Rating: PG (If you can watch the show, you can read this.)
Piring: Not gonna tell ya, You have to figure it out. But I can tell you it is SOOOOO not Buffy and Spike.
Spoilers: Up to the Nromal Again on Buffy and The newest Angel(I don't know the name of that one yet, it was just on.)
FeedBack: It's a must if you want more. :)
Note: Sorry, I had to get this out before I finished the Christmas one. I swear, it is not good from me not to have something to read. All these thoughts start coming, but for what I want them to. GRRR. I'm working on the next chapter for the London Series, so hopfully soon it'll be out.
***THIS IS NOT PART OF THE LONDON SERIES, BUT ALEX IS IN IT SLIGHTLY.***
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter One
~*~ Sunnydale, 2018~*~
The wind whipped around the open glade at the back of Sunnydale’s oldest cemeteries. Not many people in the small sleepy southern California town knew about it, so it was one of the few perfect places to be alone. Of course, that is only if you knew the dangers of being out in Sunnydale after dark, and were protected. Because for every peaceful aspect of Sunnydale there is a deeper and darker side. For this quiet little town, was built on top of a Hell mouth. The mouth of hell that if opened would bring certain death to the world. Several had tried and all have been stopped, by the force of the Slayers. The one girl in all the world, that is chosen to fight the forces of darkness. There is only supposed to be one girl in every generation, but that was until a few years into the New Millennium. But that is another story.
I’m here to tell you about how mischievous a few young people, I know, are. I’ve have been watching over them since they were born, and their parents before that. That was in my living years, when I helped a few of them, three of them in particular. My friends, my true family. My Alexandria, the one girl who taught me that I was more then my demon, that I was a man, also. Angel, my first true friend, who taught me that through every thing in life one man can make a difference. And my Cordelia, who showed me that even a demon like me can be loved. It was just to bad that I had to die before I realized that lesson. Yes, I’m a demon, but I am, also, a man. My name is Doyle, and I’m going to take you on little journey, about love.
The clearing was vacant, except for the three young people standing in a make shift circle around a small bon fire. The tallest was Connor, a strapping young man of twenty nine, that had seen too much in his tender years. Being the son of two vampires, and raised in a hell dimension for the first thirteen years of his life, by a man bent on revenge on Connor’s own father, Angel. This tall, brown haired, young man had seen much in his life, but has taken it upon himself to watch out for the next generation of his family.
The girl standing to Connor’s right was a true relative to him. She’s the oldest child of the only surviving member of his father’s human blood line. Constance, or Tiger as she was nicknamed since she had taken to a piece of Tiger Eye when she was only two years old, was fifteen years old, and almost exactly like her mother, Alexandria, and the closest thing that he had to a sister. She was stubborn to a fault, and furiously protective of her friends and family, but with the caring and gentleness of a kitten.
Tiger’s warm brown eyes looked over at the youngest of the group, Ella. The thirteen year old’s clear blue eyes looked back and smiled. Ella, was the youngest, so far, and the one everyone looked out for, but Connor and Tiger most of all. She was the miracle, next to Connor, born of a vampire and a human witch. She had her mother’s dark red hair and her father’s eyes, with her father’s attitude and mother’s steadfastness of wanting people she cared about to be happy.
They look like their about to begin, so I’ll just let you see for yourself what brought them here this extraordinary night.
Tiger looked into Ella’s eyes to see the truth behind her answer. "So, are you really sure about this?" Her slight British accent mixing with the slight wind that was starting to pick up.
Ella nodded. "I told you what Aunt Dawn told me. I don’t want my parents to be that way for as long as they were. I want them to be as happy as they are now."
"El, I seriously doubt that the PTBs will like you going back and messing with the time line." Connor said in a firm, but caring voice.
Ella looked over at him, and he noticed the flash of power in her eyes as she spoke. "Like they liked it when, Ty and I went back to get you home to your father faster?"
"El that was different." Tiger said as she remembered how much they both went through to find Connor in Quortoth, and shivered slightly. Connor squeezed her hand slightly for comfort. "You know what would have happened if we didn’t. Angel would be dead, and my mom and your dad along with him. All because of Holtz. And you know the Oracles told me too."
"I know, Ty." Ella said, sighing. "I’m not doing this for personal gain, and I don’t see anyway that this would screw up the time line. So the PTBs shouldn’t have a problem with it, and even if they did, the would have stopped us by now."
Tiger looked up to the clear starless night for a few moments before she spoke, again. "Well, no freak lightening strikes. We should be safe." She looked back at Ella. "Shall, we get this show on the road then?"
Ella nodded, along with Connor. Tiger looked over at him and couldn’t help a little dig on his whole ‘Strong, Silent type attitude’. "Hey, Con, you’re broodiness is showing."
Before Connor could respond, Tiger and Ella had already started the spell. Within moments a bright flash of white light enveloped the trio and when it faded, they were gone.
I’m just going to hang out here for a few moments,
because some people I haven’t seen in a while are coming this way.
A few minutes after the group left, another group could be heard walking towards the clearing. "I swear, I’m going to ground her until she’s twenty when I find her." Came the British accented male voice.
"Will, If they did what I think they did, I’ll be grounding Tiger. She knows better, then to mess with that kind of magic." Followed the slight accented female voice.
"Will you two stop and keep looking? If Angel finds out what happened, You’re both going to have to deal with him and Willow. Now, do we really want to hear that lecture?" Came a second female voice as the group entered the clearing.
A woman in her mid thirties, with long light brown hair was the first into the clearing. She noticed the scorch mark first and headed right to it. "Oh, bloody hell." She mumbled as she recognized the magical signatures. "They’re already gone."
"Where did they go?" Asked the brunette female as she got closer.
The man bent to pick up a book from the ground, and handed it to the first woman, before he spoke. "They went back in time for some reason." He said as he scanned the area around him. "Any idea where or when, Lex?"
The first woman read over the page in front of
her. "Well, they needed to be in the place they wanted to go to, so I’m
thinking Sunnydale." She looked over and saw the other woman pick something
else off of the ground. "What’s that, Cordy?"
"It’s a picture of the Scooby gang." She said softly holding it out to the man.
Spike took the picture and looked at it for a moment and then he sighed. "They went back to just after Buffy came back."
"How can you tell?" Lex asked as she looked at the picture in his hand.
"Because the ex demon is still in the picture, along with Tara."
"Oh, Goddess." Lex said as she remembered what
she was told about that time. "The babies." She whispered.
~*~Sunnydale 2002~*~
It was noon, and Dawn knew she should be in school, but she just didn’t feel like going today. "Good one, Dawn. You finally get them to realize that something is wrong, and now you go and skip." She mumbled to herself as she walked into the clearing behind the cemetery. She knew she needed to be sorta quiet being that Spike’s Crypt is almost in the center of said cemetery, and if he caught her, he would surely tell Buffy.
Dawn was brought out of her thoughts, by a loud clap of what sounded like thunder. She didn’t have any time to wonder about it, because a blinding light soon followed and she was thrown on to her ass, from the force of the winds.
She sat there on the ground staring at the figures that seemed to appear out of nowhere. When they started talking, she figured it would be better for her to try and get out of there before they saw her, but she only made it to her feet.
"Hey!" Called a young female voice. "Can you help us?"
Dawn slowly walked a bit closer, watching the young man and the older of the two girls as the youngest approached her. "Who are you?" She stuttered slightly, as she spoke.
"Sorry. I’m Ella." The young red head said, before she turned and pointed at the other two. "The girl with the scowl on her face is Constance, but everyone calls her Tiger, and the guy with the broody look is Connor."
Dawn looked at the two and she couldn’t really place it but all three seemed slightly familiar. "I’m Dawn. What just happened?" She asked as she noticed the look that passed between Tiger and Connor.
"We were just practicing and our spell kinda went wonky. Can you tell us what year and where exactly we are?" Tiger asked quickly.
Dawn noticed the accent in voice and instantly recognized it as British. Anyone who spent any time around Spike and Giles would have noticed it, so she instantly picked it out. "It’s May 2002. And your in Sunnydale, California. And more specifically in the back of one of the oldest graveyards."
"Perfect!" Squealed Ella. "Ty, this is great we’re here." She continued excitedly.
"Great, El." Tiger started as she grabbed Ella’s arm and pulled her closer to her. "Do you realize who we’re talking to?" She asked in a hushed voice, when Ella shook her head, she continued. "That’s Aunt Dawn. And this is the right year, so guess who’s crypt is not to far away."
Ella’s eye got bigger as she realized what Tiger was saying. She regained her composer as she turned back to Dawn. "Um, can you show us around town a bit?" She asked, trying to come up with something to get out of the cemetery.
"Sure." Dawn said, slightly unsure. "Um, you’re all not going to go poof or something and leave me talking to myself, right?" Dawn knew that Buffy would freak if she knew that she had befriended a group of who knows what, but it was day light and they were around her age, except for Connor, so how bad could they actually be? She thought as she waited for their answer.
After they all nodded, the foursome headed out
of the cemetery using the back entrance.
Chapter Two
~*~Sunnydale 2002~*~
An hour after the trio arrived and were joined by Dawn, they found themselves sitting on one of the couches outside of the Espresso Pump. Dawn and Ella were talking about something that Tiger didn’t have a clue about, so she ended up slightly wondering off. She found herself about a block away in front of a construction site.
She stood outside of the chain link fence and watched the workers. Some were hammering away, while others were moving long pieces of metal, while still others were welding said pieces of metal. Her line of sight kept falling on one man on the site. He was wearing a blue plaid button down shirt that had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, it was tucked almost neatly in to his dark blue jeans which meet his fawn colored work boots. He wore a yellow hard hat on his head as he leaned over what seemed to be a set of blue prints. She knew who he was even from the distance between them, and that the man she knew was a bit older, but it was still him.
"Daddy." She said softly as she fought a few tears that threatened to escape her eyes. It had only been about two hours since she had last seen him, but seeing him here and now in the past, she just wanted to be back in her time.
She felt him come up behind her even before he spoke. They had always had a special connection, sort of like her father’s with Aunt Willow. "It’s him, but everything seems all wrong."
"I know." Came the strong confidant voice from behind her.
"I can’t even talk to him. Say Hi." She said sadly.
"I know."
"Con, if you say I know one more time..." She let the threat trail off as he hugged her from behind. "We have to go to the Magic Box."
"Ty, you know we can’t." Connor said softly trying to ease her pain.
"I know, but we left the book.. We need it to get home. I remember most of the spell, but, Goddess only knows how long we’re going to be here. I might forget it or get something wrong. So I’m seeing only two choices. Get the book from the Magic Box, or get to L.A. and pay your dad a visit."
"We can’t do that. He’ll know." He said softly as he looked over at the site of her father leaning over the plans, from where his chin rested on her shoulder.
"Yeah, like Uncle Will won’t?" She said pulling out of his arms and turning to face him. "Connor, he’s gonna know who my mom is if I get within five feet of him. Let’s not even think about what might happen if were caught fighting." She looked back towards her father as she heard someone call his name. They watched as a woman with blonde hair came walking up to him. "That’s not my mom." She said as the woman and her father kissed. "The time is wrong. We got the right year, but the wrong date. Connor, I checked it over and over again. He’s supposed to be in L.A. Cause that’s got to be Anya and they’re kissing so I’m taking that it’s before the wedding that never happened." She said getting slightly panicked.
Connor put his arm around her shoulders and gently lead her away from the fence. "We’ll figure something out." He said with a tone in his voice, that matched that of his father’s when Angel meant business.
"Ok, here’s what I’ve been thinking." She said as she stopped at the corner. "I’ll head over to the Magic Box. No one that would be there would recognize me, being that they haven’t met mom yet, so It’s safer. And it’s day light so I we don’t have to worry about Uncle Will." She finished putting on what her father had named her resolve face, like her Aunt Willow.
Connor sighed before he answered her. "One of these days, I’m going to find away to make you change your mind." He shook his head. "Fine. You go to the Magic Box, and I’ll find us a place to stay."
"Ok. I can find out the date and then we can figure out how off we are." She said as she started down towards the Magic Box. She turned back after a few feet and called back to him. "Check out my house. It was vacant from when your dad moved to L.A. until mom moved back, so it should be empty, and I can do the deinvite when I get back. I’ll meet you and Ella there, about 4." And with that said she quickened her pace to a jog.
Connor stood at the corner looking after her for a few moments. At twenty nine, a few members of his family have been pushing him to ‘Find a nice girl, and be happy,’ but no one knew he had already found her. He turned and headed back to the Espresso Pump, shaking his head and mumbling to himself. "It’s gotta be in the blood to fall for Slayers."
Great. Now they split up. Grrr. Don’t they know how hard it is to keep them out of trouble when they spit up? I swear its worse then Cordy’s filing system. I’m just going to have to follow the one that gets into the most trouble.
Tiger stood outside the Magic Box for a few moments, silently hoping that her grandfather would be there. She missed him, and wanted to see what he was like a few years younger, but she knew that he was in England at this time. She sighed as she pushed open the door. The bell over head jingled and she smiled at the constant sound from her life. She didn’t see anyone at the counter so she started to look around. It didn’t seem like much had changed, but there were a few of her favorite things missing. My laptop. I miss my laptop. She thought as she moved towards the table. She stopped when she saw the red head come out of the back training room.
"Can I help you find something?" Willow asked in a cheery voice.
Tiger smiled. "Yeah, I’m looking for Toben’s Entropy Mystic." She was slightly confused as to why her Aunt Willow was working at the shop, when she was still dealing with her withdrawal from magic. She also knew that it wasn’t until about two months later, when her mom showed up in Sunnydale, that Willow started to get a firm grip on controlling her magic and not letting it control her.
"Alright, let me check." Willow said as she moved behind the counter and Tiger moved around the shop picking up the thing she would need for the deinvite spell.
Willow watched the girl moved around the shop like she knew it by heart. Weird. I keep getting this vibe that I recognize her somehow. Willow shook off her thoughts as she looked in the stock book. She found the book and looked back at the girl. "We had a copy, but it was sold a couple of days ago. I can order another one, but it won’t be in until Friday."
Tiger looked up and smiled. "That’s fine. We’re just passing through, but I’m sure were still gonna be here." She said slipping into her accent without realizing it.
"Oh, ok." Willow smiled as she placed the accent. Just like Spike. "Are you from London?"
Tiger nodded slightly. "I lived there until I was five, then we moved to LA, we mostly go back and forth a lot."
"It’s nice that you get to visit a lot. I have two friends from England. I’ve always wanted to go." Willow said looking down at the items the girl had put on the counter. Huh. Everything for a deinvite spell. Willow thought absent-mindedly as she started to ring everything up. "I’ll just need your name and phone number and I’ll call you when the book comes in."
"Oh, the place were staying doesn’t have a phone." Tiger said. "I’ll just stop in on Friday and see if its in. My name’s Tiger, by the way." She said holding her hand out to Willow.
"I’m Willow." She said taking the hand and shaking it. The feeling that she knew this girl returned the moment she touched her hand, but this time it was followed by a flash of Xander’s face in her mind. "That’s an extraordinary name." Willow said hiding the weird feeling she had.
"Yep." Tiger said beaming slightly. "But it just my nickname. I got it from this." She said as she pulled out the silver necklace she had on with a medium sized Tiger Eye stone as the pendant. " I found it when I was two and wouldn’t give it up. My real name’s Constance, but I answer to Tiger more. I take after my mom like that. She had the nickname of Violet since she was about three, when she picked a small bunch of night blooming violets and wouldn’t give them up. And I’m just gonna stop talking cause I’m babbling." She finished with a shy smile.
"That’s fine. I have that habit, and I think it interesting to meet someone with the same." Willow said as she started bagging Tiger’s items. "Your total is thirteen fifty."
Tiger handed her the money, but as Willow was about to take it a crash came from behind the basement door. "Hold on a moment." Willow said as she moved quickly around the counter and over to the door.
As Willow neared the door, Tiger had a sinking feeling she knew who was on the other side. It was confirmed, when Willow opened the door and said one name. "Spike?"
"Yeah, that’s me, Red." Came the British voice that Tiger knew all to well, it was followed by the man or vampire himself as he moved past Willow and into the shop. He started over towards the counter but stopped when he saw Tiger standing there.
"What are you doing here?" Willow asked as she closed the door not noticing that Spike was staring at her customer.
"I was bored." Came his short reply. "Who’s this?"
Willow moved back over when she saw him staring. "This is a customer." She said to him, before she turned to Tiger to apologize. "I’m sorry, Tiger. I think the bleach has seeped into his brain." She moved back around the counter, as Tiger held out her hand to Spike.
"Hello." She said acting like she never meet him before. Spike took her hand and shook it, but didn’t let go as he felt a ring on her finger. He turned her hand and recognized the ring instantly. "Name’s Spike. Incase you missed it." He said covering up that he recognized anything.
Tiger smiled. "I caught it." She smirked slightly. One that anyone who knew her mother would know she picked it up from Spike himself, and Tiger picked it up from both of them. "But It’s not a person’s name, ya know. It’s my dog’s name." She said as she quickly turned and picked up her bag. "I have to go. Thanks for the help Willow." She said leaving the shop without a backward glance.
If she did turn she would have seen an almost dumbfounded Spike looking after her.
"Do you know her?" Willow asked as she saw the exchange between the two, and Spike’s face after Tiger left.
Spike shook himself from his thoughts when he heard Willow’s voice. "Nope. She just reminds me of someone." He turned back to Willow and cocked his head slightly to the side, while changing the subject. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, Anya wanted to surprise Xander at work, so I said I’d watch the shop for her. Besides, I didn’t have anything else to do." She said shrugging her shoulders.
Willow moved back to behind the counter and leaned on it o face Spike as he sat on the edge of the table. "Wanna came into the back with me? I set up a Tv in the training room." Willow asked as she looked around the shop not being able to think of anything to do.
"Sure, beats sitting in the crypt." Spike said as he followed Willow
to the back, while making a mental plan on finding out exactly who Tiger
was.
Chapter Three
The old mansion had seen a lot in it many years of being. Families growing old and moving on, a few to better places. A vampire preparing to end the world, but getting sucked into Hell for his troubles. That same vampire coming back from hell, because of a spell and the corse of true love. A Slayers trip to the dark side was exhibited here, along with another’s almost death to save her love.
Yes, the mansion had a rich history, and the three that had decided to reside there had as much right as the pervious owner. As a matter of fact one of the new residents is the son of the pervious owner.
Connor had been wondering around the old mansion trying not to worry about what trouble Tiger could get into in Sunnydale. She had more family in the small town and had to many tempting ideas at times. Like the time she had been patrolling and they came across a vampire club. Instead of heading home and mentioning to her Watcher, Wesley, about the club, she had wanted to check it out first, and being that Connor had been on patrol with her, he got to go along for the ride. And what a ride that was.
In Tiger’s first six months of being called, she had gotten into more scraps and trouble then Buffy and Alex within there first two years, and he had been there, Playing Cryptic Guardian Guy to her Vampire Slayer. Like the previous occupants of the roles, he had fallen in love with her. She was strong, in her fighting and in will. Tiger had always been one of his closest friends, well since she and Ella had gone to bring him back from Quortoth. He had been eleven when he first meet her and knew there was something special about her from that first moment.
Then, he came back and found out that she wasn’t even born yet. So, he grew up without his friend. Sure he had the others to talk to but it wasn’t the same for him. He never forgot what she did for him, so after she was born he had taken it upon himself to be her protector. Her Champion. He had resigned himself to being only that in her life. They were family, three hundred or so years removed, but she still had his father’s human blood running in her veins. That was all that they would be, she had said so many times when she called him her ‘Big Bro’, so he would respect that and keep his feelings to himself.
As if they didn’t have enough things against them, their ages was a pretty big factor. He was twenty nine to her fifteen. These two kids have everything stacked against them, I hope one of them realizes that they are now in a place to change it.
After leaving the Magic Box, Tiger had a lot of things to think about. Most of which was how was she going to tell Connor that she ran into Spike. So she did what every teenage girl did when she needed to think, she shopped. She also had a practical reason for her spending. They needed clothes. Ella had brought her ever present side bag, but no one figured they would need a few changes of clothes. So she bought clothes for Ella, Connor and herself, and was now heading back to her house. No, not my house, she thought as she made her way towards Crawford street, Angel’s mansion. She had already smacked her inner teenager for keeping her out after dark for the sake of shopping. She shook her head as she continued on her way.
Tiger was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t register the familiar feeling she got when she was around her Uncle Will, following her from about a block away, but she did catch the one of the vampire coming up behind her.
When he grabbed her, she tossed the bags into the softness of the lawn next to her as she spun to back hand the vampire that attacked her.
The vampire was taken back from the sudden attack, that he missed the right spin kick that followed. His head snapped back and as it came forward again, he looked on with wide eyes as the stake entered his unbeating heart.
As the dust settled, Tiger saw the figure that had been following her step out of the shadows. She looked at him, while slowly putting her stake back into the back pocket of her jeans. She watched as he lifted the cigarette to his lips and took a thoughtful drag. "Are you going to clap for me, too?" She asked remembering the story her mother told her many times of when he came back into her life after she was called.
"So you are related to Blue." Spike said slowly as he moved towards her, using his nickname for her mother.
Tiger stood her ground. She noticed that the way he was walking towards her was his ‘intimidating’ saunter. "And you’re William the Bloody. Killer of three Slayers, partial sire to another and reluctant friend to a fifth." She replied in an even voice.
Spike smirked as he took in the young girl he had meet earlier at the Magic Box. "Finally, a Slayer that knows her homework. What else do you know, ducks?"
"Well, let’s see. You have a chip in your head that stops you from harming humans, but not demons, so you started helping the Slayer. Who you thought you were in love with, and maybe you did a bit, but right now it’s not love. She’s using you to get a part of her back. A part she lost when she died, and she just threw you away when she was done." Tiger stopped talking as she realized she was making him angry. "I’m sorry. I just didn’t like the way she treated you."
"How do you know so much? What makes you think you know anything about the way I feel about what’s going on?" He asked with a slight growl to his voice.
"Because you told me." Tiger closed her eyes for a moment to considered her options. She found she only had one. "I’m not from here."
"You can say that, again." He said after making a snickering sound.
"I’m Alexandria’s daughter from sixteen years in the future. We came back because we wanted to help."
"Who’s we?" He asked closing the six foot gap between them. He could tell she was telling the truth, he had always been able to tell on Alex and apparently the same was true for her daughter.
"Two more kids from the future, my friends, Connor and Ella."
Spike nodded as he looked her over. He noticed a few things he didn’t at the Magic Box. She was built to the point that looking at her was like looking at pure muscle tone, but she still kept that girlish softness to her. She held herself with an air of power both physical and magical, with the slight twinge of cockiness, that he had seen in Alexandria many years before. She also seemed to take her sense of style from her mother as well, being she was dressed comfortably in an old pair of faded jeans, with a cut off sweatshirt that seemed about a size to big for her. He laughed slightly when he noticed her boots, almost the same as his. When he looked back up into her warm brown eyes, he spoke again. "Who’s you father?"
Tiger shook her head. "I can’t tell you. I all ready told you too much." She turned quickly and picked up the bags and started back on her way.
Spike looked after her stunned for a few moments, before he ran to catch up with her. "Who are you here to help?" He asked as he fell into step with her. Normally he wouldn’t care one way or the other about things like this, but this was Alexandria’s daughter.
"You." Tiger said softly. Her Slayer side was screaming at her for telling him anything, but the side of her that loves her Uncle Will wouldn’t let her do anything to hurt him, including lying to him.
He was silent for along time as they walked, before he finally spoke. "What for?"
Tiger stopped walking as she turned to him. "You’re lonely and hurting right now. You gave your heart to Buffy and she’s just run it through the blender." She looked into his eyes and saw the painful recognition. "There’s someone out there who is hurting as much as you. And it’s not the Slayer or the ex demon. She’s the one that you belong with. She’s the one that you should give your heart to. You’d be surprised what will happen in a few years of you both being together. We just want you both happy. That’s why we came back."
She looked into his confused blue eyes and smiled slightly. "You’ll understand soon." She leaned up and kissed him quickly on the cheek. "I have to get home, Connor will end up sending out the war party if I don’t." And with that she left.
Spike finally snapped out of his daze and noticed two things. One, Tiger was way gone, and two he was standing on Crawford street. He turned and headed back to his crypt, he had a lot of thinking to do.
Well, now that Tiger just broke about every rule to time travel,
let’s just see how she’s going to handle a worried Connor, Shall we?
Connor knew she was there as soon as she stepped foot onto the front stoop. He sat down fast on the couch and waited for her to come in. As soon as she closed the door, he spoke. "Where have you been?"
Tiger jumped startled slightly by the tone in his voice. She had never heard it so emotionless. "I stopped to get us all clothes. The Magic Box won’t have the book until Friday." She said as she moved closer into the living room. "Where’s Ella?"
"She’s sleeping. She was warn out from everything." He said in the same voice.
Now, this was starting to get on her nerves. "What the hell is your problem? I’m a big girl Connor, I can take care of myself." She snapped back, as she put her bags on the chair, and moved to stand in front of him.
Connor stood up and looked down at her. "I’m responsible for you. What if something happened?"
"I can take care of myself." Tiger said as turned and ran up the stairs, before she did something that she regretted. She ran right into Spike’s old room.
She needed comfort and she couldn’t just run back out and find him. She through herself on the bed and pushed her face into his pillow. She felt like she was acting like a little girl, but Connor’s words hurt. In two sentences, he had made it perfectly clear that she was a burden on him. He had never treated her like that, not even when she was three and following him around like a puppy dog. It hurt more then she wanted to admit, because she had been in love with him for as long as she could remember. But she knew he could never love her, cause of their ages, and that he always treated her like a little sister. She knew she was doomed to be the kid sister to him as he moved on and found someone else, but he had never made her feel like she was a bother to have around.
Without realizing it, silent tears started to fall down her cheeks,
as her heart broke for the love she would never have returned.
Chapter Four
Connor stood staring up the stairs that Tiger had just run up not five minutes before. He knew he shouldn’t have yelled at her but he was worried, and he was mostly expecting her to yell back and then they would have gotten into one of there famous screaming matches. The ones that usually cleared out anyone who was in the same room, well, except for Spike, who always got a good laugh out of them. The ones that were always filled with so much fire and passion. The ones that he lived for because Tiger’s warm brown eyes seemed to turn a bright blue as her temper flared. Her face would flush slightly and seem to hum with the power that would start coursing through her veins faster then its normal rate. Her lips seemed to tighten over her teeth, and he had even heard her growl a few times, as spread them to their fullest, and even then he thought she and the most perfect lips and mouth.
He stood there wondering what made her turn and run away from him, instead of staying and fighting back. In his mind he was going over their brief conversation.
"Where have you been?"
"I stopped to get us all clothes. The Magic Box won’t have the book until Friday." "Where’s Ella?"
"She’s sleeping. She was warn out from everything."
"What the hell is your problem? I’m a big girl Connor, I can take care of myself."
"I’m responsible for you. What if something happened?"
"I can take care of myself."
Connor went over the words, but mostly the tone in his voice, in hers, and he found out what went wrong. He had acted like she was the one thing she never wanted anyone to think she was, a nuisance. She was the first born to the oldest living Slayer. And the youngest in the crew. Well, until the twins were born. Her younger Bother and Sister were only a few months older then Ella, and her being about two years older, made her grow up faster then she really needed. But then again, being call as the Slayer at fourteen did a lot of that for her. Her mother, Angel and Spike had protected her, but they never coddled her. She had been acting on her own since she was ten, when she announced that she was to old for childish things and preceded to hand all of her toys over to her sister, Heather.
It was a few years later that she found the way to go back and show him the way home. That was when he noticed the change in her. That was when he saw the girl he first felt the connection with.
He quickly ran up the stairs, he had to make things right with her. He knew she would run to her Uncle Will’s old room. She had always been close with him and he was who she turned to next to him. He reached to door and knocked softly. When she didn’t answer he pushed the door open and stuck his head in. He found her lying on the bed with her face buried in on of the pillows.
"Ty?" He called softly as he walked over and sat down next to her.
"Leave Connor." Came her short reply.
"Never." He said as he leaned over and gently touched her shoulder. She jerked her shoulder away from his hand and quickly moved off the bed from the other side. She walked to the window and opened the heavy drapes.
"I never asked for you to help me." Her voice was soft and laced heavily with her accent. He loved her accent. He could sit for hours and listen to her ramble, because she always slipped into her accent when she was letting herself go.
"I know you didn’t." He said just as soft as he moved to stand behind her. "I didn’t mean it."
"Then why?" She asked as she turned to face him.
"Because," He started as his hands came up to her face and he brushed her tears away with his thumbs. "Because, I wouldn’t know what to do if something happened to you. You saved me by bringing me back. You’re my best friend."
She moved her head out of his hands and turned to face the window, again. "Yeah, best friend." She said softly.
Connor couldn’t believe his ears, she seemed sad about the fact that she was his best friend. At that moment he made a life altering decision. "I have to go somewhere for a few days." Tiger turned and looked at him quizzically. "I’ll tell you when I get back. Watch Ella and stay out of trouble." As he spoke the last word he moved closer to her and kissed her on the forehead. He leaned his forehead against hers before he continued. "I need to make things right. I promise , I’ll be back."
With that he turned and walked out leaving Tiger to stare after him
wondering what he meant.
Connor left to set things right, leaving the girls to take care of themselves. They spent more time with Dawn and were keeping an eye on their future parents. Dawn invited them to the wedding, and both girls had to stop each other from going after their fathers. Friday came and went and Tiger picked up the book, but she refused to do anything until Connor came back.
The two had been brought into the Scooby Gang, under a bit of magic and them having saved Dawn on night when a few vamps got too close. Tiger had placed a heavy glamour spell on Ella, so that no one could pick out the likenesses between her and her mother.
Spike was the only one that could pick out who her mother was, but he kept quiet. He had been keeping an eye on the two and Tiger had started to keep him company during the day light hours. She had come by the first time when Ella and Dawn had gone to the mall. Tiger had come over and meet Clem again, and the three had sat down and had a fun game of Poker, minus the kittens. Spike could tell that by the way Tiger played cards that he was the one that had taught her in the future. That was something he was still coming to terms with more then anything. That she was his Alexandria’s daughter from the future.
Alexandria was the first Slayer he had become involved with. He had been a friend of her families since before her mother was born, and when he found out that she had been called as a Slayer, he felt the urge to protect her. So he did. When Alex had to move to the states, he stayed behind to take care of Dru. Thru everything Dru had been good about his relationship with Alex, that was until he learned the truth about how Alex’s mother was killed. He knew it was a vampire, but he didn’t know who, until Dru started bragging. Dru had become agitated because the stars had told her about Alex’s future, and in doing so showed her his and Alex’s future relationship. He left Dru that night to tell Alex what he had learned, but when he arrived at her house in Boston, he found he couldn’t. When she opened the door and smiled up at him, he looked into her blue eyes and couldn’t bring himself to hurt her more then she already had been.
He ended up staying with her and her Watcher, Michael, and helping her with the Slaying. Michael was killed on Alexandria’s seventeenth birthday and Spike knew that Dru was the one that killed him. He started protecting Alexandria more, because he had found he had fallen in love with her. It was a two years later everything fell apart. Alexandria had found out that Dru had killed her mother, her Watcher and her best friend, but the thing that hurt her more then anything was that he had lied to her. She left, after he had found her battered and bloodied body and tried to turn her.
He hadn’t seen her since but he had thought about her, and seeing Tiger and how close she was to him, gave him hope that he would someday get his friend back. Because even though him and Alexandria were lovers at the end, they were friends for most of their relationship and that was what he missed most of all.
Spike, Tiger and Clem happen to be playing Poker as we speak, shall
we look in on them?
Tiger looked at Spike and then over at Clem, the demon with a serious droopy dog skin condition. When she looked back at her cards she knew what needed to be done. "I’ll see you and raise you a red gummie bear." She said as she added a red gummie to the pile in the center of the table.
"Oh, the little girl thinks she a big bad." Mocked Clem as he added his bears. "What do you think Spike?"
Spike looked up from his cards and then at the two. "I think you better not upset the bit, she may hurt you." He said as he looked back down at his cards. As he put in his bears, Tiger stuck her tongue out at Clem. "Ok, call ‘em." Spike said and they laid down their cards. Spike’s three Queens, beat Clem’s pair of tens, but Tiger’s full house of Aces and Eights, beat them all.
Tiger grabbed her winnings as she started to get up. "Don’t say it. I know." When she had all her gummies in a sandwich bag, she turned to leave. "I’m heading to pick up Dawn and Ella, we’re heading to the Bronze. I’ll see ya later, Uncle Will."
After she left, Clem finally found his voice. "Aces and Eights, Spike." He said still looking down at her cards.
"I know, Clem. The Deadman’s Hand." Spike said looking towards the door she had just left through. "Guess I know what I’m doing tonight. What about you?"
"I’m in. I’ll bring the hot wings." Clem said as he stood and headed towards the door. "I’ll be back in a hour, as soon as the sun sets."
~Part: 5~
Tiger walked towards the Crawford street mansion lost in her thoughts, again. This time she was allowed to fully lose herself in them, because she still had an hour before sunset, and a half hour before she was supposed to meet Dawn and Ella. Dead man’s Hand, Sign of trouble to come. She thought, as she ran a hand absently through her hair. Connor had been gone for about a week, and she missed him. It was the first time they had actually really been apart since she was five, and before that because her and her parents lived in London for about half of the year.
She hoped that a nice night out at the Bronze would clear her mind, so she could figure out their next move. She never mentioned it to Ella, or her Uncle Spike, but she was scared. She had started to notice things were changing, and she didn’t like how that could possibly influence their timeline.
Tiger arrived to their home, well, Angel’s home at this time, and quickly made her way upstairs to the room she had claimed as hers. She pulled out the black leather pants and the dark blue silk shirt, she found among Spike’s clothes still in the closet, and set them out on the bed. She smiled to herself as she remembered the few times she had ‘borrowed’ Spike’s clothes before, while she took off her boots. Her mother used to laugh, when she would come down in one of Spike’s shirts, or a few times his jeans, because the looks on his face would send anyone into fits of laughter. Tiger would always answer the faces and remarks with the same comment, ‘Buy some more clothes and we wouldn’t have this problem, or you could always take me shopping.’
Tiger slipped into the warm bath, she had fragranced with some bath salts she had found in a shop a few days before. She leaned against the back of the large tub and allowed herself to fully relax and her raw, stinging muscles to be soothed by the balmy water.
Soon, she was relaxed enough and slipped into a slight slumber. She started to dream, but it seemed different to her, more like a memory then a dream. She was about four and was running around the fountain in the courtyard of the hotel. She was laughing, with her pigtails lightly tapping her face with her movements. She abruptly turned and headed into one of the grassy side areas, but before she made it four feet in, she was tackled from behind. Whoever tackled her rolled with her as their momentum carried them. They came to a stop with her pined beneath the other body and she looked up and saw slightly worried brown eyes looking down at her. She felt herself smiling back that the little boy that was connected to those eyes, as she heard him speak.
“Tag, Tiger, you’re it.” He said before he leaned down and kissed her quickly on the cheek, before he jumped up and started running away.
She pulled herself up; as she wiped the cheek he kissed her on, and heard herself reply. “Yuck, boy coodies. I’ll get ya for that, Con.”
Tiger sat up in the tub quickly, while her small voice echoed in her ears. ‘I’ll get ya for that, Con.’ She shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts. She knew the dream was impossible. Connor was always older then her, and the little boy in her dream was close to her age, but the fact that she had called him ‘Con’, was what confused her most. She was the one that gave him that nickname, and she was the only one that called him that, well, except for her mother, but that was only when they were in trouble. She would always say, ‘Well, the Double Trouble Cons of LA are at it, again.’
She pushed her dream to the back of her mind, as she got out of the tub and started to dry herself off. She did a quick spell that her mother had taught her, and within a few moments she was completely dry, again. She checked her watch and saw that she was now a half hour late. She quickly got dressed and ran a brush through her long brown hair.
~~~*~~~
Tiger quickly made her way to the Bronze. When she entered, she saw Ella and Dawn right off. They were sitting at one of the high tables by the dance floor. She made her way over to them, but stopped half way there as she caught sight of someone at the bar. She finished her way towards the table, but never took her eyes off of the bar. “How long has he been here?” She asked after Dawn noticed her.
Dawn followed Tiger’s line of sight and saw Xander sitting at the bar. “I don’t know. I didn’t see him when we came in, he must have just showed up.”
Tiger nodded and turned back to look at Dawn and Ella. “So how was shopping?” She said as she smiled. She saw Ella watching her with a worried look, and shook her head slightly.
“Oh, it was great. We found some really cool outfits.” Dawn said not noticing the exchange. “Wanna dance?”
“Sure.” Tiger said as she followed the girls out on to the dance floor. They started dancing and tried to get lost in the music. Getting lost in the music was easier for Dawn and Ella, than it was for Tiger. Her mind kept wondering to the dream she had earlier and the man sitting at the bar. Her eyes wandered towards him and she saw him take a gulp of his drink, before asking for another.
Her attention was pulled from Xander when she felt a presence she knew enter the club. She turned her attention towards the door, expecting to see Connor standing there, but what she saw was a young man about seventeen years old, that look strikingly familiar. Their eyes locked and she stopped dancing as he started walking towards her.
Up on the catwalk, a voice broke the silence that seemed to have fallen over the club, but in reality was only in the mind of one of the two observers. “Who’s that, Spike?” Asked Clem as he watched the new comer walk towards Tiger.
“I’m not sure, but she seems to know.” Spike said absently as he watched out for Tiger’s safety.
Down on the dance floor, Dawn and Ella turned to Tiger about to ask her about heading back to the table, being that a slow song had started play, but stopped when they noticed the young man walking towards her. He seemed to focus solely on Tiger as he walked. The two girls turned and giggled softly as they made their way back to the table. They sat down and watched the guy stand in front of Tiger and take her slowly into his arms and start to dance with her. Ella leaned over and whispered to Dawn as the couple of the floor started dancing. “I wonder what Connor would say if saw this?”
Dawn looked over at Ella and smiled. “Its probably the push he would need.” Dawn laughed slightly as she looked back at the dance floor. Her and Ella had been talking a lot and they mostly have been wondering when Connor was going to get a clue and realize that Tiger was in love with him. “I’m going to get another coffee, you want?” Dawn asked as she got up from the table.
“Thanks. But no coffee, remember?” Ella said laughing.
“Right. I forgot you have the same problem as Willow.” Dawn answered before she headed towards the bar.
Spike’s gaze traveled from the couple on the dance floor to the table he had seen the girls sitting at before. He watched as Dawn got up and started walking towards the bar, and his eyes settled on the girl still at the table. He noticed something seem to shift in her appearance, and caught a flash of red in her hair, before the darkness of it came back. “A spell?” He said softly to himself as he continued to watch her. Ella had been a mystery to him. He knew who Tiger’s mother was, but he could never figure out Ella’s parentage. But in that brief moment, when he saw the flash of red of her hair, he figured out who her mother was at least. “So, she’s red’s daughter.” He spoke softly to himself, as his eyes moved back to the couple on the dance floor.
Tiger couldn’t take her eyes off of him. It was the same warm brown eyes and almost wild brown hair, but he seemed so much different. His arms were holding her tight as he returned her gaze. He smiled softly at the confusion he saw in her eyes. “What’s the matter, Ty? Cat got your tongue?”
Tiger took a deep breath before she spoke. “What did you do, Con?” She asked softly. She was still trying to get over the fact that Connor was now only seventeen years old, and holding her as they danced.
Connor pulled her closer to him as they danced. He rested his cheek on the top of her head as he spoke. “I went to LA. I stopped Holtz from getting a hold of me. I told you had to make things right. Now, I grew up with Angel being my only father and Cordy being my mother.”
“What took you so long?” Tiger asked as she snuggled closer to him. She had always felt comforted in his arms, but now there was a different feeling, but she still loved every moment and didn’t want it to end.
“I wasn’t sure how you would take it.” Connor said softly. “I also did it for us. So we wouldn’t feel so alone.”
Tiger smiled softly into his chest. “I’ve never felt alone, as long as you were there.” She was about to say something else, but she heard what sounded like a fight over by the bar. She looked over and saw Xander get punched and fall to the floor. Before, she even said anything; Connor and her were heading over there.
When they broke through the crowd, she saw a guy standing over Xander. He moved like he was going to hit him, again, but she rushed forward and grabbed his arm. “Leave now.” Tiger said to him in a low warning voice.
“Yeah, and what if I don’t. I know a little girl like you can’t hurt me, so why don’t you just run along.” He said with a cocky smile on his face. The guy to his right was trying to get his attention. “Warren?”
The guy named Warren turned to the other guy. “What?” He said temperately.
“That’s the girl.” The shortest of the three said.
“The one from the crypt.” Whispered the guy on the left to Warren.
Warren smiled as he looked back at Tiger. He reversed the hold on her and pulled her to him. Tiger tried to break his hold, but knew they were already drawing a crowed and if she used too much of her strength to get away it would cause too much attention to be called to them. She looked up and found Connor watching her closely, waiting for her to make the first move. She shook her head slightly as Warren started backing them out of the Bronze using her as a shield.
She watched as Xander started to come to and saw Warren walking out with her. She saw the worry in his eyes. She heard her name being yelled and looked up to the cat walk and saw Spike leaning over the railing and yelling to her. Tiger’s mind was working in hyper drive as she tried to figure out what to do. She had heard stories about Warren and knew that he wasn’t above killing someone to get what he wanted and she didn’t want anything to happen to Connor, Xander, or Spike if they tried to help her. She heard her name, again and saw Ella and Dawn looking at her. She could tell they were scared and wanted to comfort them, but wasn’t sure how. Then a thought hit her. Her mother. She looked up at Spike and saw him heading towards the group on the main floor, and took her chance. “Spike!” She yelled, when his head snapped up and looked directly at her she quickly continued. “Get mom here, now!”
The whole ordeal seemed to take forever, when it really only a few moments, before Warren’s hand covered her mouth and then suddenly they were outside the club. She bit Warren’s hand, but noticed that he didn’t even flinch. It was almost like he couldn’t feel it. At that moment, she remembered her father telling her that Warren, at one point in his terrorizing of Sunnydale, had gotten a hold of a pair of ancient stones that made him invincible. He was stronger, and could not be hurt, even by Buffy. She tried to think of something that would get her away from him, when she suddenly felt the sharp pain to the back of her head, and then everything went black.
Back inside, Connor reached down and helped Xander up; they both quickly went out the door. They stopped short when they found nothing in the alleyway. Spike came up behind them and started to look around wildly. “Where did they go?” He asked loudly.
Connor shook his head. “They’re gone. I can’t feel her.”
Xander looked between Spike and the young man that helped him. “Why didn’t she just fight him?” He asked confused.
“She couldn’t.” Came a small female voice from behind them. The three turned and saw Dawn standing there with a now red headed, Ella. Ella spoke, again as the girls moved closer. “He had a very strong magical signature coming off of him.”
Dawn looked over at Ella and noticed her hair. “Ella! You’re hair’s back.”
Ella nodded. “Some how, Tiger’s spell is gone.” She said softly. She looked up at the guys and at the young man that Tiger had been dancing with, she recognized him instantly. “Connor! You’re young!” She said in shock.
Connor nodded sadly as he looked hopelessly up and down the alley. “We need to find her.”
Xander stopped himself from staring at Ella, when he heard Connor speak. He turned and looked at Spike. “What did she mean when she told you to ‘get mom here’?”
“She wants me to call an old friend of mine.” Spike said as he started walking towards the mouth of the alley. “You get the girls to Buffy’s house. I’m going to call in reinforcements.” He said as he disappeared out of the alley.
~Part: 6~
The Desoto sped quickly down the highway toward its destination. Spike broke every imaginable speed limit in his mission, but he had a gut instinct screaming at him that time was an important factor. It normally took two hours to get from Sunnydale to L.A., and he had to make it in a lot less. ‘Tiger’s life might depended on it.’ He thought as he pressed the accelerator harder.
~~~*~~~
~Back In Sunnydale~
Xander sat in the Summer’s living room looking around the group. Willow was sitting in the other chair with Buffy sitting on the arm of it, as Ella, Dawn, and Connor sat on the couch. Ella seemed to almost mold herself into Connor as she sat close to him and Dawn was holding her hand comfortingly.
“So Warren grabbed her?” Buffy asked after Dawn, and Connor got finished telling her the story of what happened.
“Yeah. Jonathon said something about her being the girl from the crypt and Warren grabbed her and backed out the door with her.” Xander said as his attention was pulled back to the matter at hand. His mind had been on the fact that Ella bore a striking resemblance to Willow, when she was younger. The only thing that was different about her was that her eyes weren’t the same green as Willow’s. Ella’s were a striking blue.
“Then what happened to Ella’s hair? I thought it was dark brown.” Willow said, also staring at the younger girl. She couldn’t get over the fact that it was literally like looking in a mirror. Well, one that showed you the past.
“Tiger put a glamour on it. They must have done something that caused her to loose her consciousness and the spell was lifted.” Connor said as he wrapped his arm around Ella as she shivered slightly.
“Why would she do something like that?” Buffy spoke asking one of the questions on everyone’s minds.
“We’re not from here.” Connor started.
“Yeah, we know that.” Xander said interrupting him.
“Xander, stop.” Willow said as she turned and looked at her childhood friend. “Let him speak.”
“Thank you, Willow.” Connor said when she looked back over at him. “We’re not from this time. Ella found a spell a few weeks ago in our time. Tiger and Ella are very strong in magic and wanted to help some people very close to them, so with me coming to make sure they didn’t get into trouble, we did the spell. It brought us back in time.”
“That was when I met you in the cemetery?” Dawn asked as she looked at him. “That was the spell Tiger was talking about?”
Connor nodded. “We left the book behind, so Tiger went to the Magic Box and ordered another.”
“Are you from Sunnydale?” Buffy asked trying to put the pieces to the puzzle together.
“Ella was born in Sunnydale. I was born in L.A., and Tiger was born in London. Tiger’s family moved to Sunnydale a few months after her fourteenth birthday.” Connor continued.
“That’s how you all know your way around Sunnydale.” Willow said remembering a few times when Ella and Tiger had made food runs for the group.
“Yeah. We all pretty much divide our time between here and L.A., in our time.” Connor spoke answering the questioning look in Willow’s eyes.
“What about your parents?” Xander asked. “Tiger told Spike to get her mother.”
“Yeah, Spike knew Tiger’s mother along time ago. She must have told him who she was.” Connor said confused as to how Spike knew what was going on.
“She did.” Came Ella’s first soft reply since they got to the house. “He followed her the first night. He told her later that he recognized her ring. She told him a bit, but no real specifics.”
“He would have recognized the ring. He gave it to her.” Connor said distractedly.
“Why did Spike give her a ring?” Xander asked slightly defensively. He had felt a strong urge to protect the girls since he met them, but the feeling was the strongest with Tiger.
Connor looked over at Xander trying to figure out the emotion her heard in his voice. “Why wouldn’t he? He’s technically her grandfather.”
“What do you mean by that?” Willow asked confused.
“Tiger’s mother is a half breed. She was partially turned by Spike.” Connor said looking over at Willow. “Call Giles. Ask him about a girl by the name of Alexandria MacLeod, daughter of Adriana MacLeod and then ask him to be on the next flight back to Sunnydale. I think we may need his help to get home.”
~~~*~~~
~In L.A.~
The front doors to the hotel that housed Angel Investigations banged open as Spike rushed in. He stopped quickly at the top of the stairs leading down into the lobby, as he saw Angel stand up from the circular couch.
“Spike.” Angel growled slightly at the sight of his grand childe.
“Not now, Peaches.” Spike said as he looked at the dog that came to stand next to Angel. The dark brown and black rottweiler with the patch of white on the top of his head looked at him and almost started towards him, but stopped and sat next to Angel’s feet. “Where’s Alexandria?”
“She’s not here.” Angel said falling into a slight fight stance.
Spike’s eyes moved up from the dog and flashed gold as he looked up at Angel. “Don’t tell me she’s not bloody here. I know she is, because that’s our dog.” He yelled pointing at the dog.
Angel was about to speak when a female voice from the stairs interrupted. “I’m right here, Will.”
Spike turned and looked up the stairway to her left and saw Alex walking down. Her long light brown hair fell loosely over her shoulders as her blue eyes stared at him. He noticed that she was wearing a pair of light blue jeans that had holes in the knees and an over sized sweatshirt along with a pair of sneakers. The sneakers were the only difference in the outfit that she wore now and one that Tiger had been wearing when he first talked to her. As he looked at her he was still amazed at how much Tiger looked like her.
“Blue.” Spike said softly as he took in her appearance and how good it felt to see her after all those years.
“Spike.” Alex called and the dog moved from Angel to her and sat down next to her as she reached the bottom of the stairs. “What are you doing here, William?” Alex said still looking into his eyes.
Spike met her stare and knew what she was doing. She was looking for the truth. He and Alex had always been able to tell when the other was lying, just by looking into each other’s eyes. “There’s trouble. She, I mean, I need you’re help.”
Alex nodded as she saw the look in his eyes. “Let me pack a bag.” Alex said as she turned and headed back up the stairs.
Spike turned back to Angel, who was still standing ready to defend. Both turned their heads as a baby’s cry was heard coming from the office area.
~~~*~~~
~*~At the Secret Hideout~*~
Tiger slowly woke up and heard voices arguing not to far away from her. She felt the gag in her mouth and carefully opened one eye and found she wasn’t blindfolded, because she could clearly see two of the guys that grabbed her. She listened quietly as she watched them.
“Warren, Buffy’s going to be out for blood, now.” The shortest one said. “You took one of her group.”
“The Slayer isn’t going to do anything, Jonathon.” Warren said as he shook his head and looked though an old book that was on the table in front of him.
“I went to school with her, I know how she is about her friends.” Jonathon said as he started pacing.
“Oh, please.” Warren said dismissively.
Tiger couldn’t contain her snort of laughter at his cocky attitude. Warren looked up at her and Jonathon stopped pacing and just stared at her.
“Do you find that funny?” Warren asked as he stood and walked over to her. “Do you think that Buffy is going to save you?”
Tiger looked him defiantly in the eye, but didn’t mutter a word. Warren glared at her and quickly pulled the gag out of her mouth. “So what is so funny then?”
Tiger looked up at him and smirked. She noticed Jonathan take a step back and her smirk grew more like Spike’s. “You think Buffy is who you have to worry about?” She asked coldly. At their blank looks, she continued. “You picked the wrong girl to kidnap.” Was all she said. She left the comment out there, just to warn them slightly.
Tiger’s head rolled with the backhand that Warren struck her with. She turned her head back to look him straight in the eyes. “That was a wrong move.” She spoke in a slow and even voice.
~~~*~~~
~*~At Buffy’s House~*~
Willow sat at the kitchen table with her head in her hands. She had just gotten off the phone with Giles’s and at the mention of the names he said he would be there as soon as he could.
“Willow?”
Willow looked up at the soft voice from the doorway. She found Ella standing there looking worriedly at her. “Is Giles’s coming?” Ella asked after a few moments of Willow not saying anything.
Willow nodded. “Do you want some hot coco?” Willow said trying to find something to get her mind off the fact that this girl looked just like her.
“Yes, please.” Ella said as she moved farther into the kitchen and sat down at the island. She watched Willow move about preparing the coco, and smiled softly.
Willow turned and caught the wistful and slightly sad look on the girl’s face. “Are you ok?” She asked softly.
Ella looked at her and smiled sadly. “Yeah, just missing my mom.” Ella gave Willow a look that left no doubt in Willow’s mind that Ella was her daughter.
“We’ll get you home.” Willow said softly as she reached across and put her hand over one of Ella’s hands. “We’ll make sure Tiger is alright and get you all home safe.”
Ella smiled brightly at Willow. “I know you will.”
Willow smiled at her future daughter. “How old are you?” She asked suddenly.
“I just turned thirteen last Halloween.” Ella said as she grabbed one of the small marshmallows out of the bag that Willow had set on the counter. Ella loved marshmallows, especially the small ones like her father. Sometimes, they would stay up watching old movies on Tv and snack on them.
“Wow.” Willow said smiling at the young girl. “You’re one of the lucky ones that gets candy and presents in one day.”
Ella smiled brightly. “Yep. Tiger and I both do. Tiger was born on her mom’s birthday; so my mom and us make our own special day of it. We’ve named it ‘Witch’s Day Out’.”
Willow looked at the girl surprised. “You practice?” She asked shocked. “Your mom practices?”
Ella knew that look. “Yeah, Tiger’s mom helped her control her power.”
Willow smiled slightly at Ella. She noticed the sad look in her eyes, again and decided to change the subject. “So are you and Tiger best friends?”
Ella smiled as she nodded. “Yep. Tiger and Connor watch out for me. I should be hanging out with the twins, but they don’t like me all that much.”
“Why wouldn’t they like you?” Willow asked wondering how anyone could not like her daughter.
“Well, Heather and Rupert don’t really hang out with us. They mostly stick with themselves. They’re part of the popular crowd at school.” Ella said normally. Willow could tell it didn’t really bother her. “Besides, I’m not in any of their classes. I was bumped up two years, so I went right to high school, so I’m in a few of Tiger’s classes with her.”
“What about Connor?” Willow asked.
“Well, see, he used to be older then us. But now, he’s only about a year older then Tiger.” Ella said trying to work out some of the new memories working their way into her head.
“How did that happen?” Willow asked, as she turned back and finished up the hot coco.
“He must have saved himself from Holtz.” Ella said distractedly as she pulled out a few more marshmallows.
“Isn’t Holtz that guy that has been hunting Angel?” Willow asked as she brought two mugs over to the counter and set one in front of Ella.
Ella looked up at Willow. “Yeah. I didn’t realize that I had said that out loud.” She said as she blushed a little. “I’m not supposed to be telling you about the future.”
“Yeah, I know.” Willow said understandingly. “There’s too much a chance that it might chance things.”
“Yep.” Ella said as she nodded her head. “But things are already changing. Connor’s young. Tiger’s been kidnapped. And through it all we still haven’t gotten done what we came here to do.” Ella said taking a small sip of her coco.
“What did you come to do?” Willow asked studying her daughter.
Ella gulped as she looked up at her mother with a guilty look on her face. “Oopps.”
Willow looked at her and knew exactly what she was feeling. She had said too much. “Maybe if you tell me, I can help you, so that everything will be done when you go home.” Willow said reassuringly.
Ella took a deep breath and sighed slightly. “Well, we came back to get you and dad together, sooner, so that’ll you’ll both be happy.”
Willow looked at her daughter shocked. “You came back to get me and you’re father together?” She asked softly.
Ella nodded.
“Do I know him?” Willow asked searching Ella’s face to try and get a clue as to her future intended.
Ella nodded, again.
Willow caught a look in Ella’s eyes and instantly knew who her father was. Willow had seen that same look over two years ago, and to this day it seemed to almost haunt her.
~~~*~~~
~*~In the Desoto~*~
Spike’s foot pressed harder on the gas peddle as he tried to make it back to Sunnydale as fast as he made it to L.A. The car’s radio filled the silence that had filled the car since they had left the hotel, and being so close but not talking about anything was getting on his nerves. He chanced a look in the rear view mirror and saw Spike, the dog, sleeping with his head resting on Alex’s bag.
Spike was about to say something to break the silence, but Alex spoke first as she turned down the music coming from the radio. “Angel’s following us.”
“Yeah, I know.” Spike said as he reached for a ciggeratte and lit it while keeping atleast one hand on the steering wheel. “He thinks I’m going to hurt you.”
“You won’t.” Alex answered flatly as she reached for his pack. She took one out and followed his suit and lit one. “I won’t let you.” She said as she blew out the smoke.
“When did you start smoking?” Spike asked noticing the first big change in Alex since he last saw her.
Alex didn’t answer right away, and when she did she stayed looking into the blackened window. “About a week after I left.”
Spike didn’t have anything to say to that. He still wasn’t sure how to handle the way she left, or the things that happened afterwards.
“How did you know I would be at Angel’s?” Alex asked the question that had been bugging her since she heard him enter the hotel.
“Tiger told me.” Spike said looking over towards her. “She’s in trouble.”
Alex nodded slightly. “What happened?”
“These guys that have been causing trouble in Sunnydale grabbed her after they found out she had been hanging out with me.” Spike said before he took another drag.
“Who is she?” Alex asked softly, not completely sure she wanted to know.
“She’s someone very dear to me.” Spike answered as he looked over at Alex, again. “She’s your daughter.”
Alex’s head quickly turned and she looked at him in shock and surprise. “I don’t…”
“I know. She and two of her friends did a spell to bring them back in time.” Spike said softly knowing how much Alex always feared being a mother or anything that really had to do with the future. She had been called as a Slayer at the age of thirteen and even though Michael, her father figure and Watcher, had tried to get her to have a normal life, she still insisted on living day by day and never letting herself think of the future. “She’s beautiful, luv.” Spike said as he reached out slightly and tucked a piece of Alex’s hair behind her ear.
“Really?” Alex asked and Spike could hear the emotions in her voice. “I have a daughter?”
“Yes, and she’s just like you.” Spike said a bit wistfully. “She has that habit of acting like me.”
Alex laughed slightly. “Yeah, well, when you learn intimidation from one of the best.” Alex said smiling.
“Cor, I missed you, Blue.” Spike said with a slight sigh.
“I missed you, too, Will.” Alex said as she reached over and patted his hand slightly. “It’s been a long time without my best friend.”
next