Part 1

Taking in a breath and sighing, Willow slowly opened her eyes and looked
around the dorm room. Buffy’s bed was right across from her’s and quite
empty. Slowly sitting up and dropping her legs over the bed, she wiped
her eyes as she reminded herself that Buffy was gone to spend the weekend
with Riley. The slayer had probably spent the night at his place, and
they would most likely be taking off for a drive through the country side
pretty soon. Riley had gone on and on to Buffy about how wonderful it
was just to take off, and had promised that they would do so this
weekend.

Willow ran her hand through her hair as she tried to push away the
weight on her heart. Buffy and Riley were so happy right now. If they
had happiness, why couldn’t she. First there was Xander and then Oz.
Never did she think she would fall for someone again, but she did in one
of the most unlikely people, a quiet girl by the name of Tara. Both of
them felt the draw, but after realizing that their relationship was meant
to be strictly one of Wiccan sisters, they decided to back off and just
be friends. None of her relationships worked out, and all she wanted was
for the loneliness to go away.

Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, she walked over to her dresser.
Looking in a mirror above it, she thought, I’m not that bad, am I? I
mean, I look just as good as every other person, so why are people
repelled by me? Frowning, she picked up a toothbrush and a tube of
toothpaste. Heading for the door, she closed her eyes and reached for
the knob, wishing the day away. Her hand sliced through thin air and she
opened her eyes to find herself staring at her reflection in a large
ornate mirror.

Willow looked around the room that she was in. It was definitely not
her dorm room, but a bathroom instead. She was standing before an old
fashioned sink with a large mirror hanging above it. A counter was to
her left, covered with toiletries and jewelry boxes. To her right was
the toilet and a large bathtub with golden fixtures. It also looked old
fashioned, but a closer inspection proved that it was very modern. The
spout was removable, almost like a removable shower head. There were
jets on the side to shoot out water like a spa. It was what she thought
of as her dream bathtub.

Taking in a deep breath she turned back to the mirror, trying to take
everything in when she heard a voice from the other side of the door
behind her. “Willow, are you okay?”

She was trying to place the familiar voice when she watched the door
open in the mirror. A man walked in and started towards her, but then
halted at her scream. Willow looked at the man’s reflection in the
mirror as she exclaimed very quickly in a frightened and confused voice,
“A reflection? How? Why? And your hair? It’s not bleach blond? And
you’re not wearing black! Not only that, but where the hell am I?”

He knitted his eyebrows together in a questioning look. “Willow, what
has gotten into you?” He placed a hand on her shoulder but then removed
it as she shuddered at his touch. Stepping back and taking her in, he
slowly commented, “My hair has always been like this, and why would I
wear red and black?”

She turned to him, fear and panic shining in her eyes. A tear streamed
down her cheek as she asked, “Why are you doing this to me? I thought
we had come to an understanding? Why, Spike, why?”

Spike’s bright blue eyes widened at what she said. He took a step
backwards and reached for the door. Quietly, he replied before leaving,
“I am sorry for whatever I have done to you.”

Willow dropped the toothpaste and toothbrush to the floor and soon
followed it. Bringing her head to her knees, she sat for a while, trying to
collect what was going on around her. A door from next door sounded shut,
and she slowly crawled to the bathroom door and opened it. Peering around
the door, she found herself looking into a large bedroom.

Pulling herself up, Willow walked into the room. It was decorated in
dark purples and blues. There was a large poster bed, with dark blue
drapes and a purple comforter. Lining the walls were several dressers in
the room. One, covered with a large vase of flowers drew her attention.
She opened it to find clothes that ranged from elegant to simplicity.
Shutting the drawers, she turned to the closet. Opening it, she found
the same variety. Closing the closet, her attention turned towards a
desk. A thin leather bound book sat all by itself. Picking it up off
the desk, she sat down on the bed and opened it.

On the first page, a picture of herself stared back at her. The hair
and the face was the same, but the clothes were different. They were the
clothes that Willow had gone through earlier. Beneath the picture, in
her own handwriting, were the words, “Here is a quick look at my life.”
It was a scrap book.

Willow turned to the second page and stared down at an article that
bombarded her senses. It was an old article, from the Sunnydale Daily.
The large print of the heading screamed out at her. Rosenberg, Found Dead
in House. Slowly, Willow’s scanned the article. According to the
article, her father and her had gone out to pick up something to eat.
They returned to find the mutilated body of her mother. The whole
community pulled together and mourned along with Ira Rosenberg and his
four year old daughter. Willow wiped away a tear. This wasn’t how it
happened. Her mother was alive. How could this be?

Willow turned the next page to see a picture of her father and her when
she was about fourteen. Both of them were smiling brightly. It was
evident that whoever this Willow was in the picture, she had a very
different relationship with her father. Under the picture, in strained
penmanship, she had evidently written, “My father and I before the heart
attack.” Her father had died too?

Turning to the next page, she found a picture of her and Giles at the
old high school. They were sitting on a table in the library. He had
his arm around her and she was leaning up against him with a large smile
on her face. This was the first picture that she had seen that seemed
close to normal. As she was about to turn the page, she heard a soft
knock at the door and a voice follow it. “Willow?”

Looking up at the door, she asked, “Angel?”

“Yes. May I come in for a second?”

“Sure,” she answered as he opened the door. This wasn’t right. Angel
was supposed to be in Los Angeles. He slowly walked in and closed the
door behind him. Then, he walked over to the bed and sat down beside
her.

“You had a call, but William told them you weren’t feeling yourself.”

Willow chuckled. “That is an understatement.” When Angel only
responded by looking at her, she asked, “William?”

He nodded. “Spike.” They sat silently for a minute and then he added,
“I can’t believe it took him so long to know you weren’t his Willow.”
After laughing for a second, he finished, “I mean, cow pajamas, our
Willow doesn’t wear cow pajamas.”

Willow looked down at her clothes and then back at him, “Hey, I think I
should take offense. I happen to like my cow pajamas.” They sat for a
little longer in silence and then she asked, “What did you mean by saying
his Willow?”

“You haven’t finished the book, have you?” As she shook her head, he
turned the page.

Willow stared down at the announcement glued to the page. Her mouth
opened wide as she read over the words. Looking up at Angel, she shook
her head. “This can’t be. Never, in my life, would I consider being
with Spike, let alone marrying him.” Looking up at Angel, she asked,
“None of this is what I remember. I’m not her, how could I be?”

Angel could hear the frustration in her voice. Looking in her eyes, he
answered, “You’re not of this universe. How and why you were switched
with our Willow, I don’t know, but I do know you are not our Willow. Not
only are you dressed different, you smell different.” Willow blushed,
even though she knew that Angel and Spike both had enhanced smelling
through their vampire abilities. He saw her blush and went on. “You
read what our Willow went through. Only at the age of four, she lost her
mother. For the rest of her life, the picture of her mother’s mutilated
body burned in her memory. She worked on trying to discover the
reasoning behind her mother’s death, and found it to be the work of a
werewolf. From then on, she worked on defeating those on the side of
evil. She trained not only physically, but also mentally, while trying
to appear as most children her age. When she was fourteen, her father
passed away of a heart attack. Her trainer, Giles, took her in and
adopted her as his own daughter.” Willow nodded as she realized the true
closeness she had seen in the picture of her and Giles.

Looking up, she asked, “What about Buffy? Didn’t Giles train her?”

Pain flashed through Angel’s eyes. “Buffy was only here for a few
months, and then she died while fighting off a group of vampires. She
was replaced by Faith.”

“Faith is the slayer?”

He nodded. “She lived with you and Giles for a while. You two are like
sisters.”

Willow shook her head, “Please tell me this is a joke.”

“No, its not. Why?”

“Where I come from, Buffy was revived. Because she had died, she was
replaced by Kendra, but then Kendra was killed by Druscilla. Then, Faith
showed up, replacing Kendra. Her and Buffy were total opposites. Faith
ended up killing one of the mayor’s men and then turned to the side of
evil. To put it bluntly, Faith is Buffy’s enemy, and therefore mine
too.”

Angel stared off and then turned back to her, “So, in your universe,
Buffy is alive?” Willow nodded. “Are we together?”

Willow took in a deep breath. “No. In my universe, if you reach true
happiness, you revert to Angelus. We know this because you reached it
with Buffy.”

“I’m evil?” he asked.

She shook her head, “No. I gave you your soul back, but not in time to
save you. Buffy had to send you to hell because you opened the mouth of
Acathla. You came back, after four or five months, because your love for
Buffy was strong enough to give you the strength to escape hell.
However, after you returned, you decided that being with Buffy was too
much of a risk, so you left for Los Angeles, where you now are a private
investigator.”

He looked off to the side, “I guess our worlds are very different.”

Looking at him, she asked, “Explain Spike, I mean William.”

Nodding, he started to tell the story of how the two of them had
attacked a gypsy woman. Druscilla, angered that they weren’t with her,
had gone to the gypsies and gave them away. Because of their general
distaste for vampires, they staked her. Then, they performed the soul
binding ritual on both Angelus and Spike. After the change, Angelus and
Spike changed their names to Angel and William. Years later, they
happened upon Sunnydale and a certain red head. Willow, who had been the
leader of the slayer and their group, discovered them, and sought their
help.

Willow interrupted him. “Wait a minute. I am the leader of this
group?”

Angel smiled. “You have been training longer than the slayer. Sure,
you may not have her special abilities, but your inner strength out
shines hers. Not only that, but there isn’t a vampire around who would
want to face you.”

“So, were my abilities what drew Spike, I mean William, to me?”

Angel nodded. “He was captivated by you when we first met. However,
it wasn’t your strength that drew him to you, it was the hurt that you
held deep inside. The strange thing about William is that he loves to
take care of people. Even when he was evil, he cared for Druscilla,
mostly because he could take care of her when her crazed fits would take
over. Matter of fact, even though he knows that you’re not the Willow
that he fell in love, I have a feeling that he is down stairs fixing you
a large breakfast, all the while, fretting about how you are taking
this.”

“So, how did he convince me to marry him? I mean, he is a vampire and
all.”

“That doesn’t matter. You both had deep wounds, and being together and
comforting each other healed them. Together you found a love that had
been missing, so when he asked you to marry him, there was no other
response than yes.” They sat silent for a second, and Angel continued,
“His love burns for Willow, and while he is downstairs, silently mourning
his Willow, the only thing he can show is concern for you, because you
are essentially her.”

Willow nodded and shut the book. “I’ll get dressed and will be down in
a minute.”

Angel got up and nodded. “I’ll tell him that you are on your way down.”

As Angel stepped out of the door, he heard Willow call out. “Thank you,
Angel.”

When the door shut behind Angel, Willow crawled off the bed and placed
the book on the desk before rummaging through the closet to find
something to wear. After a few minutes of tearing through the clothes,
she picked out some black yoga pants and a tight lime green shirt. As
soon as she had them in hand, she went to the dresser to get the rest of
her wardrobe before scampering off to the bathroom. About thirty minutes
later, after a quick shower, she emerged. Skipping back to the closet,
she selected some black slip-ons and headed down the stairs.

Taking a step at a time, Willow listened in as she heard voices and
clanging coming from what she expected to be the kitchen. Just as she
rounded the corner, she heard Angel comment, “I know you’re scared of
taking this too fast for her, but I think we need to call Giles as soon
as possible.”

His back to her as he scooped an omelet out of a skillet, William
commented, “Dammit, Angel, I want her back, but I am not going to risk
hurting this Willow in any way, physically or emotionally, and if that
means letting her take this in her own stride, then that is what we are
going to do. Don’t you understand, she is...” William turned around,
holding her plate, and stood motionless.

Angel smiled up at him, and finished, “Standing right behind me?” He
turned around and looked at her as she tucked a few strands of hair
behind her ear, smiled slyly, and waved. Angel returned the wave and
commented, “I thought I heard you come in.” Getting up, he pushed the
chair out and motioned for her to sit. “Here, sit down and have
something to eat.”

Willow sat down and Angel found himself a different chair at the table,
on her left. Placing the plate in front of her, William commented, “It
was her favorite. I hope you like it.”

Looking down at it, a smile started to form on Willow’s face. “Cheddar,
ham, tomatoes, and green peppers?” William nodded as he sat down across
from her. Willow quickly picked up her fork and brought a bite to her
mouth. After a few seconds, Willow placed the fork beside the plate and
looked back up at him. “It’s wonderful.” For a few seconds, she paused,
and then she added off to the side. “I wonder if my Spike can cook.”

William winced as she spoke and then leaned back in his chair. “It was
something I picked up after I was souled.”

Nodding, she went back to eating her omelet. After a few minutes, she
realized that they were both staring at her, not saying anything. She
finished chewing what was in her mouth and then sat her fork down.
Looking at the two of them, she said, “You can call Giles.”

Angel looked triumphantly at William and then asked her, “What about the
rest of the gang?”

William narrowed his eyes. “She might not be ready to meet Faith, being
she is her enemy in her world.”

Willow was just about to take another bite but paused as she heard what
he said. Placing the fork down with a loud clang on the plate, she
started in a very harsh voice. “What is it with you thinking that I am
weak? Sure, I’m not like your Willow, all buffed up and all, but I can
hold my own. Just because I’m Buffy’s flunky, doesn’t mean that I’m
still that looser tenth grader. I’ve changed. I’m older, and I’m tired
of everybody treating me like a bloody child. You don’t have to be my
protectors, so stop treating me like I’m going to break and let me take
care of myself for once!”

Both Angel and William looked at her with their mouths hanging open.
Looking at the two of them, Willow’s face went from being red with rage
to being red with shame. “I’m sorry. Did I just think that or say that?” She was
answered by stares, so she continued as she went on eating, “I can handle
Faith and whoever else is in the gang. Just bring them on. We can have
one big party for all I care, and...” She took a another bite. With a
full mouth, she commented, “I love this.”

Angel got up. “I’ll call the gang now. Hopefully we can all get
together tonight.” As he was almost out of the room, he turned and
added, “And this is giving me a headache, so after I call everyone, I’m
going to bed. Only wake me if it is the end of the world.”

For a few minutes, they sat in silence. Willow finished up her omelet,
and William just sat there, watching her. After her last bite, she took
a drink of the orange juice sitting in front of her. Sitting the glass
down, she looked up at William. “Yes?” she asked. “I can tell you want
to ask me something.”

Leaning forward, he asked, “That anger was directed at me. Why? What
have I done to you in your world?”

Willow sighed, and sat back in a pouting gesture. She so did not want
to get into this, but he had the right to know. “It wasn’t exactly
directed towards you. I just... You see...” She took in a deep breath.
He reached across the table and offered his hand. For a few seconds, she
just stared at it. Then, Willow slowly placed her hand in his and he
gently closed his around hers. As he squeezed it, he smiled at her, and
Willow started to go on, “Buffy walked into my life when I was in high
school. We became best friends, and it is hard being the best friend of
the slayer. I mean, before, I was no one, and then all of a sudden I was
thrown into fighting demons. Your Willow, she trained for that, but I
didn’t. Buffy spent about as much time saving my ass as she did killing
demons. I wanted so badly to become stronger, and thought I had, but
then you - I mean my Spike - brought it to my attention that even though
I was in college, I was still the same tenth grade looser I was before
Buffy. I am just her flunky and I can’t get beyond that.” Whispering,
while tearing up, she finished, “I don’t want to be that Willow, but no
one will let me be anything else, not Spike or you.”

William reached to her with his free hand and wiped one tear away as it
fell down her cheek. “I’ll make a deal with you. You tell me about your
Spike and then I will stop treating you like you’ll break.”

Willow nodded. “My Spike never got his soul back. He has the blood of
two slayers on his list, and he came to Sunnydale to make Buffy number
three. After several attempts, he changed his strategy. Instead of
going after Buffy and us, he went after Angel, hoping to restore
Druscilla’s strength. Then, together, they would bring the slayer down.
Instead, he was injured in his attempt, and even though Druscilla did get
her strength back, he was stuck in a wheel chair. About that time, Angel
reverted to Angelus. Spike was bitter seeing Dru with her ‘daddy,’ so
when he was strong enough, he made a deal with Buffy. He helped her send
Angelus to Hell and he got to leave with Druscilla. Then, several months
later, he returned to Sunnydale without Drusiclla. They had gone to
Brazil, but she decided he had gone too soft, so she started an affair
with a chaos demon.” Willow paused as William scowled. “He kidnaped me
to set a spell on her to love him again, but then decided to do it the
demon way and torture her till she loved him again.”

“So he left to torture Druscilla?” They sat still for a second and he
added, “Man, she was bloody batty.”

Willow smiled, “Yea, well, torture must not have worked. Spike
returned, searching for the gem of Amara. After he found it, he attacked
Buffy, but she somehow got the gem off of him. Buffy sent it to Angel,
but Spike went after it. The gem was destroyed and the next time I saw
Spike, I had accidently invited him into my dorm room. He was going to
attack me, but couldn’t. Every time he tried, he was struck down with
extreme pain. It turned out a group called the ‘Initiative’ had got him
and placed a chip in his brain to keep him from hurting humans. Since
then he has tried to stake himself, wallowed in denial of his situation,
and has joined Buffy and the rest of us, all the while scowling. He is
the still the same cruel Spike, but for some reason, he has taken it on
himself to make sure I’m okay lately, and well, it is, as he would say,
bloody annoying.”

“So, in your reality, I’m a bad ass vampire that can’t bite?”

Willow laughed. “In my reality, other than Angelus, you are one of the
most feared vampires because of your brutality - first to humans and now
to demons. No one crosses Spike without wishing they hadn’t.”

Letting go of her hand and picking up her plate, he commented, “I guess
that means we have a bit in common.”

“What do you mean?” she asked as he headed to the sink.

After rinsing off the plate and fork, he opened the dishwasher and put
the dishes up, commenting, “We are the weaker half of ourselves in our
two realities.” After shutting the dishwasher, he asked, “So, you want
to go out and see what Willow and I do in the day? We could even stop by
and see Giles.”

Willow looked at him, confused. “Slight problem, daylight.”

He laughed. “Remember the reflection that threw you off?”

As she nodded, he lifted a hand and showed her a ring that was vaguely
familiar. “The gem of Amara?” she asked.

“Yep. Willow gave it to me as a wedding gift, so we could be together
no matter what time of day.”

Smiling, Willow replied, “Great. Lets go. Anything would be better
than just sitting here all day. Not that that is bad or anything. I
mean, this is a nice place, and you appear to be a lot nicer than my
Spike, but...”

William laughed and took her hand. “You can stop. I understand.”

She smiled at him as he pulled her to the door, stopping only to pick up
his keys. William pulled her outside and Willow looked up at him in
disbelief and surprise, even though he had told her it was okay.
Smiling, she commented, “This is so cool.” Chuckling, he opened the car
door for her and then shut it. As he turned around, he frowned. This
Willow was kind and had already grew on him, but his heart ached for
“her.” As soon as it appeared, the look disappeared, and he got into the
car, trying his best to hold the both of them up with what little
strength he had.
 

Part 2

Spike sat up with a start as the door to his crypt flew open. A long
shadow stood in his doorway and stretched out to where he had been
sleeping. The owner of the shadow took a few steps as Spike jumped away
from the sunlight streaming in. In a few quick strides she was up on him
and had him against the wall, her puppy standing behind her like the lap
dog he was. Uncomfortably craning his head to the side, he asked, “What
brings the slayer and her little,” he paused as he added an extra growl
at the end, “boy toy to my home?”

Buffy sneered at him. “Don’t play innocent with me, Spike! You know
exactly what you did.” Quickly bringing her hand to his throat and
adding pressure, she added, “Now tell me where she is!”

Spike shook his head as little as he could. “Listen here, bloody
slayer, I have no idea who and what you are talking about.”

In a flash, a crossbow was pointed at his face. Riley’s strong voice
sounded behind it. “We are only giving you one more chance, and if you
don’t answer, I will shoot that smug look off your face before she stakes
you. Is that clear?” Spike glared as he nodded. “Now, where is
Willow?”

In a quick second, a look of fear passed through Spike’s eyes, but it
was replaced just as fast with the smugness that usually stayed on his
face. Stepping into his usual sarcastic act, he commented, “In her bed,
shower, hell I don’t know.”

“You’re lying,” Buffy sneered.

A small voice interrupted the scene from the doorway. “He’s not.”

Spike strained to see who it was, but Buffy blocked his way. Rolling
his eyes, he commented, “Move slayer.” When Buffy didn’t react, he
pushed at her, sending her back against Riley, but also causing him
extreme pain. He gripped his head and then looked up through pain
stricken eyes at Tara. She was standing with her arms crossed right in
front of him, replacing Buffy. “Tara?” he asked, not believing his eyes.
The two of them never got along that well, so why the hell did she just
save him from the slayer’s wrath?

As if she was reading his mind, she commented towards Buffy, “Giles
called me and said that Willow wasn’t in her dorm room. I thought I
would stop by there and see if I could find anything. There is a magical
signature there, longer than a mile long.” Taking Spike’s hand in hers
and forcing his pinky out, she commented, “Spike doesn’t have hardly any
magic in his pinky, let alone enough to perform what happened.”

Helping Riley up, who had just sat and watched everything that was
taking place, Buffy asked, “How did you know we would be here?”

Dropping Spike’s hand and her strong authority, she looked down and said
softly, “You seem to blame Spike for a lot, so I thought this would be no
different.” Looking up she added, “Not only that, but Spike was the last
to be with her, so I thought you might stop here to see if he knew
anything.”

Grabbing Riley’s crossbow and pointing it at Spike, Buffy asked with a
feral grin on her face, “So, do you?”

“Do I what?” asked Spike, exasperated.

“Do you know anything?”

Spike snarled as his eyes glared at the slayer, “I walked. We talked.
She went inside and when her light came on, I left. End of story.”

“Apparently not,” commented Riley.

Rolling his eyes again, Spike searched his pockets for his cigarettes
and growled when he didn’t find them. Clearly frustrated, he started to
pace the room. “How do you know that she just didn’t go out to the mall,
the library, or bloody hell, maybe she was so tired of being unhappy
watching everyone else having a good fuckin’ time, she went to get
smashed. Willow is a big girl. She doesn’t have to check in with you
every time she has to take a shit, does she? You guys are probably just
jumping the gun.”

Tara walked up to Spike and tugged at his duster. He stopped pacing and
looked down at her worried expression. “Spike, she didn’t just take off.
Willow was taken from her room. The threads that connect realms were
tampered with.”

“What are you saying?” asked Riley.

Spike turned to him with an annoyed look on his face. “She is saying
that Willow is not in our world, you stupid wanker.”

Buffy nodded, “We should call Anya and have her meet us at Giles’. She
has had experience with other dimensions. Maybe she could help us.”

Riley nodded and pulled out his phone. He threw it to her and offered
Tara his arm. “Are you ready to go?”

“Wait a bloody minute. What about me?” asked Spike.

“What about you?” Buffy asked smugly as she dialed the number.

He pointed to the door in an exaggerated motion. “Sunlight. Bad for
vampires. Do I need to spell it out for you, Your Feebleness?” With
every letter, he counted off with a finger. “D-U-S-T!”

Buffy held up a hand, signaling for him to stop talking as she listened
to the ringing on the phone. “Yes. Anya? No, I don’t want to talk to
Xander. Can you two meet us at Giles’? No? Yes?” A look of
embarrassment flashed over Buffy’s face. “See you there later? OK.
B...” Buffy looked over at Riley as she held the phone out to him.
“Well, she hung up on me, but she is coming. They just have some, uhmmm,
business to attend to before they leave.”

As Buffy started for the door, Spike yelled out, “Excuse me!”

Tara stopped walking and looked at Spike and then the rest of the group.
Looking down, allowing them only a view of the zig-zag part in her hair,
she commented, “Spike and I will be there later. Just don’t do anything
without us.”

Buffy looked confused, but then nodded and left with Riley. Spike
sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Eyeing Tara, he asked, “Now what
am I suppose to do? You gonna put a spell on me or somethin’, so I can
go in the sun?”

Tara looked up and rolled her eyes. “No. I need to go to the dorm real
fast and then I’ll be back. Don’t worry, I won’t go to Giles’s without
you.”

As she slipped out, Spike sat down in one of the corners of the crypt,
away from the sun’s rays. He brought his head down to his knees and
listened to the quiet around him. It was a sound he was used to in the
morning. What he wasn’t used to was the feeling in his stomach. When it
came to the Scooby Gang, he had differing feelings for the members. Some
of those feelings he understood, such as the feelings of pure dislike he
had for Xander. There were other feelings, though , that he didn’t
understand. One of the people these feelings were for was Buffy. When
he was with her, he could feel his demon in a match of tug-of-war, part
of him lusting after her since Willow’s spell, and the other part
repelled by her code of ethics. The other person he was confused about
was Willow. Even though his demon lusted for Buffy, he felt his heart
and mind drifting to Willow. Her soul was innocent, but he knew she held
a fire within that was just waiting to be released. A fire that could
out burn the slayer any day.

Not only that, but Willow was kind to him. Even when he attacked her
and failed, she offered to let him try again. She would listen to him,
really listen, even when she didn’t agree. The slayer just always
dismissed him right out, letting past history get in the way. Willow
didn’t. She was forgiving, and probably one of the most accepting of the
gang. That was what he liked, sitting on the couch by her, listening to
her talk, taking in the soft scent of her perfume, just enjoying being
around her, and she didn’t even know it. No one did, and that was fine
with him. He closed his eyes, thinking of Willow - trying to picture her
perfectly, while he waited for Tara to return.

As he started to drift off, a soft noise brought him out of slumber.
Still not all awake, he asked, “Willow?” Then he opened his eyes and
reality hit. Willow was gone. Even though he didn’t need to, he sighed
and looked up at the witch that had just entered his crypt with a large
bag.

Tara dropped the bag and knelt down, eyeing him. Pulling a large
blanket out, she handed it to him and smirked. “I brought some gloves
too, so you your hands won’t burn.” She pulled them out of the bag and
handed them to him.

Spike just nodded and put the gloves on and then proceeded to cover
himself with the dark green blanket. Tara got up and pushed some of her
hair behind her ear in a very Willowish gesture. Spike smiled at it and
then followed her out of the crypt. As soon as they were out in the sun,
his voice originated from the folds of the blanket. “Why are you being
nice to me? It isn’t like you have ever taken much of a liking to me.”

Tara stiffened. Looking forward, she responded, “No one noticed, not
even Willow, but I did.” She paused before going on. “I loved - no love
- Willow, and because of that, I couldn’t hold her to something that
wasn’t meant to be. I was her transition after Oz. Even though she
didn’t know it, I was a way for her to break loose of the mold that
everyone has put her into. She wasn’t meant to be with me, and that made
me bitter - not only at her and myself, but at anyone else that may be
drawn to her. Willow might not have known that you were, but I did, and
that made me jealous.”

“So you’re helping me because you are jealous? That doesn’t make sense,
pet.”

“No, I’m helping you because I am one of the only ones that knows how
you feel about her. I know that if this is tearing up me, then it is
also hurting you. And, quite frankly, I am not very powerful physically,
only magically, and that may not help all that much where she is at.
Does that make sense?”

Spike nodded inside the blanket. “Witch, that is the most sense anyone
has made all bloody morning.” They walked for a few more minutes and
then Spike added, “If the others find out, they will stake me. You
know that.”

Tara nodded. “Yes. I know. They still don’t trust you.”

“Do you?”

They walked on in silence, and then, as they neared Giles’ house, Tara
answered, “Only when it comes to her.”

Spike nodded as they neared the door, and even though she couldn’t see
him, she knew that he had understood what she was saying. Slightly
smiling, she knocked at the door. Anya opened it up and commented wryly,
“Oh, its you. After the fuss Buffy made, you think she would be here by
now.” Turning around, she walked over to the couch and plopped down
beside Xander.

“Buffy’s not here?” asked Spike as he took off the blanket and threw it
to the side. “She left long before we did.”

Giles took off his glasses and sat down at his table. “Yes, well, Riley
and her went to get some books for me. They should be back anytime now.”

Spike sat down across from him and glanced at the books covering the
table. “What are you looking for?”

Giles rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Tara called me from Willow’s room
to tell me about the magic she felt. I think that Willow was taken from
our universe and placed somewhere else.”

From the side, Anya commented. “That means she could be anywhere, or
even that thousands of Willows were switched.”

Tara shook her head. “No. I can feel the strings of reality if I
concentrate enough, and I when I did, I only felt that two strings were
tampered with - ours and one other.”

“So, we need to find a way to bring her back,” commented Spike.

Giles shook his head. “We can only bring her back if we know what spell
was used or if we use someone to bridge the gap between the realities.”

“How do we do that, send someone to bridge the gap?”

Sighing towards Spike, Giles answered, “A magical spell that I don’t
seem to have here, which is why Buffy is out getting books. As soon as
she gets back, we can go through what she brings and see if we can find
anything.”

Anya approached the two and commented, “If I was still a demon, I could
just send you there with my amulet, but oh well,” shooting dagger at
Giles with her glare she emphasized, “someone destroyed it.”

Xander got up and put his arm around her. “I’m kinda glad you’re not a
demon anymore.”

Giles started to snap his fingers at her, and she backed away. “What?”
asked Anya. “Would you stop snapping your fingers at me?”

“The amulet. Other demons would have your late abilities, and they
would have amulets too, right?”

Anya shrugged. “I guess. What’s your point?”

Spike leaned back. “What if something happened to one of those demons?
Would the amulet be left behind?”

Anya thought for a while. “Some demons have masters, and if they died,
the masters may come back for the amulet. However, I am sure that it is
possible that not all amulets are retrieved.”

“And this means?” asked Xander.

Anya rolled her eyes. “Giles is thinking that if we had an amulet, we
could somehow find Willow with it.” Looking off to the side, she
commented under her breath, “You can be so dense sometimes.” She turned
back to him and smiled, trying to look as innocent as possible to him.

Spike shook his head at the scene. Turning to Giles, he asked, “Okay,
so how do we find out where we can get an amulet?”

Giles got up and went to the phone. The present Scooby gang watched as
he dialed a number and then understood as they heard him. “Buffy? Hey,
it’s Giles. Have you and Riley got the books yet?” He paused for a
second, and then asked, “Could you have Riley drop them off while you go
run another errand? I need you to go to Willy’s and find out if he knows
of any demons that may have died, leaving behind a trans-dimensional
amulet. It may be one way of finding Willow.” He stood a little longer
and then added, “Bye,” before hanging up the phone. After placing the
receiver back, he looked over at the gang. “Riley is on his way over.
Buffy said that they found some books that may help.”

He sat back down at his table where Spike and Tara had situated
themselves, looking through some of the books Giles had. After a few
minutes, Spike commented, “You have quite an assortment of books on
demonology, but not very many on dimensional travel.”

Tara added, “Even your witchcraft section is pretty good, but I already
knew that.” she blushed a little as she thought of all the times Willow
and her had gone through his books, looking for one spell or another to
help out the gang.

Giles nodded as he looked through one of his books. “It isn’t that my
collection is lacking in that area, it is just that there are not very
many books out there that discuss the subject.”

Anya plopped down beside Xander on the couch as he tossed a Hershey’s
Kiss in his mouth. “It isn’t a common thing. Think of all the chaos if
everyone started jumping dimensions.”

“Sounds like a fun day in the park to me,” commented Spike.

Smiling, Anya agreed, “Just as fun as taking candy away from a baby. I
must say watching the havoc it could create was one of my favorite
parts.”

“Havoc like what?” asked Tara.

“Like watching people have to deal with sudden illness, death, torture,
you know, all the fun stuff. Nothing like watching a man deal with being
covered with festering, pus-filled boils all over his body, and I mean
all over.”

Xander shook his head. “Let’s hear it for the sunny side of my girl
friend’s past. I’m just glad she lost that particular power before
meeting me.”

Anya shot back at him sarcastically, “I love you too.”

Looking shocked, Xander remarked, “What? I wasn’t saying that I didn’t
love you. I think your great.”

“No you don’t,” said Anya as she crossed her arms. “You don’t care for
me at all. For all you care, I could disappear and you wouldn’t mind,
except at night.”

At this time, Giles’s front door opened and Riley rushed in with his
arms full. As he rushed for the table, Spike commented off to the side.
“Finally, I thought I was going to have to listen the odd couple’s
whining all afternoon.”

“Hey.” Commented Anya with Xander trying to echo her, but failing
because of the Twinkie he had just stuffed in his mouth.

Riley searched through the books as he remarked, “It looks like I didn’t
miss anything.”

Spike nodded, “Same bickering between the moron and ex-demon.”

Tara felt the ripple of anger through the room so she closed her eyes
and let her hands drift over the books. Hovering just a few inches above
them, she tried to feel the magical signatures that seemed to be burned
into them. After a few lingering seconds, she felt one that seemed to
call her. Grabbing the book, she held it out to Spike, not keeping it
for herself because she knew that it would shut him up, plus, she was
interested in the one she had been reading. “Here, try this book.”

Spike took the book from her and leaned his chair back against the wall
while resting his feet on the table. About to say something, Giles
pushed up his glasses but then decided against mentioning anything to the
blond vampire. He knew as soon as he would say something, the vampire
would just shrug and go on with what he was doing. Deciding to go with
the flow, he picked up a book and joined the vampire and witch in
reading.

After about thirty minutes, the silence in the room was cut short by
Xander. “If I knew Dead Boy Junior here was going to shut up, I would
have given him a book a long time ago.”

Growling, Spike remarked, “Actually, I think I might have found a way to
send someone to the universe that Willow is in. The problem is getting
back. Who would have known that Lewis Caroll did more than just get high
and jump into rabbit holes to get to different universes.”

“Who is Lewis Caroll?” asked Anya

“Riley shook his head. “You know - Alice in Wonderland, the white
rabbit, the looking glass, off with her head - doesn’t any of this ring a
bell?”

“Read a lot of children’s books, Riley?” asked Xander.

Ignoring the conversation, Spike looked over at Giles and started, “
This is a diary by Lewis Carol. He discusses how some friends of his
were experimenting with trans-dimensional traveling. Somehow, one of his
friends was sent to another universe and they couldn’t get him back with
out going there also. To do this, they used a homing spell. He wrote
the spell in here.”

“A homing spell?” asked Xander

“A spell that locks onto an object in one universe and sends it to its
owner in another universe,” answered Giles.

Anya added, “It was how I tried to get my amulet back.”

“Yah, but instead you and Willow brought over an evil Willow. What if
we try the spell and end up bringing someone over?” asked Xander.

Spike shook his head. “That isn’t how this one works. What it does,
is, someone holds the object, and when the spell is set, it transmits the
object and the person holding it to the owner of the object. The problem
is that it is only one way.”

“That means,” started Riley, “we can send someone over to find her, but
we can’t bring them back?”

Giles shook his head. “No matter what, we probably can’t bring back
Willow. That spell will have to be set in that universe with the same
spell they used to send her there.”

“How do you come to that decision?” asked Xander.

“Because,” explained Tara, “When dealing with these kind of spells, most
of them are two way spells, except for homing spells and ones that use
amulets. We are the only ones with objects that belong to her, so it
wasn’t exactly a homing spell, and she didn’t have any amulets. That
means that it was a two way spell.”

“So, how do we get her back? I mean, we can’t just sit around, and if
Spike has found something, maybe we should use it,” remarked Riley.

Giles took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. “Yes. It might be a
while before we can get an amulet though.”

Tara grabbed for the bag at her feet. “No problem. We can just send
someone, and then when we have an amulet or another spell, we can send
them with my pen boxes.” She pulled out two cherry stained boxes covered
with intricate designs painted in what looked like dark red ink.”

“Pen boxes?” asked Spike.

Giles put his glasses back on and picked up one of the boxes. Studying
the designs, he explained, “They’re homing devices. Whoever we send
over, can take one of these with them. As soon as someone places an
object in the box and then shuts it, the object is sent over to the other
box.”

Tara added, “My mother and I used to use the boxes to communicate with
each other when she would have to leave for work.”

“So you have never used this across dimensions? How do we know it will
work?” asked Spike.

Giles explained, “It is common knowledge that it works in not only the
same universe, but over other universes too.”

“So,” asked Riley, “we send someone over and when we find a way to get
them back, we place the spell or amulet in our box and it automatically
places it in their box?”

“It appears so,” answered Giles. “So the question is who do we send?”

“Buffy,” answered a few of the voices at the same time.

Giles shook his head. “We need to find an amulet, so it might be best
if we have her stay here.”

Tara quietly spoke up. “I think we should send Spike. Most of us will
be needed here or would not be able to hold their own there. Spike falls
in neither of those categories.”

Shaking his head, he exclaimed, “What? Turn me into little particles to
travel across dimensions, I think not. What if something was to happen
and I ended up being cosmic dust?”

“No problem here with that,” Xander said to the side as he raised his
hand.

“I could go,” volunteered Riley.

Spike’s face filled with mock surprise, “And leave little Buffy behind?
How can you exist with out being glued to her side?”

“Well, you didn’t want to go.”

“Maybe I’m changing my mind. I mean, everyone thinks I’m a bad body
guard. This way I could redeem myself. Maybe you guys would start
trusting me more, too.”

Giles shook his head. “Nothing is going to change us not trusting you,
but I must admit you are a good pick, except for the daylight thing.”

“He can take his blanket,” Anya added to the conversation.

“Not only that, but he’ll be out of our hair,” remarked her shadow.

“Fine,” remarked Giles, “But we expect to keep constant communication
through the pen boxes, and if you get no where, we will send Riley over.”

“Goody,” Spike commented sarcastically, “I love writing letters
constantly. Makes me feel like I am getting something done with my day.
Kinda like homework, ya know?”

Tara shook her head and then reached for her ears. Taking out one of
her earrings, she handed it to him. “Do you have holes in any of those
ears?” As he nodded, she commented, “Put that in then. It belongs to
Willow. You can use it as your homing object. It will also be a lot
easier for you not to loose.”

Spike placed the earring in his ear as Giles looked at the diary and
then handed it to Tara. After they both read and discussed it, Tara
looked up at Spike and asked, “When can you be ready?”
 

Part 3

Willow looked out the window as William drove through Sunnydale.
Familiar places passed by, and some very unfamiliar places too. It
surprised her how much just a few changes in the time-line could change a
town. Diving into her thoughts, she started to wonder what these changes
had done to the gang. She already knew that Spike had a soul, Buffy was
dead, and that Faith was supposedly one of her best friends. What would
everyone else be like? She was about to ask William what some of the
others were like when his voice broke into her thoughts. “We’re here.”

Not even looking, she asked, “Where?”

“The family business,” he answered. As William got out of the car and
walked around to her side, she looked up, out of the front windshield, to
see a small café bearing the name Corner Café. The door beside her
opened and she took the hand that he offered. Getting out of the car,
she took in the sight of the café. The outside had a few small wooden
empty tables, each with a purple and green checkered umbrella covering
them. Boxes containing a mixed spray of flowers lined the windows.
“Well?” he asked.

“You own this?” she asked, thinking it was a very unspikish looking
place.

Tugging on her hand and leading her towards the door, he answered, “No,
we own it, along with Oz.” Opening the door for her, he commented, “He
calls it his ‘little side venture.’”

When she walked in the door, she stopped in her tracks. It was much
bigger on the inside than she thought. There was one area situated for a
café dining experience. Then there was another section separated into
four areas, each divided by a circular array of couches. Old books and
games lined a wall of shelves for the customers to enjoy while they ate
lunch or drank their coffee. She squealed as she noticed one game and
then rushed over to the shelf that it was on. Pointing at it before
pulling the box out, she exclaimed, “Memory! I had this exact edition of
it when I was little.”

“Maybe that is because it is yours,” a calm voice interjected.

Slowly she turned around and looked at the owner of the voice. He was
wearing a pair of Dockers and a black t-shirt. After looking him over,
she closed her mouth and then asked, “Oz?”

He smiled at her and then looked over at William. “I think I’ve left
her speechless.”

Willow shook her head and then offered her hand. “I’m sorry, but my Oz
didn’t quite dress like you do.” Looking at William, she then added,
“Then again, my Spike never came close to dressing like William does.”

“Spike?” asked Oz.

A cheery voice behind him answered, “Oh, just one of William’s past nick
names.” The owner of the voice stepped out from behind Oz and added as
she looked at William. “Had to do with the fact you tortured people with
railroad spikes, right?” When he nodded, she looked back at Oz and
smiled brightly. “You might be the genius, but I know my demonology.”
Looking now at Willow, she commented, “Wow. The resemblance between you
and our Willow is striking.”

Willow just stared at her. When she heard her voice, she knew
automatically that it was Cordelia, but as soon as her old acquaintance
stepped into view, Willow was wondering if she had now gone mad. This
Cordelia had her hair braided in a dread-lock style. Her makeup was very
light, causing her to look very plain. Around her neck was a black
leather choker. It almost looked like a dog collar, just without the
studs. She had a tight, mid-rift, black shirt on, with what looked like
the logo of a band on it. On one of her wrists was another black leather
band. Her pants were loose khaki’s and to finish off the ensemble, there
was a pair of combat boots. Willow shook her head and came back to
reality after a few passing seconds. Clearing her throat, she smiled and
then commented, “I’m sorry, but you seem drastically different than what
I’m used to.” Quickly changing the subject she looked over at Oz and
motioned with her hands, “And you, a genius. I always knew that you had
potential. What are you, a composer or something?”

Oz smirked and said to the side, “She kind of reminds me of Faith.” He
then turned to her and shook his head. “I never really took to music
that much. Computer programming is more my thing.”

Cordelia added to the conversation, “Yah, he created this computer chip
that is now being placed in almost every computer manufactured now. He
is Sunnydale’s newest resident millionaire.”

“And the best hacker around, which has helped our group out numerous
times,” added William.

“Okay, so William and I run this place with Oz, who is also a
millionaire, so what does that mean you do Cordelia?”

Cordelia smiled at her and commented, “Please, call me Cordy. And as to
what my role is... I am a student at the University who was lucky enough
to have friends hire her so that she could help her husband with the
finances.” Adding to the list, she finished with, “I am also friendly,
resourceful, an expert on demonology,” she stopped to add to the side, “I
am married to one, so how can I not be.” She then added one more thing,
“Plus, I know how to throw one hell of a party.”

“She also never shuts up,” added Oz.

Willow didn’t hear him though, because she was still caught up on the
fact that Cordelia was married to a demon. “Wait, back up, what was that
about....”

She never finished her question, because all of a sudden, a man came
running in the café with a blanket over his head. Willow, as did the
others, knew automatically that it was a vampire because of the smoke
radiating off his form. Oz pulled out a stake and started for the figure
when Willow realized who it was. Shrieking, she ran between the two and
stopped Oz. About to strike anyway, Oz halted as he felt a hand on his
shoulder. It was then that the figure threw the blanket aside with his
bag, all the while exclaiming in his British accent, “Bloody Hell, they
said the spell would send me straight to you, but no, I land outside in
the sun while your inside. Can this day get any worse?” The blond
vampire looked up and then jumped. Mouth dropping, he remarked, “My God,
Cordy’s a heavy metal groupie and I...I...I look normal!”

Willow tried to stifle a laugh. “Everybody, this is the Spike from my
universe.”

Cordelia smiled and then mentioned to the side, “He’s kinda cute, in an
almost Goth kind of way.”

Oz then spat back, “Just don’t forget your married.”

She looked over at him sternly and replied with a pouty look on her
face, “I would never be unfaithful to my Doyle, but that doesn’t mean I
can’t look every once in a while.”

Spike laughed, “You’re married. The hubby must be a real catch.”

“Actually, he is,” she shot back. “He is a third grade teacher!”

Willow couldn’t hold back any longer. Holding her sides, she tried to
make it to a couch as she laughed. Spike, in the same condition,
followed her. Together, they fell on the couch and laughed till they
were out of breath. Then they looked up to see three confused
expressions. Willow calmed herself down with a few deep breaths as Spike
just tapered off. Smiling lopsidedly, Willow commented, “You guys just
don’t know how weird this is to us. I mean first I’m married to William
and th...”

She never got to finished the sentence as Spike interrupted, “Wait,
we’re also married.” Willow nodded her head as he added, “This place is
just one fucked up zoo. Next I guess you’re going to tell me there is no
Buffy here, or that Xander is this popular, grea...”

He stopped as everyone’s smiles disappeared. Cordelia brought a hand up
to block the sob that started to take over her. Oz shook his head and
then commented slowly, “Buffy was only here for a few months, and we all
miss her, but Angel and Cordy, they were very close to her.”

William nodded, “It was a freak accident really.”

Cutting him off as she regained her composure, Cordy asked, “Guys, could
this be a ‘later’ conversation?”

Oz took her hand and motioned towards the back with his head. “Why
don’t we go to the
back while they discuss things. I am sure that they have a little to
talk about before heading over to Giles’s.”

William looked up from where he was about to sit down. “Oh, did Angel
get a hold of you guys about tonight?”

Cordy nodded and turned away as Oz answered, “Cordy, Doyle, and I will
be there.” As he started to walk away, he turned and then added, “By the
way, Lindsey e-mailed me this morning and said that the case should be
over today. I mailed him back, told him what all is going on here, and
asked him to come tonight. I hope that way okay?”

William sat down and answered. “Sure. We’ll be happy to see him.” Oz
nodded and turned, walking away.

At the same time, Spike and Willow started to bounce questions off of
William. Holding his hand up, he asked, “Please, one at a time.”

Willow looked over at Spike and motioned for him to go. Spike pointed
at William and exclaimed, “He’s not me, and why are we married?”

Laughing, Willow answered, “He is your darkest fear - you with a soul,
and in love with a Willow that is supposedly kick-ass here.”

“Me, with a soul? You gotta be kidding!”

William smiled and commented, “For the last hundred years. Gypsies
cursed Angel and I for killing one of the leaders daughters.” Spike just
stared at him as if he had lost his mind. William laughed again. “It
isn’t that bad mate, especially since I hadn’t been a vampire that long.
Angel, however, he took it pretty hard.”

“And what about Oz? In my universe, Willow and him were pretty tight
for a while.”

William looked at Willow and knitted his eyebrows in confusion, thinking
Why was she with him? “I met Willow and we got together before Oz joined
the group. It was something that never even had a chance to be. Not
only that, but he is pretty happy in the relationship he is in with
Faith.”

Willow held out a hand, telling him to stop. “Please, I don’t even want
to know. What I do want to know about though is Cordelia, and who is
Lindsey?”

“Lindsey is a big shot lawyer from Los Angeles who used to help demons
get off charges. Somehow, Angel coaxed him into coming down to Sunnydale
to help with one of our problems in the courtroom. I think the only
reason he came was because he was having personal problems with what he
was doing at his large law firm. Not only that, but Oz footing his bill
does help quite a bit.

“Now what did you want to know about Cordelia?”

“Who is Doyle and what was between her and Buffy? Where we’re from,
they could hardly stand each other; then again, Cordelia was a rich
elitist snob anyway.”

William laughed at the idea of Cordelia being a snob. “In this
universe, Cordelia grew up with her mother after her father left them.
They had no money, and spent most of their time just trying to get by.
She became tough, but had a large heart thanks to her friends. When
Buffy came to town, Cordelia and her bonded immediately. Buffy seemed to
have an instinct to care for her and Cordelia looked up to her as a role
model. Before long, it turned into more than just hero worship and
mothering. We all knew that Cordelia yearned for Buffy, but Buffy’s soul
belonged to Angel, while her heart started to stray slightly to Cordelia.
They had a short fling and then Cordelia broke it off because she knew
that what Buffy felt for Angel was stronger. A week or so later, Buffy
was dead. Angel and Cordelia took it the hardest because of their
relationships with her, but found that they could get through it by
holding onto their memories together.”

Willow smirked, thinking of her Angel’s hair brained secretary. This
place was completely different. She also smiled at the fact that this
Cordelia was a bisexual like her. There was no way her Cordelia would
ever admit to that. “So what about Doyle?”

“Doyle is from Great Britain like Giles and I, except he is from Wales I
think. I don’t know. He sounds a bit Irish if you ask me. Anyway, he
had a life back there, but found out shortly after getting married that
he was half demon. He freaked, and ran away from what he knew, becoming
a different person. He didn’t run far, though, because the Powers That
Be told him to come to Sunnydale to find Willow and Angel. After a bit
of persuasion, he arrived here and laid eyes on Cordy. He was quite
taken with her, and after a while, she was with him also. When he
realized this, he also realized he needed to come to peace with what he
was and his past. So, he got a divorce, learned about his demon half as
much as possible, and went back to doing what he loved, teaching. It was
kind of funny, because we never saw it. He was a betting man that lived
a low life, but his love for Cordelia turned that around and when she saw
him change for her, she knew there was no mistaking that he would take
care of her, something that she lacked since Buffy. They got married,
and even though they are one of the strangest looking pairs around town,
they seem to fit each other perfectly.”

“So, is there anything else we need to know before we get shocked
again?” asked Willow.

William looked at Spike. “I’m not for sure, but what Spike was saying
before, about Xander being popular.”

Spike shook his head. “I knew this could get bloody worse than me
married to Willow.”

Willow shot him a cold stare before William could answer. “Thank you for
ranking that high on your ‘bad things’ list.”

Ignoring her, William finished, “Xander’s father is one of the richest
men in Sunnydale, and Xander was one of the most popular people at
school, not only because of money but also because he was the schools
highest scorer in baseball and basket ball. Everyone loves Xander
Harris, even though I must say that most of our group only puts up with
him because he dates Amy.”

“Okay, this is bad,” tagged on Spike. “Now the whelp is actually more
than a loser.”

Willow groaned and then asked, “One more thing, do I do anything else
than run this place?”

William laughed at her question. “Hell no. You only come here in the
afternoons after your classes, which I called in sick for you today.
There is no way that I could talk you into not going to college.”

“So what am I studying at school?” asked Willow.

Smirking again, he answered, “Well, you graduated from high school two
years early - Oz graduated four years early by the way - and you just
finished your Bachelors of History degree ahead of schedule last
semester. Now you are going back for your masters, focusing on the
mythological part. The great thing is that now you have one degree,
you’re backing off and only going to classes in the morning, which is why
you are now an active partner here.”

Willow beamed, being quite proud of herself here. She probably could
have graduated
early in her universe, but the scooby gang took up most of her time, and
she had decided to enjoy life as a high school student to the full
extent. Here though, she was smart and everything else she wanted to be.
She was just glad that she hadn’t suffered the same losses, even though
they were what made this Willow what she was.

Spike broke her thoughts as he commented, “I always had an inkling you
were pretty sharp. Why didn’t you go on like that? I know you could
have.”

Willow looked over at him, shock covering her face. “You actually think
that I could succeed at something?”

Spike narrowed his eyes at her and spoke in a careful voice. “Sure, why
do you ask?”

“How about the fact that the only thing you have said about me going any
where with my life was, ‘You will never get away from being that tenth
grader,’ or ‘Buffy’s flunky is all you will ever be, so stop dreaming.’
Or how about the grief you gave me about dabbling in witch craft, even
though I know that wasn’t what you were really talking about. You didn’t
approve, so you used the other as an excuse. Never once have you given
me the time of day, except to snide, when all I may have wanted from you
was a kind word. You may not have a soul like William, but demon or not,
I do know you have a heart. We all saw it with Dru. So, I know that you
have it in you to be nice every once in awhile!” she spat.

William started to get up, feeling a bit out of the conversation. Spike
noticed and wryly commented, “She loves me, can’t you tell?”

William nodded, “So much that I am going to the back to check on a few
things with Oz. Have one of the servers come and get me when you’re
through.”

Willow pleaded with her eyes for him not to go, but he left anyway, so
she was left with Spike looking at her with one raised eyebrow. Scooting
closer to her, he said in a soothing voice, so unlike him and more like
William, “Red, I am sorry that I have been so mean, but if I wasn’t, then
what would people think? I have a persona to live up to, and it is
terrible that it has been at your expense sometimes.”

“What ever,” Willow pouted.

“No, really. I am sorry that I said those things to you, Pet, but that
was during a time that I was really down, and I used your pain to help
alleviate my own. And as for the magic part, I think you are a great
witch, and I do mean that as it sounds. If not, I would not have
kidnaped you to do a spell on Dru.” Taking her hands and looking her in
the eyes, he finished with, “And as for the other thing, I have no right
to judge you, Tara, or hell, even this universe’s Cordelia. Especially
since most vampires experience that lifestyle. It seems to go with the
turf.”

Willow’s mouth dropped open. “You are bisexual?”

Spike smiled at her question, “After you live for so long, you
experiment, even though I only once it once of my freewill, I must admit
to doing it more.” Willow had a confused look, on her face, so he
clarified, “I may have been sired for Druscilla, but Angelus was my sire,
and he made sure I lived up to my worth. Is that clear enough for you?”

Willow nodded her head as she asked, “Who was the other? I mean, I
thought it was always you and Dru.”

Looking down, he answered, “It was during a time when Dru was with
Angelus and I was left alone. It seemed like the thing to do, you know,
to get back at her, but it only made me feel bad for doing it behind her
back, even though she was unfaithful all the time.”

He stopped and drifted in his thoughts as her voice broke his
concentration. “What about the last few years? I know that something
happened between you and Dru, even though you don’t talk about it.”

Looking at her, he answered, “When I went back to Dru, she
had left me all together, leaving a note that said Miss Edith told her of
my new love. I haven’t seen her since, so I went out to find someone
new.”

“Harmony?”

“Unfortunately, yes. However, Miss Edith was right, I did long for
another, and it wasn’t Harmony. That is one of the reasons it didn’t
hurt when I left her after finding the ring. I knew she was just one of
my pawns to get what I really wanted. And after her, I decided to just
wait until the time was right to tell this person how I felt.”

“And she turned you down? I mean, I know you haven’t been with anyone,
at least, I don’t think you have.”

Spike laughed a little. “I haven’t told her because she has always
seemed to be attached to someone else.” Looking up into her eyes, he
added, “However, she has been single for a while, but I don’t know about
the timing.”

“Timing? You mean you don’t think now is the appropriate time to
approach her?”

Willow had been so naive during the whole conversation, but when he
spoke next and looked in her eyes, she knew all she needed to, and for
some reason, it only frightened her a little. “No, I don’t think now is
the time, but maybe soon.”

He saw the look in her eyes and knew what she did. As he heard
footsteps behind him, he added, “No don’t go bloody telling everyone
about this. People might not think I’m all that bad, and we can’t have
that. I have a reputation to live up to.”

Willow snorted, “And what a reputation it is.”

Looking up, Willow saw William. He was concentrating on her and Spike.
She knew that he was trying to gage if he should interrupt or not.
Nodding her head to him, he took the cue and cleared his throat, “Ready
to go to Giles’s.” Looking at Spike, he commented, “Oz said we could
take the van. The back windows are covered, so you don’t have to worry
about sunlight.”

Spike nodded. They got up and started towards the door. As Spike
started to place his blanket over his head, he heard Willow make a side
comment to him as she walked out the door. “As for me finishing school
early, a certain peroxide blond vampire with a bad ass attitude kept
delaying me. For some reason, I spent my time thwarting his every plan.”
Laughing at her comment, and the stress she put on the word “thwarting,”
he picked up his bag and followed her outside into the sun. This was
starting to turn into a good day.
 

Part 4

Giles looked up from one of his books as a knock originated from the
door.  It had hardly been an hour since they had tried the homing spell
on Spike.  Everyone was starting to get a bit antsy, wondering if he made
it over or not.  Even Giles started to feel a bit worried about the
vampire that had kept him at arms length for so many years.  If only they
would receive something from the pen box to tell them he was okay and had
found Willow.  "Come in," he tagged behind his thoughts.

Buffy Summers walked in, carrying two large bags.  She hardly had taken
a step when Xander exclaimed, "Deli!  Buffy you are a savior for the
tired and hungry."  He grabbed the bags away from her and left her
dumbfounded for a few seconds.

Shaking her head at the rudeness of her friend, she fell onto the couch
beside Riley and placed a hand on her head.  "I talked to Willy, and he
couldn't think of any demons, but he told me to stop by later tonight,
and he would tell me what he could find out during the day.  After that
encounter, I was a little hungry, so I picked up something for me, along
with your favorites. Any luck here?"

Giles shook his head, "Not really, but we did find a way to send Spike
over.  Now all we need to do is find a way to get him back."

After groaning a few seconds, she asked, "And why did we do this?"

"We need someone over there to protect her and to communicate with us on
what is going on.  He seemed as good of a pick as anyone."

"What about Riley, or me?"

"I need you two here for now, but if it becomes too dire, we can send
Riley over."

Buffy crossed her arms and sat with a disgusted look on her face as
Xander started to hand out sandwiches, even though he had waited till
eating half of his own.  Anya took her sandwich from him and then
commented towards Buffy, "I don't see what the big deal is.  It may take
a while getting her back, but it is just Willow."

Buffy stood up and balled her fists at her sides as Riley grabbed at
her, trying to get her to sit back down.  "Just Willow?  JUST WILLOW?
Willow happens to be my best friend.  I will not stop, till I see her
home, safe, where she should be.  I owe her that, and so do you and
everyone else in this room, so don't let me hear you say "just Willow"
again!"

Anya rolled her eyes as she said, "Jeez," under her breath.

The room fell quiet as everyone opened their sandwiches, trying to
overcome the uneasiness that had just fell over the room.  It was during
this quietness that a few timid knocks broke the silence.  Everybody
looked up towards the door.  Everyone was there.  Who was missing?  Giles
placed his sandwich down and slowly opened the door.  Willow stood in the
door way.  She smiled up at him, even though her eyes were full of
uncertainty.  "Willow?" he asked.

She laughed emptily, "Yes, but there is a lot I'm not sure of lately."

From behind Giles, Tara's quiet voice commented, "How did we forget?"

Willow stepped inside as Giles moved to let her in.  Her eyes narrowed
at Tara.  "What do you mean, forgot?"

Buffy felt the vibe, and interjected, "She means we were too wrapped up
in our Willow that we didn't even think of looking for you."

Riley added, "It just happened at an inopportune time.  It took long
enough to get us all together and find out what happened, let alone time
to go find you also."

Willow just stared at him for a while and then slowly started to look at
everyone else in the room.  After a few minutes of silence, she sat down
and looked over at Giles.  "So how do we send me back?"

"There isn't anything we can do.  Tara stopped by Willow's room this
morning, and felt that the strings that connect realms were tampered with
by someone in your universe."

"How can you tell that?"

Tara answered quietly, not feeling very sure at all around this Willow.
"The magical signature was tainted in a way that could only mean it
originated there."

"So I'm stuck here with two of my enemies, one dead person, a stranger,
and then Giles and Xander?  Any minute now I am going to wake up to find
that this is all one large nightmare."  She sat down and then looked
around the room as she added, "Please tell me that you at least have a
plan."

Giles sat back down at his table and pushed his glasses up.   "Well,
yes, we sent Spike over to your universe to help our Willow find a way
back."

Willow sat up and her face suddenly filled with happiness.  "There is a
William in this universe?" she asked a little too cheerily.

Buffy shook her head.  "No, there is a Spike in this universe.  He
hasn't answered to that name in a long time."

The light started to fade from her face.  "So, he isn't souled or
married to me?"

Coke spewed from Xander's mouth.  "What?  Spike?  Willow?  Did I just
hear that correctly?"

Willow sat back and folded her arms across her chest.  Her sleeves rode
up a little, showing her finely muscled arms.  "So, your Spike, the demon
he is, is in the other universe helping your Willow.  There has to be a
catch, because that seems to be all that there is here."

"Hey!" exclaimed Xander, feeling a little dejected.

Giles nodded, "We need to find a homing amulet to get him back, or
another homing spell."

"Why not use the same spell you used to send him there?"

"Can't do," interjected Tara.  "You can't use those spells twice on the
same person."

"They're not round trip," commented Anya to the side, a little too
happily.  She then added, "But then again, do we really have to bring him
back?  I wouldn't miss him all that much."

Willow turned and looked at her.  In a very rude voice, she asked, "And
you are?"

Anya looked back at her crossly.  "Anya, ex-demon."  Turning to Xander
as he was putting a chip in his mouth, she asked, "Can we go now?  I'm
bored."

"After I finish Buffy's bag of chips."  Anya crossed her arms and pouted
as he went on eating.

Willow leaned back in her seat, covered her eyes, and sighed.  "Look,
guys, I'm sorry that I am being so rude.  I am usually not like this, but
I have had a bad day.  I go to brush my teeth and the next thing I know,
I'm in a weird dorm room that I don't even know.  After looking at the
pictures, I figured it was mine in a different universe, so I changed
into one of her outfits and then ran to Angel's place, but William and
Angel weren't there.  Everything was so wrong, so I headed to the only
other home I knew and found that I didn't.  I am tired, cranky, and all I
want to do is go home.  Now, could you please forgive me and let me lay
down or something, so I can get rid of this headache."

Giles nodded.  "Sure.  Buffy, would you show her to my room?"

Buffy nodded and motioned for Willow to follow.  They headed up to
Giles' loft bedroom.  As Willow climbed onto his bed, Buffy sat beside
her and asked quietly, "Before you take a nap, can I ask you something?"

"Sure.  What is it?"

Dreading the answer, Buffy asked anyway, "In your universe, what is my
standing?"

Willow looked at her with a blank look on her face.  In a monotone
voice, she answered slowly, "In my universe, you died only after a few
months of living in Sunnydale.  I had to take your place, slaying
vampires, till Faith arrived for Giles and I to train."

"You slay vampires?"

Willow laughed hollowly, "Giles started training me to fight evil way
before you were even thought of as a slayer.  I may not have your special
abilities, but I can hold my own against the best.  Not only that, but I
am a watcher in training.  In my universe, I may not be his real
daughter, but Giles is the only family I still have left alive, and that
makes it my job to take his place when the time comes."

Buffy stared down at her, letting what she had said sink in.  Getting
up, she looked down at her and said, "We will find you a way home."
Leaving her with that simple statement, Buffy turned and headed
downstairs to her friends.

For some reason, Willow trusted her more than she had ever trusted her
Buffy.  Something told her that this gang would follow through on the
blond slayer's words.
 
 

Part 5

Spike seemed to dance, being antsy standing still in the sun, as William
knocked on Giles' apartment.  It turned out that the Giles in this
universe lived in a two bedroom apartment instead of a one bedroom,
except it was in the same small set of apartments.  William had explained
that Giles moved there when Willow moved in with him, so there would be
enough room for the two of them.  Putting those facts to the back of her
mind, Willow was about to laugh at the dancing vampire beside her when
she heard the door open and saw Spike look up in awe.  She turned and
understood.  Faith stood in the doorway, and she looked completely
opposite of what Willow expected.  What was it with this world?

Faith smiled at them and ushered them in as she explained, "Giles is in
the back talking to Amy.   He should be out in a minute."

Willow looked on as Spike removed his blanket and sat down his bag.  He
caught her staring at him and smiled, "What is it, pet?"

She shook her head, pushing away her thoughts and turned to Faith.  This
Faith was wearing a lavender sun dress and her feet were adorned with
strappy sandals.  The slayer had on light makeup and her hair was made
into two braids.  She looked so normal, but yet very striking.  This was
definitely a different Faith.  Smiling at Willow, she asked, "So, has
William been treating you well?"

Willow nodded, "He fixed me breakfast."

Spike scowled and looked over at William, "You cook, too?  Who are you,
Fucking Martha Stewart?"

Faith laughed, "Actually, he just worships the ground she treads on.  I
think between Angel and him, they have all her books and most of her
shows recorded on tape."  She then turned her attention fully to Spike.
"And you must be Spike?  Nice to meet the evil side of our William."

Willow reached up and pinched his cheek, "Oh, but he is just all warm
and fuzzy when you get to know him."

Glaring down at her, he commented, "When I get this chip out, you are
going to get it for that."

Sitting down, Willow taunted, "Well, you can't do nothing about it now,
can you?  Spike isn't the big bad anymore."

Spike sat down across from her and crossed his arms.  After glaring at
her for a while, he asked, "So, you're the evil Faith that everyone in my
universe is scared of.  You don't look that bad to me.  I think their
description of you was slayer, yeh tall, dark hair and criminally
insane."

Willow nodded as she added, "Five by five."

"What?" asked Faith.

Willow laughed.  "That was how you always answered if someone asked you
how you were."

"Five by five what?"

"I don't know for sure.  Maybe it was your height."

Their conversation was interrupted by Giles clearing his throat.  Willow
turned and looked at the watcher, still dressed in tweed like her Giles.
He looked just the same.  Pushing up his glasses and taking in a deep
breath, he walked into the living room, eyeing Spike and Willow.  After a
few seconds, he held his hand out to her.  "Willow.  Has everyone made
you feel at home?"

She shook his hand and nodded.  "Everyone has been great, but I must
admit that I would like to find a way home as soon as possible."

Spike agreed from the side, "It's just too bloody different here for our
tastes."

Shaking her head, Willow remarked, "No, it isn't that bad, but I miss my
home, as I know you miss your Willow."

Giles nodded as he sat down.  William asked from the side.  "Have you
found anything out yet?"

Giles rubbed the bridge of his nose and took his glasses off.  "Amy just
called from your place.  She said there is a strong magical signature.
Apparently the lines of realms have been tampered with, and the tampering
happened on this side of the lines."

"Is there anyway to tell who tampered with the lines?" asked Faith.

Willow answered, and then turned red as she realized she had stepped
into their conversation.  "It depends on how strong the person setting
the spell is in magic, and also what side of magic they used."  Giles
cocked one eyebrow up, so she added, "I dabble a little in witchcraft
where I'm from."

Spike grunted.  "Dabble in it my foot.  For the last year, it has gone
way past that.  I haven't had an excuse to make fun of you for screwing
things up."

She glared at him again.  "If you don't stop it, I will do a spell to
have my will done, and you know what happened last time I did that!"

Spike held up his hands in a gesture of giving up as William asked
Giles, "What did Amy say about the signature?"

"Whoever it was is strong enough to hide most of the signature, which
means they are powerful.  Not only that, but she said it had a taint of
darkness in it."

Faith's head jerked up and her frightened eyes fell on William as she
voiced her fear, "Tara."

William and Faith stared hard at each other.  After a few minutes,
William asked, "Do you know of anything they might be up to as of late."

Faith shook her head, "Since the trial, the Initiative has backed away
from their plan."

Giles shook his head, "But that isn't the thing we should be asking.
What we need to know is how does Willow fit in the picture.  She had to
be of some danger to them, for them to exchange Willows."

"But we all are a threat to the Initiative.  Why didn't they trade all
of us?" asked Faith.

Willow held up her hand.  "Wait a minute, what does Tara have to do with
the Initiative?"

William explained, "The Initiative is supposedly a governmental project
that captures and modifies behavior of demons, but it is thought that
there is a deeper purpose to the group."

Willow nodded, "Yes, they created Adam to take over the Initiative and
create human and demon half breeds to dominate the Earth."

Faith asked, confused, "Adam who?"

Spike grunted, "Demon and human hybrid created by Dr. Walsh that does
not stick to his word."

Faith still was confused.  "But there is no Dr. Walsh or Adam.  The
Initiative is run by clean cut Riley Finn."

"Except he isn't as clean cut as he looks," added William.  "We believe
that he has been the root of a lot of evil things going down in
Sunnydale.  Not only that, but his so called wife is a half demon witch,
with a bad rep all together."

Faith snorted.  "She is the real back bone to the dark side of the
Initiative.  The only question is why did Tara get rid of Willow.  If she
knew something, she would have told us.  I wish there was someway we
could ask her."

Spike looked up.  "Oh bloody hell, I forgot all about the pen box."  He
grabbed up his bag from the floor and pulled it out.  "Our Tara, who is
good, gave this to me so I could communicate with them.  I need to write
them anyway and let them know what is going on.  If your Willow is with
them, you can write a letter to her too."

Giles took the pen box from Spike and looked at it closely.  "This is
great.  Here, let me get you some paper and a pen."  He handed the box
back and then returned seconds later with a pen and paper.

As Spike started to write, Willow remarked thoughtfully. "Maybe it isn't
that Willow knows something."

"What do you mean?" asked William, who had borrowed some paper from
Spike and was scribbling away with one of Giles pens.

"Could there be a prophecy or something?  Maybe this Willow is suppose
to stop something, and with her gone, your Tara can go on with some evil
plan."

Giles nodded.  "It is worth looking into, but the question is how."

From the side, Faith commented, "Cordelia can look into it.  Between
Doyle and her, their library is quite extensive.  Not only that, but we
also have your books."

Spike opened his box and threw his letter inside.  Leaving it open for
William to place his letter inside, he commented, "Going through Giles's
books sounds real fun and all, but I am pretty tired.  I usually sleep
during the day, being a vampire and all."

Willow nodded.  "I'm feeling a little sleepy too.  Can we borrow a
bedroom and take short nap."

"Sure," answered Faith.  "My room does not only face away from the sun,
but it also has thick curtains.  You should be safe in there.  Plus, I
have a large bed, so you both should be comfortable."  Pointing to a door
behind them, she finished, "It is right through those doors, and feel
free to close them so we don't bother you."

Willow headed to the door and Spike followed her, after placing
William's letter in the box and then shutting and opening it to see that
they had indeed disappeared.  Without talking to each other they sat down
and listened to the voices on the other side of the room.  Willow winced
when she heard Faith ask William how he was hanging on.

"I feel like part of me is missing, even though it seems to be standing
right in front of me."  William tagged on, "I never knew losing her could
hurt this much."

"We will get her back.  Everything will turn out okay," Faith reassured
him.

Willow turned and looked at Spike, who was just staring at her.  "He
loves her so much.  If he has the capacity for such a love, then you
should too."

Spike nodded.  "I do."

They stared at each other for a few seconds, and then Willow said
quietly, "About that girl, and you not knowing about the timing...?"

"Yes."

"Maybe the timing wouldn't be too bad.  It may actually help her with
the way she sees herself.  You never know.  Just because she had
relationships doesn't mean that she thinks highly of herself.  After so
many breaking off, she may feel that there is nothing appealing about her
or that it isn't her right to have happiness like the others around her."

"Why would she feel that?" asked Spike, even though he already knew the
answer.

"Because all of her relationships fall apart while those around her
blossom.  Because she loves with all of her heart, and then finds that
being disregarded.  Maybe she just isn't all that you think she is.  She
could be a failure, or ugly or something, and that is why no one wants
her."

Spike wiped away a tear that fell down Willow's cheek.  "It can't be
that, luv, because I find her not only to be smart, fascinating, and
compassionate, but also intoxicating.  She just hasn't found the right
love.  All those that she has been with before were finding themselves.
What she needs is someone that has already found themselves, and knows
who they are."

"And do you Spike?"

"I know what I used to be and what I can be.  This chip may have thrown
me for a loop, but I am dealing.  Not only that, but I have been around
for about a century  and a half, and that helps with knowing."

"So what are you?"

He laughed.  "I am a bloody demon with a heart, not to be confused with
a soul.  If I had never gotten this chip, I would be a cold blooded
murderer, but the feelings tied to my heart would run just as deep."

"But now that you have the chip, has that changed the way you would be
without it?"

"Now that I have the chip, I have learned to cope, so I think I would be
able to keep that change, if only for her love."

Willow was quiet for a while, studying the lean features of the vampire
in front of her.  She had never thought much about Spike in the way they
were talking about, but now that his feelings were out there, and she was
aware, Willow felt a slight tug at her heart.  Then there was also the
slight twinge of jealousy she had felt when he stared at Faith.  She had
thought at the time he should be looking at her that way.  Now, it was
evident, that he had looked at her that way.  He had just spoken to her
fears about herself and reassured her they were false.  It was evident
that there was more to Spike than he had been letting on, and for some
reason, she all of a sudden wanted to discover those things.  She looked
in his eyes and placed her hand on his cheek  "She may have never thought
about you in that way, but maybe when she sees what I just saw in you,
she may want to give it a try.  You know, take it slow because of how she
feels about herself."

"So it may be time to tell her how I feel?" he asked as he started to
wrap her in his arms.

She nestled in close to him, took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
"It may be.  Just remember that it might take her time to feel the same
way about you."

With his chin by the top of her head, he commented, "I will get us home,
you know."

She nodded, her eyes still closed, "I know.  I trust you."

He smiled and they both settled down for a nap.  After a few tosses and
turns, when her breathing seemed to fall into a sleeping pattern, he
practiced, "I love you, Willow."

Facing away from him, she opened her eyes for a second and then smiled.
Closing her eyes, she snuggled in closer to him and fell into a deep
sleep, all the time thinking of her new found revelations.

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