Chapter 4: The Other Champion

As soon as Buffy entered her mother's backyard, she was hit with feelings of ease and peace she barely recognized. Everything was still and quiet. There was no longer the raw earth of hastily dug graves behind the house. And the smell of cigarette smoke was drifting down from the porch steps. He was back where he belonged, and waiting for her.

“Earlier than I thought you'd be,” was Spike's greeting as she approached. “Short talk?”

“As much as I could deal with for one night, at least.”

“Dare I ask if you have Angel breath again?”

She shook her head. “I don't. But at least he was polite enough not to mention that I have Spike breath.”

He grinned. “But no doubt he noticed it.”

She climbed the steps to sit beside him. “You're the worst.”

“And yet you missed me.”

“Probably a lot more than you deserved.” She scooted closer to lean against him as soon as he tossed away his cigarette butt. “I know we should be planning things out, figuring out how we're going to deal with this time travel craziness, but right now... I just want this.”

They sat in silence for a while, each reveling in the casual intimacy of her leaning on his shoulder and the feelings brought up by her willingness to do so.

When Spike finally spoke, his voice was hesitant. “Buffy?”

“Yeah?”

“How long before you tell all of them...?”

“That we're from the future? I have no idea. That's going to need to be part of the planning.”

“I meant about us.”

“Oh.” She sat upright. “Um, I guess as soon as that planning stuff is done, so we know how we should phrase things.”

He nodded slowly. “Figure out a plausible explanation.”

“I think an 'explanation' might be a bit more than I'm willing to offer. They just need to know enough to know neither of us has lost our mind.”

“Lately.”

“Lately,” she agreed. The smile forming on her face turned into a grimace as a thought occurred to her. “Ugh. You know The First is going to pop up in a few weeks, right?”

“You're joking.”

“Nuh-uh. A few Bringers. No Turok Hans. It mostly just wants to screw with Angel's head until he's ready to kill himself.”

“No idea what that's like,” he grumbled. He noticed the familiar tight lipped expression as she ran scenarios through her head. “You expect me to try to help the wanker, don't you?”

“With me, of course.” She shrugged. “You have Champion credentials now, Spike. I think you kinda have to.”

“Ah. So I get immolated by that bastard's little present, and I owe him a favor?”

“That's not what I--” She stood up and offered her hand to pull him to his feet. “We'll argue about this tomorrow, ok? I have to pretend to be Teen Buffy at school in the morning, so I should get some sleep.”

He accepted the offered hand and let her lead him into the house, expecting her to release him as she passed the basement door. Instead she held onto his hand as they went downstairs together.

Elsewhere, Whistler nodded in satisfaction as the last images were projected on the wall before them. “Not bad for a night's work. Guess it's time to pull the plug.”

Beside him, Joyce raised her voice in objection. “What?! You can't! They've only just arrived!”

“And met a bunch of big picture objectives. In record time, I might add. Your timing was better than I thought, even if the spoon was a weird choice.”

“It's only been a few hours, Whistler. They haven't had time to do much of anything.”

“They've discouraged Angel from keeping her in his future plans and daydreams, so he'll be more focused on his own path. They've prevented Anyanka dying in the Hellmouth, so she'll be available for greater things later. And they even managed to convince you that your daughter's life was never meant to fit into a cookie cutter shape of traditional expectations. Like I said, not a bad night's work.”

She scrambled for an argument. “What about Faith? Things are going to go very badly for her, and rather soon. If they stay, they might be able to help, or even prevent it.”

He chuckled. “They drew your attention to both your cluttered guest room and the fact that the basement is a possible living space, before you started thinking about issuing Faith an invitation to Christmas. Don't you think that might have some impact on exactly what kind of invitation you issue? And how much do you think could change in her life if she accepts it?”

“Oh. ...That could be a big deal for her.”

“Very. Not to mention the fact that when I dump these two--” He jerked a thumb at the final image, of Spike and Buffy curled up together on the cot in the basement. “--back in their own timeline, the minds they've been occupying will remember what happened while they were pushed aside, making them very open to the idea of working together in the future. And let me tell you, the bosses love any timeline that makes that particular team up more likely, even when they don't couple up. They're a formidable pair, and anytime they're fighting on the same side, the odds of success go up.”

“But when you send them back...” Joyce's gaze landed where his thumb had been pointing. “She can't go back to that life, especially after this. It's just too cruel. You can't use them and 'dump' them like they're old garden tools, Whistler. They're people. And they've been through awful things, with no rewards for their suffering.”

“They've done some good work in their own timeline, plus the work they've just put in building up this new branch line.” He shrugged. “But not every story gets a happy ending, Summers.”

She stared him down. “This one should. Need I remind you that's my little girl you're tossing away?”

He sighed, relenting. “Alright, fine. I'll see what I can do. But they're still going back tonight. I can't leave them loitering around too long, or they'll start changing too much. Trust me, I know what those two are capable of if they have a long leash on a timeline alteration job, and it ain't pretty.”

“You make them sound dangerous.”

“That 'little girl' you're so worried about? In one timeline, she held me hostage for two solid weeks. During which, she made me work as her scullery maid and regularly threatened to remove my head.”

Joyce winced. “I'm sure she had a good reason.”

“She did it for him. Just because the bosses like those two on the same team, doesn't mean I do.”

“There's no talking you out of letting them stay a while, then?”

“Not a snowball's chance in hell. But I'll put out some feelers, see what options are available for them when they're back in their own timeline. Will that be good enough to get you off my back?”

She nodded. “Good enough.”