A/N: Thanks to my wonderful beta, Eowyn315!!!


As he made his way swiftly down the streets of Sunnydale and toward Jenny’s house on the outskirts of town, Spike was acutely aware of the fact that at any moment, Willow could return to her room and discover the missing globe. He was even more painfully aware that she would almost certainly know it was him that had taken it and immediately call him back.

He shuddered at the thought of what she would do to him if she caught him with the globe, and hurried his pace.

Spike hesitated for just a moment at the city limits. Willow had forbidden him to cross the city line, and if she mentally searched for him and found him outside the boundary she had set, it would surely result in punishment.

Spike’s mouth set in a grim line as his fingers glided over the smooth glass orb in the pocket of his duster.

*Bit late to think of that now, mate. Already crossed the bloody line, twenty minutes ago…*

Whether or not he regretted the decision, it had been made, for better or worse. By taking the globe from Willow’s room, Spike had irrevocably made his choice, and cast his lot in with the Slayer. Drawing in a deep, shaky breath and resigning himself to whatever the possible consequences might be, Spike stepped across the line and broke into a run, knowing that his only chance was to find the shelter of Jenny’s house before Willow could find him.

**********************************

Jenny’s excited expression and tone were highly encouraging to Buffy, who was feeling quite pleased with herself, in spite of their rather dire circumstances. The techno-pagan rose from her seat in front of her computer, pacing as she spoke her thoughts aloud.

“So, what you’re saying is…if we could find a way to undo Willow’s spell, instead of looking for a way to bind her power…and then take the spells I *have* found back to the time when she cast the spell…then we could beat her *then*, before she ever got this powerful.”

Buffy hesitated, mentally replaying Jenny’s words in her mind to make sense of the convoluted way they were put together. Of course, it was no more convoluted than the actual situation itself, she had to admit.

“Yes,” she agreed finally. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“That’s a really good idea.” Jenny nodded, her eyes wide and lit with excitement at the prospect of a route she had not yet explored. “The only problem is, we need to find out what spell she used – how she did it – if we’re going to do anything to reverse it.”

Buffy frowned, her lower lip jutting out in the beginnings of a pout. “That’s the part I *don’t* like so much.”

Jenny nodded in grim agreement. “The hard part. How are we supposed to figure out how she did it, when in this…this reality that she’s created, it happened five years ago? She’s not likely to just volunteer the information.”

A sudden pounding at the door drew their alarmed attention, and Jenny snatched up her crossbow again as Buffy headed toward the door. Amidst the former teacher’s protests, the Slayer swung the door open, glaring out at whomever the intruder was…until her glare faded into a relieved smile at the sight of the blond vampire who stood on the front step.

“Spike! There you are.”

“Yeah, for now. Let me in.”

Buffy frowned at the urgent sound of his voice, looking immediately to Jenny to grant the request.

Jenny didn’t seem so sure that she wanted to. “Why are you here?” she demanded, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You aren’t supposed to be here, remember? Willow doesn’t want you leaving town.”

“Don’t care anymore what she wants. Now let me in before she realizes I’m here and makes me *not* here,” Spike insisted, bouncing impatiently on his heels as he glanced behind him over his shoulder, though he knew that Willow was not likely to be physically pursuing him.

“Come on, Jenny, I think he’s okay,” Buffy urged her, her eyes never leaving Spike’s anxious face.

Jenny didn’t look at Buffy as she replied coolly, “I’m not so sure. Spike’s never come here before. Anytime we’ve had to meet I’ve had to go into Sunnydale, because Willow keeps such a close eye on him. Why now? He’s always said it’s not safe, because she doesn’t want him here, and because it might give away my location to her….”

“All the more reason for you to let me in before she finds us!” Spike burst out in annoyance, edging nearer to the invisible barrier that kept him out of Jenny’s house. “The wards you’ve got up will keep her from finding us once I’m *inside*, love. Hurry up, I’ve got something that might help us beat her.”

“You’re awfully eager to get inside my house all of a sudden,” Jenny observed.

Spike let out a frustrated growl, rolling his eyes helplessly. “Of course I am! She could show up any second and drag me back to the mansion for a round or two of torture. Let me in.”

Buffy felt an uncomfortable twisting sensation in the pit of her stomach at his troubling words. “Jenny, I think you need to let him in. What if…?”

“What if it’s a spell? A glamour of some kind?” Jenny countered, her narrowed eyes still fastened on Spike. “What if it’s not Spike at all?”

“Not…” Buffy echoed, shaking her head and trailing off incredulously. “How could it not be Spike? Don’t you think you’re reaching just a little here?”

Jenny suddenly turned solemn, angrily flashing dark eyes on the Slayer, her jaw set with stubborn determination. “No. I really don’t.” When Buffy just stared at her in disbelief, she added in a softer voice, “You haven’t seen what I’ve seen the last five years, Buffy. What Willow is capable of. I’ve learned better than to trust my own eyes every time.”

“Jenny,” Spike cut in with quiet urgency, “trust *me*, love. It’s me, I swear it! Just…look at this, will you?”

As he spoke he took the globe from his pocket and held it out to her. He rolled his eyes again when Jenny refused to reach beyond the barrier, beckoning instead for him to pass the object through the doorway…but he complied, delivering it to her in a gentle underhand toss which she easily caught.

“Found it in Willow’s bedroom, along with all the other mojo she’s been collecting over the past few years. Think it might…might be important. Might even be the key to whatever spell she’s done to change things. At any rate, it’s proof that, as mad as it sounds, the Slayer’s tellin’ the truth about all this.”

Jenny waved a dismissive hand at Spike without looking up at him from the object in her hands. “Of course she is. It makes perfect sense.”

Spike blinked at her before letting out an offended huff, turning away from the door for a moment as he muttered under his breath, “Yeah. Right. Her convoluted story of time travel and the whole bleedin’ world bein’ a figment of the witch’s imagination sounds right plausible. But me bein’ *me*…that’s just too much for your mind to fathom. Makes soddin’ perfect sense.”

For the moment, neither woman was paying attention, both of them fascinated by the shimmering globe and the town replica inside.

“It looks like…Sunnydale. Except…”

“Look at Giles’ house! It’s gone! I guess because as far as her spell’s concerned, it doesn’t exist, you know?” Buffy exclaimed, her eyes turning expectantly on Jenny, and then going wide with alarm when the older woman flinched slightly. “I…I mean…my…I’m sorry,” she finished weakly, aware that there would be no repairing her unintentional slip.

When Jenny forced a brave smile, but refused to meet her eyes as she shrugged and mumbled, “No problem,” Buffy felt guilty. She hadn’t realized that her former teacher would still have feelings for Giles, after so many years had passed in her existence.

“You really…you loved him. Didn’t you?”

Buffy inwardly winced the moment the words left her mouth, wondering why she had to simply speak every thought that popped into her mind; but Jenny finally looked up and met her eyes, her expression solemn and searching.

“Yes,” she answered quietly. “I do.”

An awkward moment of silence passed between them, as their eyes locked, each searching the others’ faces for…something, though neither was quite sure exactly what.

Spike made a nervous little throat clearing sound, drawing their eyes back to him.

“Look…sorry to break up…*this*. Realize it’s important and all. But…but we’ve got things a sight more important to deal with right now, yeah?” he reminded them gently.

Buffy looked back at the orb in Jenny’s hands, thinking. “What if we just break it? Wouldn’t that break the spell?”

Jenny nodded slowly, considering. “Maybe.” She paused before giving a little half-shrug and adding, “That…or it could cast the original form of Sunnydale into a bottomless abyss in another dimension from which we’d never be able to get it back.”

Buffy raised a single eyebrow as she looked up at Jenny. “Dramatic much?”

Jenny shrugged again. “I’m just saying.”

“So…how can we figure it out?” Spike asked impatiently, bouncing slightly on his heels, glancing over his shoulder again. “And can I come in now?”

“I’ll have to run some tests,” Jenny replied, already sounding a bit distracted as she turned around and headed back toward her computer. “But this should definitely help me narrow down the *kind* of spell she must have used…and then, how to reverse it. This is really helpful, Spike, thanks. Maybe we actually have a chance to…”

Her words stopped abruptly as Spike let out a sudden cry of startled pain, doubling over with his arms across his stomach.

Buffy whirled around, stepping out through the open doorway without a second thought and reaching out her hands to steady him. “Spike, what? What is it?”

“Willow,” Jenny answered the question grimly. “Spike, come in, *now*.”

“*What*?” Buffy gasped, looking between the two of them in dismay. “What is she doing to him? Spike?”

“Too late,” Spike ground out, in response to Jenny’s invitation. “She’s calling me back already. Told you she’d find out soon…”

“There has to be a way to stop her, right?” Buffy pressed, her eyes wide and anxious as she looked between the two of them. “I mean…we can’t just let her…what is she doing, exactly?”

“Calling me back,” Spike managed to choke the words out, as he mentally struggled to resist the call of Willow’s claim. “Chit’s claimed me. She has sire’s rights…among other claims…and she’s tryin’ to teleport me back to the mansion. She…she must have found out about…about that…” He weakly waved a hand in the direction of the globe.

“No!” Buffy protested uselessly. “If she knows it’s gone, she’ll…we can’t let her take you!”

“We can’t stop her,” Spike countered wearily, his torso clenching in agony as he fought to resist the call. “Not for long, and…and the longer I try…”

“The more pissed she’ll be when you get there,” Buffy finished, her eyes wide with dismay.

Another troubling thought occurred to her as she looked back at the globe in Jenny’s hands. Jenny was still standing just inside the door, herself and the globe within the confines of her warded house.

“She can’t…can’t bring that thing back, too, can she?” she asked, directing the question at whichever of her two companions might know the answer.

“Not as long as it’s in here,” Jenny assured her.

“Okay,” Buffy answered, nodding shakily, her mind racing as she tried to come up with a plan. “Okay, good. You keep that here and work on that. See if you can find a way to break her spell…preferably while keeping our memories of this, if you can manage it. If we can do that…then we can stop her once we’re back in the right time. Got it?”

“On it.” Jenny nodded firmly. “What are *you* gonna do?”

Buffy studied Spike’s pain-wracked face with building concern, her expression darkening with anger at the torment Willow was causing him without even touching him. “Spike can’t hold on much longer. Willow’s gonna call him back.” She paused, running a soothing hand through Spike’s hair in a weak attempt to comfort the shaking, suffering vampire, still doubled over in agony. Her voice was soft but strong as steel as she added, “And I’m gonna go with him.”

Spike stared up at her in horror through the pain, then down in understanding at her hand firmly clasping his arm. She had reasonably guessed that if she was in contact with him when he went, she would be taken along for the ride. “What?” he gasped out. “No…you can’t…”

“…do anything else,” Buffy finished the thought gently, meeting his gaze and holding it as her hand trailed down to caress his cheek tenderly. “We’re gonna stop her, Spike. I know that globe thing is the key…but in the meantime, I’m not gonna let her just…just do whatever she wants to do to you.”

“Can’t stop her, love,” Spike reminded her ominously.

“I can try,” Buffy pointed out, her lips set in a firm line. “You’ve done a lot to help me, Spike…and you didn’t have to, not any of it. I might not be able to keep you from going through this…but I can make sure you’re not going through it alone.”

Spike stared up at her in grateful disbelief, but then shook his head, opening his mouth to protest.

Before he could speak, Slayer and vampire both vanished into thin air, drawn by the witch’s call.