summers looking at Mr. Giles in an imploring manner and again didn’t know what to make of it.

Both of them were ignoring William, even in his approach. He saw the older man look utterly bewildered at whatever Miss Summers had whispered to him. Perhaps she just told him it was 2003 as well? But that didn’t explain the horseless carriage. Or the fact he saw more of those cars in the crater, or the colored photographs, or even the fact that the Mr. Giles was also in a fashion he had never seen before.

In a few short strides he was in front of Mr. Giles (if that was his proper name) and Miss Summers (it was highly unlikely she was married). The two turned to him, the older man eyes went wide when he looked at William. He was taken aback by the same look on Mr. Giles face that Miss Summers gave him when she thought he was someone else. He waited for Miss Summers to introduce him, trying desperately to hold onto proper decorum, especially when he wasn’t able to with Miss Summers. Thankfully he didn’t have to wait long.

“Giles, this is William Pratt…of London. Will-Mr. Pratt, this is Giles, ah, Rupert Giles.” Miss Summers didn’t seem quite comfortable with the introduction.

William held out his hand, “It’s…It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Giles.” William could feel himself color; his voice had cracked at the last moment.

Mr. Giles took his hand, “The pleasures all mine.” William noticed that while Mr. Giles voice was soft, the man was stiff and reluctant. The glint in the older man’s eye wasn’t hard to miss; something about William was offensive to the other man. Ignoring this, after shaking Mr. Giles hand he let go, took another step back and tried his best to smile, though his smile was short and very weak.

“I take it that you must have had quite the ordeal this morning.” Mr. Giles seemed pleasant enough.

“Yes, q-quite. I would be very grateful to get back to normal society as soon as possible.” William surprised himself with maintaining a somewhat coherent sentence.

“Giles, where’s the school bus? Whose car is this?” Miss Summers’ voice was tired, but she was obviously trying to distract them from the upcoming discussion. Curious, William just listened to the conversation.

“I rented this one. Once we got to town I didn’t think it would be very discreet to drive the bus back here.”

“Where’s the bus now?” Miss Summers stared at the black horseless carriage as if it was up for auction.

“Faith volunteered to find a place for it.” When Miss Summers looked at Mr. Giles with raised eyebrows, Mr. Giles quickly added, “Please don’t ask.”

“At least that’s one less thing to worry about, have you heard anything about this morning on the news?”

“Yes, indeed I did. Which reminds me we should be going, I believe we will be having company very soon.”

William was completely at a loss about their conversation and the more he heard the more he felt out of place. Before he could ask any questions to Mr. Giles, the older man stepped toward him.

“I know this must seem very surreal, but I must make this clear. Buffy has informed me that you think the year is 1880, and I assure you that this is not 1880 but 2003. The car in front of us is a carriage of sorts that can transport us to the nearest town fairly quickly. Please stay close to us as much as possible once there.”

William’s heart was pounding in his chest, was Mr. Giles also mad? He seemed like a proper man, besides his funny attire. How could this be true? “Where…where am I?”

“In America, within the state of California.” Mr. Giles voice was calm, low and compassionate, making it harder to disbelieve him.

That would explain Miss Summers accent and the unknown land masses. Perhaps that explained everything else? America, he heard, was an odd place. If he could just get to England, everything could possibly return to normal. But that wouldn’t explain how he got here in the first place. If he was indeed in California, he must have been in a coma for many months while he was transported here. No, that still wasn’t right. He was in the same clothes from the night before, at least the last night he could remember. The clothes still appeared and felt fresh; he didn’t feel at all like he just woke from a coma. He was lost in thought, staring off into nothingness, when Miss Summers came up to him.

“Hey, let’s get going. We can talk more on the way to town.”

William nodded slowly, not trusting his voice. He allowed her to lead him into the car, trying very hard not to concentrate on the horseless carriage, how it could move, or how safe it was to ride in such a device. When it begun to move William closed his eyes and kept his head down. He was hungry but he couldn’t think of food, the fast motion and his injury were causing him to feel sick. William decided it was best to over look the need for a bath or a tailor and find a doctor right away. He wondered if he would survive the answers to the rest of his questions on just how and why he was half way around the world and possibly 120 years in the future.

:::::::::::::::::

Buffy sat next to William in the back seat and looked at him tenderly. The first few minutes in the car had been silent, but she could feel how uncomfortable William was with this whole ordeal. The fact she was staring at Spike’s core wasn’t lost on her. She knew he was her responsibility the moment she realized he was human with no memories of being a vampire. Spike had died for her, got a soul for her, and loved her. There wasn’t any way she could turn her back on William, no matter what anyone might say. Now she had to tell William the reason why he was here. She wished she could just skip this part, but the fact is the more she delayed the worse it would be. Spike taught her that. Hesitantly she touched his shoulder. He jumped at her touch and looked at her as if he was lost.

“Mr. Pratt, I suppose you want to know the reason you’re here, right?”

William swallowed, “You have knowledge on my predicament?”

“Er, you could say that. I’m not sure about the whys or hows, but I have a general idea.”

He sighed, “Any information you have would be…appreciative.” For a moment Buffy thought he wouldn’t believe her. Maybe he really did think she was insane, but she couldn’t blame him for that.

“You’re 120 years in the future, what do you think could cause that?”

William closed his eyes as Giles hit a bump in the road. He twitched and then opened his eyes again. “I could hardly explain something so preposterous.” William sighed again, he looked so very ill. “But if I ignore all proper sense, then I think only magic could have brought me here.”

“Magic, right, that actually makes sense. I’ll ask…never mind.” Buffy shifted in her seat. “The woman who, um, ‘accosted’ you, she was about your height right? With dark hair, a bit curly on the ends and sharp features? Sounded a bit insane?”

William’s eyes went wide, “Yes, are you an acquaintance of hers?”

“You could say that.” Buffy was ruefully in her acknowledgment. Drusilla and Buffy weren’t on friendly terms, but it was obvious William thought so.

“Would she perhaps have anything to do with why I am here?”

“Yeah, she played a part in it all right. You told me the last thing you remember was her biting your neck, right?”

“Yes, that was what she did.”

Buffy wanted to ask why William would let a strange woman bite his neck, but that was a discussion for later. Buffy frowned, knowing she was going in for the kill. “What bites people on their neck and would probably still be around 120 years in the future?”

Buffy hoped vampire lore was strong enough to be common knowledge in Victorian times. She sat waiting for her words to sink in and could see his mind processing the information. Every second his face looked more upset and disbelieving. “A-a-a Vampire?”

“Yup, the immortal pain in the neck menaces, and I mean that literally.”

“Bloody…” William closed his eyes again and began to breathe deeply. Buffy waited for him to calm down. She was surprised when Giles spoke up for the first time since getting in the car.

“Whatever you were told about vampires in the past, I suggest you discard it. Vampires are very real and one of the reasons that the town you woke up in was a crater.”

“H-How do you know this?” William’s voice was dry.

“I slay them. That’s my job.” Buffy’s voice was soft and low, somehow saying that it was her job to kill vampires was so far the hardest thing she had to tell William.

“This is lunacy. Do you seriously expect me to believe a vampire took me into the future?” William’s anger was apparent in his voice.

“No, a vampire didn’t take you into the future; you were a vampire until this morning.” Buffy looked at William and she knew he could see the sadness in her eyes. She frowned as she saw him working out the memories of Drusilla siring him. He squeezed his eyes shut and suddenly brought his head to his knees.

“I do believe I am going to be sick.”

“Giles, pull over!”

Giles didn’t hesitate to pull the car over. As soon as the car was stopped William frantically worked the door open and fell to the ground on his knees. Buffy got out of the car and swiftly went to William; she knelt beside him and rubbed his back. Nothing came out of him besides clear fluid, neither of them had anything to eat all day. Buffy felt Giles standing behind them and hoped he would know what to say.

“I-I don’t believe you.” William’s ragged voice was barely audible.

“You told me once about your mother, her name was Anne, she was sick. She used to sing the song ‘Early One Morning’ to you when you were a baby.” Buffy added hopefully.

William looked at Buffy; she could tell he still didn’t believe her, but perhaps something was getting to him.

Giles spoke up, his voice tingled with impatience. “You were named William the Bloody, and then Spike, after you were turned. You were like any other vampire until a few years ago, and this morning your Vampire self just saved the world. I dare say if someone told me all this I wouldn’t believe it either, but until you can provide another reasonable explanation to why you are here I suggest you accept what we are saying as truth.”

William looked at Giles in devastation. Buffy could tell that this man had just lost everything in accepting that they may be telling the truth. This was Spike, before he was Spike; he was just a man that had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. At the moment her heart couldn’t tell the difference between William and Spike. She touched his face, forcing him to look at her.

“Hey, it’ll be OK. You’re with us and we take care of our family.”

Somehow Buffy knew the moment the words left her mouth that something came alive in William’s eyes. Oddly the words lit something in Buffy too, because ever since she had come back from the dead she didn’t feel that her friends were her family. And now, this might be a new beginning for all of them.

:::::::::::::::::

TBC...

The trip to the next town was shorter than William expected, but he understood why. The car moved ridiculously fast, just as Miss Summers had told him. He kept his head down the entire way as he wasn’t used to traveling at such speeds. Once the car slowed as they entered the town William’s curiosity got the better of him and he soon wished he had kept his eyes shut.

The town was entirely something else. William was used to towns with brick and wood buildings stacked next to each other that stood on dirt or cobbled roads filled with horses. What he saw now was cement everywhere, glass buildings, oddly shaped buildings of all sizes and large roads. It also appeared that Miss Summers was not indecent as he thought with her attire, all women in this town were wearing pants or if they wore dresses it would cling to their bodies, which made him look away in embarrassment.

There were no carriages or horses on the roads, just cars speeding passed them. If Miss Summers and Mr. Giles hadn’t told him he was in the future he would have guessed it by now. This place could only be a dystopian future. After everything he was told today he no longer felt he could be overwhelmed by the sights around him, he now only felt empty.

William’s memories of his last night in London haunted him. It matched vampire lore he knew of. The unknown woman drank his blood and as he felt himself drift into darkness she had urged him to drink…something, but even though he couldn’t remember what he was supposed to drink he could infer what it was. Still William didn’t want to believe he had been a vampire. That wasn’t him, it couldn’t be him. So he held a small doubt, which to him was a small hope, that there was another explanation. How could a vampire return to his human state? That thought comforted him.

If it was all true, then a demon had taken his body and memories and used it against William’s own will and desires. He wouldn’t, couldn’t be the same being that would be a…a killer, a drinker of human blood. He couldn’t be evil, the thought tore at his stomach and he let out a soft groan. He closed his eyes again and leaned back in his seat, wishing he could have a few spirits to dull his wits.

A soft buzzing filled the inside of the car and it drew William’s attention. He watched as Giles pulled a small device from his pocket, flipped it open and placed it to his ear.

“Yes Xander?” Mr. Giles talked to the device and William was yet again confused. A moment later he heard the device talk.

Miss Summers leaned in close to him and whispered, “That’s a cell phone; it’s used to communicate over long distances.”

William understood, at least to some degree. He was learning to just accept things at face value, trying desperately to keep his mind away from how things worked and why they worked.

“I see, so you, Dawn and Willow will be at the Sunny Road Diner in about 15 minutes? And the others?” There was a pause where the person on the other end spoke, “I see, well done. We should be at the diner in about 20 minutes if we don’t have any other stops.” Mr. Giles paused again. “Yes, yes, goodbye.” With a quick hand movement Mr. Giles closed the cell phone and put it back in his pocket.

Miss Summers spoke up as soon as the cell phone was out of eye sight, “What did Xander want?”

“He just called to let us know that all the rooms needed have been booked at the Motel Inn and that they want to meet us for dinner.” Mr. Giles turned his head slightly, “Do you feel up to dinner or would you like to go to your rooms?”

Miss Summers was fast to voice her thoughts. “I’m starving; I could eat a whole cow.”

William was shocked at the phrase but decided that this may be normal speech and added his own opinion, “Would it be possible to call on a doctor?”

He hoped that he didn’t sound rude; the rules of this society were an unknown to him. Neither Miss Summers nor Mr. Giles looked inclined to ask about his health.

Miss Summers looked at him sharply, concern clearly etched on her face. Her concern warmed him. “Why, are you injured?”

“I believe something might have happened to my left side, but I know not how I received the injury.”

Immediately Miss Summers again closed the distance between them rather quickly. “Let me see.”

She tugged at his clothes, ready to inspect him. William was too surprised and stunned by her actions to react in time. He stiffened and tried to back away from her, but Miss Summers persisted and then he was out of room. His words came out strangled as his back hit the car door. “There is no…no…I am quite…alright…”

William’s hands went up in the air to try and stop her advances, but he fumbled. Frozen, he could only wait until she had undone his vest and undershirt. He felt her gently touch his bare skin, right where he knew his injury lay. He winced as pain coursed through him at her touch.

He watched her face, and found himself lost. She was simply concentrating on his injury, there was nothing else to her intrusion, but her touch sent strange jolts through him. He knew he was completely colored by his embarrassment, but for just a moment he didn’t care. The moment passed quickly though and anger rose in him at the invasion. Before he could say anything she began to remove her hand.

“I think it’s a small fracture, doesn’t feel too serious, no worries.” She looked at him then, her expression soft. “Do you want to go the motel or do you want to eat. I think we can wait to bandage you up if you want some chow.”

William thought for a moment. Now that the car was driving at a slower speed, he did feel famished. Knowing his injury wasn’t serious, he relaxed. He didn’t even think twice on Miss Summers’ assessment on his wound, for some reason he was beginning to trust her.

“Hey, what’s…this?” William followed Miss Summers gaze, her hand was still within his vest, frozen in place for some unknown reason. She then slowly withdrew her hand and in her palm was an amulet, simple in design. It held a single large clear stone. William never remembered putting on such an accessory.

When William looked back at Miss Summers he wasn’t expecting to find her in tears.

“Giles!?” Miss Summers sounded frantic.

“Yes Buffy? What’s wrong?”

“The amulet Spike was wearing when he…I found it.” William didn’t understand what was going on.

“Spike? Do you mean my…the Vampire?” William didn’t ever want to associate himself with his possible alter ego.

Miss Summers looked at him and he couldn’t read the emotions running across her face. “Yes, he was wearing this when he…he…” She couldn’t finish.

William saw Mr. Giles peering at them from the mirror in the front. “What’s going on Buffy? Has something happened, where is the amulet?”

Miss Summers raised her voice for Mr. Giles. “I found the amulet on William, he’s wearing it.”

“Oh dear…” Mr. Giles voice was low.

“Would someone please tell me what is going on?” Panic had returned, and everyone could hear it in William’s voice.

Miss Summers hesitated, but then spoke very quietly, “Spike wore this amulet. And because he did, because of the power of the amulet, he saved the world...but it…killed him.” By the time she reached the end of her explanation her voice was barely audible.

Repulsed at finding the amulet on him and what it could mean William quickly fought his attire and took off the amulet, pushing it towards Miss Summers. He looked out the window quickly, wanting to look at anything but Miss Summers. “Keep it Mrs. Summers; it looks like it belongs more to you than it does to me.”

With that William hoped that they would reach their destination soon, he wanted to eat, bath, take care of his injury and then sleep. He didn’t want to think any more about this day.

:::::::::::::::::

Buffy sat still as she stared expressionlessly at the amulet in her hands. Spike was dead, her Spike was dead. She knew that now. What was left was just a shadow of him, a piece that held no memory of loving her, or fighting beside her. He had shoved the amulet towards her so forcefully. William hated the idea of him being a vampire. She could understand that, but the amulet was something that meant something to her and to Spike. It caused Spike’s death, but it was also a sign that Spike was her champion, just as the scythe was a symbol of the strength Spike gave her.

She couldn’t cry now. Buffy had to be strong. She was used to shutting her feelings down and putting up her defenses. Sitting next to William almost felt as if she was sitting next to Spike, she was comforted by that fact, but she had been deluding herself these last few hours with him. She wanted to pretend her Spike was still alive, somewhere in William.

Buffy moved as far away as she could from William. She felt bad for not asking if he was hurt. She was too, but her Slayer healing had kicked in and she hated hospitals, so she ignored her wound. She hadn’t thought William would be hurt, and even if she had Buffy forgot that William was human. Human, not a vampire, normal (at least normal as one could get coming from 1880) which meant he was nothing like her, something that wasn’t normal. Immediately after that thought Buffy felt cold and alone.

Her thoughts quickly turned to her friends. The second chance with them, here and now, warmed her a little bit. Buffy had no idea what she was going to tell her friends about William. It was going to be a very awkward conversation. She almost felt herself smile at the thought of Xander’s reaction. And just as fast her almost smile disappeared. Xander in her mind still had both eyes.

Her thoughts drifted to her future, about the wakening of all the potentials and what new threat loomed over the horizon. Buffy wondered if she should lock William away to keep him safe. She knew if she lost the last bit of Spike left, even if it was just a figment of Spike, she would probably lose her heart and her soul.

:::::::::::::::::

The little black car had stopped before a small building with a large bright sign that read Sunny Road Diner. The building was nothing but windows topped with a bit of roof, the white bareness of the interior shone out from the many windows and masked the dimming sky of twilight. William was not surprised at how eerie the building looked to him. Everything was eerie and new.

William had many questions, about what happened to the world since he was…about how the current world worked, and about the rules of society. What was proper? How was he supposed to act?

Miss Summers hadn’t said a word since he had given her the amulet. He wasn’t sure why she was so silent now, but he thought perhaps the other…him…had been a dear friend of hers, and now William had offended her by his open distaste of that thing that used his body without his permission. She was distant now, almost cold, but before she had been relaxed around him. William didn’t want to acknowledge that this bothered him. He had dinner to get through and then hopefully he could sleep.

Mr. Giles and Miss Summer got out of the car first. William followed them to the side of the building where a red headed young woman in odd clothing and dark haired young man with an eye patch were standing. Both looked worn and harried. Another girl was sitting on a bench talking to the two strangers; she had brown hair and a familiar face. All three looked to the approaching party, and immediately they bounded to Miss Summers.

“Buffy!” The brown haired girl embraced Miss Summers, and he immediately felt the two were probably related.

“Buffy! You’re here!” said the red head as she joined the embrace and the girls broke apart.

“How’d the rescue from down under go?” The dark hair young man gently embraced Mss Summers as well. It was odd to watch the reunion. It looked as if certain physical barriers no longer existed. Though that didn’t explain why William felt displeasure from the young man touching Miss Summers.

“It went fine; actually there is something I need to tell you guys-”

“Spike!” The brown haired girl cut Miss Summers off, which almost seemed like a common occurrence here, the moment the young girl had looked at William. The young girl’s voice was a bit shrill, as if he was the last person she expected to see.

The red head looked surprised to see him as well, “Wow Spike, you’re here too and not all…well, we thought…but hey, you’re here!”

The man with the eye patch looked at him with raised eyebrows, “Whoa, Spike what’s with the image change? Got tired about the undead Billy Idol act?”

William was dumbfounded, again, and his temper rose slightly. His inadequacies were frustrating him. Now these three acted as if they knew him and oddly the only thing he understood from anyone was from the young girl. She spoke the name of the vampire, which meant she still thought William was the same creature. This was only more proof that he had been…that…

“Well, I…not sure as to what you are referring…” He fumbled for words.

Luckily Miss Summers came to his rescue. “This isn’t Spike guys, not really, well sorta, but not exactly.”

The look on all their faces made his insides churn. They all seemed dubious to the fact that he wasn’t Spike.

“What, no that’s Spike! I know his face anywhere!” The young girl’s admission made him slightly happy and horror struck at the same time. Did the family comment made by Miss Summers have more meaning than he previously believed? Were these people really a major part of his other existence? Who were these people? How did they know him, even as a vampire? Miss Summers even knew that his mother sang to him…what had happened between them?

“Wait what? He’s not Spike?” The red headed woman was more focused on Miss Summer than him, which was a small relief, even if it meant she ignored him for the time being. He didn’t want to get any angrier.

“Come one, that’s gotta be Spike? I would know his ugly mug and buggy blue eyes from anywhere, even under a new hair style.” The young man’s comments though were testing his temper.

Before he could speak Miss Summers’ impatient voice cut the air. “What? Spike doesn’t have buggy eyes and he isn’t ugly…no, that’s not the point. Look guys, this isn’t Spike”

All of them looked at William again in silence before verbally attacking Miss Summers.

“Who is he then?” The young girl looked thoroughly confused.

“Is he the one you rescued?” The red head was generally curious.

“Where did he come from?” William could hear the young man’s defensive tones, his protectiveness was commendable.

Mr. Giles sighed from behind William. “Everyone, please calm down. You’re being a bit rude. This is William Pratt, who has no memories of the last 123 years.”

There was a moments silence and it appeared as if they all understood what that meant. There was a collective “Oh” followed by another pause. Everyone’s body language changed, either by relaxing or tensing.

“It’s nice to meet you William, I’m Willow Rosenberg.” Miss Rosenberg held out her hand for a hand shake, not in the normal way a woman should offer her hand, and this surprised William. Did all women here act like men?

He took it nonetheless. “It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Rosenberg.”

“Oh just call me Willow, Miss Rosenberg sounds too oldish and adult for me.”

“Well…I…I suppose if you prefer…” William was uncomfortable with the idea, but he was at a loss on the situation.

“Hey, if you can call her by first name you can call me by my first name too. I’m not mom material yet either.” Miss Summers’ voice startled him. Were there any manners left in the world?

“If it’s appropriate Miss Summers, I will desist on calling you by your proper name, though I’m not sure why the future has allowed proper decorum to run by the way side.” His anger had gotten to him, and he felt awful about it as soon as the words left his mouth.

Miss Summers, no, Buffy he reminded himself, raised her eyebrows at him and gave him an incredulous look. “You don’t have to get all weirded out on name preferences William; things are different in the 21st century.” She thought for another moment. “And I have lots of decorum.”

“If you insist I will be happy to call you whatever you prefer.” William had no idea what had gotten into him. He hated the idea of using given names instead of family names, but if this was part of the rules of this society, he would have to accept the change.

His attention was quickly diverted to the remaining two he had yet to get acquainted with.

The others had remained silent in their small exchange, but the young girl spoke up, “I’m Dawn, Buffy’s sister.” She didn’t extend her hand.

William smiled and nodded, “It is a pleasure to meet you as well Dawn.”

The young man held out his hand, but it seemed he was reluctant. William saw the same hesitance and dislike in this man’s face that he saw when he first met Mr. Giles. He took his hand anyway.

“You’re human,” was all the other man could say at the moment.

“Of course…Yes…Yes, I am.” William tasted a bitter flavor in his mouth. He still wasn’t used to the idea that he had been dead until recently.

“I’m Harris, Xander Harris.” Mr. Harris gave him a cocky smile and stepped away. William felt uncomfortable under the younger man’s gaze. He wondered what crime he committed that made the young man so antagonistic towards him and realized he might not wish to know.

“What? Spike’s human?” Willow’s voice caught him off guard.

“How did that happened?” asked Dawn.

“We’ll discuss this inside, once we’re seated. I’m starving.” Buffy lead the group inside the building and William followed right behind her. He didn’t like entering an establishment in his current condition but soon realized it didn’t matter. The place didn’t look upscale to him, nor the sparse few who were already eating. They didn’t have to wait long for a table, and Mr. Giles spoke with one of the workers to secure a more private setting. As soon as everyone was sitting with their menu in their hands, they began to talk.

“So what happened when you went into the crater?” Willow spoke first, her voice full of anticipation.

“How is Spike human and with no memory of anything?” Xander seemed discontent with this topic but had asked this first.

“Are you OK Buffy?” Dawn’s concerned voice was hardly noticed.

“Wait, hold up.” Buffy looked at Dawn, “I’m fine Dawn.” She then directed her attention to everyone else. “First tell me what happened when you guys got into town? Where are the others?” Buffy’s voice was filled with authority and William knew she was the leader of this group. What kind of group they were he had no idea. She did mention she ‘slayed’ vampires. Perhaps that was what the group was about, slaying demons. But why didn’t they slay…the other him, when given the chance? Buffy and Mr. Giles mentioned the vampire that had his body did ‘save the world’ this morning. Perhaps he had been looking for redemption, working against demons? He wanted know but despised the thought of knowing.

“Kennedy and Andrew are taking care of the girls that didn’t need medical attention at the motel, while the others are at the hospital.” Willow’s voice interrupted him from his thoughts. He understood more and more that a battle had raged this morning. There were casualties in war, and if this group fought evil, he should be in safe company for the time being.

“Faith and Robin already took off to the Hellmouth in Cleveland,” said Xander.

“Is that where we’re going next?” asked Dawn.

“I think it might be more prudent to go overseas, to England, sort out the new slayers and perhaps rebuild the council, the girls will need guidance.” Mr. Giles calm voice belittled the hard look in his eyes.

Buffy sighed, she looked defeated and again she pulled at William’s heart. Why did she have such an effect on him? “That actually sounds good, but how are we going to get there, not everyone here has a passport?” Buffy glanced at William.

“We could go to L.A. Angel could get all of us there.” Willow’s suggestion caused Buffy to look at the red head incredulously. Instead of arguing Buffy sighed again.

“I suppose, we don’t have much of a choice.” Buffy turned over her menu and took another glanced at William. “We also might get some info on William.”

Dawn looked casually at William, “So you don’t remember anything of the last few years?”

“No, actually the last I remember was being bit by a woman and suddenly I woke in the remains of that town.”

“Oh.” Willow’s stunned face caused William to feel highly self conscience.

“Will, do think magic could be the reason?” Buffy sounded a bit desperate, and William’s brows furrowed in contemplation. Surely she didn’t want him to become a vampire again? And did she mention magic in a serious tone?

He shouldn’t have been surprised when Willow seemed to take the comment seriously, “It could be, anything is possible if certain conditions are met.”

“Remember Willow, certain magicks come with heavy consequences. We still do not know if releasing the power of the potentials had any dire effect.” Mr. Giles also seemed to take magic seriously.

It was then it hit him. This was a new world he was in. It was the future, where demons and magic existed. If this wasn’t a dream, if this was reality, he had stepped into the real life vision of A Midsummer’s Night Dream. And there was no going back. He gripped his knees and swallowed.

“There is always some dire effect when using magic, dear Willow. Am I not living proof?” William looked at Willow, his heart sinking.

“We don’t know for sure about why you’re here Spike.” Willow’s calm voice did nothing to ease the pain in his heart.

“William, please.” He didn’t want to be reminded of what he had been.

“The amulet.” Buffy’s soft whisper caused everyone’s attention to focus on her.

“What?” Xander’s confused expression matched the rest of the table.

Buffy took the amulet from her pocket and placed it on the table in front of Willow. “I found this on William; this is the same one that Spike was wearing. There has to be a connection.”

Willow picked up the amulet and immediately looked at Buffy, “Yeah, I think you’re right. I feel something.”

William almost wanted to hold his breath yet he was mesmerized by what he saw. Willow had closed her eyes and then quickly chanted a small spell. A golden light shone from the amulet and then dispersed quickly.

“I feel him guys, it’s Spike, er, well not exactly Spike but I sense his feelings and memories. Kind of like a spirit but not exactly, he’s there but not.” Willow slid the amulet back to Buffy.

“In the amulet?” Buffy picked the amulet back up gingerly.

“Yeah, I know this is gonna sound wonky, but it felt like, well, a vampire. So I’m thinking the amulet sucked in the vampire part of Spike and left his human part here.” Willow gave Buffy a half smile.

With that William stood. He didn’t know what to say, or how to say it. But he needed to get away, at least for a few minutes. If there was a wash room somewhere he could gather his wits within. He was startled when the server came to the table the moment he had stood.

“If you’re looking for the bathroom it’s around the corner, that way.” The server pointed to her right.

William nodded and then looked at the table. “Excuse me.”

He dashed to the wash room, hardly paying attention to where he was going. He understood the sign for the men’s wash room and was thankful when it was empty when he entered. He saw his reflection in the mirror and almost laughed. He was pale and disheveled. He looked exactly as he felt, tossed about by the fates. Just last night, at least to him, he was at a party, like any other. Everything was normal, sane. But his broken heart led him to an alley where a woman had changed his life forever. Not once this day had he thought of Cecily. She was the only thing that seemed far away, everything else was so close.

William looked at the marble below the mirror. He thought he understood enough to realize the functions of what he was looking at. William pulled and turned a few of the knobs in front of him and was relieved when something he did caused the water to run. He gathered the water in his hands and splashed the water on his face. Again he looked into the mirror. He gripped the counter this time. Why? Why did he not have control of his life? He didn’t want to be a pawn of whatever it was that controlled the world. Was it God that allowed this? Where would he fit in this new world? His mother… His mother died alone most likely, having lost her son, her last remaining family member.

Tears had begun to fall freely from his eyes. Who was he? He had followed the rules, he did everything he was told. Now the rules were gone, a new life had opened up to him. He had to learn everything over again. He had been a vampire, which was the truth. He had learned everything about this life as a vampire. William would do everything he could in his power to learn about this life as a human. He wouldn’t let his crimes as a vampire control him. He would work with these people, with Buffy, and right the wrongs of ever letting himself be bit. He didn’t understand it then, he was being controlled by some run away emotion but now he knew. He had to lose everything to understand that he had to be himself, to find out who he was, and make sure that all this wasn’t meaningless. He wouldn’t let his second chance be meaningless. He wouldn’t die again without proving to the world he was someone worth noticing.

The door to the wash room opened and William was startled again. In the door way stood a speechless Xander, who was looking at William as if he had just interrupted something important. William gazed back at the man, not knowing what to say. After a few moments Xander broke the uncomfortable silence first.

“Ah, we were just wondering, since we were ordering and you’ve been gone some time, if you…” Xander drifted off into silence, the air around them felt awkward.

Xander paced slightly, looked right to left before looking back at William, “I know this is a big change for you and all, very comfortable for anyone really, being sucked out of your time and landing in the twilight zone.” Xander stopped his speech. He was obviously deciding on something. Finally he made up his mind. “You’ve got Buffy; I know she’ll help you out. And we…” Xander sighed. “We’ll help too, not much really, but we’ll try to help you adjust.”

William’s tears had stopped, and he felt as if he could breathe again. He had friends here; a family is what Buffy had called it. Yes, he could do this, he could move forward, no matter how hard it would be.

:::::::::::::::::

The meal was subdued with talk on the plans for the future and it left Buffy feeling aggravated. This day felt longer than all days prior. She had to gather the rest of the slayers, train them, lead them, support them and somehow keep herself together. She hoped her family of friends would be there for her, though somehow during dinner she felt them slipping from her. She didn’t want them gone, not yet. She wanted to give them another shot; she wanted them to be a real family again.

As Buffy felt the color drain from her face at the thought of losing her friends, she looked for William. Last night Spike was the only person who Buffy truly trusted to really be there for her. No one at the table had that privilege and it had taken Spike to die for her to understand that. It had taken Spike to die for her to realize she loved him.

But William wasn’t her Spike. He was human and could live a normal human life after he learned how to adjust. She felt a connection missing, something that had been there that was now lost. She knew the connection had been severed when Spike became William and it frightened her, couldn’t she love a normal human?

As she watched William sit back down at the table after being gone for what seemed like half the night Buffy felt relieved. William was now here and though he wasn’t exactly Spike, his mere presence seemed to calm her.

She needed William but she was scared. She felt a distance between them that felt too wide to cross. Buffy knew that unless she wanted to fall back on bad habits from last year, she had to learn to see William as William, no matter how like Spike he could sometimes be.

They ordered their meals, with William stuttering his way around the food menu. He sat in silence for most of the meal, only adding a few comments here and there that lightened the mode or brought a clear point to a simple idea, such as when he mentioned morale of an army and how that can be a turning point for any battle, whether that battle was fought on the outside or in. The few sentences he did make could have been construed as poetic at times, and Buffy felt herself smile.

Buffy didn’t feel like talking much and Dawn asked her about it more than once. She caught William’s eyes during the third time Dawn asked and Buffy knew William understood. The day was not the kind of day to encourage small talk. And the rest of the night Buffy watched William as he watched and studied everyone else.

Dinner had taken almost the whole night and Buffy wanted to lie in bed, to rest her body and hopefully her mind. Xander mentioned that he had also rented a vehicle, a large SUV, and the six of them broke apart to head for the motel. The car ride was again in silence. Buffy had kept her hand in her pocket, gently touching the amulet, knowing her Spike was in there, waiting for her.

She wasn’t going to bandage up William, she wasn’t going to hover. She couldn’t, it was too much for her at the moment. Buffy entrusted the duty to Giles and the boys went into their room after a quick goodnight. She then made a beeline to her room she was sharing with Willow, Kennedy and another slayer. The moment she opened the door, Willow almost toppled her.

“Buffy, I need to talk to you.” Willows hair swirled as she had yet to come to a complete stop in front of Buffy.

“OK, what’s up?” Buffy was a bit taken aback by Willows abrupt greeting.

“Well, I’ve been thinking,” Willow lead Buffy inside the room, “Everything is happening really fast, in one day we’ve activated the potentials, closed the Hellmouth, and made plans to run an army.”

“That’s what happens when you’re dealing with the world of demons and apocalypses, everything zips by before you notice. I thought you would know that by now.” The light tones of Buffy’s voice didn’t seem to have an effect on the red head.

“This time seems really different, everything seems really different.”

“Yeah, a lot has changed.” Buffy’s mind went right to William and Spike.

Buffy sat on the bed closest to her that wasn’t being occupied, ready to give Willow her full attention. Kennedy, a dark haired girl with strong eyes, was watching TV while sitting comfortably on a chair as the other slayer looked to be asleep on the only other bed in the room.

Willow took a deep breath, “I’m thinking of, well, once we get to the UK, and after we’ve all kind of settled and stuff, that Kennedy and I would travel for a bit.”

“You’re not going to stay?” Buffy was shocked to hear that Willow planned to leave her as soon as she got the chance.

“I think it would be good to travel, get to know the world.” Willow looked bashful, “It might help with my magic.”

Buffy closed her eyes. Willow was leaving her and Buffy needed her. Slowly trying to regain her composure she opened her eyes and saw Willow’s eager and hopeful expression. “It’s up to you Will, if you think it’ll help you with your magic then I’m all for it.”

With that, Willow turned to Kennedy, and saw that it looked like Kennedy was actually hanging on every word of their conversation. Willow and Kennedy’s relationship was new, and exciting for them, Buffy didn’t want to get in the way. Buffy understood that Willow would leave with Kennedy, and see things that maybe Buffy never would.

:::::::::::::::::

William was shirtless, sitting on a bed in an odd and dingy motel room, where the lights seemed overly bright and none of the interior matched. He was being banged by a young and eager young man that went by the name of Andrew, who didn’t want to hold his tongue for more than a few seconds.

“There was this episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in which the Enterprise found this space pod filled with cryonic people from 300 years in the past. They had to adjust to the future which is really…”

William shut out the boy’s speech. He didn’t understand it. He didn’t want to be rude, but the useless chattering appeared to have numbed his thoughts. In the darkest parts of his mind he had wanted Buffy to have bandaged his wound, though he was grateful that she did not, he was still disappointed. Her weak goodnight and her lack of participation at dinner’s conversation had him wondering about her state. He couldn’t help but feel worried for her. He only knew her a day and somehow he felt a connection to her, something he had never felt before.

William had thought a lot about what had occurred at dinner. He had noticed the way the others were communicating with each other and how it was more open and acceptable for disagreements to arise. Thoughts and opinions were welcomed, even if it was in opposition with the others. The language used was coarse, but freeing. Body language was as well more so relaxed.

Before William always preferred not to think of dark and dreary topics, but the conversation at dinner was filled with items that were too dark to ignore. By half way through dinner he was sucked into the dilemma, even adding, to his delight, his opinion, which garnered the approval of the group. This world of demons and magic perplexed him, and that fact that Buffy was center of this world fascinated and terrified him. His heart had doubled in size for Buffy; she had a great and terrible burden.

And he wanted to help her. William wasn’t sure how he could help, but he knew he wanted to be a part of this world now; he wanted to make an impact. Mr. Harris was a normal individual who appeared to contribute to the group. And like Mr. Harris, William would be on the lookout for anything within his power he could do.

“You know you and Spike make this really interesting loop, oh I think I’m done.” Andrew’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.

“Thank you for your assistance…Andrew.” William was still uncomfortable with given names.

“Not a problem, I think there was vending machine in the lobby, I’m thirsty.” With that Andrew left the room, leaving William a bit stunned by the boy’s behavior.

William ran a hand through his wet hair. He had bathed as soon as he had gotten in the room, learning how to work the bath from Mr. Giles and since then he felt a bit more normal. Both Mr. Giles and Xander were getting ready for bed since the night was getting darker. With only two beds they would be sharing, but William didn’t mind. He was grateful for a bed after the events of the day.

William wanted to lie down and sleep, but he was troubled. Buffy had a large responsibility, the world held a dark side he knew almost nothing about and the future was filled with devices that intimated him. What to tackle first wasn’t an easy decision, and he knew he might not be able to make the choice until he was forced to.

:::::::::::::::::

The lights were out and everyone but Buffy was asleep. The clock beside the bed read 2:00am in blinding red. Buffy sighed and put her arm on her forehead, wishing she could sleep. She didn’t need insomnia to add to her problems. Her brain wouldn’t shut down, and she desperately wanted to be alone. Too many things were assaulting her every time she closed her eyes.

Frustrated and resigned, Buffy got out of bed. Slowly and quietly she tip toed to the balcony door and stepped outside, firmly closing the doors behind her. It wasn’t cold, and she was still in her clothes, no one had anything else besides what they wore on their backs. Buffy held herself anyway.

Spike…

Buffy missed him. She had to keep herself from knocking on the door to the boys’ room and demanding to see William. She wanted to pretend, but she couldn’t, that wasn’t fair to him or to her. She was going to change; she was going to do better. Buffy would stay strong.

And then there was just so much, everything was just too much. The day, the losses, and everything ahead dropped on Buffy’s shoulders and she felt herself crumple. She put her arms on the railing and then buried her head in her arms and wept.

:::::::::::::::::

William stared at the ceiling of the motel room. The lights were off and the clock was behaving oddly, the light flickering in a way that would give him a headache if he stared at it too long. The others were asleep, some more quietly than others. William turned to his side, feeling the edge of the bed.

William couldn’t sleep, his mind was racing. The events of the day replayed over and over, from waking in the rubble to Buffy’s whispered goodnight in the hall. His world was upside down and he had a journey ahead of him. William couldn’t believe the change he experienced in only 24 hours. And his astonishment at everything didn’t compare to the change he felt in his heart.

But that didn’t erase the sorrow of losing all he held dear, his mother and his home. He lost his love interest, long dead now. He didn’t have many friends in London before he was thrown in to the future, but the ones he did have were gone. His fortune was gone, as well as his status and his reputation, though he honestly didn’t care as much as he thought he would about those things. His fortune he inherited from his father, his status was important but he felt more relief at the freedom of the loss than remorse, and his reputation was a joke, so that didn’t matter.

Rolling gently out of bed he made his way to the balcony, careful not to disturb the others, and went outside, slowly closing the doors behind him. He breathed in the air and found that it was filled with scents that he never experienced before, but they choked him. William looked up at the sky and couldn’t see the stars, red hazy clouds and lights made it impossible to see anything besides the town that surrounded him.

His thoughts continued on, thinking of the past and the future, his day and this new world. William was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t notice when Buffy had also stepped onto her balcony, which was right next to his. He didn’t notice her until he heard her sobs.

“Miss – Buffy?” He asked timidly.

Her head shot up and looked at William in stunned surprise. Buffy’s cheeks turned red as she wiped away the tears that were so very clear on her face.

“Are you alright?” William tried to keep his voice as soft as possible.

Buffy’s face suddenly became blank and he watched as a torrent of emotions overcame her. Weakly she answered him. “Yeah, I-I’m fine.” She gave him a weak smile.

Thinking about the directness of her friends at dinner he didn’t hesitate to point out the obvious, “No, you’re not.”

“Oh,” Buffy’s face fell, “Just got dust…” She huffed and looked down; William knew she understood that she wasn’t fooling him. “Been a long day, couldn’t sleep.”

“Yes,” the sarcastic tone came out naturally without him realizing it, “Bloody long day.” He agreed whole heartily with her, though quickly remembered that he had cursed in front of lady when he saw her face. She was looking at him so peculiar that it made his stomach flip and then flop. “I a-apologize, I didn’t mean-“

“Don’t, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Confused, William wanted to ask what had caused her distress when she answered his unspoken question, “You just sounded…like him.”

William stood motionlessly, he understood her comment, but was unsettled by it. He had been trying to forget that he had been a vampire, trying to disconnect with that other being that wore his face. “I see” were the only words that would escape his lips.

Silence filled the two balconies for a few stolen moments. William looked at Buffy and saw the longing in her eyes as she scanned the air around her. She was avoiding him and he swallowed, knowing it must be hard for her to see him and not the vampire he had been.

“Buffy?”

She nonchalantly looked over to him, trying to hide what was obvious to William. She was falling apart by the seams. “Yeah?”

“It’s not a crime to cry.”

She laughed, “Sure, it’s not.”

William knew, somehow, she wasn’t making fun of him; she was hiding, trying to keep a mask on, so he stared at her, waiting for her to say more.

“It’s just, I gotta be strong, for everyone. I have to be a leader.” Her voice was determined, but still, somehow he didn’t fully believe her.

“And for you?”

“That’s part of the package, being strong for everyone means I have to be strong for myself too.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to feel.”

Buffy looked at him then, really looked at him, and William didn’t understand the expression on her face. She studied him for a moment, searching his features for something that William was scared to admit, that she was looking for signs of him, her vampire.

Before either could say another word a scream tore through the alley below them.

It was just her luck, finally having a conversation alone with William and a vampire had to show up for a meal. Buffy didn’t hesitate and jumped from the balcony. She was only one story up and the fall hardly left her soles tingling. She didn’t pay attention to William after she heard the woman cry for help but she knew she missed his astonished expression on her dashing heroics. Once she was on the ground she glanced around to gather her bearings.

The alley was only a wall away from the motel lot and she quickly climbed it. She didn’t stop once she reached the alley, her eyes caught the vampire and his prey and she headed straight for them. They were huddled in a dark alcove of the building right behind the motel. She pulled the vampire off the woman, who fell to the floor, slumped against the wall, and threw him in the opposite direction. The vampire was ugly, wearing clothes from what looked like the 70s, and a rather moldy toupee. It was only one so Buffy relaxed, it would be an easy slay.

“Are you going for cliché award of the year? Really, an alley and a toupee?” Buffy almost laughed, it was always an alley and always a helpless female. And vampires from the 70s were a never ending horde.

The vampire stood and quickly rushed her, blind rage getting the better of him; she stepped aside easily and landed a kick to his stomach, which sent him flying again.

“You bitch!” He turned back to her with his fangs bared for her to see.

“Heard that before. You guys really need to think of something original.”

The vampire roared and flung a thick fist toward Buffy. She caught the fist with her hand and tripped the vampire by catching his feet with hers. The vampire lost his footing and fell to the ground. Buffy straddled the vampire, ready to tear his head off his shoulders when two strong hands pulled her from the soon to be dusted vampire. The hands tossed her aside and Buffy saw two more male vampires emerge from the shadows. The hands turned out to be yet another vampire, who looked a little like Hulk Hogan. This was just her day.

“Brought friends for me? How thoughtful.” Buffy looked for anything that could be used as a stake, and found an old table pitched against the alley wall.

As the four vampires attacked her, Buffy dived for the table, narrowly missing their reach. She had met her target and within a blink of an eye she broke off a leg of the decaying table and whipped it around her like a staff. She felt one vampire circle around her and it tried a sneak attack, so she quickly jammed the table leg into the heart of that vampire and he exploded in a cloud of dust. Within her next heart beat she used the table leg to smack the closest vampire across the face and then slammed the other end of the leg into the stomach of the last vampire.

In the next second Buffy used her knee to break the leg in half and danced around in a deadly tango to drive the first half of the table leg into the chest of the vampire on her left. He was barely dust before she turned to face her next opponent. The toupee vampire was now gripping thin air, his anger clear on his face. Buffy didn’t know if he was trying to plan his next move or was just waiting for an opening. He swayed before her, knowing the danger, but Buffy didn’t care.

“Fucking little girl!” he roared again and tried for a kick, which she easily blocked with her forearm.

“I’m so not a little girl anymore!” And with that she went in under his defenses and pierced his heart. Dust swirled around her before it gently settled to the ground.

:::::::::::::::::

William watched in stunned silence. The others had awoken to the scream. Everyone had come to the balcony, saw that it was Buffy against four creatures that were obviously vampires, and they all dismissed it as nothing! Everyone went back to bed even before Buffy dusted her first vampire. William had never seen anything like it before and it enthralled him. But once Buffy was thrown fear took hold of him, shooting into his gut. Seeing her get hurt wasn’t pleasant. Fear, and oddly excitement, coursed through him and before he thought twice he took off. He paid no attention to his roommates and headed for the door.

William’s only thought was to go to Buffy, even though he knew he would not only get in the way but he could do nothing to assist her in her task. He didn’t know why he was so possessed to go to her, perhaps because this made everything real. He had been a vampire, now he saw vampires, real ones, and saw Buffy slay them per her “duty” as she had called it earlier that night. This was tangible; he wanted to see up close what his life had been for the last 120 years.

Not caring about the doors or the stairs that got in his way, and not even paying attention to how he got there, William made it to the alley. He stopped in his tracks at the mouth of the alley, paralyzed by both fear and anticipation. He didn’t know what he wanted and he didn’t know what he would do now. Instead he watched for a moment more.

Buffy had dropped to the floor and thrust out her leg to trip the over sized vampire that was before her. The vampire was smart enough to see the attack and jump to avoid her first leg thrust but didn’t see as she gracefully swung her legs around again and in one simple motion the large vampire fell to the ground.

Feeling it was safe to move into the alley, William spotted the woman who had originally screamed slumped up against the alley wall. He quickly raced over to her. He only had a moment to feel sick at the sight of blood running down her neck and chest before steeling himself to help her. He didn’t know what made him do this, but he felt it was right, to help the woman. He grabbed a piece of his shirt, ripped it clumsily with his hands and held it to her neck to stop the bleeding. During his ministrations he heard the fight continue on behind him.

“Miss, please wake up!” He softly called to the stranger.

She opened her eyes slowly. At first William knew she was disoriented. Her pale skin was glowing in the dark alley and it was obvious she needed medical care. Once she remembered that she had been attacked, she tried to move, her wide eyes moving all around trying to find the source of her predicament. William gingerly put a hand on her arm to still her.

“Please remain still. Things should improve for you in just a moment. Could you perhaps stand?”

William knew the lady didn’t trust her voice enough to speak as she nodded while looking at him with a steady and fearful gaze. Slowly she stood up, not looking anywhere else but at William. As she got to her feet, William sighed. He had no clue on how to go about this, he never even thought of something like this before. But he didn’t need to worry about his next words, as the large vampire crashed into the wall beside them. The hurt woman took one look at Buffy as she charged the vampire and took off running, screaming all the way out of the alley.

William blinked a few times, but understood the stranger’s frightened state. Buffy had kicked the vampire into the wall right beside them and then dragged the creature to the floor, beating the large, blond vampire with her fists, never stopping, and never faltering in her strikes. She looked like a warrior goddess, full of fire and passion. Deadly. And this was his life for the last 100 plus years? Fighting and blood? It turned his stomach but at the same time a small tingle was present in the deepest part of his gut. The adrenaline, the fight, the danger, it sung to him, deep inside. He never knew, not until he saw it up close, not until he was made to be aware of the danger, did he feel a need for it. And in just a day, his life was irrefutably and irrevocably altered, because he knew, he had to recreate himself. He could no longer be just a poet.

:::::::::::::::::

Buffy hated the fight. It was taking longer than normal, she should have just staked the vampire already, but she was tired and had just fought an apocalypse this morning. This vamp must have been the ring leader of the bunch and was probably older, which meant stronger. She landed another blow that had the vampire skidding across the ground.

She had barely noticed when William got to the ally. For a moment Buffy had forgotten that William wasn’t Spike, again, and that as a human, he was in danger here. Her fear for William and her panic for his safety quickly rose to intense anger. She turned to William quickly. She shot daggers at him with her gaze while ignoring the odd look on his face as she muttered a furious string of words.

“Get out of here now! This isn’t the best time or place to get curious or act brave! You are not Mr. Vampire anymore, he is!” She jerked a thumb at the vampire who was struggling to get to his feet.

William tried to speak but was soon unable to as the vampire chuckled loudly. Buffy turned back to her prey, the look on her face was enough to send any vampire running for his or her unlife. But the chuckling vampire didn’t deter.

“OK, so you’re Mr. Chuckles now instead of Mr. Vampire. Seriously, stop, with the chuckling, now!”

“I just found out the balance is undone, the Ultimate power and Greatest Evil are no longer equals and you worry about one or two humans?” The vampire gave up on standing and fell back to the ground as Buffy began to move closer. He looked up at her with his broken face and smiled. “Evil is gonna come for you soon, you unholy cunt, and all humans will no longer be safe. Whoever destroyed the balance just cashed in on ending the world.”

Buffy stood her ground breathlessly. She felt cold again. “I’ve already beat Evil.”

The vampire let out a soft laugh. “Think that if you wish.”

Buffy was soon filled with more than just fear and anger at the words. It had stuck some cord in her and she wanted the fight to be over. With one big step she strutted over to the vampire, grabbed his head, twisted and yanked with all her might. In a mere blink of an eye, the head in between her hands became dust, and the vampire that was before her was no more.

:::::::::::::::::

William understood that perhaps it might have been best to have kept the vampire alive for more information, but he didn’t question Buffy’s move for a quick disposal of the creature. Instead he felt something else click into place. Buffy was full of emotion, so full and so strong that she seemed unyielding. And yet she seemed so fragile just a moment ago on the balcony. There was more to Buffy than he could have guessed and he wanted to know more. As she began to rip the vampire’s head off his shoulders, he started to walk towards her. He flinched at her actions, they were gory and surprising. He wasn’t used to them, but at this very moment, his eyes were on Buffy.

Something new came alive within him, as if a flame, a small, strong flame, had lit in his heart. He didn’t understand it; his heart knew what it felt for Cecily. But now there was something else. With so many changes his heart was going through this one was clear to him. He felt connected to her, seeing her fight, watching her all day today, seeing her cry, he knew she was a creature of passion. And he was a creature of passion as well.

Delicately placing his hand on her shoulder, William turned Buffy to face him as the dust of the vampire settled at her feet.

“Are you unhurt?” William’s voice was filled with so much concern and worry that he almost startled himself.

“I’m fine, just another night like any other for the Chosen One.” Buffy shrugged, this obviously didn’t faze her. “Are you alright? Coming here was a really stupid thing to do.”

“Yes, I am perfectly fine.” William focused his gaze on Buffy, he wasn’t happy with her insult, even if it was the truth. “I know it was foolish but I...I had to see this up close, who...who I was.”

“Who you were? Up close?” Buffy looked at William as if he had lost his mind. “You could have been killed! Really William, you can’t be following me into a fight like that, ever!”

“I…I needed to see what my life will be like now that I am here, this new world is…I wanted to see for myself in what world I now live.”

“You didn’t need to endanger yourself like that for such a silly reason!” Buffy had moved in just a bit closer to William, he could feel her anger radiating off her.

“’Silly reason? I saw you fight and felt compelled to be here!” His anger didn’t surprise him, William knew the source. His life was ruined and renewed without anyone giving him the proper choice. He wanted to take back his choices. He knew he would, he was determined.

“Compelled? You didn’t need to come here and distract me to see a vampire up close! You were there tonight at dinner! You know where we are going, so don’t give me this crap! I could have just shown you Angel once we got to LA!” Buffy huffed and stared at William with enough force to move planets.

“The fight and the vampires is what I wanted and needed to see. I have wondered all day today about what my vampire life could have been like. It has been haunting me. But I understand now. And this,” William gestured to the alley, “has helped me. I do apologize for causing you distraction but I assure you it will not happen again!”

Buffy was silent after that. She crossed her arms and looked into William’s eyes. He felt unsure of himself, as his anger had gotten the best of him as he yelled at her. After an uncomfortable silence Buffy uncrossed her arms and looked down. William knew she was going to drop the subject, even though she was still clearly upset. “I can’t sleep. I‘m dead tired but there is no way I’ll sleep any time this century.”

William deflated; he too could not sleep, even though he felt a bone deep weariness. “I have just slept for over a century, I doubt sleep will come to me any time soon.”

Buffy smiled at the little joke and William felt warmth spread through him. She again had that far away expression, as if she was thinking about her vampire, as she spoke. “Want to get a drink and maybe chit-chat until we pass out from exhaustion?”

William smiled at her as well; he would like that, if chit-chat meant to talk. “That sounds lovely.”

:::::::::::::::::

Buffy didn’t know where to go for them to talk. William was silent as they walked out of the alley and onto the street. She was still mad at him, furious really. But she didn’t say anything more regarding his brave but incredibly idiotic stunt. She wanted to drill it in him to be safe, to stay safe. It was easy to boss someone around, though she could never boss Spike like she had wanted. Just like it seemed she couldn’t quite boss William around. She wanted him safe, a keepsake of Spike, a selfish desire but important to her. Yet the way he had rushed into battle like that reminded her of Spike, causing her heart to lurch and squeeze. Perhaps she wanted him to do something like that again.

Once they walked a few steps from the alley she looked around and saw a Starbucks with a 24 hour sign and knew that would be the best place to unwind. She looked up to William ad saw him look around in wonder, taking in the sights around him, fearlessly this time and she smiled.

“I know the perfect place for us, this way.”

She led him to Starbucks and immediately entering the establishment Buffy knew William was enthralled with the shop. She heard the sudden intake of breath and watched him from the corner of her eye as he looked around the shop in open wonderment. She stifled a giggle.

“Grab us the comfy seats in the corner while I order our drinks, coffee or tea?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes, tea would be lovely.” He said, hardly paying her any attention as he continued to look around.

Buffy ordered herself hot cocoa and William tea, though when asked what kind, she quickly said the best, and most common they had. After another confusing question she blurted out “English tea” earning her a questioning look from the cashier. She grabbed their drinks and headed for William who sat on a deep purple loveseat by the window, looking out of it longingly. Buffy noticed that besides a cranky old woman who sat on the opposite side of the store, they were alone.

“Here you go.” She placed the tea in front of William.

“That’s very gracious of you, thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

A curious expression formed on his face but Buffy ignored it. “I hope this wasn’t too much trouble, I’m not sure of the cost and normally for a lady to pay for such a thing is unseemly.”

She let out a sigh as she sat next to him. “Like I said, don’t worry about it.”

“I do hope to make it up to you.”

“No need William, really, don’t think about it.”

William smiled at her, still with a curious look in his eyes, and sipped his tea. An awkward silence passed between them. After a few more moments of silence Buffy found that she couldn’t stop staring at William. She noticed his blush but that didn’t stop her. She found it funny how he went from being angry with her then polite in such a short time. He was full of life, just rumbling under the surface.

“Do I have something on my face?”

“What? On your face? Oh…no, no you don’t.” Buffy snapped out of her daze and looked away.

“Under normal circumstances that would have been considered rude.”

She looked back at him with raised eyebrows, “I wasn’t trying to be rude.”

“This tea is quite good.”

“I don’t really drink tea that much – hey, don’t change the subject!”

William smiled knowingly as he went to take another sip of his tea. “I merely commented on the drink.”

Buffy looked at William knowing full well what he did. “You changed subjects.”

“That would be a depressing conversation Miss Summers, on how rude you can be and how you didn’t mean the lot of it.”

Buffy glared at him with indignation, “Are you calling me rude?”

William sighed before smiling again, “Everyone I have met today has been rude by my standards. This new world I find myself in is both fascinating and crude, though I’m ashamed to admit that I am slowly coming to find myself fond of it.”

“You did it again William.” Buffy tried to hide the annoyance and the amusement in her voice.

“To what are you referring?” William also tried to hide behind innocence.

“You changed subjects.”

“Would you like to talk about you being rude? That is something to think of indeed.”

“There is nothing to think about, either I’m rude or I’m not.”

“Miss…Buffy, I do not think you are especially rude, just you seem to forget yourself in my presence. Does that answer satisfy you?”

Buffy gave William a dubious look before leaning back, “I suppose.”

Buffy didn’t want to explain about Spike and how she so desperately wanted him there instead of William. So she remained quiet. She began to relax; sitting next to William somehow put her in enough ease that she was willing to finally sleep. After a few minutes of silence, William spoke.

“Everything is so different. I keep asking the same questions to myself ‘How does this work?’ or ‘Why does this happen?’ that I forget where I am sometimes. That this isn’t a dream.” His voice sounded far off and Buffy wondered exactly where he was at the moment.

William looked at her so suddenly that she quickly looked at him and caught a fond look in his gaze that had all thought going right out the door. That look was so Spike that her heart had to do a double take and her mind had to remind her that this was William, not Spike.

“What about you? I know that question is direct and rude, but that is acceptable is it not?”

Buffy’s eyebrows shot up into her hair line as she thought of his question. “Yeah, that isn’t so much rude as you would think, not among friends at least…what about me?”

“You were the sole ‘Chosen One’ before you called on the others from what I heard at dinner. What is that like? That sounds awfully lonely and harsh.”

Buffy blinked. Confused on why he would be so interested in this topic she thought on how to answer him. “I was lucky; I had friends and family to help me during the tough times.” Buffy grew silent and the air around her felt heavy. “As long as I have been the slayer, someone’s been there to help, whether I wanted it or not.”

“But you haven’t always been? The Slayer, I mean.”

“No, I was called at fifteen.”

“Do you ever wish you hadn’t been Chosen?”

Buffy frowned at this question, she didn’t like where this conversation was going. “No…yes…ah, maybe.” Buffy looked away and stared at the clerk behind the counter before continuing, “Once I would have said absolutely ‘Yes!’ but that was before stuff…and at the time I only wanted to be normal girl, still do sometimes. Now because of the people I know because of my calling and how I see my life…I have to say ‘No’. But between that it was ‘Maybe’.” She looked back to William, unsure if she was making herself clear, “Does that make any sense?”

“Some, yes. I think I can relate though, to some degree.”

“You can?”

It was William’s turn to be silent. He sipped his tea and Buffy stared at her long forgotten drink. “Before coming here I wanted nothing more than to fit in, to be accepted and live in the world I created for myself.” William put his tea on the table in front of them and allowed himself to relax, mimicking Buffy. “I wanted to be seen as normal. But now that I am here I know I’ll never be normal, I’ll always be out of place and time. Perhaps if I asked myself if I wanted to go back I would say ‘No, yes, maybe’.”

“Why ‘no’, why ‘yes’ and why ‘maybe’?” Buffy wanted to forget, for the moment, his comment on being normal. Hadn’t she thought he could be, if he wanted?

“’No’ because I feel as if I belong here in a way, in a world of magic and demons. ‘Yes’ because I miss home and I knew the rules there, here everything is so foreign. Sometimes I don’t know how to act. ‘Maybe’ because I might feel a bit different in a few days.”

Buffy smiled at the last sentence. Somehow the words he just spoke soothed her and wrapped around her like a blanket. She felt at peace and at ease. She didn’t realize that her eyes had fluttered shut and within moments she had fallen asleep.

:::::::::::::::::

William had never dared speak so freely before and it felt wonderful. When Buffy smiled at his humor he felt warmed by her affection. But he was caught off guard when Buffy seemingly dropped her head on his shoulder and drifted to sleep. He wasn’t surprised; she had just fought four vampires and survived a terrible battle almost a day ago. If this had taken place in his time he might have been offended or worried about the propriety of a girl sleeping in a public place on his shoulders but here it didn’t feel wrong, it felt right. William forgot his tea and leaned his head against Buffy’s. He only needed to wait a moment before he too drifted off to sleep.

:::::::::::::::::

William wasn’t sure where he was. He was in a graveyard, surrounded by mausoleums and headstones. It was either twilight or dawn as the sun was on the horizon. A fog was surrounding him and he didn’t understand why. Blinking he wondered if he had somehow been transported here by magic, now that he knew magic existed.

He heard a soft sound, like a humming song from an angel. He turned around but couldn’t see anything. The light from the sun grew a bit brighter and he turned again, not daring to move in any direction. He had a feeling he should stay where he was. Once his eyes turned away from the sun he saw a figure, clad in flowing white fabric. It was a slender woman, with earth colored hair and pale skin. She was singing as she approached him, barefoot and smiling. Her eyes shone with green intensity and she smelled of dirt and grass.

“What have we here?” Her voice was odd, like leaves rustling together. But it was clear she was curious.

“Stay back!” William wasn’t sure he should speak.

“No no no, they don’t count you at all, silly silly them.” The woman shook her head.

“Why don’t they count me? And who are they?” He was lost, curious but cautious; he didn’t understand this woman or this place.

“Shush, you need to listen to me.”

William stood taller and glared at her, ready to take whatever passed her lips.

“No no no, I’m not going to be cruel. You’re so funny.” She smiled again, sweet but impatient, “No, I need to say…Evil is coming again, so soon too, it’s preparing even now. Evil is going to take everything good away from everyone good.”

She walked around William, smiling all the while. He followed her movements, but remained silent.

“Now isn’t the time.” Her voice sounded annoyed but before anything else could happen, everything went dark.

:::::::::::::::::

William woke with a start. He looked up and saw he was face to face with the store clerk. The dream he just had was quickly fading, even though he wondered if perhaps he should try to remember it.

“It’s against the rules for you two to be sleeping here. Either wake up or leave.” The woman looked highly aggravated but moved back to the counter area.

William looked down at Buffy who was also rousing from sleep. They had been close, nearly sleeping on top of each other. William blushed when he caught the look in Buffy’s eyes. She quickly stood up and a moment of awkward silence once again hung between them.

“We should head back and try to really get some sleep, like on a soft fluffy bed.” Buffy’s voice was even, but William wondered if she was hiding something. He wasn’t sure how he could tell but he felt as if there was something she didn’t want to mention to him that had leapt into her mind.

He stood up and nodded, not liking the idea of questioning her about his suspicions. He didn’t want to be too intrusive. “Yes, our companions may be wondering about us.”

“Yeah right, not if they’re all asleep.”

“Surely they would be worried about you.”

“I’m a big girl; I can handle a few vamps.”

“Not even just a little?” He really was taken aback by the idea that the people he met today wouldn’t be concerned for Buffy, but he did notice she seemed to be able to handle herself quite well.

“Nope. Come on, I think I’ll fall over and sleep on the floor at this rate.”

They both headed back to motel, which was just across the street. William was surprised when he received a heartfelt goodnight and a soft kiss on the cheek once they arrived. He stood outside his door as he watched Buffy retreat into her own room and wondered what tomorrow would bring.

:::::::::::::::::

The new day arose quietly. The sun shone with brilliance through the curtains of the balcony, lazily reminding William of all that had transpired the day before. He wished for more but the sleep he did get was fruitful. William hadn’t dreamt anymore after he had gotten into his motel bed a few hours before dawn. Andrew had slept soundlessly on the other side and William was grateful not to be disturbed for those few hours of hard sleep.

The morning brought chaos to their room though. Mr. Giles had woken everybody up early, even though it was obvious everyone wanted and needed more sleep, even Mr. Giles. Andrew was pacing about, trying to find his other sock and Mr. Harris, who fervently asked with an annoyed tone to be called Xander, was taking a long time in the washing room. William sat on the edge of the bed, looking at an odd black box that sat pleasantly on the bureau in front of him. He was staring at it, trying to figure out its function when Andrew stopped his fevered search and grabbed a small black cylinder from the bedside table. When William looked at Andrew he was standing next to him staring at the black box as well.

“Oh, that’s a T.V. err, Television, one of the greatest inventions in the last century. Here, check it out.”

Andrew then took the cylinder, pointed it at the black box and pressed a button. As soon as Andrew did, the black box came to life.

“Oh, my!” William nearly fell off the bed.

It showed moving images of real life. At first William was captivated, but a second later utterly appalled and embarrassed. The images on the T.V. were that of intimate relations, moaning and groaning savage desires. Andrew gapped like a fish, curling in on himself, obviously embarrassed as well.

“Ye-ah, that wasn’t what I meant to show you. Porn isn’t something your Victorian eyes might want to see just yet.”

“Is-is this normal, acceptable, for carnal relations to be displayed so openly like this?” William was doing his best to not look at the T.V.; instead he kept his eyes on Andrew. But he couldn’t shut off his hearing.

“Well, yeah. The porn industry is like super rich. Gay porn alone – I mean yeah, it’s totally normal!” Andrew then tried to press another button, “How do you turn this thing off!?” The volume grew louder.

Xander came out of the wash room at that moment and stood in the door way looking at them incredulously. “I thought Victorian sensibilities wouldn’t care for that?”

“Of – of course. I was only interested in the – the T.V. when…”

“Yeah, I figured it was Andrew.” Xander came into the room then, grabbing his eye patch from the counter near the closet. “I think they charge for that per minute, you should probably turn it off.”

“I’m trying,” cried Andrew, his distress on being unable to turn off the T.V. was clear.

“Let me see that,” Xander grabbed the cylinder from Andrew’s hands. After pressing more buttons, the images changed to another set of carnal relations, but with louder and more frequent moaning. “Huh, I guess the remote is broken.”

William watched in horror as Andrew and Xander fiddled with the T.V. as they tried to turn it off. The images were shocking to him, but again, William felt curious, among other things, and caught himself glancing from the two striving to fix the problem to the problem itself. After a few minutes his embarrassment was starting to pass.

“Ooh, I don’t think I saw this one.” Xander had paused to look at the images.

“Um, I think we shouldn’t get distracted.” Andrew was looking sheepish.

“Wait, wait, this is getting good.”

William just sat in silence, not sure if he was traumatized or fascinated.

Andrew continued his efforts while William sat in shocked silence and Xander watched in deep interest. After what seemed like an age, Mr. Giles came into the room with breakfast, followed closely by Buffy, Dawn, Willow, and a few other slayers. The new comers stood in the doorway, obviously none of them anticipated the three to be watching what they were watching. William, Xander and Andrew froze and looked at their company. William wanted to crawl under the bed, but instead hid his face in his hands.

Andrew was the first to speak, “It was accident, totally not my fault all the channels are Porn.”

“And may I ask why you haven’t turned it off?” Mr. Giles sounded bashful yet upset.

Buffy looked at them pointedly. “Yeah, not what I expected to see,” and then turned to her younger sister, “Dawn cover your eyes.”

“I’m not a baby; I know what they are watching, not like I haven’t seen worse.”

“Excuse me?” Buffy folded her arms and glared at her sister, but Willow stepped further in to the room.

“So why haven’t you turned it off?”

Xander scratched the back of his head as he looked down, “Remote’s broke, and no ‘off’ button on the T.V.”

“Nonstop porn.” Andrew chimed in.

“Oh for the love of…” Mr. Giles stormed into the room and pulled the wire out of the wall that connected it to the T.V. The images went black and the sound was cut off. William sighed in relief, but knew he wouldn’t be able to forget this so easily.

“Oh, yeah, the plug. Should’ve thought of that.” Xander gave a breathless laugh as he put on his eye patch and turned away from the T.V.

“I hope that doesn’t eat too much into our bill.” One of the slayers behind Buffy was smiling as she spoke the phrase, and William couldn’t help but feel embarrassed all over again. He hoped Buffy wouldn’t think too badly of him.

:::::::::::::::::

The rest of the morning went by fast, Buffy counted the girls that would be coming with them. Giles had taken care of the girls who were still in the hospital, who would be following them once they were discharged. So far about nine girls plus the rest would be packed into two cars, luckily one was a large SUV that fit six and with careful planning, could fit ten or more. Buffy, Xander and Giles planned out the rest, while William spoke with Willow. Buffy was too busy to hear their conversation, but it didn’t look pleasant. Right before noon the two cars were packed and ready for Los Angeles, everyone sat almost on top of each other. The drive was only an hour, so the passengers didn’t have to put up with the uncomfortable seating for long.

Buffy was lucky to have a seat in the front of Giles’ car. She got to hear Andrew trying to get William up to date with history and the modern world, but it was obvious William was tuning the boy out. Andrew was making so many obscure references Buffy doubted William understood half of anything coming out of Andrew’s mouth. Buffy couldn’t help but smile, after catching the boys watching porn and with William avoiding her all morning she knew William wasn’t having a good day. And the day was really just getting started. William was now going into a real modern city with all the trimmings and would have to deal with Angel, a vampire with a soul and jealous streak.

William was human; Spike had done what Angel had always wanted. Buffy’s mind wandered to the comment spoken by William during the previous night, on being normal. William said he always wanted to be normal, to fit in, but now he would never fit in, he would never be normal. That wasn’t right was it? He could be, he could catch up, get a career, and marry…somehow the thought of William marrying put a sour taste in her mouth. Who would he marry? Someone who he could never tell his real past to? The more she thought about the details, the more she realized it was true. William wouldn’t be normal, ever. Buffy felt for him, felt closer to him, but still, something was missing. Why couldn’t she just feel the same for William as she did for Spike?

“Oh, my – my goodness! Is what I am seeing real?” William’s breathless and amazed voice broke her from her thoughts and she glanced ahead, the city of Los Angeles just came into view. They were driving down a large hill and could see the whole the city.

“Los Angeles, home sweet home.” Buffy’s sarcastic voice went unheard as Giles explained about the city to William. It’s been years since Los Angeles was her home, but she grew up here, she was called as a Slayer here and she dusted her first vamp here. Good and bad memories collided and now with Sunnydale in the ground this was the only place to call home.

They continued on and reached Wolfram & Hart sooner than Buffy wanted. When she saw the building her first thoughts were on how she was entering evil’s lair, and then her previous night’s dream (which she knew was a Slayer’s Dream, something she didn’t want to share with William just yet) and what the vampire told her flooded her mind. She looked over to Giles as he descended the ramp into the underground parking lot.

“I have to talk to you and everyone, soon.”

“Is it a matter of importance?” Giles sounded wary.

“Very, more badness is coming our way.”

“I see, perhaps we’ll get a moment once we are inside, though I don’t particularly enjoy the idea of speaking about anything of importance in this place.”

“Me neither.”

Giles and Xander parked next to each other. Once everyone was outside the car and gathered, Buffy made sure everyone would follow her. Buffy drifted next to William as she walked to the entrance.

“Stay close to me, I don’t care about this morning, don’t leave my side.”

“How awful is this place?” William’s voice croaked a bit, he was obviously nervous.

“This place defends evil, but I have, I think I have, an ally here that will help us, all of us.”

“Is this ally someone we can rely on?”

“I used to think so.”

“But you don’t think so now?”

“I don’t know what I think now, I no longer trust him like I used to once he took over this place.”

“Well, that makes me feel right as nails.”

Buffy looked at him, annoyed but secretly fond of the sarcasm. “Wait until you meet Angel.”

“Yes, you mentioned him before.”

“He’s a vampire, but a good one and someone…Spike used to know. It won’t be pleasant.”

“Spike? My – my, dear me…”

“Just stay close.”

With that Buffy and the rest climbed the stairs and then entered the double glass doors of the law firm. Buffy was vaguely aware of William drinking in the sight of the modern business building. It was bright and clear, full of things Buffy was sure he had never seen before. The tall ceiling and people in business suits perhaps weren’t as unfamiliar as everything else was.

Buffy was unsure how things would go, or what exactly she would meet when she presented William to Angel or told him of the events of the battle the day before. Angel should have been prepared in case she lost yesterday, so she expected to find him ready for anything. What she wasn’t prepared for was Harmony at the reception desk.

“Welcome to Wolf…Slayer! You’re not here to kill me right? I’m trying to be good, OK?”

Buffy blinked a few times, “No, I’m not here to kill you-“

“Oh goodie, so how can I help you? And make it quick please I have appointments I need to keep.” Harmony’s attitude changed from pleading to contemptuous in record time, fast enough that Buffy wanted to take back what she said and slay her.

“I need to see Angel.”

“Right, let me see if he is available, which for you I’m sure he is.” Harmony rolled her eyes and took the phone in her hands before noticing William.

“Oh my god! Blondie bear!? Is that you?”

Buffy moaned, “Oh god.”

William merely looked stunned and unsure. “Are you referring to me?”

“That is you! You look like a complete dork now, what happened? Oh oh, you have a heartbeat now? You’re human? How did that awful thing happen?”

“Harmony! Angel! Now!” Buffy nearly shouted.

“Right! Calling now,” Buffy even caught the murmured, “gees, impatient much?” as Harmony dialed Angel.

Harmony didn’t have to wait long before the other end picked up, “Angel, Buffy the Slayer and what seems like her army are here to see you.”

Buffy couldn’t make out what Angel said, but whatever it was, it was short.

“OK, on our way.” Harmony put down the phone and looked back to Buffy. “Follow me and keep up; he wants to see you right away.”

Buffy sighed and took off after Harmony, not quite ready to meet Angel and deal with everything she knew what was to come. William and everyone else followed her. They had to work around small elevators and twisting hallways, but everyone was able to stay behind her. Just before they reached the double doors to Angel’s office, Buffy looked to William and wondered if her cookies were baked.

:::::::::::::::::

Harmony paused before she placed her hand on one of the doors to Angel’s office and turned toward William. He wasn’t sure why the girl seemed so attentive to him, but he leaned far away from her when she came closer.

“Look, Spikey, I don’t think I should be around you again, since you know, the whole human thing and I’m really trying to be good.” She tossed her hair behind her, “‘cause I think if I bite you Angel would be really mad and I don’t want to lose this job.”

William stared at her, wide eyed and confounded. “Right, then. I must agree with you, I will do-do my part to stay away.” He didn’t miss the contemptuous look that Buffy was giving the cheery odd blonde woman and tried to force himself not to smile.

“Great! I’ll miss you though.” She winked at him and he felt himself shudder, who or what this girl was he had no idea and he did not like the thought of finding out. She turned back and placed her hand on one of the doors knobs and pushed.

The doors opened and William saw a tall dark figure standing a few feet from them. He was broad of shoulder and looked, or at least he thought he looked, happy to see them, or at least Buffy.

“Buffy!” The figure spoke with relief and joy, breathless and heady.

“Angel.” Buffy sounded tired, and William relaxed. He would be spared a reunion that seemed too much like a lover’s reunion than he liked.

Angel came up to Buffy and hugged her possessively. She returned the hug but reluctantly and William was given a moment to study the vampire. He seemed to have nice features, nothing suspicious at first glance. Though William caught something that was off about him, something he couldn’t place. His spiked hair, his large forehead and his hulking countenance put William in a foul mood, and somehow William knew he didn’t like the vampire.

William almost sighed in relief when Buffy broke the hug. “We won,” Buffy’s voice was small, like she meant the opposite.

“I noticed. Are you OK Buffy?”

“I’m fine. As frog’s hair – if frogs actually had hair.”

“I was worried when I didn’t hear from you yesterday. I was about to head out tonight.” Angel kept his eyes on Buffy, “I heard what happened to Sunnydale.”

Buffy drew in a deep breath and William knew what she was thinking about, he could feel it. She was thinking about…him. “I kind of figured you would have by now. A town turning into a crater would be hard to miss. And probably good ratings for the news.”

“Survivors?”

“The gang all made it.” Buffy gestured to the people right behind her, which included William, “But a lot of the girls didn’t make it…and…”

Angel looked through everyone and greeted those he knew best, smiling at Dawn and Willow. Mr. Giles simply nodded and Xander barely concealed his obvious distaste for the vampire. His eyes passed through the girls. William was a bit shy with the other slayers, so he understood how Angel must have felt at that moment. When he said hello to everyone his eyes finally rested on William.

Angel stepped closer and William understood that the vampire was in a state of disbelief. Unease grabbed him in a tight embrace and he wanted to run from the room. But he stood his ground as he was scrutinized by the large vampire.

Buffy stepped to Angel’s side, “Angel, that is…”

“William.” Angel’s whispered reply was hardly heard by anyone other than the two closest to him.

A cold chill crept up William’s spine and he was overcome with ominous emotions. He was almost swept up in the calamity of his feelings as memories of what was to him only two nights ago came to him in a rush. He had hardly noticed, but when that strange and crazy woman had approached him during that night, there were two others behind her. A blonde woman, haughty in appearance, stood vigil next to a tall, dark man with wide shoulders, as the female vampire bit his neck. William gasped.

“You! You were there! I remember seeing you.” He turned toward Buffy, panic clear on his face. “Buffy, this – this creature…”

“I know William.” Buffy tried to sound reassuring but it didn’t seem to help.

“I was there William. You don’t remember anything after that?” Angel almost looked apologetic if it wasn’t for the slight frown in his brow that told William that the vampire was irritated.

William kept his eyes on Buffy, not wanting to address the vampire, panicked and desperate to be removed from the creature’s presence. He did not like the idea that one of the things that turned him into a demon was so close to him now. That he could remember him from before his journey to the future and know that it was many years since unnerved him. It validated that he was a vampire himself until yesterday, that William had been evil for more than a hundred years! How deplorable was it that he, even though it wasn’t fully him, could do such horrors as that which a vampire would do!

“Hey, we have a lot to talk about; maybe most of the girls and William could wait in another room.” Buffy saved him from answering the question and he felt relief wash over him.

Angel looked back to Buffy and slowly nodded. “Yeah, sure. I would like Fred to look at William though; do you know how he got here?”

Buffy gave William a small smile and glanced back at Angel, her body relaxed. William sighed brokenly; he didn’t trust the vampire but he would trust Buffy. “That’s fine. The sooner the better, it seems things have gotten complicated again in a really short time. And for how William got here, we think it has to do with the amulet you gave us.” Buffy looked angry then, but said nothing to betray her new emotion.

“Do you still have it? If you do maybe Fred can look at it too.”

“I have it in my pocket.” Buffy’s slumped features made her seem smaller than normal.

“Did Spike turn into William or did something else happen to him?”

Pain was clearly written on Buffy’s face, though she quickly covered it. “I saw him burn…Spike is…he probably…turned into William.”

Silence hung in the air for a few minutes until Mr. Giles cleared his throat.

“Angel, I must insist that we speak as soon as possible on the matters at hand.” Mr. Giles’ voice was heavy, grave.

“Sure, I’ll call Harmony back to take everyone else to one of the conference rooms. And I’ll ask Fred to come get William.”

“I’d like to go with, if you don’t mind. It would be nice to see Fred since I’m here and I know I might be able to help.” Willow’s voice startled William as his thoughts were a torrent of despondent images of the crimes he might have committed as a vampire.

“Lunch would be a good idea too.” Xander and Andrew exchanged a glance. It had been awhile since everyone last ate.

“I’ll get someone to order everyone some food.” Angel’s smile did nothing to placate William.

With that Angel retreated to the large desk near the far side of the room and picked up the phone. Andrew had explained this morning about the telephones and communication devices that were common in this age, but William was not distracted from the revelation of what he could really no longer deny. He had been evil.

Buffy silently walked up to him, her arms crossed. The frown on her face let William know she knew he was upset. She placed her hand lightly on his forearm and immediately he calmed. She cared, he had been evil, she knew that and yet, she still cared.

It was long before the odd blonde woman was back directing everyone out of the office except Buffy, William, Mr. Giles, and Willow. Angel had come closer to Buffy again and they began to talk, all faces seemed grim.

“I have reports of a few demons that have started rumors.” Angel spoke as if this were common business.

“What kind of rumor?”

“Some type of summoning is going to take place soon.”

“Do you know if these rumors are baseless?” Mr. Giles voice belittled the worry in his eyes. Buffy and Mr. Giles glanced knowingly to each other.

“For the time being I think we should focus on William and why he is here.” Angel’s voice betrayed his displeasure of the situation.

“I guess that’s my call to announce my presence.” The new voice was full of energy and everyone turned to look at the newcomer.

William saw that she was a quaint young woman with dark features. She wore what looked like a doctor’s robe. Immediately Willow smiled and took a few steps closer.

“Fred!”

“Hey Willow!”

They embraced and began to talk but their discussion was lost on William. The girls were talking in another language even though they were speaking English and he felt immediately overcome with foreboding. These women were extremely intelligent. And he was going to be put in their hands.

“You gonna stand around talking shop all day or what?” Buffy tried to sound irritated, though her lack of conviction didn’t fool anyone.

“Oh, sorry! We just got caught in the moment.” Fred looked at William, took a few steps closer to him and extended her arm. “You must be William, am I right?”

He took her hand and instead of shaking it he bent and placed a small kiss on her knuckles, “Yes, indeed I am.”

Buffy’s surprised and jealous expression was enough for William to drop Fred’s hand immediately. “I’m Fred, but I guess you figured that out.”

“It is an honor to meet you.” William smiled and hoped that his cordial manner was enough to spare him of unneeded experiments. He had enough to deal with at the moment; he didn’t need another thing to add to his torturous mind.

“Likewise. Let’s go to my lab, we can look you over once we’re there.”

“I’m coming too!” Willow looked pleased at the thought and glanced back to Buffy, “You have the amulet right?”

“Oh, yeah, let me get it.” She dug into her trousers, which clung to her legs and William looked away, embarrassed where his thoughts were leading.

Once she pulled the amulet out of her pocket and handed it to Willow, the three of them headed out of Angel’s office. As William was closing the door he heard Buffy speak, the conversation was beginning again and he wasn’t happy to be left out of what was probably an important discussion.

“Do you think it was more than just the amulet that could have brought William here?”

Angel’s voice brought another chilling shock through his body, “I don’t know Buffy. The fact that Spike is human again though has me thinking of a prophecy.”

“What prophecy?”

William didn’t hear the rest as he shut the door and walked after Fred and Willow. It shouldn’t have surprised him that prophecies were something normal in this new world he had arrived in. Magic was everywhere now and he wondered if the green folk were also running about.

When they arrived at Fred’s lab, the machinery, and the objects that surrounded him had all thought running from his mind. The colorless expanse of the room, the sounds and the lights from the different contraptions had him stop dead at the entrance. He turned white and hoped that whatever they would do to him wouldn’t be too painful.

:::::::::::::::::

It was odd, nothing they had done besides sticking a few needles into him, hurt. After what seemed like a few hours the girls were discussing him right outside the door to Fred’s office, where he was currently seated, wearing a new pair of glasses and feeling extremely well. He felt healthier than he ever felt before. Not entirely wishing to eavesdrop but intensely curious he strained to hear what the girls were talking about.

“I’m amazed really; it seems that the amulet did something really complex and almost unheard of.”

“I know, when I did the spell last night on the amulet I sensed Spike but I had no idea that it was really all of Spike.”

“Soul, memory, everything, all stuck in the amulet. It sucked in everything of Spike and left only the human part, but it wasn’t enough. It called to William from the past and brought him here, like a copy.”

“What do you think would happen if Spike got out of the amulet?” Worry was clear in every tone of Willow’s voice.

“If he was released without William wearing the amulet I would think Spike would die, or literally go into nonexistence. If William wore the amulet when the essence was released, Spike would come back, whole, vampire and all.”

That thought had fear freeze his body. He didn’t want to be a vampire again. He would have to steer clear of the amulet at all cost.

“Would Spike remember everything he did here as William?”

“Not sure, this is really complicated.” Fred sighed, “But in the mean time, William is going to be one happy camper. It seems he had the beginning symptoms of tuberculosis; it was early, so I gave him some advanced treatment, a few more pills and he’ll be clear of it. I also had to give him a lot of immunization shots.”

“I noticed the glasses.” Willow’s voice betrayed a smile on her face.

“Yeah, his eyes aren’t that bad, but he needs them. He’s cute with them. I was going to suggest contacts but thought against it.”

“Spike will never live this down once we find a way to get him back.”

William didn’t like the sound of that at all; he was appalled at the idea that they were even thinking about finding a way to return him to such an evil state.

“Do you think that’s a good idea? William seems happy enough and…”

“Oh, I know what you mean! I feel the same. Just Buffy, and well, what Spike did. I’m not sure what the right thing is, but I feel like we should get Spike back.”

There was silence after that and when the discussion began again it was too low for him to hear. William hoped that they would never find a way to release the vampire within the amulet. He didn’t understand why he was here and he didn’t care. He wanted this time, this second chance. And he wasn’t going to let them take it away from him. He hoped that Buffy would agree, he would plead his case with her if he had to. He knew she cared for the vampire, but he was the same being almost, just without the years of evil endeavors. He grew anxious, it was getting late. Hunger, fear and nerves were sapping his energy. He wanted to get back to Buffy. She had told him to stay close, and now he knew it was time to go back to her side.

:::::::::::::::::

Buffy watched as Angel left his office to speak with a client. They had spoken at length about William, the Shanshu prophecy, and the growing threat that was building in just a day since the fall of the Sunnydale Hellmouth. Her patience with both her old watcher and lover were wearing her out and she wanted to call it quits for the day. But there were still things to speak about. She turned to Giles and would try to trust him with this information she had held back during the talk with Angel, which she had spoken to Giles about in the car. She would try to look at him and forget his actions since last year.

“That really didn’t go anywhere.”

“True, I have a feeling that William’s appearance has little to do with that prophecy.”

“Add to that I recently had a nice, scary Slayer Dream that involved William and we have another mystery on our hands.”

Giles looked even more worried at the new information. “A Slayer Dream?”

“Yup. I don’t even remember it fully either. Like something has been draining my memory. I know there was an orange, or was it yellow, demon that I’ve never seen before trying to suck up a well of something and I couldn’t move. I was stuck, in chains, watching. There was a light and everyone around me turned into vampires, including me. I remember at the end William went up to the demon and spoke to him, like they were drinking buddies. He then held up a little girl who devoured the demon.”

“A young girl devouring the demon?” Giles furrowed his brows and stared at Buffy, trying to unravel her dream puzzle.

“Yeah, and it seemed like her mother didn’t teach her dinner manners either.”

“That could have many different meanings. I remember you dreamt of a young girl before?”

“During the time we all lost our voice, she was singing.”

“Did this girl sing?”

“No, she was just, I dunno, cute, with curly hair, rosy cheeks. She didn’t say anything, she just began eating. Innocent little girl eating away at a demon. Wiggy.” Buffy shuddered, clearly disturbed by the image.

“Innocence? Perhaps it means that innocence has something to do with defeating this forth coming enemy?”

“Maybe, but it could also mean we need to find a cute little demon eating girl.”

Giles looked down at the floor, clearly agitated. “Once Angel has made all the preparations for our departure we should leave immediately. We need to find a safe house to set up a new Watcher’s Council and organize the Slayers. I have ideas, but we cannot take on a new enemy so soon while scattered about.”

Buffy nodded, “We’ll be fine. We always are. I guess we didn’t get a break this time around. I was really looking forward to some mall shopping, especially since I don’t have any clothes.”

“We all are deprived Buffy. Once we get out of the country perhaps you could take William shopping?”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Buffy looked around, “Speaking of, where is he? I didn’t want him to be gone this long from my side.”

Angel came back into the room at that moment and looked at them both. “I can take care of the papers for William without any issues. The bad news is that you’ll have to wait for transport until tomorrow.”

Giles nodded solemnly. “We’ll leave and procure a few hotel rooms for tonight then.”

“You can stay at the old Hyperion hotel free of charge.”

Buffy glanced at Giles and crossed her arms, “Fine, we’ll do that, but we’re leaving as soon as possible. The longer I stay here the more I feel the evilness rub off on me. Where’s William?”

Angel looked hurt by her tone, but just shook his head. “He and Willow are with the others now. Fred found some information on why and how he was brought here.”

“Oh? And?”

“It probably has nothing to do with that Prophecy. I’m sure Willow will fill you in on all the details.” Angel’s relaxed expression told Buffy he was happy at that revelation.

“Let’s go, I want food and a nice bed all to myself tonight.” Buffy swallowed at the thought of being alone. She had spent the last few nights sleeping next to Spike and oddly enough last night mostly with William. Maybe she could convince William to share a room with her, even if it did shock his Victorian sensibilities. Or maybe she wouldn’t ask him, she didn’t want to scare him. She didn’t know what she wanted, but Buffy knew she had to see William as soon as possible.

Buffy knew the old and musty hotel had once been beautiful in its golden years. Now that it had been abandoned the dust had accumulated to dull the rich colors that surrounded the hotel. The marble floors almost resembled something akin to carpet because of the neglect but the defused afternoon light allowed a bit of the richness to seep through to show the beauty underneath the grim.

The hotel was dimly lit by old lamps now that dusk was approaching. Buffy watched as William looked around, still with an amazed expression on his face, though in this hotel he seemed a bit more relaxed. He was stopped by Andrew, who was determined to let him know everything there was about the modern age, from Star Wars to Star Gate, though she doubted William understood exactly why Boba Fett was cooler than a Goa'uld, whatever that was.

As soon as the doors closed and Giles began to organize the girls into rooms, Willow and Xander floated over to Buffy near the front desk. They looked a bit worn, though their faces told Buffy something was on their minds, and Buffy wanted to talk to Willow about what Fred found on William. She hadn’t been able to speak with her about it yet and Buffy was antsy to know.

“Hey Buff.” Xander put his hands in his pockets and looked at her oddly.

“Hey Xan, what’s up?” Buffy was trying to keep up a cheery disposition.

“Nothing really, we just wanted to see how you’re hanging, if there is any trouble in Buffsville.”

“I’m fine, thanks Xander.” Buffy tried to give him a reassuring smile.

Willow chimed in, her voice just slightly higher than normal, “That’s good! We were hoping that with everything you weren’t feeling down, since Sunnydale and Angel running Evil Inc.”

“I’m fine Willow, really. A nice long sleep will probably do me a world of wonders.”

“I think everyone could do with more sleep. Everyone is dead on their feet.” Willow tried to cover her yawn, but failed.

“Except William, he’s alive and on his feet and not undead.” Xander looked past Buffy to William and gave Buffy a significant look.

Buffy ignored Xander and spoke to Willow, “About William, what did Fred say?”

“Oh, lots. William is kind of like a copy, but not exactly, as he shares his body with Spike. Basically all of what made Spike Spike was sucked into the amulet. William had to get a lot of updated shots, and his immune system was about to go out the window before Fred did a little bit of medical magic.”

“He’ll be OK though, right?”

“Yeah, he’ll be hunky dory. Better in fact.”

“So that’s the good news I suppose. What about Spike? He’s in the amulet right?”

“Spike’s bound to the amulet, but Buffy, he can come back.”

Buffy took a moment to absorb the news, “Back? He can come back? How?”

“We just need to figure out how to release Spike from the amulet, then have William wear it as Spike is released and viola, Spike’s back.”

Buffy didn’t smile; she only forced herself not to swallow the lump in her throat. “What happens to William if that happens?”

“What do you mean Buffy?”

Xander cleared his throat, “She means Will, if we return Spike to his body, what happens to William we have here?”

“William’s Spike guys, he’ll just turn back to what he was.”

“Which was a vampire, meaning it’ll kill him Will.”

“But won’t we kill Spike if we don’t release him?”

“Did Fred say Spike would fade from the amulet?”

“No, but we don’t know if that might happen. William already died over a hundred years ago, Spike saved the world Buffy. I know you want him back.”

Buffy couldn’t deny it; she did want Spike back, more than anything. She looked over to William, who was frowning at Andrew and Andrew was rambling on ignoring the expression on his student's face. She turned toward Willow and didn’t know what to say. Her heart wanted Spike to be by her side, but her mind told her that Spike would never have wanted her to sacrifice William to get him back (at least souled Spike would never want that). Besides, she was starting to grow a bit fond of William.

“No, we can’t do that. That would kill William. It will be up to him and only up to him. I’m not going to lie, I do want Spike back. But to make William wear the amulet and force him to give up his life like that…” Buffy noticed at that moment her friends expressions changed and they wore guilty looks on their faces.

“I see you are discussing my fate without me.” William’s dignified but clearly hurt voice cut in and startled Buffy, who quickly turned to face him. His face clearly showed the hurt that had graced his voice. But that hurt was slowly becoming anger.

“It wasn’t like that William.”

“Then what were you speaking about?! The time in which we shall all have tea this evening?” William’s face was slowly turning a bright red, his anger clearly rushing through his veins. He had overheard enough to both know the truth and misunderstand.

William stormed off before Buffy could say anything else and sought out Giles for his room number. As soon as William got his key he disappeared up the main stair way, leaving Buffy to watch his retreating form.

“That wasn’t good, I better go after him.” Buffy frowned; she really didn’t want to deal with an upset William.

“Maybe it would be best to leave him for a while, he looked really upset.” Willow’s guilty look hadn’t left her face.

“He was ready to pop his top more like.” Xander glanced at the stairway that William had just disappeared from.

“I think I could use some alone time too actually.” Buffy turned to Willow exasperated, “Give me the amulet Will, I’m holding on to it until William asks for it, if he ever will.”

Willow dug into her pocket and took out the amulet. She held it for a moment, feeling the warmth of the essence inside it. Looking into Buffy’s steel gaze, Willow gently handed it over.

:::::::::::::::::

Buffy had been stopped by Giles before she could enter her room, who wanted her to know that after being helped by Angel this one last time, he no longer wanted to be associated with the vampire. Giles informed her that any trust he did have in the vampire was now gone since Angel had agreed with take over Wolfram and Hart. And Buffy almost agreed with Giles, but an old fondness for Angel kept her from completely mistrusting her first love.

Giles had told her good night and Buffy went into her room ready to climb into bed and never get out. It was an old fashioned hotel room, but a small one, with just a bed, a drawer set and a bed side table, though a recliner did hide in the far corner. It was nothing to write home about, not that she had a home anymore. Glancing around she sat on the edge of the bed in darkness, not bothering to turn on the light. Her thoughts took her away from the room, leaving her with the sensation of being hollow and vacant, as her skin seemed to turn both cold and hard.

Seeing Angel again had made Buffy feel different than she had about him only a few days before. She regretted the kiss she gave him at the time now, when things had been different, before she realized she was actually in love with Spike. And Spike had seen that kiss, the day before he died. Of course Buffy still wasn’t sure if Spike loved her when she had kissed Angel; Spike had been acting different ever since the soul, he was different. But Spike had seen her kiss another man and that wasn’t something she was proud of, because she felt as if she had somehow betrayed herself then…and betrayed Spike, even though their relationship wasn’t exactly defined at that moment.

For months before Sunnydale’s collapse, Spike hardly ever mentioned his feelings for her and his constant mixed messages left Buffy mostly confused and dazed. That wasn’t everything though; Buffy had to deal with the end of the world and a hand full of young potentials. And she just wasn’t ready for anything. Not a relationship, not a commitment. So when she kissed Angel, it was just to bask in a dream, one that would never come true. When she saw Angel today she realized that while she loved Angel she just wasn’t in love with him anymore, not after Sunnydale, not after Spike burning to save the world. Not after realizing that she was now ready for a relationship, she knew what she wanted. Buffy wanted to be with Spike. And Spike was gone, replaced by William, the human Spike once was over a hundred years ago.

Spike may have been William, deep inside, but William was not Spike; at least Buffy didn’t quite think so. And Buffy wanted to get to know William, and perhaps one day bridge the gap she felt between them and re-establish that lost connection, the connection she had with Spike. One day, if she ever could. Absently Buffy stroked the amulet in her hands.

Buffy felt herself drown in the darkness of the room, trying so hard to connect with any part of the man she loved that lingered beneath her fingertips. She was struggling to breathe when she heard a soft knock on her door. It took a few knocks before she was shaken out of her stump. She stared at the door with contempt before finally getting up and opening it. Immediately she felt elation when the person at the door turned out to be Spike, looking nervous and a little shy.

“I apologize, did I wake you?”

Buffy was speechless, her thoughts were flying in all directions. She closed her eyes, hardly believing them. But when she reopened her eyes, Buffy saw William in front of her. Buffy had only seen what she had wanted to see.

“Miss…Buffy?”

“Oh,” Buffy blinked a few times and snapped back from where ever she had been, “No. No I wasn’t asleep.”

“Am I disturbing you?”

Buffy almost jumped at the question and stood aside, “No, uh, come in.”

William hesitated a moment before entering her room. Buffy quickly turned on the lights and stuffed the amulet in her pocket. There was an awkward silence as she walked into the room behind him. She didn’t know what to say or how to say it.

Buffy watched William and almost wanted to laugh, his eyes darted around the room and his face was flustered as if being alone with a girl wasn't such a normal thing to him. Suddenly Buffy realized Spike had lied to her all those years ago. Always been bad my ass, Buffy’s thoughts caused her to smile.

Finally William turned to face her; he again looked sheepish and unsure. “I wish to apologize for my rude behavior this afternoon.”

Buffy continued to smile, “It’s OK, I get it. It’s not fun hearing others talk about you.”

“No, no it is not, especially when one can hear everything that is said.” William looked solemn.

Buffy felt William’s words carried more weight than just from something that happened this afternoon. It sounded as if he was talking about past experiences.

“About that, what we said William, it wasn’t anything bad, not really. I’m not going to force you to be a vampire again. No one is. That’s your choice and your choice alone.” She didn’t want to add that she didn’t want him to be a vampire again and at the same time she did.

He nodded and looked at her with same piercing gaze that Spike sometimes gave her, “Thank you, most sincerely.”

“Don’t think about it.” Buffy wanted to crawl in bed and drag William with her; instead she sat on her bed.

There was silence again, it hung between them, uncomfortable and awkward, and yet she rather there be this awkward silence than her being alone, without William. She watched as he slowly sat next to her on the bed then spring up again as if he was burned.

“I should go; I do not wish to disturb you any longer.”

“You’re not disturbing me William.”

He licked his lips and nodded, “I should retire, we still have a long journey ahead of us and rest would be prudent.”

Buffy slowly stood up. She understood, and she hated it. Why couldn’t he stay? Because he doesn’t know you or love you, not like Spike, Buffy still hated it. She didn’t want to be alone, she didn’t want…this. Buffy had to shove aside her deep feelings, her deep resentment, and her deep fears. She began to walk William to her door. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

William walked out of her room and turned around to look at Buffy once more. “Good Night Buffy.”

Buffy stared at him a moment longer, slowly closing the door and spoke softly, “Good Night…William.”

Once the door was closed she placed her forehead on the door and sighed. Closing her eyes she wanted to cry again, her love life was always such a mess, and right here was an echo of a past love, of someone she was still in love with and she couldn’t even bring herself to talk to him.

Buffy raised her hand to the door and placed it softly on the wood. Slowly she let her tears fall one by one.

:::::::::::::::::

After Buffy had closed the door to her room William let out a nervous breath. He slowly leaned against her door and looked down at his torn shoes. Only after two days in her company and he felt as if any feelings he had prior to any other women in his life were mere just shadows of what he could feel for Buffy. He wouldn’t say he in love with her, not yet at least, but just the emotions she did invoke caused him to be terrified.

And William was new to this world, to its culture and rules and courting rituals. He didn’t even know where he would fit into this world, how he could make a difference. The small flame of passion for the violence he saw in the alley was only one bit of proof that perhaps he hardly even knew himself. How could he even think of courting anyone when he had more than just a journey ahead of him that covered distance but of self discovery as well?

William lightly touched the wood of the door with his palm, his fingers spread out, wishing to touch but just hovering over the wood. Slowly, but deliberately he pushed off the door to Buffy’s room and went to his own.

There in his room (William was thankful it had one of those TV contraptions) he turned the TV on and began to watch, every channel, all manner of shows. He watched the news, informational programs and even allowed himself to indulge in the performance that Andrew had called porn. William was determined to learn everything he could, as fast as he could.

:::::::::::::::::

That night, both Buffy and William dreamed. Buffy had the same Slayer dream from the previous night. William dreamed of being in a graveyard with an odd woman in a white flowing dress, telling him about how the world would be doomed and how he could save it. Unfortunately when the new morning came neither seemed to have remembered their dreams.

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