William woke up and looked at Elizabeth. And as was the case everytime he saw her sleeping next to him so peacefully, he counted his blessings.

He hated to wake her up, but worried that she might wake and think he was a dream again. He smiled, surely if her body felt half as sore as his did, she'd know that she hadn't dreamed all of yesterday. Still...

"Gettin' up, luv," he whispered to her.

She only mumbled back to him, and he didn't have the heart to rouse her to full wakefulness. He lay there with her in his arms a few minutes, until he thought of something. A few minutes later, he found what he wanted in the closet and writing a quick note, left them on the pillow next to Elizabeth.

He then dressed, washed up a bit, and before leaving the bedroom, picked up the Rocky Road stained towels and pan of left over ice cream off the floor.

He started some coffee, looked in the refrigerator and freezer to get some breakfast ideas, and went to the laundry area with the towels.

He read all the backs of the various detergents and stain removers, as well as the bleach and hydrogen peroxide.

He decided on the hydrogen peroxide, Spray 'n Wash, and detergent as his best bet. Hmm...dark towels, dark = cold, but towels usually are done in hot...a conundrum. Oh well, warm then.

Buffy woke up, once again; surprised her arm didn't connect with a warm body. She opened her eyes and came face to face with two beady ones on the pillow next to her. Mr. Spordo looked back at her; underneath his chin was tucked a note. It read:

Dear Elizabeth,

Didn't want you to worry, so Mr. Spordo is here to let you know that I'm still about.

Went to have some coffee and look at what we might do for breakfast. If I'm not inside, then I've gone over to the barn to look at the DeSoto again. Won't have gone far.

Love,

William

She giggled to herself, "Thank you, Mr. Spordo," she said, giving the spikey haired pig a kiss on the nose.

She lay back and listened to see if she heard what William was up to. All was quiet, except for the sound of the wash machine. What could he be washing now, she wondered?

She washed up and got dressed, and went out to the kitchen. She didn't see William, but took a quick look into the washing machine. "Oh," she said aloud. The mere thought of Rocky Road made her stomach flip-flop and not in a good way. She didn't think she'd want to see any more of that stuff again for a very long time, if ever. She snickered out loud. "Maybe we should stick with vanilla next time. Or lowfat yogurt…Nah! That would take all the fun out of the decadence!"

She grabbed a mug full of coffee and headed out toward the barn. William had the hood of the DeSoto up and didn't hear her approach until she greeted him. He jerked his head up, banging it on the hood, "Ow! Oh, good morning Elizabeth."

"Ooh, sorry, didn't mean to startle you. Think that's an occupational hazard of all guys looking under a hood. Welcome to the macho world of cars, William," she said, trying not to laugh. She came over to him, giving his head a kiss, followed by one on the lips.

"So what are you looking at?"

"Not sure. Just trying to remember what Xander told me about this and that. Guess I should get a manual or something, so I can at least name the parts with more accuracy than this or that, huh?"

Elizabeth thought about it for a minute, "Well, we could call up a couple of garage mechanics or auto places and ask them where you could get a manual on the old thing."

"Xander said you should never insult a car in front of it."

"Sorrrrry!" she said, grinning, patting the car, "good car, good car."

"Xander said I might be able to order a manual on it through an auto parts store, or look online at something called eBay in their auto section."

She rolled her eyes. If she'd had a dime everytime someone suggested eBay for one thing or another...better yet, if her mother had invested a dime or two when eBay first came out... Come to think of it, didn't she have eBay to thank for her very resurrection? Hadn't Anya or Tara gotten the Urn of Osiris from eBay. Ha! Wonder what The Powers that Be thought of that one!

"Yeah, that might be just the place, they have everything else, celebrity photos to resurrection urns."

"What's that?"

"Nothing, just saying Xander is right, you can probably find a manual for a DeSoto on eBay. We can look later if you want to. Did Xander explain what eBay is to you?"

"World's largest ever auction?"

"Yep, that about sums it up."

"Oh, Xander said I should ask you how long it’s been since the oil and other fluids have been changed in the car."

She rolled her eyes, having now heard, ‘Xander said,’ about half a dozen times, and she hadn’t even finished her first cup of coffee.

"…he said it’s very important to keep fresh oil in there, even if it hadn’t been run in a while," William went on.

"Why? Doesn’t the oil lubricate the engine? So, if it wasn’t going anywhere, what’s the point?"

"I don’t know, Elizabeth, it’s all new stuff to me," he said, pulling himself up to look at her. "So, did you ever change the oil?"

She shook her head, feeling guilty. Spike had told her to change it every 3000 miles, but then her dad gave her a car, and she could just never bring herself to drive it or barely even to look at it, much. "No, I didn’t. I’m sorry. I just never drove it, so I didn’t think about oil change stuff. I think I mentioned something about it to Clem though, once. Maybe he did," she said, shrugging.

"So, you never even started the car in all the time…?"

"No, again, sorry."

He exhaled and turned away, with a sort of look men reserved for women who didn’t know things about cars.

Seeing it, Buffy got angry. What gave him the right? Like he knew about cars! Ha! And that look, she’d seen it before, on…on…Xander! Oh, but she was going to have a word with him about teaching that look to William! No, better yet, with Angela!

Besides, she hadn’t asked to take care of his car, had she? ‘Hey gonna die and leave you, but take care of the DeSoto, here’s the house keys, have a normal life!’ These were the irrational thoughts as she walked away.

She tuned on her heel and without another word, stomped back toward the house.

He just caught her face as she turned, "Elizabeth?" he asked, perplexed.

He went after her, "Elizabeth, wait up!"

"I’m sorry that you and Xander think I failed in the car maintenance department, I was a little busy what with grieving, school, work, taking care of this place, making sure my own car was running, all that little woman stuff," she said, over her shoulder, as she continued walking.

She’d almost made it to the back porch, when William caught up with her. He grabbed her arm and turned her around, "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that you didn’t take care of the car, or that you were even supposed to. I just got caught up in what Xander told me. I don’t care about the car, Elizabeth. I don’t even know how to drive it," he said, sheepishly. He put out his hand to brush some hair back from her face; "I care about you."

Her eyes softened as he tried to pacify her. "I’m sorry, too. Guess I was just having a moment…a moment ago," she said, smiling and rolling her eyes, "No big, okay? How about I go get started fixing us some breakfast?"

"Thought I was going to do that?"

"I’ll just start it, and when you come back, you can finish it, okay?"

He nodded, "I’ll be in as soon as I close the hood and the doors."

"What are we having by the way?"

"Saw some sausages in the freezer. Scrambled eggs and sausages?"

Buffy nodded, "I’ll go beat the eggs or something equally helpful."

He laughed and reached forward to give her a kiss, "See you in a minute."

Walking over toward the car, William thought to himself that he’d have to tell Xander he was right about his warning, women do get jealous over cars!

After breakfast, trying to make up for being so sensitive earlier, Buffy had helped William look for a DeSoto manual on eBay. They’d found some other model years, but not his. She helped him email a seller who seemed to have a lot of DeSoto manuals from other years, hoping he might also have the one William needed, or at least be able to steer him in the right direction.

She also set up an email account for William to use, so he could email any of their friends, or whoever in the future he might request some information from.

She also warned him of spam.

"…and so that’s why you don’t want to respond to anything from someone you don’t know. These people will make it sound like they know you by putting a greeting in the subject line or say something like, ‘here’s the information you requested,’ and when you open it, it’s some get rich quick scheme or sleazy porn thing."

"Well, I don’t think that I’ll have to worry about me thinking it’s from someone other than our friends, as I seem to have a very small circle of acquaintances. Guess whomever else I may have been friends with must have forgotten all about me in the past 5 years, or think I’m dead, huh?"

Buffy came up to him and put her arms around him and gave his neck a kiss.

He didn’t say anything, just let himself enjoy the warmth of her arms for a moment, then he asked, "By the way, what’s porn?"

"It’s short for pornography," Buffy said, looking at him, and he shook his head. "You’ve never heard the word?"

"Well, there’s the Greek word pornographos, which means…" he stopped, blushing, "don’t make me tell you, please, Elizabeth."

She smiled, hugging him tighter. He was awfully cute when he was embarrassed. "I won’t, but I think you’re getting the idea. There’s a lot of websites out there, well thousands, probably hundreds of thousands that are full of pornography, and they get a hold of people’s emails and try to direct them to their sites, so they can sell them subscriptions to look at their stuff. Totally revolting."

"I should say! How do they get your email, if you don’t give it to them?"

"Honestly, I’m not even sure, but I think they have software that just goes around to all the popular sites like eBay, and probably thousands of other sites, and if your email is on there, then they just grab it and start spamming you."

She went on to tell him that she hadn’t had much spam, since she was now on AOL Version 30.0 with the newest spam guards, so he shouldn’t worry. They’d spent about an hour discussing privacy issues, the Internet and other basic rights and freedom issues.

It was interesting listening to him talk about these issues, as she knew how he felt about them was more a reflection of a Victorian’s upbringing than much to do with the past month. For the most part, he seemed to be pretty much in synch with the way she thought about these things, even if she sometimes played devil’s advocate, just to see how he would react. He was better at understanding the other side’s position, than she thought he would be. She told him so.

"Well, Elizabeth, from what my memory serves," he said, giving her an eyeroll, "I do seem to remember listening to the debate team at Oxford. And I had a class in debate, also. They would assign you a certain position that you had to defend it, whether or not you truly believed it. Lots of times, while doing research, you’d sort of come to understand that opposing thought, even coming to believe it yourself."

"And if you didn’t?"

"If you didn’t, you’d argue even better, I think, just trying to show that you could…oh, I don’t know…rise to the challenge, perhaps."

"Sounds interesting. Did you like it? Debating?"

"I liked the research better, but I hated standing up in front of my peers, I just…"

"What?" she asked softly.

"I just was…awkward, wasn’t very popular…"

She spun the chair at the desk around so that he was facing her, "Then your classmates were all stupid! You’re quite the charmer, you know," she said, plopping down on his lap, "and very popular with me!"

"Am I now?"

"Um-hmm," she said, and leaned in to give him a slow, lingering kiss.

He groaned, "I love how you make me feel, Elizabeth. Know that?"

She nodded, "Like the way you make me feel, too. And the way you feel," she said, winking at him, as she squirmed a little bit more into his lap.

They walked to Clem’s along a different trail than they had the day before. Buffy had called him to let him know they were on their way.

Clem had sounded nervous, and William was uncharacteristically quiet on the way over. She overcompensated for her own nerves by chattering the whole way there.

"There it is," she said, as they came to a clearing. It looked a lot like their house, only smaller in size and with a much smaller front porch.

The door opened as they got to the bottom steps. Buffy looked up at a human faced Clem and smiled. He was wearing a new pair of blue jeans and a nice San Diego Chargers T-shirt. He smiled at her briefly, but his eyes were on William.

William looked up at him and tilted his head a bit, something about the man seemed a bit familiar, but he had no distinct memory of him, just a feeling.

"Clem?" Buffy said, after a few moments of him and William staring at each other.

"I’m sorry, come in Buffy, Spike, I mean William," he said, holding the door for them.

"You look nice," Buffy said as she walked in, giving him a little nod of approval and encouragement.

He cleared his throat.

They walked into the living room and looked back at Clem, who still didn’t look like he knew the next thing to do.

"Whatever it is you’re cooking smells really good, but then you always were a great cook, Clem. We really enjoyed your stew the other night. Isn’t that right, William?"

"Huh?" he said, still also staring, "uh, yes, quite delicious, very tasty, filling…"

"Clem?"

"Huh? What?" Clem said, turning to Buffy, finally.

"I’m going to go into the kitchen and check the food, okay?

"Oh, it’s almost done, it might be done. Maybe you could just stir the au jus?"

"The all juice?"

"No, au jus."

"What’s au jus?" she asked.

"For on top of roast beef," William answered, "right?"

"Right," Clem answered, nodding.

"Be back in a few," she said, reaching up to give William a kiss on the cheek. She also gave Clem a little pat on the arm on her way to the kitchen.

"Would you care to sit down?" Clem asked William, pointing to a chair.

"Yes. Thank you," he answered and sat.

Clem swallowed, then said, "I forgot to tell Buffy something, I’ll be right back," he said and hurried from the room.

Clem came into the kitchen in a flurry. Buffy looked up at him, questioningly.

"Buffy, I don’t know what to say to him! He seems so different from Spike, I mean he looks like, he has his features, but nothing else seems like him at all."

"Clem," she said, coming over and putting her arm on him, "I know it seems like that. I’ve been through it, we all have, Dawn, Willow, Xander…but the more you get to know him, the more you’ll see that William has always been a part of Spike, too. Just really well hidden. But you’ll surely come to see some part of him you recognize, he was your friend and up here…well, this was the place that William came out the most, I think. And even if you don’t right away, he’s really a nice guy, you’ll like him, I think. Please, Clem, he needs you. You and I are the only people he knows up here. Please, just go talk to him," Buffy said, her eyes pleading with his.

"About what?"

"I don’t know…anything. If it’s something he doesn’t remember, he’ll tell you so…just please make an effort, for me. Please?"

"Okay," Clem said, getting ready to go back out there.

"Wait, take this," she said, pouring two glasses of wine and handing them to him.

Clem shook his head, "Save them for lunch, I got something better," he said, opening the cabinet under the sink and grabbing a bottle of bourbon.

Her eyes widened, but she held her tongue. It was obvious that he needed a bit of liquid encouragement to get on track.

"Don’t get him drunk," she said, forgetting about the tongue holding, "he doesn’t really drink."

Clem nodded and went back out in the living room.

"Hey, William, thought you might like a shot," he said, holding up the bottle.

William nodded. He’d almost come out to the kitchen, as he was beginning to feel uncomfortable sitting there by himself.

Clem poured and handed William the shot glass.

"Here’s to being back among the living, er, I mean being back home," Clem said, making the toast, and mentally kicking himself for his choice of words.

The double entendre was lost on William, having just taken it just as a manner of speaking. He clinked shot glasses with Clem and downed the bourbon.

"Good stuff," he said, coughing as it burned on its way down his throat.

Buffy opened up the door a crack and looked out, she could hear the low murmur of talk. She smiled and closed it. She’d give them a little more time by themselves before she came out. She checked the au jus, checked the timer on the roast and the thermometer, then sat down with a glass of wine and one of Clem’s many cookbooks.

"So, William, how you doing?"

"Alright, I guess. Better than when Elizabeth first saw me," he said, looking at Clem, "she tell you about that?"

"Not sure, you mean the part about your being in the hospital and all that?" he asked.

William nodded, "That and I have no memory of…well, anything of my life here or for the past 28 years of it. Not even of her, if you can believe that."

Clem nodded his head, "Tough break man!"

"But it’s not all bad, sometimes it feels like I’ve been given a second chance or something. A clean slate. Know what I mean?"

Clem nodded.

"And then there’s Elizabeth…she’s," he smiled, shyly, "she’s pretty amazing, I feel so very fortunate. If it wasn’t for her, I don’t know what I would’ve done…probably still been in that bloody hospital!"

There were at least half a dozen responses that Clem came up with in his head, each one in turn, being dismissed as ‘saying too much,’ in regards to Buffy and Spike’s relationship.

"Well, she loves you man, and Buffy, she’s always been a mountain-moving kinda gal."

The timer rang. Buffy turned the heat down to low and went out into the living room.

William and Clem were now talking about the DeSoto.

"I changed the oil once about 3 years ago, I was going to do it again, but it slipped my mind," Clem told him.

"Oh, that’sss perfectly alright," he said, slurring his words.

"I’ll come show you how to do it in a couple of days, okay good buddy?" Clem said, starting to refill the shot glasses again.

Buffy put her hand over William’s, "The bell rang, I think maybe it would be a good time to go eat now, don’t you?" she said pointedly at Clem.

"One more shot for Spike and me," he said, trying again.

"I don’t think you guys need another shot," she said, once again putting her hand over the glass.

"May not need one, but want one," William said, then started to giggle.

Buffy rolled her eyes and shot Clem a dirty look, "NO!"

"Aww mom!" Clem and William both said at the same time followed by another burst of giggles.

"Great, just great," she mumbled, "fine, you guys want to get shit-faced, I’m going to go have lunch," she said, turning and marched off to the kitchen.

William looked at Clem rather guiltily, "Guess we’d better follow her or I’m going to be in trouble."

Clem nodded, "You’re not the only one. Let’s have another before we face her, what do you say?" he winked conspiratorially.

William nodded and they downed their third shot.

Buffy was already sitting down and starting to eat when they came in.

She didn’t say anything when William sat down and sloppily draped an arm around her, followed by a wet kiss to her cheek, "Don’t be angry, Elizabeth. Just having fun."

"What you’re going to have is a big hangover," she said, backing away from his alcohol heavy breath.

"Pssshhh tosh," he said, waving her off with his hand.

"Pish tosh? What?"

William shrugged.

Clem was staggering over to the stove.

Buffy sighed and got up, "Clem, sit down before you fall down or burn yourself, I’ll serve, okay?"

Clem stumbled into a chair and gave William another wink.

Buffy gave them each a plate of food and poured herself a glass of wine.

Clem grabbed the bottle when he was done and poured a glass for him and William, "What should we toast to?"

"Friends. Good friends," William said, holding up his glass.

"Good and sober friends," Buffy added.

"Good friends, sober or not," Clem said, and they all clinked glasses.

Buffy wouldn’t have minded getting a little buzz on herself, but looking at William and Clem, she figured she’d better be the one voice of sobriety around here. Besides, she was rather pissed at how the afternoon was turning out.

As for Clem and William, they were having a grand old time!

After lunch, Clem invited them to go back to the living room. William accepted, but Buffy said she’d help with the cleanup. Truth be told, she was too irritated with both of them, to enjoy their drunken company much. She finished up in the kitchen then told them she was going to get the car.

"Why?"

"Because I don’t think that William is in any condition for a long hike home," she answered. "I’ll be back in half an hour."

She walked home, wondering why the afternoon had to turn out the way it did. Why couldn’t they have just talked? Xander and Spike didn’t have to get drunk to talk to each other. Sure, it had been uneasy, but did they have to get plastered?

She’d never seen Spike that drunk. Well, almost, but she knew William was going to probably regret it, more than Spike ever did by later in the day, or the next morning. She hoped he hadn’t been some sort of alcoholic in his former life. Great, she thought, just great. Something else to worry about.

She got home and got the car keys. She thought about bringing over the mixing bowls they’d bought Clem, but she figured they might get broken in the state Clem was in. Better leave the gift giving until another day. A sober day!

She could hear the stereo on full-blast as she parked the car in front of Clem’s.

She walked in to some hard rock song that she didn’t recognize at first, and with Clem doing his best air-guitar impression, while William was cracking up.

She shook her head at them.

"Buffy!" Clem yelled coming over to her, still jamming on the air guitar and warbling off key to the song, "In the midnight hour, she cries more, more, more. With a rebel yell, she cries more, more, more, more, more, more…oh yeah…"

Buffy smiled her most tolerant, adult smile and went over to the stereo and turned the volume way down, "We should go now, Clem. Thanks for the lovely time."

"Aww, you guys don’t have to leave," Clem said, looking deflated all of a sudden.

"Yeah, I really think we need to."

"I don’t want to leave yet. I’m shtill haffing fun!" William who was slumped down in the chair said.

She turned and fixed him with an icy glare that partly sobered him up.

"Um…guess I’d better, though," William said, smiling sheepishly at Clem and staggering up to a standing position.

"Oh, okay, don’t want Elizabeth here to bust your…"

"Clem!" Buffy said, with a warning look.

He just grinned at her and William.

"Oh, wait," he said, taking the CD out of the player, "here, you can have this."

"No! You don’t have to do that!" William said.

"I want to, it’s my welcome home gift to you, Spike. You’d better take it, or my feelings will be hurt."

"Well, thanks! You’re such a good friend," William said, drunkenly, going over to Clem. They gave each other a big hug, pounding each other on the back.

"We hafff something for you, too. Don’t we, Lizbeth? A nice gift for my friend, Clem," William said with his arm around him.

"Yes, we do. I’m sorry I forgot it today, we’ll bring it by soon. Okay, Clem?"

Clem nodded, "That’s so nice!" he sniffed.

"Look, Lizbeth…Billy Idol. Clem said he stole his look from me," he said, grinning like a fool, with tears in his eyes at the same time.

Buffy rolled her eyes, "Did he now?" she asked, shooting another warning look at Clem, which was totally either ignored or missed. She could tell it was going to be a really long evening!

Buffy grabbed William’s arm and steadied him as they walked to the car. Clem stood on the porch and waved.

"Bye Spike, bye Buffy!"

"Bye, Clem!" they said.

He walked in and stood by the window, watching them drive off.

As William looked back once more, he could swear Clem all of a sudden looked rather rubbery.

END CHAPTER 90

Once they got home, Buffy insisted on William sleeping it off.

William was being drunkenly sentimental, going on about Clem and her, and all their friends, and how wonderful everything was. He also tried several attempts to to get her to go to bed with him, but she refused.

"Why?" he pouted, attempting yet another grab at her, "don't you love me anymore?"

"Of course I do, but I don't go to bed with drunks," she'd told him.

"I'm not a drunk, I'm just drunk," William said, followed by more idiotic laughing.

"Look, I'll stay with you for a few minutes until you fall asleep, but I'm not doing anything with you, understand?"

He nodded, "Okay, I promish I won't compromish you in any way in my inebriated state. Or shouldn't that be I won't compromish you in your inebriated state? If you're not inebriated, you could compromish me, I don't mind."

"No, they'll be no compromise. It's either this or you can just go to sleep on your own, got it?"

"Got it," he said, contritely.

She sat up in the bed and he lay down with his head in her lap. She stroked his hair as he tried to get comfortable.

"The room ish spinning," he told her.

"I'm not surprised."

"Why'sh it spinning?"

"It's not spinning, your alcohol laden head is."

"Oh. Uh-oh," he said, struggling to sit up.

"What?"

"I think I'm going to be sick!" he said, as he started to get up.

Buffy was around the bed in a flash, guiding him to the bathroom. She held his head as he threw up into the toilet over the next 15 minutes, wiping his face and lips with a damp washcloth, as he sat on the bathroom floor waiting for the next round, until at last, all he was retchin up was bile.

"Stay here," she said and went to the kichen to get something for him to stop the throwing up.

"Take this, it'll stop you from throwing up anymore."

"Why didn't you give me this before?" he croaked, his throat raw from the acid that had washed up from his stomach.

"Because you needed to get that alcohol out of your stomach, now you've nothing left to throw up except stomach lining. Here, take it," she said, handing him a small pill.

"Think I'm going to throw this up, if I swallow anything down right now."

"Well, I'm willing to take that chance," she said.

"But it's my stomach," he whined.

"Take the pill," she said sternly.

He gave her a dark look, then swallowed it with some 7-Up she'd poured.

"Let's get you back to bed, okay?"

He nodded, standing up unsteadily and leaning on her for support.

She tucked him into bed and pulled up the covers, "I don't think you need me in here right now. You'll be able to sleep now, but I'll check on you in about an hour."

"You're not going to sleep in here with me tonight?" he asked, surprise and sadness in his eyes.

"Of course I am," she said softly, stroking his forehead, "but it's way too early for me to go to bed right now, is all."

He nodded, relieved. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"Nevermind that, you just get some rest, okay?"

"Okay," he said, closing his eyes. She could see him wince from the pain of having thrown up so much. She remembered a few times she'd tipped back too much with him at his crypt. Rather, with Spike, and how that felt after the drunkeness had worn off and she'd been riding the porcelain bus.

Buffy spent the next few hours restlessly trying to watch the television or read, but she couldn't get into anything she was seeing. She kept listening for William to make sure he was alright, between checking up on him every half hour.

Finally, she went out to the kitchen to see if there was anything in her cabinets that would be hangover-lite food for tomorrow. She was grateful when she found a couple of old boxes of jello in the back of one cabinet and some boullion in another. Jello, check. Instant boullion cubes, check. Aspirin, check. Alka-Seltzer, one free package that came in a magazine, check. She made the two kinds of Jellos and put them in the refrigerator to set.

She finally crawled into bed with a loudly snoring William about midnight. He’d been asleep for about 6 hours already.

Sometime around 3:00am, she woke up to him crying out from some nightmare he seemed to be having about being back in the hospital.

"William, William, wake up! It’s okay, you’re here, you’re home. I got you," she told him, shaking him awake.

He woke up, wild eyed and scared, then started to cry when he realized where he was. Buffy held him, murmuring softly to him, until he fell asleep, nestled between her breasts.

She wasn’t able to go back to sleep until it was almost light out.

She smelled coffee before she opened her eyes. When she did, she saw William standing there at the side of the bed.

"You’re up," she said, startled.

He nodded, sitting down on the side of the bed and handing her the mug, "Peace offering?"

She smiled at him and sat up, accepting the cup, "How are you?"

"Got a headache the size of The Rockies, mouth tastes like something died in it, stomach feels like it’s been turned inside out, other than that…just fine," he said, smiling sheepishly.

"Did you find the Jello I left for you?"

"Thanks, I figured you’d made that last night after I unceremoniously passed out. Found the aspirin, too, though it was sort of a toss up if I’d rather have a headache or my stomach hurt from taking aspirin without any food in it."

"Take the Alka-Seltzer then, it’s probably easier on the stomach."

"Too late, already took the aspirin, with some 7-Up."

"How long ago?"

"About an hour."

"Is it better?"

"The headache? On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst, I’d say it’s down to about a 7."

"I see. What was it before?"

"About a 12."

She giggled, "I’m sorry."

He looked hurt; "It’s not funny. You’re laughing at my pain!" he said indignantly, but with a grin.

William took her hand, "I’m really sorry about getting drunk like that. It was totally inexcusable."

Buffy put her coffee cup down, and put her other hand on top of his, tracing it’s shape, "Not too healthy either, what with all the staggering, throwing up, liver damage, etc."

"I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you into my caregiver. Again."

She looked up at him, "Just don’t make getting drunk a habit, okay?"

He shook his head vehemently, "No habit, absolutely no habit! Don’t even want to drink again anytime in the near or distant future!"

"Come ‘ere you," she said, holding open her arms to him.

END CHAPTER 91

The next few days passed quickly. Clem also recovered from his hangover and came around over the weekend to show William how to change the oil in the DeSoto.

The eBay seller emailed William back, saying he did have a manual for the DeSoto and would be willing to just sell it to him for $10.00. Buffy said it was a fair price, set up a Paypal account in her name, since William didn't have any papers for his own, and they sent the seller the money.

Monday came and her meeting at the school. She thought of having William stay with Clem, but although they'd both apologized to her profusely, promising never to drink again (sure!) she thought it best that William not be that far out of her sight at this early in his being back with her.

There was a library across the street from the Montessori school that Buffy decided would be a good place for William to wait for her during her time away from him. He seemed more than happy with the idea,

She gave him the cell phone, the one that she'd bought especially just for her and Andrew to use. She also told him not to answer it unless her number showed up on the Caller ID.

"Okay, you've got the phone and you have my number and the school's number, plus I'm right across the street if you need me, right?"

He nodded, "Yes to all, and stop worrying, I'm a grown man, not a child. I may have lost my memory, but I haven't lost all of my common sense, the drinking binge aside," he said, smiling.

"I know. I just...I'll miss you. We haven't been apart for over a month for more than an hour, when you and Xander went fishing."

"We haven't have we?" he said, pulling her to him and giving her a kiss, "guess it’s time then, eh?"

"Time?"

"Yeah, to be apart for a couple of hours," he said, looking at her worried face, "I'll be alright, luv. I'll be fine; I’m not a child. And, I've got a whole library full of books to look at; got your library card if I feel like using the Internet right? I've also got some pocket change if I want a coffee or something else. And you'll see me at lunch, probably around noon. And you'll call me as soon as you know exactly what time, and I should find a quiet place in which to talk to you, being as I'll be in a library. Did I forget anything else?" he asked.

"Just that I love you," she said, smiling and kissed him.

"Never forget that, that's always right here," he said, pointing to his heart.

She returned the gesture.

Across the street, the edge of a blind closed back up and the person who had been behind it sat down at her desk waiting.

"Now go, before you're late," he said, giving her a gentle push off. She nodded and walked across the street. She turned to wave as he walked into the library and her into the Montessori.

She hadn't told him that she had a meeting with her boss an hour before the general meeting. Didn't want to alarm him. He had already told her that she most definitely shouldn't quit on his account, and she most definitely was not going to work 40 hours a week, if it meant leaving him at home alone everyday.

Buffy took a deep breath and opened the door to the school. She took a left into the main office and walked toward the back to Mrs. Carpello's inner office. The door was open.

"Hello, Elizabeth, right on time."

"Good morning Mrs. Carpello, nice to see you. Have you had a good summer."

"Yes, it's been very productive. Well, would you like some coffee?"

Elizabeth pointed to her travel mug, "Brought some with."

"Need a refill?"

"No, it's fresh. Thank you for asking me, though."

Mrs. Carpello fidgeted with her desk, making an effort at tidying before finally looking up and fixing Buffy with a stare.

"What's up, Elizabeth? Oh, and before you start, let me guess that it has something to do with that young man I just saw you with across the street at the library."

Buffy didn't know whether to blush or be angry that she was being spied on.

She nodded, "As a matter of fact, he is the reason I asked for this meeting."

"Shall I make it easy for you dear? You've met someone and he's swept you off your feet, you're either running off to teach in some third world country or at the very least, in another town or state and you want my blessing, and also a good recommendation. How am I doing?"

Buffy looked at her and really wanted to wipe the smug look off her face, but that would be counterproductive at the moment. Using every ounce of self-control she possessed, she answered Mrs. Carpello evenly, "Actually, I'd say that if you were a batter, you'd have been benched before the end of the first inning."

Mrs. Carpello looked at her shocked, then laughed, "Touche, Elizabeth. Okay, why don't I be quiet and let you explain it all to me, then."

Buffy nodded, relieved.

"The man you saw me with across the street?"

Mrs. Carpello nodded.

"He's not someone I just...that man is my husband, William."

Mrs. Carpello nearly spat her coffee, "Your husband? You never told me you got married!"

"I didn’t just get married, I was married about 5 and a half years ago, but then..." she stopped a moment, "do you remember where I came from?"

"I don't. You told me you lived in Julian. I don't know if we ever discussed anything before that, I just assumed you were a long time local girl."

"Buffy shook her head, "No, I only moved here about 5 years ago. Before that I lived in Sunnydale," she said, waiting for the information to sink in.

"Sunnydale? Sunnydale?" she looked at Elizabeth, who when she saw the light go on in Mrs. Carpello's eyes, nodded at her. "Sunnydale! You were originally from there? The town that got destroyed?"

Buffy nodded.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I had no idea. And you were living there then...?"

Buffy nodded again.

"It must have been horrible...but what does that have to do with...did you say your husband's name is William?"

"Yes, William. Well, you see he was there too, when it...collapsed. Only I wasn't with him when it did," she said, looking up at Mrs. Carpello, "I thought he was dead all this time, you see. It was only this past summer that I found out that he was still alive. He was in another state, in the Midwest. So I went to find him."

Mrs Carpello sat across from Elizabeth taking this all in.

"You went to find him," she repeated. "How did you find out about him still being alive?"

"A friend had read something from a local newspaper and alerted me," she said, choosing her words carefully, hoping to not have to go into the whole hospital thing if she didn't have to.

"But Elizabeth, I don't want to be indelicate, but why didn't William try to find you in California through your friends or families in all these years?"

Buffy swallowed, "Because William lost all his memories. Of everything and everyone."

Mrs. Carpello was shocked. She paused, then asked, "Even of you?"

Buffy nodded, her eyes moist, "Yes, even of me."

"And you thought him dead all this time and weren't looking for him?"

Buffy shook her head.

"So, you only found him because someone spotted his picture in the paper, because of a fluke?"

Buffy nodded, "If you want to call it that, but I think it might be more of something like a miracle," she said, smiling.

"Oh my dear, of course it is! It must have been a miracle, to suddenly...but why was he in the paper?"

"There was an accident and he was hurt. Um...he was a pedestrian."

Now Mrs. Carpello's eyes were watering, "Of all things, after all that...but really a blessing in disguise, right? I mean, he wasn't seriously hurt was he?"

Buffy shook her head, "No, just injured his arm, but because he didn't know who he was or how he got there, it became news..."

"And you found him!" she smiled at Buffy and stood up, coming around to give her a hug.

Buffy was totally unprepared for this reaction, but accepted her hug with good graces.

"Thank you," she said.

"So, tell me what you need to tell me now," she said, sitting back down.

"Well, the fact is that we've just arrived back home a few days ago, so William is just getting his bearings. I just don't know if I can bear to leave him alone 8 or 9 hours a day, 5 days a week. I just can't imagine abandoning him like that...not after I've just found him again, after what he's gone through...I just can't. I'm so sorry," Buffy said, hoping Mrs. Carpello would understand.

Mrs. Carpello sat there, wheels turning in her head, as she studied both her hands and Elizabeth's face; "Tell me, is William...is he...feeble?"

Now it was Buffy's turn to nearly choke on her coffee. She laughed, "Feeble? Oh God, no! He's terribly smart, he's..."

"Well, Elizabeth, why can't he work then? He doesn't have to be alone, he could be doing something, right?"

"He doesn't remember any recent skills, he doesn't even remember how to drive, use a computer, although he’s learning. He remembers stuff from Oxford, but I don't know if that would..."

"Did you say Oxford?" Mrs. Carpello's ears perked up.

Buffy nodded.

"He went overseas to school? How marvelous, what did he study there? Did you know him then?"

"Um...he didn't go overseas to school, he's English. I think he studied English Literature, History, think he also knows Latin and Greek. And no, I didn't know him until he moved here, or rather to Sunnydale."

"What did he do in Sunnydale? I mean, before?"

"I...um...he was doing some writing and he worked in our friend's shop, a book store," Buffy said, wishing she didn't have to keep making things up.

"I see," Mrs. Carpello was quiet thinking all this over.

"It seems it would be shame for you to quit, after all the time you’ve put into your education. And really, you’re quite good with the kids, one of the best first year teachers I’ve ever had," she said, smiling. "I’d say you’re in somewhat of a bind, wouldn’t you?"

Buffy nodded.

"You never really planned on staying for the meeting today, did you?"

"I didn’t figure there would be much point, after I told you that I wouldn’t be able to hold my position any longer because of my obligation to William. I’m so sorry, but I need to be there for him, to help him get on his feet. I just can’t let him flounder all alone, while I’m gone all day. I hope you understand. I hope this will give you adequate time to find someone else to take over my classroom."

"I see. He wants you to stay home to ‘care’ for him, then?"

"Oh, no, it’s not him at all! He doesn’t want me to quit teaching so I can stay home and coddle him, as he put it. But you see, I know that he needs me right now, so I have to."

"I see," Mrs. Carpello said, leaning back in her seat and studying Elizabeth. "Would you still attend the meeting, if I asked you to?"

"I don’t know. It would seem rather dishonest of me to, wouldn’t it? To be acting like I’m planning the year out with the rest of them and all, only to have them find out that I’d already told you that I couldn’t come back and leave William alone all day? I don’t want to deceive anyone, or have them be angry with you, either."

"I know. As far as this conversation goes, they don’t have to know that we had it today, or even the reasons that you are leaving. We could just say you had a family emergency. You let me worry about that, alright? In the meantime, I’d like very much if you would still attend today, and to think about what you told me."

"I don’t know…"

"Please? For me?"

"Okay. Just so you know that it won’t change my mind."

"I know that. Now, what time is it?"

"9:37," Buffy said, looking at her watch.

"Good. What do you say you bring William over here so I can meet him?"

"You want to meet him? Now?"

Mrs. Carpello nodded, "It it's alright with you, and William."

"Um, sure. I’ll just go get him," she said rising.

"Good. I’ll be here waiting."

Buffy ran across the street and into the library. She spotted William sitting at a table; a large volume opened up.

He smiled at her as soon as he saw her, "Hi, what are you doing here?"

"Mrs. Carpello wants to meet you. Is that okay? Can you come across the street for a few minutes?"

"She wants to meet me?"

"Yes, she does. It won’t be for long, there’s another meeting starting in about 20 minutes."

"Okay, not like I’m doing anything Earth-shatteringly important."

Buffy filled William in on what she’d told Mrs. Carpello about him, except for the part about not wanting to work if it meant him being alone all day.

They walked into Mrs. Carpello’s office. She stood up and appraised the young man. He had medium brown hair, a bit more than slightly curly, medium length. He wore glasses, which he took off and was holding in his one hand. He had on a pair of light khaki pants, and a tan polo shirt. His eyes were blue, warm and expectant, as he looked at her.

"I’m Mrs. Carpello, I’m the directress here at Montessori," she said, taking the initiative and holding out her hand.

He took it immediately, "Very nice to meet you, name’s William Worthington. William," he said, giving her a firm, but gentlemanly handshake.

"Sit down, William. Elizabeth."

They nodded, taking the two chairs in front of her desk.

"Elizabeth tells me quite a story about how you’ve been able to find each other again, after being separated all these years."

"Yes," he said, turning to look at Elizabeth with a look of pure adoration in his eyes, that she returned, slightly blushing, since she knew Mrs. Carpello’s eyes were on them both. Elizabeth made a slight nod that was only perceptible to William.

Being of a suspicious mind normally, and having been made a fool of one too many times in her life, Mrs. Carpello studied them carefully, especially William.

She talked to William a little about his education and who he thought was the best author of the 19^{th Century. When it came to the 20th Century, though, William shook his head.}

"I’m afraid that’s where my memory fails me, I’ve no memory of anything that's been invented, written, or taken place in 20th or 21st Centuries, up to the past month, that is."

"How very odd, yet you remember all you ever learned about the 19th Century."

"Wouldn't have been nearly so bad had it been the other way around, I suspect," he said, grinning.

Mrs. Carpello laughed.

"Well, William it was charming to meeting you, I can see why Elizabeth seems so happy to have found you again. I’m sure we’ll be seeing plenty of you about."

"Thank you, nice to meet you, too."

Buffy walked William back to the library, "I think she liked you."

"She seemed pleasant enough," he replied.

"Oh, but you should see her when she’s…oh nevermind. I’m just relieved that she seemed to like you. Then again, what’s not to like?"

He laughed, "That so? Even when I’m stupid drunk?"

"You have a point," she said laughing. "See you in a couple of hours, then?"

"Be right here, waiting."

They kissed goodbye and she went back to Montessori and her meeting.

They broke for lunch around noon. Buffy begged off of joining them, claiming she had a doctor’s appointment. She drove her car around the back of the library and after getting William; they bought sandwiches and drove over to eat in a nearby park.

After they’d finished he lay back on the blanket they were sitting on and pulled her with down to join him.

"Miss me?" she asked.

"Always miss you," he said, kissing her hair, as she rested against her head against his chest, hearing the reassuring beat of his heart.

"Well, see you back here in another couple of hours," Buffy told him, as she dropped him off at the rear door of the library.

"I’ll be here, waiting."

The last hour of the meeting was given over to a teacher had gone on a seminar for Montessori educators in Italy over the summer. She proceeded to tell them of some of the latest methods she had learned.

Mrs. Carpello took that time to slip out for a little while. She walked over to the library and after a few minutes, saw William. He was up at the desk talking to one of the reference librarian about some old text he was interested in. The librarian told him that a bigger library, such as in San Diego might carry it, but if need be, they could order it on loan. She heard the librarian ask him some things about himself, and the answers he gave were consistent with what she had been told by him and by Elizabeth. William went back to his seat. From her vantagepoint, she could see most of the books he had were literature, others on the Internet, electricity, home repair, and yet another on old cars. All consistent with his interests and with someone who had lost their memory. Satisfied, she went back to the meeting.

The meeting was finally over at 3:00pm. Mrs. Carpello came up and put her hand on Elizabeth’s arm.

"What did you think?"

"Oh, I thought the new program that Lily brought back was really great. It should be very helpful, especially for the kids who are still having a hard time reading fluently." Buffy said, "but it still doesn’t change my mind."

"I know it doesn’t, but like I said, I’d like to give the matter a little bit of thought, before I officially release you from your position. Unless you have something else lined up," Mrs. Carpello said.

"No, of course not!"

"I didn’t think so."

"I’ll be in touch, then. In the meantime, go home and enjoy your summer with William."

"I will, I most definitely will!" she said, smiling, and with that she sailed out the door and went off toward the library.

She found William with a large stack of books he wanted to check out.

"The librarian was sympathetic, but she wouldn't let me use your card," he said, sadly.

"I'll just do it then," she said, as they took the books to the counter, "didn't get to use the Internet then?"

"No," he said, sighing. "She said I could get my own card, but I had to show some identification, of which I don't possess, I don't even know our address!" he said, exasperated.

"I'm sorry, I should have at least told you that. We don't really have a street address, but we do have a Post Office Box number that I use. That should set you up, as for identification, we'll take care of that, too. Promise. Don't worry, okay?"

"Okay," he said, his voice frustrated, "I just never gave much thought to how much of these type of things I need to have. I wonder what I used for the past 5 years!"

She didn't say anything. What could she say? Well, William, you really didn't need anything because you didn't exist?

She made a mental note to call Willow later that evening and see about those papers.

END CHAPTER 92

A/N Thanks for hanging in here folks, in the next chapters I’ll be working on the following:

William meets Edna for the first time, well, you know what I mean, soon. Probably, Lawrence, too.

Willow sends identification papers

Driving lessons

William’s birthday

An unexpected offer from Mrs. Carpello

Spoiler warning:

I know it’s painstakingly slow, but believe me, I’m not just doing it for my health! It’s all leading up to something, it’s just this is the part where William is learning what it’s like to live in the world. You know I’ll eventually throw the proverbial monkey wrench (ie; having to do with how William finds out all about Spike) into the mix, just when they’re all nice and comfy!

Thank you to all those who take the time to review or send me emails and to those of you (and I know who you are!) who are reading, but not reviewing.

You’re the best!

spikealicious

P.S. A special thanks to my Beta, Judy! You keep my story grounded, when I take it on flights of fancy!

July 15, 2008

Tuesday

9:00am

Buffy got up early the next morning, before William awoke, and took the cell phone with her outside so she could call Willow. She hadn't been able to call the night before, because there wasn't a time when she was alone.

"Hello?"

"Willow?"

"No, Kennedy, who's this?"

"Hi, Kennedy, it's Buffy. How are you?"

"Oh, hi. I'm fine. Glad Willow's back, I missed her. How about you?"

"We're...I'm fine," she corrected, not knowing how much Willow had told her.

"And Spike?" Kennedy asked, letting Buffy know that, indeed, she did know.

"William's fine, too, Kennedy," she said, using his real name, not denying or confirming that it was or had been Spike until she talked to Willow.

"Hold on, I'll get Will."

"Buffy?" Willow said a few seconds later.

"Hey, Willow. How are you? When did you get back?"

"About 2 days ago. Still in a bit of a fog from all the driving and jet lag, and hey, really is a bit foggy here, too."

"Huh?"

"Weather."

"Oh."

"So, how's it going with you two? Is William glad to be home? Is he getting any more memories back now that he's there?"

"He's fine. He seems like he's settling in really well. But no, he's not getting any memories back, he doesn't remember ever being here," she added, a bit sadly.

"On the up side, him and Clem got together," she said, then told her of how they'd gotten shit-faced together.

"So, that temporary spell I gave him must have worked,"

"Huh? Oh, you mean Clem, for a moment...nevermind."

"Oh," she said, laughing. "Next time you see Clem, tell him I'm going to ask the coven if they have anything else he can use to lengthen the amount of time he can stay in his human face. I figure if it's tied in with Spike, they may be willing to go with it."

"Great, I was hoping when he'd gotten drunk, that he wouldn't slip into demon face, though I think William would've just thought he was seeing pink elephants or something. Nearly did! God, he was a mess!"

They talked a while longer until Buffy said, "Um, listen, one of the reasons I'm calling you is because I wanted to remind you about those identification papers I need for William. He couldn't even get a stupid library card the other day without having anything saying who he was."

"I haven't forgotten Buffy, in fact, as soon as we hang up, I'll get working right on that."

"I'd really appreciate that. He wants to learn to drive, that means that he'll need a permit, then eventually a license. Anyway, you know how many things you need identification for. Also, about his degree...do you think you can look up what it is he has a degree in and just doctor, or mojo up the same one? Only 100 some years more current?"

"Yeah, I can probably do that, Buffy. Oxford, did you say?"

"Yes. Oxford. I don't know when he graduated, though. Of course I don't! Duh! But he was born 1852, so maybe that'll help."

"Yeah, that helps. In case I can't find anything, though, what did he study?"

"English Lit, 19th Century, not 20th, History, Latin, Greek, that's about all I know."

Willow whistled, "Cool. Don't worry, I'll keep the correct century in mind."

"Thanks."

"What else?" Willow asked.

"We need the naturalized citizenship papers."

"Complete with a real record in their databases, check," Willow said, "anything else?"

"I think that's the biggies, oh and social security number or whatever they give to naturalized citizens."

"Check."

"Oh, one other thing…I hate to ask…"

"What?"

"The car?"

"Car? What car?"

"Spike’s DeSoto. Him and Clem are going to fix it up so he can drive it again. It just occurred to me, that Spike probably stole it. If I have to go register it, I’ll probably get arrested, once they run the VIN number. Crap!"

Willow thought for a minute; "I think I might be able to help, can you give me the VIN number, Buffy?"

"Um…hold on a minute, got to walk over there," she said, walking toward the barn, "okay…where is it? Oh, okay, I see it," Buffy said, leaning up over the hood of the car. She read it to Willow."

"Better give me the plate number, too."

"Okay," Buffy said, and read it off to her.

"Great, now I’ll see what I can do about making the car legal and all that."

"Thanks, Willow."

"I'll work on everything right now…well, after Kennedy and I have dinner…and as soon as I'm done, I'll send it express, like you did when you sent me his essence in the jar before. Overnight express."

"I remember."

"Okay, I'd better go, or Kennedy will be getting irate with me, we're about to go out and get a bite to eat."

"Oh, that reminds me Willow, Kennedy mentioned Spike to me. I didn't know you told her."

There was a pause, "Sorry about that, if it's any comfort, she's under the same spell that everyone else is, if it's not a specific person who I named as a 'safe' person, she won't even remember about him or be able to answer any questions regarding him. In other words, just you, him, me, Xander, Dawn. That's basically it."

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, okay, then. Guess it would be sort of strange to be doing all this and have to hide it from her. Especially since you were away almost a month."

"I knew you'd understand."

"Yeah, I get it. Okay, that's it from here. Talk to you later. Call me if you've got any questions I can help you with."

"Okay, I will. Bye…wait. What's William's middle name?"

"I don't know, he never said. Maybe he doesn't have one."

"That would be highly unusual. Listen, don’t worry about it, unless there’s a whole ton of William Worthington’s who attended Oxford around then, his records will probably have it."

"You’re probably right, but if I can find a way to bring it up, then I’ll get it for you."

"Okay, don’t worry though. Bye Buffy."

"Bye Willow. Thanks."

A few days later, Willow emailed her to let her know that she’d sent the papers, and that as far as the State Department was concerned, William Worthington was a naturalized citizen since 1999. She told her that she could pick up the package from the Fed Ex office in San Diego, the same one she’d gone to before.

Clem had just picked up her mail from their Post Office Box the day before, and the manual for the DeSoto had arrived, so she asked Clem if he would work with William on the car, while she went out for a couple of hours.

"Sure, that would be great, Buffy."

"Oh, and Clem…"

"I know, no drinking and watch what I say."

"You got it."

"I’ll go to the auto store today and pick up some fluids and other stuff the cars going to need," Clem said.

"That would be great.

"…so, Clem is going to come over while I’m gone, so you guys can look over the DeSoto."

"Oh…okay," William said.

"And there he is," Buffy said, as she saw Clem coming up the walk.

"Alright, gotta run," she said, kissing William goodbye, "I’ll miss you."

"I’ll miss you, too," he replied.

She got into the car and giving them a wave, she drove off. She hadn’t wanted to leave him alone for that long, but she had no choice. How would she have explained getting a package from Willow in England that just happened to have all of his documents?

As it was, she told him that she was going to the San Diego County Government Administration Building to pick them up. She’d warned him of large crowds and long lines, enough to keep him from asking to go along. Luckily, it didn’t occur to him, that his personal presence would’ve been necessary in order to get such things.

Buffy arrived at the Fed Ex office, near the airport around noon and signed for her package. She hurried back to the car and opened up the package. There was the naturalized citizenship papers, a social security card, Oxford transcripts, along with his diploma and degree, doctored to reflect a much newer date of graduation and current type of degree. She took out the letter from Willow and read.

18 July 2008

Dear Buffy,

Here are all of William’s papers. This should allow him to do anything that he’d like to do, from getting a library card, to a driver’s license (permit first, of course!) to going back to college, to well…anything.

Funny to think how Spike never needed these things at all, isn’t it?

I also sent you the ‘title’ for the DeSoto under William’s name and old registration card with the VIN and plate numbers you gave me, using your old address from Sunnydale. You’ll have to get a new plate and registration card, before William can start to drive. Just give them the old registration card and show them the title, if they ask for it. Don’t forget about insurance, either. Shouldn’t be a problem, as ‘William,’ has a clean driving record in the state of California.

As for the marriage license, well, you already got that from Lawrence. As for making it real, as we spoke of briefly while we were on the way to the Grand Canyon, I hesitate to take this next step, because of something Xander told me. Maybe I shouldn’t be repeating this, but you are my best friend, so here goes:

William told Xander he really wants to marry you. I think you already know that he would in a heartbeat (and hey, heartbeats…of the good, right?).

You should just do it, Buffy. Don’t wait for his memories to come back, don’t be afraid. Sure you’re scared and given the history of…well, everything in your life and his, I would be, too. But, so what? There are no guarantees in life, and you guys have been given a freakin’ mind-blowing, incredible second chance at love, so just go for it! No holds-barred, 100%, jump off the cliff, go for it. Okay?

For that reason, I have not made the marriage ‘real’ as far as the databanks in California’s registries go. Yes, you both have the same last name, and yes, you have the pretend marriage license from Lawrence. If you are just looking to put him on your insurance at work, that should be sufficient. Who checks these things anyway? In fact, if it came down to it, I could fix that…because I am a powerful she witch, witch to be more accurate. <grins>…ahemm…or for real, I could change it so that you really are (legally married). Somehow, though, it seems wrong to take that away from William, that is, you really marrying him, and it seems wrong to take it away from you too…your free-will decision and all that.

Sorry if I’ve overstepped my bounds.

Think about it.

Love,

Willow

P.S. Check out William’s middle name…and the answer to the question I know you’ll probably have, without me further researching it, is…maybe, probably, most likely. Pretty funny, huh?

Buffy sighed. She wished Willow had just done the thing, making them all legally married. Would’ve just been easier to accept the fact than to actually think of getting married. Crap. She already felt married, didn’t she? Darn Willow and her conscience. Darn William for telling Xander he wanted to marry her. Darn her stomach for all those butterflies that are flitting around in there, just thinking of it! Darn it!

Buffy looked at the papers again; she’d only briefly paid attention to his middle name. *Spencer. Spencer? Why did that seem familiar?

Oh, no…she started to laugh. Yeah, that was a good one, wasn’t it?

END CHAPTER 93

*Refers to Lady Diana Spencer, ie; Princess Diana and her family. Just a little, 'With everything else about Spike/William, wouldn't that just take the cake, too?' idea. However, since it means nothing in his life what-so-ever, whether or not he's related will neither be confimed or denied. Just that Willow thought she'd throw it in pass it onto Buffy. And I passed it along, and you'll pass it along....LOL!

She made two phone calls once she was on the highway heading back. One phone call was to William to see how he was doing. He’d told her he was fine. Clem and him were just finishing lunch, and were heading back outside to continue working on the car.

An hour later, she got off the highway in Santa Ysabel and went past their road and headed into town. She had one more thing to do, before going home.

She pulled up in front of The Rittenhouse Restaurant and went in. It was between the lunch and dinner hours, so the restaurant was empty. She walked through the kitchen toward the back office. She heard rustling inside through the partly closed door. She knocked lightly.

"Come in," a voice called.

Buffy opened the door and looked over at the desk, there she was. A little older looking than when last she’d seen her, but still capable of running the restaurant.

"Elizabeth!" Edna said, rising slowly from her chair. Her expectant eyes asked it all.

Buffy smiled and nodded at her as she walked toward Edna, who had stood and was now coming around the desk. She held out her hands and Buffy took them in her own.

"William…?"

"Yes," Buffy nodded, "he’s very much alive and he’s home."

They embraced, Edna hugging Elizabeth tight. As they came apart, they both had tears in their eyes.

"When I got your message, I didn’t know if you were bringing William or not, I was so excited!"

"I’m sorry, I thought I mentioned it. I just wanted to drop by and see you by myself today, first."

"You probably did, I just…would you like some tea, dear?"

"Um…sure, if it’s not a bother."

"No bother," Edna said, motioning Elizabeth to take the seat in front of her desk.

Edna went over to the corner of the room, which had a small coffeepot full of hot water. Placing two tea bags into the cups she’d taken down from the cabinet, she poured the hot water over them, placed them, along with sugar and creamer on a tray and brought them over to the desk.

"Now, tell me everything," she said, as soon as Elizabeth had fixed her tea the way she liked it.

Buffy took a deep breath and proceeded to tell her the story, starting with when she last had spoken to her. She told her about the hospital, skipping the worst parts, but still, Edna’s eyes filled with tears and anger as she learned how William had been almost lost to them.

She gave Edna the short version of the past month, how they’d stayed at a friend’s cottage in Michigan while William recovered from his ordeal and the drive across country.

"And his memory? It’s come back?"

Buffy shook her head, "No, it hasn’t."

Edna’s eyes spilled over, "How very awful for you. And for him…poor dears…how is he then?"

"Please don’t cry. Actually, it’s not as bad as it sounds, I’d say that he’s doing remarkably well, considering…" she said, then went on to explain more of the specifics of his condition.

"He’s learning about computers and cars? That’s marvelous. Always knew 'me William' was a smart one," Edna said, lapsing back to a thick Irish brogue, when using ‘me,’ in the fondest of ways.

"Edna, that’s why I came over to see you today. I knew that you’d want to see him and he knows about you and wants to meet you, too. But he doesn’t have any memory of his ‘father,’ or ‘grandfather,’ having had connections to you and to the area. Or that his bro…er his grandfather’s brother bought up acres back when it was being mined for gold. William just knows that he owned the house before he…was lost. I think it might upset him if you mentioned them, or much of his distant past, at this point."

Edna nodded, "Of course I won’t. I’m glad you told me, I wouldn’t want William to be getting upset because of what comes out of an old lady’s mouth."

"You’re not old," Buffy said, smiling at her.

Edna just laughed, "Oh, but dear, I am. I’ve lived a very long time and I’ve seen a lot of things. Some things I can’t even explain…our William being one of them, but I suspect you know all about that," she said, looking steadily at Elizabeth, a bit of a twinkle in her eyes.

Buffy nodded. She didn’t know exactly how much Edna knew, or even what she might suspect. Best leave that under the heading of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’

Buffy left a short time later, promising that she’d bring William there for either lunch or dinner in the next few days.

She arrived home a short while later. She walked in and found William sitting at the kitchen table looking over the DeSoto manual.

"Hey."

"Hi," he said, coming over to her and giving her a kiss.

"Where’s Clem?"

"He went home a while ago. We have to get a part before we can do anything else on the car. But it’s coming along."

"I see," she said, "when did he leave?"

"Right after the last time you called to tell me you’d be home in about half an hour. Told him he needn’t stay to baby-sit me, if he had other things to do."

"Alright," she said. She would have to talk to Clem about this, about sticking around when she wasn’t there, but for now she let it drop.

"So, did you have to wait around much?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"For my papers?"

"Oh, no," she said, covering, "it was pretty quick, actually. None of the departments were too busy."

"I’m glad. Don’t like the idea of you having to stand around all day on my behalf. I felt guilty that I let you talk me out of going with you."

She kissed him, "Don’t be silly, William. It wasn’t a big deal. You had the car to work on anyway, and I got to blast my radio all the way to San Diego," she said grinning. They’d had some discussions about music and what was good music. It was sadly, an area where they were going to have to agree to disagree.

"Why don’t I go get out of these heels, put some of my junk down, then I can show them to you if you want."

"Okay," he said.

Buffy went into the bedroom and closed the door. She took all the papers out of the envelope from Willow, except for his university transcript. She couldn’t very well explain how she’d gotten a hold of that right now. She’d think up something later, when he needed it. She quietly opened the closet door, stood on a footstool and put it into the box that she’d moved off her bed the night they returned.

She stuck the new ‘old’ car registration and title in William’s name, in her dresser drawer. She’d give him this when they needed to go to the DMV.

William was waiting for her on the couch when she came out. She walked over to him and sat down, then gave him the manila envelope she had put the remaining documents into.

He took them out and studied them.

The paper read:

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

STATE DEPARTMENT OF NATURALIZATION

Name: William Spencer Worthington

Date of Birth: 08/15/80

Place of Birth: London, England, U.K.

Date of Naturalization: 06/01/99

Next he took out the Social Security card, brand new attached to a rectangle piece of cardboard.

He read the directions on it and slowly folded the serrated edges around the card back and forth, until it would tear easily off of the surrounding card.

Buffy got up and went to the desk, bringing him back a pen and a notepad that he could put the card on.

He nodded at her and signed his name.

"Does this mean I’m not a citizen of England?"

"I guess not."

He shook his head; "None of it ‘feels’ right. I just wish I could remember…something, anything."

"I’m sorry," Buffy said, putting her head on his shoulder, trying to comfort him, "but it’s not like you can’t ever go over to England again, or something. Just nice that you’re all legal here, so you can…do whatever you want to do."

"And be with you," he said, kissing the top of her head.

"Well, that has nothing to do with you being naturalized or unnatural…ized," she said, rolling her eyes so that he didn’t see.

"I still can’t drive, but at least I can get my own library card, eh?" he teased.

"Well, we’ll get you a driver’s manual, so you can start studying the rules, so that you can pass the test and get a driver’s permit. Then I can teach you to drive. In the meantime, yep, you can check out books to your heart’s content."

"And don’t forget about CD’s and Videos, books on tape…" he said, naming off half a dozen other uses for the library that Buffy rarely partook in.

"I see you learned a lot the other day," she said.

"Yeah, made friendly with the librarian," he said, smiling.

She jabbed him in the ribs.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Making friendly with the librarian. You’re not supposed to be ‘makin’ friendly’ with anybody but yours truly," she said, pulling his head down towards hers for a kiss.

He chuckled, "Do you count 70 year old librarians in with that, ‘anybody’ but yours truly?"

"I don’t know. Think I’ll have to check her out," Buffy said.

"I already checked her out, quite a dish, for her age," he parried, causing Buffy to dig her fingers into his side, tickling him.

"Oh, she’s really a good lookin’ old gal. Quite well read," he went on teasing, while trying to squirm away from her fingers.

"You are so going to get it," she said, and flung herself onto him as they tussled on the couch.

"981. 82," she whispered into his ear.

"What’s that?" he asked.

"It’s part of the Dewey Decimal System, how they organize books, or well, at least how they used to on little cards…think it’s all computerized now anyway. Isn’t it?"

He nodded; his eyes half-closed underneath Elizabeth, with her breath in his ear.

"I think I like the old system better, especially if sexy librarians read them to you," he said in a low voice, "tell me more."

She licked the outside of his ear and sucked on his earlobe, "549.73," she said in a soft, sexy voice.

"Um…again," he murmured.

"721.69," she said breathlessly into his ear.

"I think I’m in love," he said, and kissed her hard, as together, they melted into the leather couch and each other.

END CHAPTER 94

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