Second the First

By Heather Martin

Rated- PG13 (bad language mostly)

Disclaimer- Joss owns everything important in this life (Buffy TVS and Angel)

Summary- Sequel to Replay. It has been months and Spike still hasn’t come home from his journey to Africa. Buffy goes in search of him, not only because of her aching heart but also because he is vital against the battle with the First. When she finds him, will he be the Spike she knew?

Recap- Dawn accidentally sent Buffy and her back to the sixth season. They managed to save Tara from a terrible death, keep Giles in town, and prevent Xander bailing out at the wedding. Buffy and Spike got together, but the vampire left at the end to win not his soul but . . . life. It has been months since Spike left and Buffy is worried. She goes to Tara for help in finding out where he is. Tara discovers that he is in Indiana of all places. He has been living with a girl named Velvet. Velvet has been taking care of Spike, who goes by the name William now, and he thinks he has been brought to the future from the year 1880.


Chapter 3- Decisions

Velvet stared in shock at the display before her. William looked like a little lost puppy who’d finally found his master again. The woman even made the analogy more powerful by petting his curls. William’s sobs ceased and he raised his head to gaze into the woman’s eyes.

“Buffy,” he murmured. His voice sounded small and childlike.

The woman, supposedly Buffy, nodded in conformation.

“Do you know her, William?” Velvet questioned.

William nestled closer to Buffy. “She’s been in my dreams. She chases away the demons.”

Velvet blinked. She’d always thought of William as dependent but this was to the extreme. He had reverted to a five-year-old. He believed in demons? But isn’t that what she accused him of being just a few minutes ago? She didn’t know what to believe anymore.
Concern spread over Buffy’s expression. “Spike, don’t you remember me?”

William opened his mouth and then shut it. He looked at Buffy with plead. Poor thing, thought Velvet, he is so confused.

Buffy glanced at Velvet, and then turned her attention back to William. She stroked her thumb down his hollow cheek. “I’m going to speak with your friend, alright?”

William was reluctant to let her go. He held her arm tightly.

“I’ll only be gone for a moment,” Buffy assured him.

He nodded.

Buffy got up and headed over to Velvet. Velvet led her into the kitchen. She stopped near the kitchen island. Buffy faced her, crossing her arms.

“Okay, I want some answers!” Buffy demanded.

“Likewise,” said Velvet.

The two women eyed each other challengingly.

Gesturing to the knife, Buffy asked, “What’s that for?”

Velvet immediately placed the knife down on the surface of the island. She’d forgotten she’d still been holding it. Images of William’s golden eyes sprang up in her mind. Her first inclination was to tell Buffy about what happened. But what if she couldn’t trust her?

“I was peeling a potato,” Velvet said. She gestured to the skinless potatoes lying on a cutting board.

Buffy relaxed a little.

“My turn,” Velvet insisted. “How do you know William?”

“Sp- William. . .” Buffy took a peek into the living room to check on the subject of their conversation. “He’s my boyfriend.”
Velvet didn’t miss the slip in his name.

“How did he end up in Africa?”

“So he made it?” Buffy let out a breath. “He uh. . . He took a trip there to meet someone. How did he end up here?”

“I found him wandering confusedly around in a small village. I was there on a trip with a few of my history classmates. He didn’t even know what year it was. He thought it was in the 1800s. I don’t know why but I took him back to my hotel. There really aren’t any good psychiatric hospitals in Africa. I decided to bring him back here for treatment. But by that time we’d become friends. I didn’t want him locked away.”

Buffy’s eyes widened.

“Does he have a history of being unstable?” Velvet asked.

Buffy shook her head. “You haven’t heard him talking to things that aren’t there, have you?”

Huh? “No.”

Buffy sighed in relief. She let her arms go to her sides. She nodded toward the living room. “Is he always like that?”

“I’ve never seen him that bad. He’s just been weird about insisting he is all Victorian.”

“Good.”

“What is the William you knew like?”

A slight smile played on Buffy’s lips. “Spike,” she said a tad bit dreamily. She seemed to detect the question in Velvet’s face. “That’s his nickname. His name ‘is’ William, but everyone calls him Spike. He’s not the man that is in your living room. The William I know pretends to be a punk. He slicks back his bleached hair and wears a long leather coat. He uses crude Brittish slang and makes inappropriate jokes. But he’s also loyal and will do anything for the person he loves.”

She was right, that didn’t sound like the William who’d been living with her for months. She’d found him with bleached-blond hair, though. It was in tangles, mind you, but Buffy had confirmed that she did know William. And the coat- Velvet hurried over to the closet near the garage door. She opened it and felt around. Her hand felt something smooth and she grabbed onto it. She yanked down the black coat and presented it to Buffy.

The blond snatched the duster. Velvet thought she could even see unshed tears in Buffy’s eyes. Buffy buried her nose into the leather and took in a deep breath.

“He was wearing that when I found him. He shrugged it off when his mind cleared some but I saved it just in case,” Velvet explained.

“Thank you,” Buffy said. She slipped into the coat. The fabric engulfed her but still managed to compliment her.

“I’m sorry,” came a bashful voice.

Both females turned to find William. His eyes were red, but he’d recovered from his boyish attack. He surveyed the women with embarrassment. He took in the leather duster with uncertainness.

“She gave that to you?” His voice was full of contempt.

“Oh.” Buffy started to take off the coat.

He stopped her. “Keep it. I’m sure it looks better on you.”

Buffy took a step toward him. “Spike.”

He flinched. “My name is William,” he firmly protested.

“William,” Buffy correctly gently.

“I don’t know what came over me before. I do apologize. I never should have . . . It was improper of me to fall into your arms like that. My mother would be so disappointed in my behavior.”

Buffy wrinkled her brow. “Improper?”

“Yes,” said William. “I don’t even know you.”

“You don’t remember me at all?” Buffy hugged herself.

“Sorry. I have dreamt about you, though. But I don’t recall actual encounters.”

“What about Dawn?”

“Who?”

“My sister.”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I only remember my home in England. Which is absurd! This is the twenty-first century.” He laughed bitterly. He turned toward Velvet. “I am crazy, aren’t I? Thinking I came from over a hundred years ago, sucking your thumb-“

“What!?” Buffy shrieked.

“It was nothing,” Velvet said. She begged William to stay quiet.

“I want to drink blood,” William said.

No! What are you doing, William? You are going to get yourself into trouble, Velvet’s mind screamed.

“I should be put away somewhere where I cannot hurt anyone.”

Buffy gingerly reached out. He flinched away. “No, don’t!”

She didn’t listen. She touched his arm tenderly. “Shh, you are not crazy. I know it. I’ve seen - You do need help, though. We need to figure out what is happening to you. I know some people who can help. Will you come home with me?”

He deflated. “You really think you can help me?”

“Yes. We can figure out how to get your memories back.”

“No!” Velvet exclaimed. “I’m not having William go with some stranger! How do we even know we can trust you?”

Buffy looked over, expression firm. “I love him. I would never hurt him. All I want is my va- Spike back.”

Velvet examined William. He seemed very trusting of this Buffy, but she didn’t know how much she could rely on his judgment.

“If he sees his home and the people who care about him,” Buffy pressed, “Then maybe it will come back to him.”

“I’m not letting him go somewhere with people he doesn’t know,” Velvet said, standing her ground.

“Come with us,” William suggested.

The idea caught Velvet off guard. She did love to travel. But it wasn’t a break in the school semester. Who knew how long this thing with William would last. She couldn’t afford to miss out on her tests.

“I have school,” she said.

“You went to class today. You don’t have another one until next week. Come make sure I’m in good hands and then come back for school.”

Suddenly Velvet felt very nervous. The truth was she didn’t want to let William go. She didn’t have a whole lot of friends and he filled the lonely void that had consumed her heart. She liked being the one to serve a purpose. If he went to this place and remembered his old life they would take her place. He would stay and she would come back here- alone.

Velvet saw the look of resolve on William’s face. He’d already made up his mind.

“I have to do this,” he said to Velvet.

She sighed and nodded. “Okay. I’m coming with you.”

William smiled. Buffy took his hand and eyed Velvet with appreciation.

“Where are we going exactly?” Velvet asked.

“Sunnydale,” Buffy said.

“Never heard of it.”

Buffy grinned. “I could say the same about this town. But let me assure you, Sunnydale is much more exciting than here.”
____________________________________________