SERIES: Passing Time (#12)

AUTHOR: Tisienne Blue

E-MAIL: tisatko@msn.com

DISCLAIMER: I am not Joss Whedon, nor am I 20th TV... hence I own nobody you recognize from either show.

RATING: R-ish, I think.

PAIRINGS: A/W; A/Liam; W/Liam... whatever.

DISTRIBUTION: Charity can have it for Bite Me... Please?, and Jen:) can have it for Willow's Lil Secret... anyone else I've said yes to is good to go as well. Otherwise, just ask.

FEEDBACK: would be welcome...

DEDICATIONS: to Di, for the challenge. Also to: Vampie (luv ya, doll!!!), Eva, and Nutty (you, too, my fellow CO-er...*giggle*)

NOTES: 2007, Willow lives at the Hyperion, as does Liam (alternate timeline Angel)... Angel, Willow, and Liam are all together, but... what do the Powers think of that???

MORE NOTES: Okay, I've been going kind of overboard with the porn lately, and my smut-monster's feeling all daggy and tired, so... here's a whole part just FULL of stuff that moves things along in a non-horizontal fashion!!! I don't know how you'll all like it, so please... somebody let me know!!!*BG*

&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*

"This was not supposed to happen," he observed flatly to his silent sister as they watched the threesome sleeping quietly, "This is not what the Powers had in mind for him... for *them*!" He grimaced slightly as he turned away from the small pool through which he'd been looking, his hands clasping before him as he wrung his fingers.

"Maybe," the female said softly, finally breaking her hours-long silence, "Maybe this is *better* than what was planned. Maybe this will make them even *stronger*!" She sighed softly when her brother shook his head, and she stepped towards him, her hand coming to rest lightly on his shoulder. "'As it happens, it was meant to *be*'... isn't that what we always say? Isn't that what we've told him before?" she demanded smoothly, "Well, maybe this is meant to be, then... and the Powers didn't know it."

He shook her hand off, and began pacing, his mind whirling with equal parts anger and confusion. "How? How could they not *know*? They're the *Powers*, aren't they? They're *supposed* to know!" He forced himself to calm slightly, and he caught her eyes with his own, feeling cast adrift. "And so are *we*, Sister... It's bad enough that we didn't know about Vocah coming to kill us... Bad enough that the little Irishman passed the visions on to that... *human* without our knowledge!" He turned back towards the small scrying pool, and sat on its edge as he looked within it again. "But this... Warrior comes here, and we don't know anything about him... the Powers bypass us and call for *our* Warrior, and we have no *idea* of what to tell him!" He sighed angrily, his eyes fixed on the three people sleeping comfortably in bed-- separated from him and his sibling by only the thin veil of a dimension or two. "And if we're supposed to speak for the Powers, then... shouldn't they at least tell us what's going on?"

The woman sighed deeply and approached her brother, settling herself on the edge of the pool beside him. "We knew," she said quietly, her hand covering his on the stone edge, "From the very beginning... we knew that we weren't omniscient; that we never *would* be, not truly. And, you're right, we *should* know what's happening here, but... we don't." She sighed again, and rested her head lightly against his shoulder. "All we can do now, Brother, is what feels right. And that means..."

He sighed and nodded, stopping the flow of words from her mouth. "I know..." His head bowed towards his chest as he considered again the Vampire, the Witch, and the Human in the scrying pool before him. "I just... hate to do it! I mean, they look so..." he shrugged.

"Happy." his sister volunteered softly, "They look *happy*. But what we must do doesn't necessarily mean that they'll..." She shook her head at his disbelieving glance, and shrugged herself. "You're right." Her eyes returned to the vision in the pool, and... for the first time in more than ten centuries, she found herself regretting her calling. But... called she had been, just as her brother had, and... they had a job to do. She sighed once more, this time in sorrow for the lives that were about to be torn apart, and she stood, putting the thought from her mind. "Come, Brother," she said, voice steady and emotionless, "Let's get this over with."

He stood slowly, and crossed the marble floor to her side, his own face assuming his usual expression of aloofness. "Yes, Sister," he replied, equally monotonially, "Let's get it done."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

She sighed distractedly as she wandered slowly down the almost deserted street, her hands thrust deep into the pockets of her plaid wool coat. Seattle was still chilly-- despite it being mid-spring-- especially at this time of night, but... she had a job to do, after all, and... Maybe she could manage to forget.

It wasn't likely, she knew, because in the almost ten years since that night, she hadn't managed to even dim the memory, but... she would still try. She would try because it was all that she *could* do.

It was harder, every year, for her to hold herself together as the anniversary approached, and... in just a few days, it would be there. Three more days, and it would be the night she'd lost them both. She sighed softly, her feet turning swiftly down the well-known street.

Ten years. Ten years since they'd come to her and told her that they'd found their completion-- in each other... Ten years since she'd realized that while they'd never *ask* her to leave, she wasn't really welcome anymore... Ten years since that one, perfect night when she'd finally, finally, felt *whole*.

She remembered it like it was yesterday... Waking up pressed tightly between their long, strong bodies, their forms which were identical-- other than the trivial matter of body heat... Smiling as they stared at her. She'd thought that look in their eyes was because they *loved* her... *cherished* her... and she'd been *wrong*.

And so, just a few hours later, when they'd made their feelings clear, she'd... left. She'd gathered up the things she thought she'd need, and driven off in the car her parents had bought for her after Buffy's death, and... she hadn't seen them since, and she never would again. She'd decided that only moments after the hotel had disappeared from her rear view mirror, and she'd stuck with it. It was a decision she'd never had cause to regret, not even when Patrick asked about his father.

Patrick. Her son. *Their* son, too, she supposed. But they didn't know about him, and... if luck stayed with her, they never would... or at least, not as long as she was alive. Which, she reminded herself, as the demon leapt from the shadowed alleyway she was passing, might not be too much longer if she didn't *focus*! Her hand rose before her, palm towards the creature who had thought her an easy meal, and one short, shouted word in an almost forgotten language later, he was... *gone*.

She stared sadly at the slightly smoking puddle at her feet, and offered up a small prayer to the Gods for the thing she'd just killed before turning and starting for home. She'd done enough for one night, and Patrick would be worrying over her.

She smiled to herself, still a bit sad, as she headed off down the street. He'd have a cup of her favourite tea waiting for her, she knew, and... he'd watch her intently, with those eyes that reminded her so much of Angel and Liam, while she told him about what she'd killed in the darkness, and *how*.

Patrick was the only thing that made it worthwhile to continue... her only reason for accepting the things that fate had thrown at her, and... She forced herself to smile more brightly as she approached her apartment building, ignoring the small, frantic voice in the back of her head that was screaming at her that there *was* no Patrick... it *hadn't* *been* ten years... that she was-- and would always be-- *claimed*.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

He barely snarled out a greeting to his Seer as he strode past her and into the night. He knew he was being unfair to the girl... woman, now, but... he couldn't seem to make himself care too much, and he didn't think that that was going to change.

It had been a rough road for her, he knew, almost as much so as it had been for *him*, but... she'd stuck it out; he had to give her *that* much. First, losing Willow and Liam the way that he had... watching them drive off into the fucking sunset together... then watching Wesley and Gunn follow after them, to help *Liam* open his *own* agency in New York... He snarled again, at no-one in particular. He'd known the human version of himself was trouble, from the moment he'd seen him in that alley. He should have followed his instincts right *then*, and *killed* the bastard! But instead, he'd allowed his girl... his witch... to change his mind, and... for a time-- a very *short* time-- he'd thought he had everything he could ever want, and that they were all happy.

Of course, he'd been right; they *were* happy... just not with *him*. A growl exploded from his lips as he stalked the night, destroying every malevolent creature he came across. It was *easy* for him now. He bore a deep, fiery rage within his soul, and to him, every single being he put an end to bore his own face... the face of the man who had stolen his love away.

His feet paused for a moment outside Caritas, and he considered, as he did every night, just... going in; maybe singing a little something, and finding out what the future held for him. He didn't, though, because he was almost entirely certain of what the Host would say, and... he didn't really want confirmation that this was the way of his life now... that he'd *always* be this alone and lonely. There was an aching void within him that had, for far too short a time, been filled with a smallish, lovely redhead, and a warm, strong human who knew him like no other, and... Even if he were to find someone to care about, it just... wouldn't be the same. It wouldn't... fill his spirit with joy and tenderness, and make him long for an additional eternity on top of the one he'd already been given.

Cordelia would say that he just needed to get laid; in fact she *had* said that, on more than one occasion, but... it wasn't the physical fulfillment he was missing. It was the emotional completion, and... he knew he'd never find that again. Of course, he realized, his Seer knew that too, she just didn't want him to stop trying. But he had. Oh, he hadn't stopped trying to defeat the evil, he'd just... stopped thinking that there was anything more for him than what he'd lost. The echoing emptiness where his Mates should be, and the fight he kept on with, were the only constants in his life, and he *knew* why he still fought. It was because they were still out there, and... the demon he killed tonight would never move on to disrupt their life together... It was a price he willingly paid.

One slow, single tear slipped from the corner of his golden eye, and he brushed it away angrily. They'd left him. They'd been his *Mates*, and they'd *left* him! He almost wished that he could hate them, but... He shook his head, resolving to think of something else as he continued to clean up the night streets of LA

He paid no attention to the demon trapped within him as it screamed at him that this was *wrong*; that once Mated, there was no leaving... He ignored the struggles inside his head easily... after all, he hadn't listened to his demon in almost a decade.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

He was sitting quietly beside the stream, staring once again into its clear, burbling depths, and he laughed softly when he felt the small, warm hands cover his eyes from behind. "Will..." he said softly, still unable to act warm when she left him so... cold, "What's wrong, baby?"

He didn't really listen when she responded, because... he didn't have to. Not here. It didn't matter what she said, because... she wasn't the Willow he'd grown to love more than his own breath, his own *life*! No, that Willow was back in LA with the vampire she'd chosen over him, and *he*... *He* was in the Summerland, with the Willow he'd once though of as perfect, and... she wasn't.

He supposed that he couldn't blame his girl... his second Will... for choosing Angel. He was, after all, immortal... and strong... and passionate. He just wished that there had been some other way to find out that she hadn't loved *him*, after all... that she'd really only *pitied* him... and that Angel had accepted him because his Willow had wanted him to. There were worse things, after all, but...

He wished-- when he bothered to wish for anything-- that they'd just... left him out of their relationship... that she'd just told him, flat out, that she wasn't interested... that he'd never been claimed by the vampire, never allowed himself to hope for a happy future that he apparently didn't deserve. Because... had he never known the joy of their touches, then... *This* wouldn't be so bad.

To touch this Willow, and know that she wasn't the one he wanted, the one he saw behind his eyelids... to wake in the night, hard, and longing for both his Mates... it was almost unbearable, and... he didn't even know how he'd *died*!

He remembered going to bed with his lovers... falling asleep happily worn out... He recalled the looks on their faces when they'd sheepishly admitted that while he was *fun*, he wasn't really... one of them, and then... nothing!

A sharp veil began to descend over his thoughts, and for the first time he fought it, wanting to remember every detail, no matter how painful, and when the obscuring curtain only paused slightly, he...

"*Mathry*!" he screamed, standing suddenly and ignoring the protests of the Willow behind him, "Mathry! *Show* *yourself*!" He stared into the sky, breathing hard, and when he got no response, he called even louder.

"Mathry, you Gods-be-damned *pissant*!" His entire body trembled with the force of his anger, and he didn't care anymore who heard him, or even decided to shun him, because... "This isn't where I'm supposed to be, you bastard!" he cried angrily, "You stole me away!" His gaze affixed itself to the steadily increasing glow he finally saw directly in front of him, and he glared at the blue and silver skinned man who slowly materialized. He stepped quickly forward, grabbing the man by the neck of his robes. "You *took* me," he hissed furiously, "From my *Mates*! You pulled me from our bed, and created memories of things that never happened, betrayals that never occurred... and you're going to tell me *why*!" He shook the man for emphasis, and continued to hold tightly to the cloth of his garment as he waited impatiently for a reply.

The Oracle's pale eyes widened at the barely restrained violence he saw in the man's eyes, and he shook slightly. He hadn't intended to appear for this human Warrior, but he'd been... *compelled* to do so, and the only way *that* could have happened was if... "You know my name..." he whispered, barely breathing, "How do you know my *name*...?"

"In *my* world, we were friends, until your sister died and you sent me through the Void," Liam snarled, shaking the man once more. "Now, tell me *why*!"

He stared in wonder at this human who was demanding answers, but he stiffened his spine, unable to believe what the Warrior had said. "I don't believe you," he said seriously. "I would never be... *friends* with a *human*!"

Liam almost wanted to strangle the man right then, but... he'd only be born again and then he'd have to call him forth again, and... he didn't want to spend that kind of time. "Yeah, well, it *took* a while, but we *were* friends, you and I! And Sionelle, too!" He saw acceptance replacing the open skepticism in the Oracle's expression, and before the man could try to presume on whatever feelings he might have for his dead friend, he pressed on. "Why!" he demanded hotly, "*Tell* *me*!"

Mathry sighed when the human didn't release his hold on his robes, and finally admitted to himself that he was well and truly caught. "Because of *you*." he said, defeatedly. He pushed at the human's hands until the fingers loosened. "I've already started to answer," he said softly, meeting the man's brown eyes, "So I can't leave until you release me." He nodded unhappily when he was finally free, and sat down beside the gently burbling brook.

"Because of *me*..." Liam prompted, sitting down himself. He held up one hand in warding when the Willow of that place would have approached him again, then waved her away.

"Yes..." the Oracle explained haltingly, "Because you... weren't foretold... weren't *foreseen*... You shouldn't have been there in the first place, and..." He sighed. "The Warrior was too happy. He was *supposed* to have the *witch*! *Only* the witch! But then, *you* showed up, and..." he turned desperate eyes to the human beside him. "He wasn't thinking about the *fight* anymore!" he nearly screamed, his eyes wide and almost angry, "He wasn't *thinking* at *all*!" His breaths were coming in ragged pants now, and his fingers were digging deep into the rich brown earth beneath him. "Every conscious part of him was wrapped up in you and her! 'My *Mates*', he kept thinking... Nothing about the demons, or fighting the vampires; *nothing* about his redemption, and that's what he's doing all of this *for*!" His fury was invading his eyes now, and he turned them on the human, hoping to frighten him with their white glow, but he continued when Liam only nodded. "So we devised to test him... test you *all*! We *had* to! We pulled your minds away, and set them down in places and times where each of you was forsaken by the others, and..." His voice faded out as his fury was met with the even greater compassion in the human Warrior's eyes.

"And... what did you find, Mathry?" Liam asked quietly, although he was fairly sure that he already knew the answer. "What did they do?"

"They continued the fight," the Oracle admitted, "Even thinking that you'd abandoned each of them to be with the other, they... continued the fight." His eyes closed then, and he said, more to himself than to the human, "Even the girl... even thinking that she had a child, she still fought!... Amazing..."

"A child," the human echoed, "Why would she think... oh, Gods, is she..." His eyes were wide, his mind racing through every emotion he could name, and a few he couldn't, but... "Did I... I mean..."

Mathry almost laughed at the slew of confused feelings rolling off the man beside him, but he just didn't have the heart to leave him in the dark. His own eyes flew wide then, as he realized just why his own other-self had been friends with this oddly disarming human. "No," he said softly, "Nothing tangible has come of your unions... *yet*. But," he continued, his voice light, yet serious, too, "If you continue in the manner you *have* been, it's not only *possible*, but virtually *certain*." He shook his head slowly, his own confusion clear on his face. "And why would you think otherwise?"

Liam sighed softly and tried to find the words to explain the last two and a half centuries to this man who was so like his old friend, but... wasn't him.

The male Oracle shook his head impatiently when the human started to haltingly explain. "I don't have this kind of time, Warrior," he said swiftly, extending one finger towards Liam's forehead, "Just... let me *look*!" He pressed the tip of his finger to the center of the furrowed brow, his eyes closing in concentration as he received the bare bones of the situation in mere moments. "I see," he finally said softly, admiration for the human coursing through him, "But you're not Eternal in *my* world, Liam... and you're not what one would call infertile, either."

Liam nodded slowly, both relieved and distraught at having his suspicions confirmed. "I wasn't sure," he admitted, "Especially when the bite mark..."

The Oracle *did* laugh then. "That's a *claiming* mark, boy," he said softly, once he'd calmed himself a bit, "Even if you *were* still Eternal, it wouldn't disappear in less than a week... It's the nature of the bonding, you know... or *did* you know?... No," he answered himself, "Of *course* you didn't."

The human stared, nonplused, at the still-chuckling Oracle. "Fine, Mathry," he said, a touch of frustration clear in his voice, "All of that... what you've said, I mean, is good to know, but... what happens *now*?"

Mathry sighed, but before he could answer, he felt the tugging inside his heart that meant the Powers were trying to reach him. "Give me a moment," he began, his eyes widening yet again in surprise when the human merely assumed a patient expression and nodded.

Liam recognized the slightly distracted look on the Oracle's face from the time he'd spent with his own version of the same man, and he waited for the few moments he knew the communication would take. "Well?" he asked intently when Mathry's eyes opened again.

"Well..." the Oracle said lightly, "The Powers have decided to offer you a *choice*. You can remain human, and live out the span of your years, or... You can be what you were... only in *my* world this time."

He didn't even need to think about what he was going to say, because... Eternal or not, only *one* thing was of any true importance to him. "What of my Mates?" he demanded.

"They will awaken with you, and the testing will only seem a particularly vivid dream to them. *You* are the only one who will remember that what happened was almost real... and you will be the only one to know that it would have *become* real forever if they had failed." He smiled slightly at the human's swiftly indrawn breath. "You have seventy-two hours to make your decision, Liam... to be Eternal again or not. It's up to you, though I suggest you discuss it with your Mates. After all," he said, rising to his feet, "I think it affects them just as much as it does *you*, at this point."

Liam nodded slowly. "You're right," he almost whispered. He lost himself in thought for a moment before Mathry's oh-so-subtle throat-clearing pulled him back to 'reality'. "Sorry," he said, chuckling slightly, "You are free to go." He watched as this other version of his friend began to vanish before his very eyes, and "How do I get back home?" he called out, laughing at the barely heard response. "As I came, so will I return, huh?" he repeated to himself as he lay down right where he was and closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to claim him and return him to the ones he loved.

End.

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