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Chapter 4

William slowly stood up. He was stiff and sore. He always tensed up in his sleep. It was like his body and subconscious was constantly preparing him for a fight. He was just naturally defensive, and while sleeping there was no way to make himself relax. William twisted his arms around and stretched out his legs, then walked down the aisle and down the stairs to the outside.

It was hot, windy, and sunburned. You could see the desert on all sides of the terminal. A few hills and freeway were the only things breaking up the monotony of sand and sagebrush, and in the distance he could see the tall buildings of the Strip. It was marvelous. It felt so different and completely new. It was open and desolated, kind of reflecting how he felt. If dirt could be a kindred spirit, then this was definitely it. The majority of the city must be behind the hills. It almost made him regret moving to a city like Las Vegas. Maybe he'd just stay long enough to earn some money and then leave and go somewhere really isolated, like Montana. That sounded nice. He didn't feel much like a people person these days. He should put out an effort to make friends and contacts, but he didn't really care anymore. Hopefully that would change once he started this new job.

He yawned and then proceeded to make his way across the asphalt to the departing city buses. When he got there, he walked immediately up to where the maps were kept, and pulled the slip of paper that Bob had given him out of his pocket to double check the destination.

William got off the bus and walked down the street looking for the work site. He was extremely nervous. He looked across the street and saw a sign that read "Harris Construction".

"Well, there it is."

He took a few deep breaths, but they weren't helping at all. The novelty and excitement of moving to Vegas and getting out of LA were starting to wear off, and the actual seriousness of the situation was starting to make itself known, but William quickly forced himself to swallow the fear and anxiety. He had to make a good impression because he really needed this. There were no other options at this point and without the job, he didn't know what he would do. He gave his head a small shake and clenched his jaw. He could do this; he was strong, he was resilient; but what he actually wanted to do was curl up in a bed, pull a sheet over his head and ignore the world. With that final thought, he stepped off the curb and ran across the street.

When he stepped through the gate, William was immediately engulfed by giant cloud of red dirt. Someone was unloading bags of cement next to the entrance, and they weren't being too careful about it. Brilliant, that was a perfect way to meet a future employer, covered in red dirt. Good thing his hair wasn't bleached anymore, it would have been pink.

William walked through the dust toward the trailer that was directly to his right on the far side of the site. He stopped in front of the stairs and paused for a minute. He really needed to get out of this habit. It was like he had to psych himself up for every little thing he did.

William knocked on the flimsy trailer door and waited for a response. He didn't have to wait long.

"Come on in! I'll be with you in a minute."

William walked in and set his bag down on the chair near the door. He was too nervous to walk around and snoop, so he stayed near the door. The same loud voice yelled from the rear of the trailer behind some filing cabinets, "Take a seat in front of the desk, I'll just be a few more minutes."

"Okay, um...thanks!" William answered. He turned to the right and located the desk on the opposite side of the room. There were a few chairs in front, so he went over and sat in the one closest to the wall. As he waited his curiosity got the better of him and he started to look at the pictures on the desk. There were three of them, all just normal sized with nothing too spectacular about them. But something just drew his hand over and he took one. It was a picture of three people. It looked recent, but he didn't know for sure. There were two women and a man. They were all smiling, though it seemed a little forced. The man in the center of the trio was dark haired and goofy-grinned. He also had a patch over his left eye. Hmm. . .accident? William then focused on the woman on the left. She had marvelous red hair and a gorgeous smile. He couldn't help but smile in response to her. He then turned his attention to the last woman. Something tugged at his memory. Something about this slight, blonde woman pulled at him. He brought his hand up and his fingers ghosted over her face.

"So, how can I help you, fine sir?" The man startled William out of thoughts, and he quickly put the picture back. As he brought his hand back towards his body, the man sat down in front of him at the desk. One mystery was solved, this was the man in the picture, and according to the nameplate in front of him, this was Alexander Harris. He looked up into the mans face, expectant, but that soon changed to anxiety and fear. The man was looking at him like he was a ghost. Like he was his worst nightmare come to life. His face had become very pale and his mouth was gaping open. It looked as if he was trying to say something, but was unable to. Deciding to take the initiative for once, William reached over the desk and offered his hand.

"Hello, I'm William Shaw. Bob, my old supervisor, was supposed to give you a call. He said you could maybe set me up with a job." The man blinked, closed his mouth, and swallowed heavily.

"I'm Xander, but you knew that already didn't you?" He said suspiciously.

"Uh. . . not really. I was coming to meet an Alexander, but I wasn’t sure what you looked like. You are Alexander Harris, arent’ you? William asked, slowly pulling his hand away in confusion.

Xander was speechless. He didn't know how to react, let alone what to say to the man sitting in front of him. He obviously wasn't the First because he’d seen him holding one of the pictures from his desk. But this thing, Spike, or whoever he was, was acting like he didn't know who he was. Well, two could play at that game.

"I'm sorry, I’m being rude. I've had a weird day and my brain has disappeared. Let me introduce myself. I'm Alexander Harris, but most people call me Xander. I'm the head honcho around here. But enough about me, let’s find out more about you."

This Alexander/Xander guy was weird; he was looking at him like he was lying or something. He didn't lie; at least, he didn't think he did. He hated being treated like this. He came to this place expecting a job, and from what Bob said to be treated decently. But he wasn't getting either.

"Listen, mate. I don't know what I did to you, but I'm just here because Bob said you'd help me out. I can see that clearly isn't going to happen, so I'll just take my leave. Sorry to have disturbed you." With that, William quickly stood up and walked to the door. It looked like would be heading to Montana sooner than he’d thought.

Just as he was shouldering his bag, Xander called out to him. "Hey Spike, wait a minute."

William turned around, "What did you call me?"

"Spike. That is your name, isn't it?"

"Well, no. I introduced myself as William, or didn't you notice that?" He was starting to get really irritated with this wanker. It didn't occur to him that this man might possibly have known him before.

But Xander had been distracted by something and wasn’t listening at all. He had finally noticed that William, Spike, or whoever, was standing directly in the patch of sun coming through the window in the trailer door. He looked closer. It was Spike, wasn’t it? Everything about this man standing in front of him screamed Spike. Yeah, he had different hair and there was that whole breathing thing, but the scar was there, not to mention the face and the voice. This was driving him crazy. Spike was dead. Burned up dead. Gone forever out of his life dead. Big pile of dust dead! But this man in front of him was anything but dead. He was a breathing, tanned. . .wait a minute, were those freckles? This was way too confusing for him. He needed to make a decision fast. He could let this man walk out that door, and pretend he never met him, or he could hire him and keep an eye on him until he figured out who he was and what he was doing here. He had finally gotten tired of the super-hero lifestyle, which was why he was in Vegas building houses, and not out protecting the world from the next big evil, but once a Scooby, always a Scooby.

Just as the man was walking out the door he called out, "William, wait! I'm sorry. You just caught me at a really bad time, and I took it out on you."

William turned around and arched an eyebrow. "Ya think?"

Xander walked up to him and held out his hand. "Let’s start over. I'm Xander Harris. Bob called me and let me know that you were coming, and I do happen to have a job for you."

William looked at him, paused, and then warily shook his hand. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Xander. Thanks for giving me a chance and letting me work here"

Xander grinned, thankful that he’d decided to stay. He really needed time to figure out what was going on. He led William back to the chair he had been sitting in and walked back around the desk and sat down. He looked over at William, who was trying unconvincingly to act nonchalant, instead of pissed. He needed to test a theory. No way would Spike be able to look at Buffy and not have even a spark of recognition.

"So William, I noticed you looking at my pictures..."

"Yeah, nice birds you got there."

"That's my best-friends BUFFY and Willow." He hoped that wasn't too obvious. But there wasn’t even the tiniest flicker of recognition at either name.

"Odd names. They hippy types?"

Xander scrambled at what to say. He was totally out of his element. How do you react to a situation like this? So he would rely on the age-old conversation starter.

"So, where you from William?"

"LA?"

"That a question?" Xander was starting to become really intrigued, especially now that William was starting to look like a scared rabbit.

"Did Bob tell you anything about me when you talked?" William asked

"Nope, how about you fill me in?" Not wanting to scare him off, he added, "So that we can get your information, then you can start swinging that hammer."

With a huge sigh, William started in on the tragic story that was his life. "I don't know where I'm from. I assume I'm British, for obvious reasons."

"Care to elaborate?" Xander said

"Woke up in an alley in LA about a year ago. I have amnesia. I don't know who I am; I don't have family, friends, or a visa. All I have is a British passport with a name on it, which I’m assuming is me judging by the picture in it." William paused and gave Xander a confused look, "Bob really didn't tell you any of this?"

"No, not really, but it’s no big deal. Can I see your passport? Just for employment purposes."

"Sure," William reached inside his duffel and pulled out his passport and handed it over to Xander. He stared at the picture on the inside flap. It was Spike, no doubt about it. Bleached hair, pale and pasty skin, nasty smirk. Yup, it was Spike. He glanced up at William. He had an expectant look on his face. He would bolt. If Xander said anything about knowing him, he would be gone. William was scared of knowing who he was. He didn't seem to know why, but you could see it in his eyes. The man was running from something. Himself? The past? He needed to call Giles. He always knew what to do. Or should he call Buffy? He didn't know. Damn Spike, he always threw a wrench into things.

William sat there looking at Xander, waiting for the boot. Silence like this couldn't be a good sign. Just as he was about to ask for his passport back and head out, Xander cleared his throat and started talking.

"Listen William, I'll hire you. I want to help you out. Obviously you’re in need of a job, and you’re lacking in the whole document area. So you need a hook up, since you can't get a real job without papers. All I’ll need is the place your staying at, and I’ll need to make a copy of your passport for documentation. Then I'll get one of the supervisors to take you on a tour of the site, and we'll get you a hard-hat. You can start work tomorrow."

All the doubts that William had had about the job and Vegas disappeared at Xander's words. He was still suspicious about the man, but he needed the job, so he'd ignore the weirdness. Besides he'd been on edge lately, so it was probably just his imagination working overtime.

Xander stood up and handed him his passport and picked up the radio, "Hey, Joe. I have a guy here who needs to be shown around. He's going to start working on the site tomorrow"

The radio spit out an answer that was so garbled, William couldn't hear enough to make out the response. It must have been positive because Xander put it back down and took William by the shoulder and walked him toward the door.

"Feel free to leave your bag here while you get your bearings, I'll get all your information when you get back."

"Thanks Harris, I really appreciate it." Shaking off the weird feeling he got from the guy, William walked out the door to meet Joe.

After William was gone, Xander just stared at the door. It was Spike, it had to be. There was no other explanation. He needed to call Giles. It was either that or he would start tearing his hair out. Man, was his life weird.





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