Chapter 1:
“I didn’t say a word, Slayer!” shouted the agitated vampire. His expression a mixture of frustration, confusion, anger and longing.
Buffy’s eyes flashed with anger. “Well, I know you're thinking about it, so just stop! There will be no discussion of any spell induced kissage.”
“Then stop bleedin’ bringin’ it up!”
Buffy’s fist shot out and connected with Spike’s nose. “OW! You bloody BITCH!” Holding his nose to staunch the flow of blood, Spike glared at the defiant blonde who merely smirked at him.
Silently contemplating the young woman in front of him, Spike had a sudden insight. She was scared. Scared of what he made her feel. She's given her heart to his sire and then His Broodiness ripped it to shreds. Almost as bad as that was the soldier boy. He never held her heart, but he made her question her own self-worth. In blaming her for going to the suck whores, his own actions helped to damage the Slayer even more then Angelus had.
Spike shook his head. ‘If I could have one bloody wish, it would be to go back to that alley where we met. I would do things over and protect her from those wankers. I wouldn’t let them do that to her again, I wouldn’t do that to her again.
A sudden change in the winds direction brought a familiar scent to the vampire. Spike quietly alerted the Slayer. “Heads up, pet. We’ve got visitors.”
“What kind?” she asked in a hushed tone.
“Three, they’re human; two magic users and…” Spike stood and turned towards the three observers, finishing his sentence loudly. “Someone who builds robots.”
Buffy’s voice was filled with boredom and contempt. “Warren.” Following Spike’s lead, she turned in the general direction he had.
Realising they had been discovered, Warren and his two friends awkwardly stood from their hiding place, struggling to keep something behind their backs hidden.
“Jonathan?” Buffy was slightly shocked when she recognised the second boy. The third boy had her completely stumped though. “Who are you?”
“Andrew,” he said. Buffy shrugged and shook her head, showing a complete lack of recognition.
“I summoned the flying monkeys that attacked the high school during the school play, you know?”
Before Buffy could again shake her head, Jonathan spoke up. “Tucker's brother.”
“Oh...so what are you guys doing out here, in a graveyard, in the middle of the night? Don’t you know how dangerous that is?” Buffy asked, her features expressed a look of concerned curiosity. She noticed Spike taking a cautious step closer to her. Something was wrong here and it was clear that he sensed it too.
“We’ve got plans…and you're just going to get in our way, " Warren announced, his ire directed at the blonde slayer as he finally showed the duo what they had been hiding. The strange device looked like some weird type of Star Wars prop gun and he had it pointed directly at Buffy. “I’m just going to fix that problem, send you to a time when it will be too late for you to do anything.”
As Warren fired the gun, Spike jumped in front of Buffy, taking the full blast of the ray. Both disappeared without a trace.
“Um…Warren?” Jonathon cautiously addressed the taller boy. “Did you mean to send them into the past? ’Cause that setting is for travelling back, not forward.”
“Oh shit.”
*******
Spike opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings. They were in the alley behind the Bronze and Buffy was unconscious. Concentrating on checking her for injuries, he at first failed to notice the events unfolding at the other end of the alley. Hearing fighting, Spike looked up to see Buffy- a very young Buffy- fighting a vampire who was mouthing off about St. Vigeous.
‘Bugger’, Spike thought to himself. ‘Last time I make a wish on the bloody Hellmouth.’
Quickly considering his options, Spike picked up his Buffy and made his way out of the alley.
“Best go see your Watcher, luv.”
*****
When Giles opened his apartment door, he was shocked to see a strange young man carrying what looked like an older version of his Slayer.
“We’re from the future, mate. She’s out cold and I didn’t want to take her to her mum. Joyce doesn’t know about her being the slayer yet, and I didn’t think this was the best way to break it to her. Will you help us?”
“Of course, please come in.” Giles motioned to the couch, “You can just settle her over there. Does she need anything?”
Spike ignored the questions as he propped Buffy on the couch. Finally he turned back towards Giles. “You might want to get your Scotch, mate. It looks like we’ve got a lot to talk about.”
“Maybe you could begin with exactly who you are and why I just allowed a vampire to enter my home?” Giles smirked at the shocked vampire. He was just as shocked at having invited this creature into his house, but how often does one show up with one’s unconscious slayer?
“He’s an annoying pain in my butt,” Buffy groaned from her position on the couch.
“No, luv. That would be the stick up your arse. Now, get up. You got a watcher to confuse.”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “Shut up, Spike! Now, can someone tell me where are we and what’s going on?”
"Make up your mind, Slayer. Do you want me to shut up, or to answer your questions?” Spike smirked. “It’s a bit difficult to do both.”
“Just answer the damn questions,” Buffy ground out through tightly clenched teeth.
“That thing the robot geek fired at us appears to have sent us into our own past. It dropped us into the alley behind the Bronze, where we first met. You were out cold, so I thought the best thing was to bring us to your watcher,” Spike explained.
“What are you talking about? Buffy looked confused. “Our first meeting was on Parent Teacher Night at the school.”
Spike swore under his breath. “No, luv. In our time, our first meeting was in the alley, but tonight I got you out of there and didn’t say anything to the other Buffy. It seems that we can affect the future and change things, including our memories.”
“Even if you didn't interact with my Buffy, surely this time’s version of you would still have initiated the contact that you remember?” Giles interjected.
“Your right Watcher, he would have - if I hadn’t taken over his body when we made the jump.”
“What?!” Buffy exclaimed.
“Oh dear, do you have any idea what this means?” Giles collapsed into his chair.
“Yeah, it’s gonna change everything and there’s nothing we can do to stop it,” Spike answered with finality.
squawks
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!