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 4- Lock it up and throw away the Key

It was possible to feel nervous and excited at the same time. William was uncertain about what he would find in the town of Sunnydale. He hoped that everything would fall into place when he met the people who supposedly knew him. All his delusions would evaporate and he’d be okay again. Somewhere in his mind he knew that the first step to getting better was admitting there was a problem. William had been denying his illness by believing that he’d time traveled more than a hundred years into the future. It was time to face reality.

He stuffed a few multi-colored shirts into a suitcase. He came upon the black t-shirt and jeans he’d been wearing when he’d run into Velvet. He hesitated before adding them to the luggage as well.

There was a soft knock. William glanced over to the cracked door. He saw Velvet peek in.

“Can I come in?” she whispered.

He turned away from his task. “Of course.”

She pushed the door slowly open and stepped inside, and then she shut it. She seemed not to know what to do with her hands. Finally she ended up forcing her arms to the side.

“Will, sit down.”

He raised his scarred eyebrow (the injury he couldn’t recall obtaining). I’ve made up my entire life and banished the truth, he decided. I wonder what horrible thing caused me to do that. Do I want to know?

William sat down on the edge of the bed. Velvet sat down nearby, the suitcase in-between them.

“I want to talk about what happened in the kitchen,” she said.

William bowed his head. “I’m sorry about that. I don’t know what came over me. I thought I was an animal for a moment.” He ran a hand through his short hair.

“You looked like an animal,” Velvet said.

William’s head shot up. “You mean- It wasn’t in my head? I was an animal?”

“I don’t know what is going on. Some things might be in your mind but this wasn’t one of them. Your eyes were yellow and . . .” She gulped. “Hungry.”

He reached out, but before he could touch her he pulled back.

“I don’t think we should tell Buffy,” she told him.

“Why? She said there were people who could help me,” William said.

He didn’t understand why Velvet didn’t trust Buffy. He knew somewhere deep inside he knew Buffy. His heart ached in a good way whenever he thought of her. He could sense that she meant only the best for him.

“She might jump to conclusions. People get scared when they don’t understand things and do things they might regret. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

By the look in her eyes he knew that was meant as an apology for the knife incident as well as a warning. He nodded.

“All right. I agree for now. We won’t tell Buffy about what happened.”

* * * * * *

It was best not to tell William about being- Or was that had been a vampire? She’d have Giles investigate the issue when they got back to California. She’d let William know everything later when she had more answers. Buffy didn’t want to spook him anymore, especially when she couldn’t give full answers. He was confused enough as it was.

She heard footsteps approach. William came down the stairs with two blue suitcases, one in each hand. He smiled at Buffy as he moved past her.

“I’m just going to pile these into Velvet’s car,” he said.

She processed the implication too late. He was out the door before she could move or protest. She ran after him with alarm. She came to a stop when she was met with a miraculous sight. William shut the door of the Dodge Neon and spun to face her. He looked at her with question.

Buffy’s mouth hung open. The sunlight streamed down on him. She realized then how un-pale he was. Oh, he was still whiter than normal, but not vampy unhealthily so. His hair was mostly brown now and the curls blew gently in the breeze. He wore a baby-blue sweater with khaki pants. Do I even know him? Buffy asked herself. He’s a completely different person.

William cleared his throat. “Velvet got us flight tickets for this evening. We have to leave by four because it is over an hour drive to South Bend.”

Buffy blinked, coming out of her reverie. “Oh. All right. That sounds good. Do you think Velvet will let me use her phone? I’d like to call my sister and let her know I’ll be home soon. It’ll be long distance but I can pay for the charges.”

“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”

A little bit later she had the cordless phone to her ear. Dawn’s screech came streaming through and Buffy winced.

“Yes, Dawn, I found him.”

Dawn’s voice went a mile a minute. If it wasn’t for the practice of deciphering Dawn’s excitement vocabulary Buffy wouldn’t have made it out.

“He’s not hurt. Yes, I’m bringing him home.”

Buffy glanced around to make sure neither Velvet nor William was in hearing distance. She lowered her voice.

“He’s alive, Dawnie. I don’t know how but he is. This girl Velvet found him that way in Africa. I’m guessing it has to do with the trials. He doesn’t remember being a vampire. He only remembers the time beforehand.”

Buffy paused for Dawn’s response.

“Not human, I don’t think. William mentioned being attracted to blood. We have to get Giles on this. Search any incidents on vampire transformation, if there are any.”

Velvet and William’s voice grew nearer. “I gotta go, Dawnie. I’ll see you soon. Bye.”

Buffy hung up the phone. Velvet and William came into the living room.

“Thank you for letting me use your phone,” Buffy told Velvet.

“That’s fine,” Velvet said.

Buffy addressed William. “Dawn is eager to see you.”

“Your sister?”

“Yeah. She thinks of you as a brother. She told me to tell you that she needs help on The Revolutionary War.” Buffy laughed.

William’s lips twitched upward.

* * * * * *

“Welcome to Scooby Central,” Buffy said as she opened the door.

“Scooby Central?” Velvet asked. She scrunched up her brow.

“Oh. . .” Buffy gave a long pause before continuing. She laughed. “Nevermind. It is just a joke between us.”

Velvet must really think we’re all crazy, not just Spike, Buffy thought.

The whole house was waiting for them in the living room, including Xander and Anya. The newly-weds sat in the recliner, Anya perched on Xander’s lap. Tara and Willow sat side-by-side on the couch. Dawn jumped up from her Indian-style sitting position on the carpet. She launched herself at William. He almost toppled over from the momentum.

“You must be Dawn,” William said.

Dawn pulled back. Sadness clouded her eyes and her smile faded. “Buffy told me over the phone that you had amnesia. You really can’t remember a thing?”

William shook his head. “Sorry, Dawn, no.”

A tear slipped down Dawn’s cheek.

“Don’t cry,” William begged.

Another tear rolled down. “I can’t help it. I was so sure it’d all come back to you when you saw me for some reason. I’m such a dummy.”

Buffy watched in amazement as William hugged Dawn. “Shhh, it’s okay.”

Dawn buried her face into his chest. She held onto him fiercely. “Why’d you have to go away? We were happy with you the way you were, you – you stupid bleached-blond vampire!”

Velvet’s eyes widened, along with everyone else. Dawn covered her mouth, realizing her mistake.

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