Chapter 2
Buffy awoke to the sound of her sister shrieking and shot out of bed. The noise was coming from the living room of the apartment.
“Buffy!” “Buffy?”
The sword the Slayer had grabbed to defend her sister slipped out of her hand and clattered to the ground. She stood in shock, blinking against what she was seeing.
Her sister stood in a defensive position, a heavy candlestick raised as a potential weapon against…
Spike.
Two Spikes, to be precise. They’d stopped and turned their heads in unison when Buffy walked in the room, hands still raised in the ‘I’m harmless’ way.
“What the…” Buffy whispered. Going into Slayer mode, “Dawn, get back. It could be The First.”
“The what?” the Spikes asked.
“Easy to find out,” Dawn reasoned. She tossed a throw pillow at the blonds. It bounced off of both.
“Hey!” they complained. One of them smirked, and looked Dawn up and down. “Forgot how spunky you were at this age,” he added.
“Hey! That’s my sister, you creep!” Buffy snapped.
“Well, duh, Slayer. Nice to see you among the living again, by the way.”
The sisters and the other Spike said, “Huh?!”
Buffy started rubbing her temples. “Okay, okay, wait…where did both of you come from?”
“Sunnydale.” “New York.”
Well, that was interesting. “Buffy, how did they get here?! I was about to leave for work, and poof! Spikes!” Dawn waved her hands and bounced on her toes, getting an idea. “Ooo, maybe someone’s playing with dimensions?!”
“Oh, God…” The Slayer sunk down on the sofa, hands over her face. This was too much. Hearing his voice again cut through her like a knife. And if they were from other places, then they had to go back where they belonged…which meant getting witchy help of the powerful kind. “Okay, what was the last thing that happened to both of you before you ended up here?”
The Spikes looked at each other, shrugged, and one of them started sharing. “There was a celebration at your house for saving the Bit and defeating Glory. Walked into the kitchen to get a drink, and pop goes the weasel…”
The other added his version. “My history is a bit different than this one, but long story short, it’s 2010, and I was in our flat,” Spike said, indicating Dawn.
Buffy didn’t like the implicating note in his voice at the word “our”, in conjunction with her sister. Her eyes narrowed at the ‘older’ Spike.
Suddenly, a flash of light could be seen in the hallway leading to the bedrooms. Another Spike came charging out a second later. He shifted into game face as soon as he saw Buffy, growling, “Slayer!” The younger Spike dove in to help her incapacitate the new one.
“Dawn! Rope!” Buffy yelled.
Dawn raced to the weapons chest, threw the lid open, and tossed the rope to her sister. Younger Spike pinned the growling one down as Buffy hurriedly bound wrists and ankles. They let New Spike turn over once he was tied up. Buffy sat on his chest, producing a stake out of nowhere.
“What year are you from?” she demanded.
“1997, of course! Where the hell am I?!”
She sighed, shaking her head, then turned to Helpful Spike. “Gag him.”
Spike used the rest of the rope to tie Youngest Spike to a chair, then accepted the roll of duct tape from Dawn and did as the Slayer had ordered. He loved seeing her get rough.
Buffy pointed an accusing finger at Oldest Spike.
“And you, stop staring at my sister like a piece of meat. I don’t know what kind of relationship you have, and I don’t wanna know, but here, she’s seventeen and off limits!”
He took a seat and pouted. “Don’t have to be bloody rude about it.”
She glared at him, then rotated on her heel to talk to the new arrival. “Someone is transporting Spikes from other dimensions to ours. I don’t care what you were doing at home, but no one’s killing anyone here. If you behave, I’ll keep the gag off.”
It was jarring seeing a Spike from 1997, with the black eyeliner and old clothing look. Not that vampires aged, but 2001 Spike actually looked more grown up than his predecessor. And it had been a long time since she hadn’t seen that look of lust or love in Spike’s eyes…she didn’t like it.
He exhaled noisily through his nose, then nodded, once. She ripped the tape off, causing him to howl in complaint.
“Bitch.”
“Very original.” She turned back to the other two. “No telling him things from his future, got it? We’re not screwing up another dimension cuz you’re feeling wordy.”
With that order, Buffy stomped into her bedroom to change out of her pajamas.
No sanctuary could be found in there, however, as she immediately heard grunting and giggling coming from her shower. Oh, please God, no…
She covered her eyes with one hand and opened the door. “You’re not at home anymore, whoever you are, so could you please stop what you’re doing and grab a towel? Thanks!” Shutting the door, she ran back out to the living room.
“Buffy?” Dawn asked, concerned.
“There’s, um…my shower’s occupied…uh, yeah…I’m going to call Willow.”
Passing through the swinging door, she screamed, her hand flying to her heart. Another Spike! “Oh, for the love of Pete!”
He turned around and looked at her like he was seeing a ghost, or an angel. “Buffy…?”
Oh, God… “Spike…?” She approached him and tried to touch his face, only to have her hand pass through his body. “What…?”
He chuckled mirthlessly. “That’s not right.”
She met his eyes, stunned. “Uh-huh. Um…we’re having a bit of a…situation. Don’t go anywhere.” She grabbed the phone, then went out to Dawn and dragged her sister into Dawn’s room. “Spike’s a ghost!” she whispered.
“Buffy, ghosts aren’t corporeal.”
“I know that! He’s in the kitchen!”
“There’s another one?!”
Buffy’s eyes flicked toward the kitchen. “Yeah. I think he’s mine. The one from here, I mean…”
Dawn’s eyes went wide, and she swallowed. “Oh.”
“Yeah… I need to call Willow. Can you keep an eye on them?”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll use my cell and make an excuse to my boss.”
“You got a cellphone?!”
“The last one got lost in the Hellmouth.”
Buffy sat down on the bed as Dawn left. Barely out of bed, and she was already feeling drained. Karma was a bitch.
~+~
By the time Willow got there, Shower Spike and his companion were sitting at the dining room table, hearing the tale of what had happened so far. Ghost Spike was watching it all from a corner, not talking to anyone. Old Spike was pretending not to play with the ends of Dawn’s hair, as she sat next to him, and 2001 Spike was making moon eyes at the Slayer as she paced and rambled. 1997 Spike had been gagged again for mouthing off and whining about getting back to Dru.
The couple was from a seriously alternate dimension – a happier one, from the little they shared. Buffy couldn’t help noticing, with considerable jealousy, that they seemed quite close, and wore wedding bands. And the woman appeared to be human.
“Well, I can get us back home,” the woman was saying, “But I wouldn’t want to try sending the others back without knowing what magic or spell was used to bring them here.”
“That’s my initial thought, too,” Willow added, overhearing as she came inside. She paused and blinked at the sight of five Spikes. “Any other arrivals since you called?”
A thump, followed by, “Oh, bloody hell…” came from the bedroom. “Buffy, how did you redecorate without waking me?” A new Spike walked out in just a pair of pajama pants. “Uh…pet…”
Buffy held up her hand to stall the questions and started talking. “No, you’re not imagining things, versions of you are popping into my dimension for no apparent reason, and you’re not in Kansas anymore. When and where are you from?”
“L.A. 2005. Me and my Buffy, we, uh…” He gestured towards the bedroom he came from, and around. “Woke up and fell off the wrong side of the bed.” He ducked his head and scratched the back of his neck. If he could blush…
They were together in the future? Buffy and Ghost Spike both thought. Lucky bastard, the ghost continued.
Buffy made the introductions. ’05 Spike ended up wandering over to his ghost self, a sympathetic look on his face. As the others turned back to discussing the problem, the two reached a non-verbal understanding that the new Spike had been in the ghost’s shoes. Ghost Spike sighed and wished for a cigarette.
How many more are going to turn up?! Buffy wailed in her head. It was the cruelest torture possible to look at all these versions of the man she’d told…of the vampire who’d been her most trusted ally, and the one she couldn’t touch might actually be the one she’d watched burn! Hadn’t he earned better than being a ghost? And she still hadn’t had a chance to talk to him…
Dawn stretched, where she’d been taking notes, and glanced up at the newest Spike. “I’ll go get you a shirt,” she said with a smile, and went to her bedroom. She should have a gym shirt that was big enough…
Two “eeps” of surprise were heard. Buffy smacked her forehead and groaned. Dawn came out dragging a man with brown hair and old-fashioned clothes.
“We’ve got another one,” she stated. “You, sit.” She pushed the new guy into a chair and went back for the t-shirt.
“I say, I don’t know how you’ve gotten me here, but I insist you return me to my residence at once!”
Buffy tried not to stare. William the Bloody was sitting in their armchair. The Spikes all hung their heads and sighed. So much for their past self being a secret… Buffy looked desperately to her best friend.
“Will…”
“Right.” Willow waved her hand, and the Victorian gentleman slipped into a gentle slumber.
Dawn tossed a gray tee to ’05 Spike. He smiled gratefully and tugged it on. A bit snug, but at least he was ‘decent’ now. She looked at the sleeping man and tilted her head.
“What’d I miss?”
“We can’t risk him being exposed to his future, so Willow did a little spell.”
“Can’t I talk to him?!” Dawn whined.
“NO!” came from all quarters.
She pouted and mistakenly sat next to 2010 Spike, who slid his hand on the seat so she’d give him a free palming of her ass. She jumped straight back up with a squeak.
“No touching!”
~+~
Alt-Spike and his wife were gone, leaving them with ’97 Spike, ’01 Spike, Ghost Spike, ’05 Spike, and 2010 Spike who lived with an Alt-Dawn. And sleeping William. Ghost Spike was still sulking in the corner, frowning at his younger selves that were so focused on the Slayer.
Give it up, you sap. She’ll never love you, and she’ll just get you killed. He was overjoyed that Buffy seemed to be alright post-Sunnydale, but he’d been done. Dust. Never expected to haunt her new digs. Couldn’t a vamp rest in peace, or at least go to hell where he belonged?
He didn’t believe for a second that the 2005 Spike came from his timeline, with his Buffy. He didn’t want Red messing with the mojo to make him solid, or whatever happened. What he guessed happened. He knew that one had a soul, but the way his eyes looked so understanding…nah, they couldn’t be the same.
The Slayer was on the phone to her Watcher and the rest. She kept glancing at him as she paced, but her eyes flicked to the other versions, too.
“Thought you were done being a burden to her, huh,” ’05 Spike murmured very quietly. “Look, the amulet you wore in the Hellmouth is what’s keeping you from moving on. Where I’m from, it was meant to trap Angel at Wolfram and Hart.” He wandered off after imparting the tip.
Dawn cornered ’05 Spike in the kitchen, where he was heating a mug of the blood Willow had brought.
“You have a soul, right?”
“Yep.”
“So, what’s your story? Are you and my sister happy?” she interrogated.
He had to remind himself this was a Dawn he hadn’t made up with. “I think so. Just been together a matter of months. And you know how your sister can be.”
She nodded. “How come you live in L.A.?”
“Long story. A lot can happen in two years, Bit,”
“Don’t call me that. I don’t know you.”
He understood. “Guess you don’t. But I’m not going to hurt your sister, here, or any other world.”
Dawn stared at him for a minute, then turned on her heel and left the kitchen.
~+~
The post-1997 Spikes all remembered Rupert Giles, so none of them were happy to hear that he was coming over, as Buffy informed the room once she hung up the phone. They would have preferred his knowledge be shared only over the phone. Buffy and Willow had gone in her bedroom to talk in whispers, leaving Dawn to entertain/baby-sit the vamps.
The teen found this situation very confusing. On the one hand, seeing Spikes in the flesh made her happier than she had expected, after this past year. On the other, she was still upset, and wanted to give them the cold shoulder. Even though 2001 Spike hadn’t done anything to her sister, yet, and neither had ’97 or the other Dawn’s Spike. The latter was quite chatty about their life, how the Scoobies had drifted away and apart after Buffy’s swan dive off the tower and he’d been left to care for her more and more, that they’d picked up one day for greener pastures, and how their relationship had evolved into romance once she was an adult. For she could see that this Spike didn’t just lust after her bod…he’d never looked at her like that before, in her world, like he used to look at Buffy. It gave her a secret thrill to know that in some universe, she’d won out over her sister, if only because Buffy had never been resurrected.
It was also entertaining how grossed out the other Spikes were hearing the stories, the Spikes that kept her in the little sis category. They looked at 2010 Spike like he’d lost his mind or grown a third eye, or something. So Dawn kept him talking.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
see end note
Chapter End Notes:
Some of the Spikes are from other fics of mine, and others are made up for this story. No direct crossovers intended, just borrowing 'alternate realities'. :)