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Title: Reflection of Love
Author: Pattyanne
snapkik@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: None of the BtVS
characters belong to me.
Feedback: Love some, thanks.
Summary: AU. Buffy has inherited
a house where she finds a mirror in the
attic. A mirror that belonged to William
Cathcart more than 100 years ago.



Part four....


The picture in the mirror was becoming sharper
and more focused. Buffy could see the rest of the
room with far more clarity, and it puzzled her as much
as William's clothing had.

Heavy, ornate looking furniture dominated the
bedroom. It was just the sort of antique pieces that
her mother had liked so much. But they didn't look all
that old.

The bed was massive. A fourposter behemoth with a
brocade canopy, it had several fat looking pillows piled
up against the dark walnut headboard, and there was
a heavy down quilt spread over it's surface. There was
a large roll top desk, covered with sheets of paper in
total disarray, a dresser, an armoire, and a...a wash-
stand with a china pitcher and bowl, and a cabinet
underneath.

"Is there someone in here?"

His voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Yes, hi! I'm here. Sort of, I mean," she blurted
out before thinking. "Gosh, this feels weird. Kind
of spooky...don't you think? If I didn't know better,
I'd think I was on Candid Camera. Or maybe that
other show on MTV...the one with the practical
jokes. Not that they're funny, but still..."

The man whirled around and stared straight ahead,
almost as though he was looking into her eyes. His
face was white with shock, and he whipped off his
glasses and rubbed his eyes. "What...what sort of
witchcraft is this?" he demanded. "Show yourself!"

Buffy sighed. "I can't. I mean, I don't know how. And
it's not witchcraft. I am NOT a witch."

William was walking slowly towards her. Could he
somehow see her, as well?

"Hi!" she said again, raising one hand and wiggling
her fingers in a friendly manner.

"I...uh..." he stammered, staring more intently. "Who
is...is speaking?"

"That would be me," she said, trying to sound very
non-threatening. He already looked a little nervous and
she didn't want to scare him out of the room. "I'm
Buffy."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


When he heard the girl speak, William's heart began
to race and his hands grew clammy. Not because there
was anything frightening about it, but because it sounded
familiar in some way.

She spoke with an odd accent, using words and
phrases that he had no knowledge of. Her voice was
soprano in register, almost child like in it's eager friend-
liness, and for some strange reason...he wanted to
speak with her.

He had already been able to deduce that her voice
was emanating from his mirror, and when he decided
to get closer, he noticed that the glass had gone
a bit cloudy.

Then, it began to clear and he found himself looking
into the face of the loveliest girl he'd ever seen...although
she was dressed in the most scandalous fashion.

It appeared that she was garbed in a pair of mens
trousers with the legs cut off. Her slender legs were
completely bare from her mid-thighs down to her toes,
and she wore no shoes or stockings.

His face felt warm and he was quite certain he was
blushing.

Her upper body was in a piece of red fabric that seemed
painted on her. It had no sleeves, and the midriff ended
just above her...Good Lord...her navel! It was brazenly on
display...a shallow little indentation in a waist that appeared
to be so tiny that he could surely span it within his hands.

The girl was nearly naked! And she was quite undisconcerted
by it!

Her hair was...oh, it was glorious. A thick, shiny mass of
honey and golden brown, she wore it loose, contributing to
her already unconventional appearance. It tumbled around
her face in soft looking waves that made his fingers itch to touch
it.

Shocking! Absolutely shocking!

But...lovely, as well.

As he moved closer, he was able to see her face more and
more clearly. It was just as beautiful as he would have
expected an angel to be. Her skin was fair and flawless,
with a golden glow he'd never seen on any of the girls he
associated with, as though it had been just lightly kissed
by a summer sun.

She had large green eyes framed with lush, dark lashes
that gave her a luminous gaze...and a rather forward stare.

When she smiled and waved her small hand, she displayed
perfectly straight, white teeth. Not one of them was even the
slightest bit out of place.

"I'm Buffy," he heard her say, and he automatically started
to put out his hand, forgetting completely that she was on the
other side of a mirror.

Struck dumb by her beauty, he stammered out his own
name, all thoughts of Cecily Underwood disappearing from
his brain permanently.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


He was even cuter close up, Buffy decided. She
just loved that thick, tousled head of hair, and the
boyishly bemused expression on his...startlingly
attractive...face.

And his eyes were blue! A beautiful shade of blue
that she suspected probably changed colors with his
moods. He looked very intelligent, and a little
whimsical, both at the same time.

Maybe it was the clothes. Where in the world
did he live, that people still dressed that way?

Well...there was only one way to find out!

"So," she said brightly, "Where are you from?" It
sounded like a pick-up line in a bar, but it was
all she could come up with.

He looked surprised, as if he wasn't accustomed to
being asked such questions by a woman.

"Uh...from London," he finally replied. "My home is
in...in Belgrave Square."

Buffy grinned widely. "London, England?" she asked,
then felt foolish. Of course it was London, England.

William nodded. "That's correct."

He ducked his head, shyly...and Buffy just wanted to
hug him, it was so adorable. This was so much fun, that
she was no longer wondering just how the hell it was
happening. She honestly didn't care anymore.

"If...if I may be so bold as to ask..." he began un-
certainly.

"Sure. Go ahead. Ask me anything!" **Like if I have a
boyfriend...or if I might be available some evening.**

"Where are YOU from? I...I don't wish to seem
vulgarly curious, but you're most oddly dressed and
I wondered..."

"I'M oddly dressed?" The words were out before she
could stop them. "Have you taken a look in a mirror
lately?"

He frowned. "I happen to be looking in one at this exact
moment," he replied. "And, for some reason, I'm seeing
you and not my own reflection. However, I can assure you
that my manner of dress is completely...."

"Wait a minute!" she yelped, holding up one hand. "You
see me...in a mirror?"

"Well, I...yes. The mirror in my..." His cheeks reddened
again, and he cleared his throat. "My bedroom."

Buffy felt a shiver run down her spine. "William...I'm
looking in a mirror, too. I can see YOU in it, but not
myself. It's like...like a television screen."

"A...I beg your pardon? What kind of screen?"

"Television," she enunciated clearly, thinking he had
simply not heard correctly. "You know...TV."

He just looked at her, blankly, shaking his head. "I'm
afraid I don't understand. What exactly is a...a TV?"

She snorted a laugh. "What...you don't have TV in
England? I know that's not true. I've seen Master-
piece Theater, and...and...."

His expression was sincerely bewildered. It was clear
that he didn't have the slightest notion what she was
referring to.

"You're serious, aren't you? You've never seen a
television program?"

"Quite serious. What is it?"

Buffy shook her head. An idea of exactly what might
be happening was beginning to form in her brain, but
it was so ludicrous...so completely inconceivable...that
she couldn't bring herself to take it seriously.

"I'll...I'll tell you later," she said absently. "Um...you
had asked me something before..."

He thought for a moment. "Ah, yes! I had asked you
where you're from, then we went off on a tangent about
our clothing and...you didn't answer."

She took a deep breath. "I'm from California," she said
briefly. "Sunnydale, California."

"California? In the United States?" He seemed
excited by the information. "I've always wanted to see
America, but my mother isn't up to traveling and I
couldn't leave her alone here. Is it...very savage?"

Buffy shrugged. "Depends on where you go," she
murmured. "William," she asked quietly, "this is
probably going to sound like I'm insane, but could you
tell me what year it is...where you are?"

He laughed. "Well, I should imagine it's the same
year where you are, of course. Eighteen-hundred and
eighty. Do you...are you all right?"

Buffy staggered backwards and sat down on the
floor, her legs having given out.

"Miss Buffy?" He sounded frantic. "Are you well? Do
you feel faint?"

When she finally gathered her wits about her, she stared
at him, wide eyed. "William...it's not eighteen-hundred
and eighty where I am," she said, her voice shaky.

"What do you mean? How could it not be?"

"I don't know how. All I know...for a fact...is that the
year is...two-thousand and four. It's a hundred and
twenty-four years later than you think."

Her heart was booming in her chest like a kettle
drum.

The mirror. Somehow, it had connected them not only
across the ocean...but across time as well!



TBC.....
Comments? Please let me know.





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