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Disclaimer: Everyone bloody knows by now that I don't own even a smidgen of the rights to these delicious characters. The creator of BTVS does which is fine and dandy. Oh and just a note: Sleeping Beauty doesn't belong to me, either. Hey, I'm not *that* old! 8D (and as a side note, Sleeping Beauty is my all time fav. fairy tale even before I saw the Disney version.)

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"Come on, Dawn," Buffy grumbled. "How long do you think he's been out there wandering around?"

Dawn finally rushed over to the front door to an anxiously awaiting Slayer.

"Probably, maybe 45 minutes. I think. At least close to it."

"Gggrrr," she growled again before jerking the door open and stomping out onto the porch, her sister following her meekly as they headed out in search of a lost vampire with a non-existent vampire memory. Deep down inside she felt scared for him since he didn't know what he really was and that this so called world he was about to discover had changed immensely since the late 1800's. Not only that, but to William, this was even a totally different country that, in his mind, he had never been to.

Buffy was reeling so much so that the familiar feeling had not registered with her until she had reached the end of the walk in the front of their home. She stopped so fast that Dawn slammed into the back end.

"Oof, Buffy, a little warning, please! What's wrong?" Dawn whined.

Buffy slowly glanced around, looking left and right and clearly in front of her before placing her hands on her hips and turning to her sister.

"What is it?" Dawn knew something was up. Buffy was feeling something.

"Well, either there is a vampire nearby, or *our* vampire didn't wander off too far. No, I *know* he didn't."

"How do you know it's him?"

"Um, kinda hard to explain. He gives off a distinctive vibe. I sort of know him by the tinglies now. And right about now---," she leaned and glanced around Dawn. "yep, bingo, one Spike a.k.a. William is sitting on one Summers' porch swing. Here," she grabbed Dawn's arm, "let me go up first. Smile and walk slowly, talk pleasantly."

The two girls headed back towards the house, Buffy keeping her eyes on Spike as she slowly stepped up onto the porch. She stood in front of the swing, looking at him. He would not look up, but instead kept his eyes down, his hands clasped tightly and sitting in his lap. She cleared her throat lightly.

"May I sit down?" He didn't acknowledge her presence. "William? Would you like to instead come back into the house then? You can ask me anything that's bothering you and I'll try my best to answer."

He glanced up at her, complete and utter fear shining behind his magnificently blue eyes. She held out a hand, hoping he would think her harmless, even though Dawn had informed her earlier that she thought he was afraid of Buffy.

She added, "I promise I don't bite. I'm really a nice person, and can be a great friend if you'll let me."

He looked down at her extended hand, leaned forward a bit, then reluctantly slipped his hand into hers. Buffy smiled sweetly and walked with him slowly through the front door and over to the living room sofa. Dawn had followed behind and sat in a chair across from them, keeping her lips zipped the whole time. She felt it best for Buffy to do the talking since she had caused the catastophic mess in the first place. He sat there, slouched over, looking confused and depressed.

"William?" Buffy started. He looked over at the young woman sitting on the opposite end of the couch, eyes wide. She smiled at him again which caused him to smile slightly back at her.

"I'm sure you have a million questions racing through your mind. Anything in particular you would like to ask?"

"How did I get here?" he softly enquired.

"Well, um, you see, I'm not sure." She felt it was sort of an honest answer. She really didn't know how he had come to Sunnydale in the first place so long ago. If there was anyway she could dance around the fact that he was a vampire, she would try her hardest without lying too much.

"Ok, let's try this another way. You were here, in my living room and you passed out. You were unconcious for almost a whole day. Um, when you woke up, you were a totally different person, at least to us. The vam-person that we know was gone. Sort of like you took over his body with a whole different personality."

William sat there for a second, then started shaking his head up and down.

"So what you're saying, is that somehow I was taken out of my world and out of my time and ended up here and now? I recall something in my studies that dealt with certain occurrences of this nature."

Dawn sat up, surprised. "Wha---excuse me? Studies? What have you been studying? And where?" Buffy turned her head and glared at Dawn. "Oh, okay, shutting up now."

Buffy returned her attention back to William. "What have you been studying and where?"

Dawn sighed loudly. William chuckled at the sisters.

"I go to university. I take some studies, well, that are a tad bit occultish in nature. I have always had an interest in the supernatural. My mum doesn't know I am taking the class her being a woman of faith and all. My professor, he's also a part of some council that fights against beings not of this world. He seems to know a vast amount of information, so nothing will surprise me. Just, why me?"

"Um, I'm not sure. I have a source to check out tomorrow. He may have some information for us. A council, huh? Interesting."

"May I come along with you?" He asked earnestly.

"Uh, well, you see, I don't want to scare him off. He might think we're gaining up on him or something. I feel better going and finding him myself."

"No offense, but you're a lady. Wouldn't it be safer if I did accompany you?"

Buffy laughed softly. "Aren't you the gentleman? Believe me, I can handle myself. I'll explain it to you some other time. Right now, I think it's time to hit the sack, oh, sorry, I mean go to bed. We have a spare room if you would like to sleep in a real bed tonight."

"I don't want to impose on you. The both of you have been overly kind to me already. I appreciate just having a pillow to rest my head upon."

"Don't be silly. You're not imposing cause your always welcome in our home. Only if you don't mind the feminine decor, you are more than welcome to stay in our mom's room. Right, Buffy?"

Buffy shook her head yes. "Of course."

"Thank you. It's very kind of you. And tomorrow, might I persuade one of you to show me how your 21st century's gadgets work?"

Both girls laughed. Dawn looked at him with a smile. "Sure, I can show you how things work. If you were impressed with the television, wait til you hear the cd player."

"Well, I'm going to go get mom's room ready for you. I'll call you when it's done."

Buffy headed up the stairs to remove any mirrors that were hanging in Joyce's room. She would have to lock the master bathroom door from the outside and take the key with her. Surprisingly, he had not thought of his lack of bodily functions. Must have not registered with his brain yet that he didn't ever need to use the facilities. He had been eating regular food, but Buffy knew the loss of drinking blood would start to affect him sooner or later. She hoped she could find Sherman, the friendly neighborhood warlock, tomorrow and find out just exactly what he had pulled out of his hat when dealing with Spike. Hopefully, whatever it was, it could be reversed.

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Morning arrived, and Buffy noticed both Dawn's and her mother's bedroom doors were open which meant the two delinquents were up and doing something sinisterly evil, she was sure of it. Their voices drifted through the house once she reached the bottom of the stairs coming from the kitchen. She stood in the doorway and watched as Dawn showed him how to implement the microwave. He was down right fascinated.

"Are we playing or cooking breakfast?" Buffy laughingly asked the two.

Spike straightend from his stooped over observation of the contents in the microwave looking a bit sheepish. It beeped and Dawn opened the door, pulling a mug out and placing it in his hands. His mouth dropped at the realization of just what the appliance could accomplish.

Buffy smiled and walked over to the cabinet to get a box of cereal out. In a way, it was interesting to see his fascination with everything. He was like a child on Christmas morning, everything was brand new to him in a way, or at least to William it was. Dawn was just as bad. She seemed so giddy, being able to show him how everything worked and happy that he was excited about it all. Buffy believed it to be completely harmless.

"Oh, Buffy, wait. I showed William how the stove worked and he wanted to make some eggs and bacon. I'll do the toast."

"We have that stuff? Mmmm, sounds yummy." She smiled brightly.

William shyly smiled back and turned to grab the egg carton and package of bacon off the counter before walking over to the stove. Buffy sat on a stool at the center island and watched him. Dawn was making coffee, pouring juice into glasses and preparing toast for the three of them, humming and off in her own little world. For some reason, Buffy was mesmerized by Spike's domestic abilities. She bet his mother had been a wonderful woman, teaching her children everything they needed to know before they headed out into the real world. So unfortunate that William never got much of a chance to experience that life. Before she even noticed, he had set a plateful of delicious breakfast goodness in front of her.

"Thank you. It smells wonderful." She took her first bite, made a nummy sound and shut her eyes, like she had tasted a slice of heaven. William raised his brows at her enjoyment of the scrambled eggs.

"Is it to your satisfaction, m'lady?" He sincerely asked her. Her eyes popped open at the question, a little embarrassed at herself for making such a fuss over the delicious eggs.

"Absolutely scrumptious. You're a wonderful cook." She could've sworn color flushed his cheeks for a split second at her remark. Maybe it was her imagination.

"Buffy doesn't cook and mom only cooks breakfast for us on that rare occasion when she's not busy with the gallery. Where did you learn, William?" Dawn set the buttered toast on the counter.

"Oh, my mum of course. I hated it at first, but now I rather enjoy cooking, especially for others. She even taught me how to bake."

"Ooh, ooh, want to make chocolate chip cookies this afternoon?" Dawn squealed. William smiled brightly.

"Would love to. But remember, you promised to show me other, um, appliances? I'm rather curious to see how these contraptions work. Absolutely amazing. I could actually live in this world, if it be so that is." He glanced over at Buffy before stuffing a bite into his mouth. "I'd miss my family and everything, of course, and I know you would miss your friend, the one you mentioned, but if circumstances do not come full circle, I wouldn't have any qualms to staying."

Buffy was surprised at his admission. Dawn's mouth dropped open.

"But don't you want to be Spi---?"

Buffy reached out and grabbed her sister's arm. "Shh, William is just excited about all the new and wonderful things he has yet to learn about. Why don't you show him how the stuff works, and I'm going to go into town. I need to do some shopping. Thanks again for the delicious breakfast, William."

"You're very welcome---Buffy." He smiled at her shyly again and she returned it.

As she walked out the door to head to town, she wondered if it was wrong for her to want William to stay behind instead of searching for a way to bring Spike back. She laughed out loud. How ridiculous the notion, though, because he was still a vampire whether he knew nothing about his demon ways or what. She was sure that would be the next stage they would have to deal with in the life of William the Bloody.

TBC





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