Disclaimer: I would like to stress how much I do *not* own Buffy or Doctor Who. I'm just tweaking these DW eps to my liking and throwing the Buffsters into the mix!

A/N: So, this story is going to start where Buffy calls up the Doctor after 'Chosen'. Doctor Who wise, it's post 'Smith & Jones', however, there's a little tweak to the end of that episode! I'm positive you can figure it out. haha.

DW-verse; Buffy's POV. Hopefully I can do this without driving myself crazy! Here goes nothing!

Escaping Destiny For A Bit

Chapter One: Pick Ups & Pit Stops

I was having a hard time adjusting to the fact that three days ago, I had led my team into a full on war with the First. And won.

We won.

I think, honestly, that was the hard part.

Adjusting to the fact that we had actually won.

Our small bus load had made it to LA in record time. Most of the gang stayed with Angel and company.

Xander, Dawn and I chose a motel.

After a day or two, Xander decided he was off to New York. After a serious amount of begging and pleading, I let Dawn go with him. She would be safe with him. Plus, I wasn't going to be gone forever. I would meet up there with them eventually. I just wanted to enjoy my new, sparkly semi-retirement a bit first.

Robin, Faith and Andrew flew off to Rome with the rest of the newly created Slayers.

Giles, Willow and Kennedy were off to London to get a brand spanking new Watcher's Council up and running.

However, before they left earlier this morning, I had Willow do me a tiny favor. She, against her better wishes, tapped into some psychic magic mojo and called up the Doctor for me.

How, I do not know. I try not to get into a lot of specifics with this kind of stuff.

I leaned against the hot brick wall of my former motel, arms folded, eagerly awaiting my ride.

It had been well over a year since I had seen the Doctor last. I remembered the night that he left all too vividly. I usually tried not to think about it. I was happy now. No more absurdly depressed Buffy, thank God.

Sure, I was sad over the recent losses, Spike included. But I was happy in knowing that they had all gone down like the heroes and heroines that they truly were.

The extremely familiar whirring whooshing noise diverted me out of my thoughts. I smiled wide as I watched the TARDIS materialize in front of me. In a matter of seconds, the front doors opened and the Doctor burst out, just like I remembered him. The same wild hair, the same crazy smile, the same ancient eyes. Even the same damn navy suit and red converse.

I shook my head and laughed.

He looked at me curiously. "What's so funny, then?"

"You never change. Ever. Do you even own another suit?"

"Yeah, it's brown…"

"Besides the brown one."

"Oh, then, no." he smiled.

"Well, perhaps we should go shopping…."

"It's lovely to see you again, Buffy." he said, pulling me into a hug.

I wrapped my arms around him tightly. "It's good to see you again, too."

He pulled out of the hug and noticed my measly little duffel bag on the ground, sitting next to my scythe.

"What's all this?"

"My luggage."

"Luggage?"

"Yep."

"What luggage? And, for that matter, why are we in Los Angeles? Er, well, I should say, why are you in Los Angeles?"

"Well, the way I figure…it's time you get a new companion." I smiled.

His face shifted through several different reactions. Excitement, happiness, worry, confusion.

"Companion?"

"Yep."

"As in you?"

"Yep."

"As my companion?"

"Yep."

"What about Sunnydale? And the Hellmouth? Is there another Slayer? You didn't die again, did you?"

I laughed. "I did die, actually. Just for a split second though…I got shot. Long story. Well, no, not that long I guess."

"You got shot?"

"There are a lot of new Slayers, Doctor."

"How?"

I grabbed my duffel bag and the scythe off of the ground and walked towards the TARDIS.

"You steer and I'll story tell. Deal?"

He thought a moment and in the end his curiosity won out.

"Deal."


I picked myself up off of the floor of the TARDIS and headed for the doors. I opened them carefully, making sure we were where I wanted us to be.

Giant hole in the Earth?

Home sweet home.

"Aliens first." I said, ushering the Doctor out to my former town.

He walked out and his jaw dropped instantly. I followed him to the edge.

We stood overlooking the massive canyon.

"This is Sunnydale?"

"The one and only."

He didn't respond right away.

"Kind of fitting, I suppose." he said after a few minutes.

I laughed. "I know, right?"

"What did this?"

I smiled sadly.

"Spike."

"Spike?" he exclaimed, surprised.

"Yeah, that's what everyone else said too."

"How?"

"There was this amulet thing—"

"No, I meant what happened in the last year and a half to make something like this happen?"

"The First."

"The First?"

I nodded. "The First Evil. The thing that gives 'Evil' it's capital 'E.'"

"Oh, I know the First."

I furrowed my eyebrows, confused. "You do?"

"Oh yes. I've met it, once."

I wasn't sure if I should be shocked or not.

"When?"

"Awhile ago. When…Rose. We landed on this alien planet…well, the story so much isn't as important. I imagine it was incorporeal?"

"Yeah, completely. That was it's whole big thing. Tipping the scales to make itself corporeal."

He smirked a little. "It's a good thing I wasn't around then, I guess. It would've been awfully cross with me. I emptied it's corporeal body into a black hole."

I switched between several different expressions before finally settling into a grin.

"I should've known. I really honestly should've known."

"Do I have to ask how this happened again?"

"Wellll….remember all that stuff you said about Willow and the resurrection thing tearing universal holes?"

He nodded immediately understanding. "Your resurrection allowed for the essence of the First to seep through."

"In a nutshell, yes."

"I told you so."

I rolled my eyes.

"Speaking of, I see that Willow's still doing magic." he said, referencing their magic-y telepathic 'phone' call earlier.

"She's better now. There was a period where she went all dark magic-y after Tara died. She almost had the world sucked into Hell, actually. Thankfully Xander got there in time. I know, Xander. It was definitely fitting though. And I don't know if any of the rest of us could have done it. Giles immediately whisked her off to his estate in England for witch rehab or whatever. She's better. She's so much better now."

"I've missed a lot, in only just a year. You mentioned new Slayers?"

I nodded and smiled.

"Willow and I, we changed the world. With this." I said, holding up the scythe.

"What is that thing?" he asked, seemingly disturbed by the weapon.

"It's the true weapon of the Slayer. Forged in secrecy. Guarded for ages. Just for us Slayers. Willow used the inner energy of it to release the essence of the Slayer."

He grinned his silly, maniacal grin. "So you and Faith…you aren't the Chosen two anymore. You're free."

"I'm in the process of semi-retirement."

"You know, I've been thinking. I do have an opening for a companion...I've been traveling by myself for too long now and I would be outrageously honored if you would accept."

I turned towards him. "There's some things you need to know first, before I accept."

He turned his head curiously. "Go on, then."

I turned and stared out over the crater.

"After you left…I kind of went off the deep end a bit. I did things I'm not proud of. I felt things that I had no business feeling."

"Buffy—"

"I had a relationship with Spike."

"Oh."

"A…..sexual relationship with Spike."

"Oh."

"You know how he was about me. And I completely used him. Just because he made me feel something…anything. After I was resurrected…I mean, you saw how hard it was for me. Doctor, I wasn't stuck in some stupid Hell dimension. I was—"

"In Heaven." he said, finishing my sentence.

"You knew?"

He nodded his head.

"Then why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't honestly feel that it was my place to. You were already going through so much. I didn't want to bring more pain to you by making you talk about it."

"Oh. Well then."

"About Spike…"

"I think I learned to love him. At least a little bit."

"I figured that was coming."

"He got a soul. He had a soul when he took Sunnydale down."

"I still can't believe he did all this."

I smiled another sad smile. "He went down how I always knew he would. Fighting. A champion. A hero."

The Doctor intertwined his hand with mine.

"So about that companion opening…"

I smirked. "You know that's the whole reason I had Willow track you down, right?"

"I do now." he smiled back.

"Where were you anyway?"

"I was dropping a new friend back off in London."

"You made a friend? I'm shocked." I joked.

"Her name is Martha. We had quite the adventure on the moon. The Judoon were lurking about, searching for a Plasmivore."

"You didn't insult her, did you? I know how you are."

"The Plasmivore?"

I rolled my eyes. "No! Martha."

"Oh, no. Well, I don't think so. I was actually about to offer her a little trip as a thank you when Willow, er, called."

"She sounds nice. More importantly, it kind of sounds like she may have saved your hide. You'll have to introduce us sometime. I think I might like her."

The Doctor smiled. "You would definitely get a long."

"Doctor, there's something else that I think you need to know before we go."

"What's that?"

I turned away from the crater and faced him. I reached up and planted a long kiss directly on his lips.

He pulled away, shocked at first. I didn't move from where I stood. He stared at me incredulously for a moment before pulling me back to him and resuming the kiss I had started.

We broke off after a few minutes, needing air.

"Okay, I think it's time to go." I said, pulling away from him, but leaving our hands entwined.

We walked back to the TARDIS and he ran up and around to the console, pulling levers here and, well, I don't know what else there.

"So, where are we off to?" I asked, sitting on the chair behind him.

He grinned wildly. "Oh, I know just where to take you."