Part XIII  - Temptation

Universe B

She had remained frozen-still for the last hour. Laying in bed, on her side, staring at the opened window, trying hard to ignore the male body resting behind her. She stared because every time she closed her eyes a marble-white, toned chest flashed before her. He looked exactly like her Spike. No! Not her Spike, the Spike from her universe. That was the right thing to say – the Spike from her universe.

She felt her arm tingle from under her as the numbness took over. She cursed quietly, trying to rub her limb, to get the blood flowing without stirring and risking to wake up the sleeping vampire. Still, every time she touched her arm she felt as if thousands of minuscule ants were worming their way under her skin. Slowly and as silently as possible, she moved to lay on her back, facing the ceiling. She caught her breath as the vampire stirred. ‘Don’t wake up, please don’t wake up.’ She begged him mentally. She watched from the corner of her eye as he turned to lay on his side, facing her. One of his arms swung over her head spreading it out along the headboard while the other fell across his chest, his hand crawling under him.

Her mind ordered her to look away, but she couldn’t. Silently, she too turned on her side to stare at him. He looked so calm, peaceful. The blue waves of moonlight gliding over his perfect form, bringing a glow to his platinum, tussled hair. Rustled by sleep, it began to show its true coiled nature. Free from the greasy gel and constant combing, it curled at the edges.

Buffy caught herself holding her breath as she gazed at his naked outline. The white sheet clung to his hip, leaving his chest bare to her lurking eyes. As one hand powerfully clutched the covers against her ribcage, the other wandered across the bed and reached for him. Her warm fingers contrasted with the cool, soft skin of his forearm as she moved upwards and eventually caressed his torso.

She froze in place when a guttural moan escaped his parted lips, his tongue jutting out to wet them before disappearing in his mouth.

After a few seconds, even though her mind screamed at her to stop, she moved again, brushing her hand over his skin, her body instinctively moving closer to him until their chests nearly touched. She was lost in the moment. Her heart jumped to attention as she suddenly realised that the arm he had spread out along the headboard now encircled her, his long fingers caressed the sensitive skin of her scapula.

His other arm moved. It flew around her and settled on the small of her back. She was completely trapped now. Nowhere to go. If he woke up… Her heart raced wildly, her mind shouting ‘I told you so’s at her.

She remained still as she tried to figure out how to get out of there, trying hard to ignore the feel of his naked legs intertwining with hers, her face inches from his chest. Slowly, she tried to slide away, it seemed to work for a second, but unexpectedly he moved. His arms tied around her, pulling her whole naked body against his, chest against chest, stomach against stomach and Oh my God, was that…? Oh, God it was! She could feel it, something hard and long poking her lower abdomen. She couldn’t restrain the light groan that tumbled from her lips. She looked up at his face, his eyes remained closed, but a soft smile curled his lips.

Swallowing hard, she froze when his body shifted, rolling over hers, covering her.

‘Oh God! He’s on top of me! Just stop this, stop this. This is…’ Her mind melted away as his lips grazed across her collarbone, up her neck and settled on her earlobe.

“Hum…” He moaned huskily inhaling her scent. “You smell so…” He never finished his sentence as his teeth took the tender bit of flesh into his mouth to nibble at it.

The sheets rustled as he moved snake-like on top of her. His hands wandered over her entire body like a blind man trying to map out the outline of her form. Fingers brushed across her arms, her sides, her hips and back up to cup her cheek as he continued to kiss her neck. ‘Stop this, stop this…’ Her mind repeated the old mantra over and over again as she felt his leg move over hers, lightly pushing to move her knees apart. ‘No!’ it shrieked, but to her own amazement she spread her legs, allowing his hips to slip between them.

“Ah!” she let out a deep breath when she felt him hovering at her entrance.

“I had the weirdest dream…” he whispered, his lips travelling from one earlobe to the other. His voice was heavy and hoarse from slumber.

“Hum…” was the only thing that she was able to say as she felt his left hand move over her hips to keep them from moving.

Her eyes flew open when she realised she had been bucking her hips upwards, trying to… ‘This is wrong… No!’

“Dreamt you’d lost your marbles.” He paused taking a deep breath, his mouth still on her ear. “Said you were from a parallel universe.” She felt him smile against her cheek as he moved to brush his lips over hers. “Said you didn’t want me.”

“Hum…” She moaned as his hand dropped between her legs to caress the inside of her thigh, teasing her mercilessly.

“Do you want me?” He asked before his tongue swept over her lips and begged her permission to enter.

Instinctively, Buffy opened her mouth and he slipped in. His tongue slowly explored hers with restrained desire. Pulling away he repeated:

“Do.” He sucked her lower lip into his mouth and released it. “You.” He moved his fingers higher on the inside of her thigh, brushing over her damp nest of curls before resting on her side. “Want.” His other hand moved from her neck to sweep over her breast and give it a light squeeze. “Me?” His hips moved and he positioned himself just at her entrance, one more inch and he’d be inside of her.

“Yes!” She breathed without even giving it a second thought. Her whole body begged her to say it and she did.

She felt him sluggishly push his hips towards hers, her eyes going wide at the pressure as the head of his cock began to push her swollen lips apart. Suddenly, it was gone. She watched as he faded away and literally disappeared into thin hair. She gasped at the loss. She automatically sat up, her breathing still coming in short but hard pants, her heart slamming against her chest. He was gone and she was alone, in her bed.

~+~

Universe A

“What?” Buffy repeated breathless. “What are you talking about?”

Spike struggled with the buttons of his jeans and eventually he gave up, choosing to simply hold onto them.

“Hum… You’re… You’re not my Buffy.” He managed to say as he looked at her.

She sat up on the couch for a second, her white nightgown turning different shades of blue under the effect of the moon.

“What do you mean?” She asked standing up and walking towards him.

Instinctively, he backed away; trying to keep as much distance between them as possible. He knew that if she touched him again he wouldn’t be able to stop himself.

“Spike?” She called as she noticed him awkwardly stagger backwards. “Honey? What’s the matter?”

The vampire closed his eyes at the term she used. Honey he never thought he’d ever hear her call him that.

“Just… Stay back.” He begged her as he tried to swallow down all of his desire for her. It just burnt him so much.

“W-was it something I said?” Fear was evident in her voice. “Honey, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to… It’s just that…”

She took a step towards him and he backed away once more. He looked like a wounded animal trying to escape his predator. It made her stomach turn.

“Honey, please! I-“

“Stop calling me that.” He tried to sound threatening but it came out like a mewed plea. Every time she said that word, his body would jump to attention; the passion would become too overwhelming.

“Why?” Her eyes became watery and bloodshot as her heart pounded in her chest. “What did I do?” the words barely came out.

“I can’t… be… with you.” He managed to say.

“What?!” She asked alarmed, the fear of losing him accelerating her heartbeat.

“I can’t…” he tried to repeat it, but wasn’t able.

“Spike, I lov-“

“No!” He almost shouted. “Don’t say it!” He didn’t want to hear it from her. Not the first time. He wanted to hear it from… his Buffy.

In the meantime, the one standing in front of him looked as if someone had just pulled the ground from under her feet. The tears began to flow down her flushed cheeks and her legs started to buckle.

“What happened? I thought we… I lov-“ This time she was the one to stop herself. “Wha-what happened? I-“

He felt as if someone had just reached inside his chest and ripped his heart out. In a flash, he was next to her, his arms wrapped around her, his lips whispering soothing sounds to calm her. She nuzzled her face in his neck, her small hands crushed between their chests.

“Shhh…” His hands lightly stroked her hair, brushing the rebellious strands into place.

Suddenly, he felt her fingers dive under his shirt and caress his rippling muscles.

“Buffy…” He started, but before he could finish her lips captured his.

Hungrily, she moved her tongue and invaded his mouth as they kissed, pushing her body against his, making him react instinctively to her touch, her scent, her taste. He was lost. His hands frantically moved down her hips, pulling at the silk nightgown as he grabbed her legs and wrapped them around his waist. Her arms encircled his neck, deepening the kiss as she bucked her pelvis against his.

“Mmf…” He moaned into her mouth feeling her moist entrance against his swollen member; his jeans wrapped around his ankles.

“I-“ she tried to speak pulling away to look into his eyes. He stared back at her, frozen-still. “I lov-“ She started when, suddenly, she faded away, disappeared. Her weight, on his arms, her legs around his waist, her chest against his… gone.

The vampire gawked at the space where she was supposed to be. His arms still wrapped around invisible columns of air.

“Buffy…?” He asked confused.

~+~

Her heart raced as she remained seated in bed. After a while she managed to get up. She was still naked, but didn’t feel a hint of cold, on the contrary, her body burnt like fire; the desire stirring inside of her, emanating all around her. She could still smell him.

She crawled out of bed, her hand reached for the robe on the chair.

“Water.” She thought. “I need water.”

Barefoot she walked along the hall.

“Where am I?” she questioned herself out loud.

It looked like home, but was it? Was she truly at home? What universe was this? Carefully, she made her way down the stairs when she heard something. A moan.

“I….I lov-“ It sounded like… her and then silence.

“Buffy…?”

Spike! Was that Spike? Her mind raced as she took the last few steps as slowly as possible. Before she entered the room, she heard rustling, like someone… Putting their jeans on!

“Spike?” She asked watching the vampire struggle with his trousers.

The blonde immediately looked up from his fly. If he was human he would have been as red as a tomato at that moment.

“Buffy?” He replied when he finally managed to button up his jeans.

They stared at each other for a while. Each untrusting of the other.

“Are you…” He paused and rephrased: “Buffy?” Spike risked taking a step towards her.

“Spike?” She closed the distance between them.

“Parallel universes.” He said.

“Sticky little monster. Married in a parallel universe.”

As the vampire nodded she let out a loud sigh of relief.

“Thank God!” Without thinking, she let her arms wrap around his waist for a hug.

His hands lightly kneaded her back as he settled his chin over her head.

“Good to see you, Slayer.” He said.

“I can’t believe I’m actually saying this but, glad to see you” She looked up at him. ” too.”

She froze. Her eyes grew wide when she felt something hard pressing against her stomach. The blood immediately rushed to her face. Her heart, which had barely been able to calm down, raced once more.

“I’m sorry, I-“ Spike started turning away, when he felt her small hand grabbing his forearm and pulling him to her.

Before he had time to register anything, her lips smashed against his, her fingers gripped the back of his neck, trying desperately to deepen the kiss. With a small impulse, her legs were tightly wrapped around his waist, her robe falling partially open with the motion. As he searched for a newfound balance he staggered backwards, eventually toppling onto the couch.

Her tongue hungrily plunged into his mouth, ravaging it while her fingers mercilessly dug into his hair, her hips bucking wildly against his.

“Buffy…” He managed to say as they fell off the couch and landed on the floor, Spike hovering over her, just like he had moments before. “Buffy… we can’t…”

He wasn’t able to finish as she craned upwards and smashed her mouth against his again, her legs tightening around him.

“Too many clothes.” She breathed tearing his shirt open to reveal his perfectly shaped chest.

“Buff-“ He lost it when her small hand crawled between their bodies and dove under the waistband of his jeans.

His mouth was on hers, his fingers scrambling with the loose knot at the front of her robe, but eventually being able to open it. He gasped at the sight of her naked form; her small breasts, her lean stomach, the small nest of curls that promised him heaven.

He groaned when her hand abandoned his groin for a second, but was relieved when he saw her fidgeting with the buttons of his jeans.

“Can’t… open.” She breathed and he held himself up on his forearm while his free hand reached for his fly.

In a blink of an eye it was open and his swollen shaft popped out. Frantically, she struggled to push his denims down and soon enough they were around his knees.

Placing himself at her entrance, his hands came to frame her face as he stared down on her. Her breathing was shallow, her heart pounded furiously as she waited.

“I missed you so much.” He breathed before slowly moving his hips forward.

“Ah…” Buffy gasped feeling him push her folds apart and enter her. Her back arched up to meet him, to deepen their connection.

His eyes rolled back in his sockets at the feel of her heat, her tightness around him, milking him as he slowly pulled out of her, only to push back in. He repeated the motion over and over again, in a painfully slow process that made her body scream for more.

“Faster…” she barely breathed. “Faster…”

Obeying her command, he accelerated the rhythm gradually, till the point that he ravenously thrust into her, making her cry out in pleasure. As the feeling became almost unbearable and overwhelming powerful, his head fell to her neck suckling at her tender flesh there.

Buffy’s eyes went wide at the thought of him biting her. She had never let him do it, and he probably never would, but the mere insinuation that it could happen made her blood run faster, her heart beat harder.

“Spike!” She screamed as she came. The small electrical charges from between her legs spreading like wildfire through her entire body, making her buck underneath him, squeeze him till he too was tumbling over his own orgasm; a distinctly masculine groan escaping his parted lips.

Then everything was numb. As if every single part of her body weighed a ton. She couldn’t move even if she wanted to. Even if…

“They have to be here, where else would she be?” She heard Xander’s all too familiar voice coming from the other side of the front door.

A distant, muffled moan filtered through her ears as consciousness sneaked up on her. Slowly, the ache in her limbs made itself known, along with a painful throbbing in her temples. She tried to move but it proved to be an impossible task for the time being. She pried her eyelids open to find herself staring up at a creamy white ceiling. She turned her head and realised she was laying in the middle of her living room. To her left Willow and Tara’s still forms were collapsed on the floor. A little further away was and equally unconscious Dawn. Gathering up all of her strength, Buffy was able to painfully prop herself up on her forearms. She dragged her niggling body across the living room, until she reached her sister.

“Dawn…” she called out in a croaky voice as her hand ran across the young girl’s cheek.

She didn’t stir and the Slayer felt her heart jump to attention as her fingers slipped under the turtleneck sweater to rest on the soft skin of her neck. Relief washed over her when she found a steady pulse throbbing against her hand.

“Dawn…” she whispered again.

Slowly, the young teen’s body seemed to respond to the hoarse voice that called her name. Her eyelids flickered open.

“Buffy…?” she asked as her blurry vision began to focus on two large green eyes.

“Are you ok?” Buffy asked worriedly.

Dawn swallowed dryly and nodded scanning the rest of the room to find five unconscious bodies scattered through the living room. Anya was slumped against a wall, Xander was splayed across the couch, Willow and Tara laid at his feet and It’s scrawny little form peeked from behind the armchair.

“Wha-“ Dawn swallowed the acid taste her mouth and continued: “What happened?”

“Ah…” a muffled moan escaped Anya’s parted lips as she began to stir.

Slowly, everyone in the room joined in with their own laments as consciousness arrived in full force. They stared at each other in silence; the memories of what had just happened rushing them.

“Bloody hell.” The familiar London accent broke the stillness between them as a platinum head popped up from behind the couch.

Spike massaged the back of his head trying, at the same time, to steady his legs. His hands came to rest on his face rubbing his eyelids.

“Where is Sam?” Willow asked, scanning the room for the missing redhead.

“She disappeared right before…” Buffy trailed off when she noticed Spike staring up into thin air as if he were seeing something. “Spike…?”

He didn’t answer, merely stood there, eyes wide and glassy gazing into nothingness.

“Sam…” They heard him whisper as he took a step closer to whatever he was seeing.

“Spike, what is it?” Buffy insisted, standing up and crossing the room.

The motion caught in the corner of his eyes seemed to snap him out of his daze and he looked back at the rest of the group, which now stood still gawking at the vampire.

His brow furrowed as realisation came to him.

“You can’t see her?” he asked confused.

“See what?” Anya questioned.

Spike’s gaze drifted from the spot up in the air to the rest of the group and then back again.

“Her!” He pointed upwards.

The gang turned to look at the spot he was pointing to. Nothing, there was nothing there.

“She’s right there!” The vampire insisted.

“What are you talking about?” Buffy asked.

“Sam! She’s there just hovering in mid air.”

A confused frown settled collectively on the group’s eyebrows as they failed to see anything.

“She’s…” he trailed off looking up at the spectacle.

Her wilting form hovered in mid air, her arms and head falling loosely backwards, the red locks of her hair cascading down her arched back as a weak pulsating glow emanated from her motionless body.

In awe, the vampire took a step closer and reached for her. A small gasp escaped his lips when his hand ran straight through her as if she were a mere illusion.

The gang watched as Spike stepped forward and slowly waved his hand in the air.

“Sam…” he called out. She didn’t move, just remained there, slumped as if hanging by a noose tied around her chest.

Suddenly, the soft white light that radiated from her was gone and a dark, black glow replaced it. The vampire immediately stepped back as he watched her start to convulse. Her arms and legs shook erratically as thin murky strings of light began to appear all over her. Soon, thousands of long snake-shaped strings crawled around her limbs and chest, twisting and turning.

Spike frozen in place as the eerie spectacle unfolded before his eyes. Then, as quickly as they had appeared, the black strings of light were gone, leaving only Sam’s hanging form to dangle in mid air.

The group watched the intricate range of emotions displayed on the vampire’s face - fear, awe, panic, terror. What was he seeing? Before they had time to ask it out loud, they had their answer. Out of nowhere, Sam’s slumped form appeared in mid air, right on the spot the vampire had been staring up at.

They all watched as her limp body bobbed up and down for a few seconds before crashing to the floor with a loud thud.

“Sam!”

Spike seemed to be the first to wake up from the collective daze. In a flash, he was kneeling by her side, his hand brushing the fiery locks away from her face. Soon, the rest of the group joined him.

“What happened?” Willow asked.

“I don’t know.” The vampire answered, his eyes never leaving the unconscious girl.

“We better get her to a hospital.” Dawn offered.

“And say what? Excuse me doctor, could you take a look at my friend, she seems to have had a slight case of ‘hanging up in the mid air’?” Anya asked sarcastically.

“We better get her upstairs.”

Before Buffy could finish her sentence, Spike had already crawled his hands under Sam’s legs and neck, swept her up into his arms and was making his way to the first floor of the house.

~+~

“How is she?” Dawn asked nervously rubbing her hands together when she saw Willow come into the kitchen.

“She seems to be ok.” The witch answered.

“What’s wrong with her?” It was Buffy’s turn to question.

“I can’t find anything wrong with her, not physically.”

“Maybe magic?” It piped up from his spot in the corner.

“Tara is doing a spell right now, to see if that’s it.” Willow informed the group.

There was silence for a second as they looked at each other. Millions of questions ran through their minds, only one thing seemed to be clear - Sam had saved them and that had probably caused her current catatonic state.

Buffy watched from the corner of her eyes, observing the vampire who paced nervously in the living room. He hadn’t said a word since he had taken Sam up to Buffy’s room and laid her on the bed. He had simply run his hand over the redhead’s paled cheek and made his way downstairs, leaving Sam in Willow, Tara and Anya’s care.

The Slayer stood up and walked out of the kitchen. She remained motionless at the doorway to the living room, leaning slightly against the threshold, watching him.

Her scent was the first thing that alerted him to her presence, but he continued to pace around, drowned in his thoughts. They stayed that way for a few moments, lingering in a comfortable silence as Buffy waited for him to speak.

“Is she going to be ok?” He finally asked, coming to a halt, his eyes glued to the floor.

“We don’t know yet.” She answered in a low voice.

He swallowed hard before looking up at her.

“I don’t know what she is.” He stated simply. “She just came by one night and said she was there to protect me.” He paused before adding: “She’s not evil. She saved us.”

“I know.”

“I-“ The vampire was cut off as the sound of someone bursting through a door echoed in the room.

Three or four footsteps were heard before a tired, breathless Giles appeared before them.

“Buffy! Oh, thank God you’re alright!” the ex-watcher gasped.

“Giles! What are you doing here?” Buffy exclaimed as she helped Giles make his way to the couch.

He plopped onto the comfortable sofa, taking huge gulps of air, while the rest of the gang walked into the room.

“I…” He gasped once again, still breathless.

He watched as everyone gathered around him.

“Giles!” A squeaky voice piped up as It popped his head from behind Willow.

“Oh, God! What is that thing?” the ex-librarian asked giving the creature a disgusted look.

It’s lower lip jutted out for a painful pout as he recoiled to a corner.

“It’s a Khind’Ara demon.” Anya replied.

“What is it doing here?” The man questioned.

“It’s…” Dawn started, but soon got caught up in figuring out how to explain the situation to the librarian.

“It’s a long story.” Buffy cut in, taking a seat next to Giles. “What are you doing here?”

He never answered, merely reached for the remote control that lay on the coffee table and turned on the TV. They all watched as the first images flickered on the screen.

‘Two more bodies were found, this time at a local bar in Sunnydale. No cause of death has been established although, apparently, these corpses also showed clear signs of drowning much like the other 10 cadavers found earlier today.’

The reporter spoke quickly as behind her the coroner’s department dragged two bagged bodies into a van.

The news continued with strange reports of a series of deaths of the most bizarre causes: spontaneous combustion in the middle of the street, hypothermia in a restaurant, two or three carcasses found half devoured in their own homes with no signs of forced entrance.

They watched in silence until Giles finally turned off the TV.

“We’ve got big trouble.” He stated simply.

“It’s because of the universe mixing thing!” Xander spoke, still staring at the black screen. “While we were in Sam’s bubbly thing, everyone else was outside.” The young man looked back at the gang as realisation hit them.

“Sam? Who’s Sam?” Giles asked confused.

Everyone looked at each other and back to Spike. No one really had the answer.

“We don’t know who she is.” Buffy was the one to speak. “All we know is that she was the one who protected us when…” She trailed off, taking a moment to consider her choice of words. “Something strange has been happening, Giles. The universes are getting all-“

“Mixed up.” The ex-watcher completed her phrase.

“How did you know?” Anya questioned with a frown.

“Back home, we detected the disturbance, but it’s only affecting Sunnydale, for now. I got on the first plane here as soon as I could.” Giles explained.

“What’s causing this?” Willow asked.

“We don’t know yet. We think someone or something might be meddling with the natural order of things and that is causing a powerful unbalance and as a result different universes seem to be clashing together.” The ex-librarian offered.

“How do we figure out who is doing the unbalancing?” Anya asked.

Giles simply looked at her - a blank expression on his face.

“Giles!” Tara’s soft voice was heard from behind the crowd that still gathered around the librarian. “Wha-what are you doing here?”

“Trying to help.” He answered turning to Buffy as he continued. “We have to research this. I don’t think we have much time. This last event was really strong and the next time it’ll only be worse.”

As the two continued to speak, the vampire slipped behind the couch to reach Tara. In a low voice he asked:

“Is she going to be ok?”

Tara shook her head: “I-I don’t know. There doesn’t seem to be anything magically wrong with her. All we can do now is wait.”

Without another word the vampire moved behind her and walked up the stairs unnoticed by the rest of the gang.

~+~

Slowly, he closed the door behind him, careful not to make too much noise. She laid on her back, motionless, eyes closed, auburn locks scattered over the white pillow. He stood by the foot of the bed for a few minutes before taking a seat next to her still form.

~+~

“So he’s from a parallel universe?” Giles asked with a frown as he stared at the strange creature fumbling with the remote in its scrawny hands.

Buffy nodded.

“And that’s not the worst.” Xander started. “Guess who Buffy’s married to over there?”

“Xander!” Willow scolded between clenched teeth when she saw the blush take over the Slayer’s pale cheeks.

“To Spike! Isn’t that hilarious?” the young man laughed, but no one joined in.

“Well, we don’t know what happened in that universe, so…”

Everyone froze and stared at Giles as if he had grown a second head.

“What?” Xander exclaimed confused. “How can you be so carefree about this? We’re talking about Spike, here.” The young man insisted looking around the room, but failed to find the vampire. “Speaking of evil dead, where did he go?”

“He went upstairs to check on Sam.” Tara piped up.

“Who is Sam?” Giles questioned once more.

Everyone remained in silence and Buffy was the one to break the stillness:

“We really don’t know.”

At her answer the librarian furrowed his brow.

“All we know is that she just showed up one night saying that she was here to protect Spike and that she saved us when the whole… thing happened.” The slayer explained.

“Maybe she’s the one causing the unbalance.” Giles offered.

Everyone looked at each other. Could it be?

~+~

Spike watched her in silence when she suddenly stirred. A low moan escaped her parted lips as she slowly turned on the bed, her shirt twisting slightly as she did so, her shoulder slipping out from under the white fabric. Instinctively, the vampire reached for the material to cover the white, smooth skin when something caught his attention - a small, reddened, circle-shaped mark below her sharp collarbone.

A deep frown settled over his eyebrows as he contemplated it. There was something extremely familiar about it. What was it? As he questioned himself, Sam continued to stir sluggishly, turning her head to face Spike. Her eyelids flickered a bit, but she was still in a daze when she looked at him from under hooded eyes.

“Hum…” she mumbled hoarsely as the vampire continued to stare at the mark. “William…?”

The word came out as a mere whisper but it seemed to unlock something inside him. Suddenly, all of his senses were heighten, her soft scent of jasmine intensified causing his nostrils to flare, her scarlet curls, her pale complexion, her obsidian eyes, all of them scattered pieces of a long lost puzzle that now seemed to come together to draw the picture of a small child. Long forgotten silly giggles echoed in his ears, blurred flashes of the past flickered before his dazed eyes - a laugh, a glimpse of a blue dress, pieces of a black board scattered on the floor. He pulled back for a second as the memories seemed to literally assault his mind. Without thinking, the name tumbled from his mouth:

“Samara…?”

A partially conscious Sam looked back at him, a hint of fear and uncertainty swimming in her black eyes.

“Hello… William.” She breathed.

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