In the Space of a Lifetime

Part 7:

Summers' Residence

"No way!"

"Yes way!"

"You had a crush on a substitute teacher who turned out to be a huge insect that wanted virgins to fertilize her eggs before she cut off their heads?" Buffy could hardly keep a straight face. "That's just so... so..."

"Typical of my love life." Xander heaved a huge sigh. "Bug women, mummies, and head cases."

"You can't stop there," Buffy exclaimed. "You have to fill me in on the rest."

Xander couldn't refuse her. She looked so happy. She'd smiled and laughed more this morning than she had since the switch had occurred. Xander liked it when she smiled. It made him happy, too. And listing to the stories she told about her life and her Xander... that felt good, too.

"OK, well, the mummy was sucking people's life force so she could pose as a high school student. Of course, I fell for her. She was staying here as an exchange student."

"In my house?"

"Yup."

"Ug."

"Yeah."

"Next?" Buffy cocked an eyebrow at Xander. "The head case."

Xander's smile faltered for a second. It was still hard to talk about Cordelia. "Well, once I finally realized you were never going to like me *that* way, someone else came into my life. Someone almost normal... except for the fact that she didn't want to be seen with me. She liked me though. I think she even loved me for a while."

"What was her name?"

Xander hesitated.

"Come on, tell me," Buffy urged. "Whoever it is, I promise I won't freak out." When he still hesitated, she added, "Come on! I told you about that stupid fight we... my Xander and I had last summer when I visited him in England. What could be worse than me freaking out because he went to buy me a present?"

"Cordelia."

Buffy opened her mouth, and nothing came out. Finally, she repeated, "Cordelia? Cordelia Chase? You were with Cordelia Chase?"

"I take it you have one, too."

"Yeah... she's... not a bad person. In fact, she and Oz helped us rid the Watchers Council of vampiric influences by taking some of my powers for a while, but... I just can't see the two of you together. My Xander kind of hates her. He was the treasurer of this club..."

"Cordelia had Slayer powers?" Xander interrupted.

Buffy shrugged. "Only for the afternoon. It was kind of a necessity. You, Sonya and Doyle had been kidnapped, and I had to do this test thing... there wasn't really anyone else to do it except them or my mom." She'd gotten a handle on her shock by this point. "You know, Xander, I guess I can see what you saw in her. She is beautiful, and I think she has a human core. Buried deeply, of course, but there. And it's obvious what she saw in you."

"Is it?"

"Well... I mean, you're... you. You're sweet and cute and loyal and helpful and strong and..." Buffy's voice trailed off.

"Don't stop there!" Xander protested.

Buffy smiled. "It's just... talking about this makes me miss him more." She glanced at the clock. "Mom and I were supposed to pick him up from the airport today. He was coming home to finish his Watcher training with Aidan in the field. We'd be driving home right about now."

Xander still wasn't used to the idea of him as a Watcher, so he overlooked that part. Instead he stood up and walked over to Buffy. Then he enfolded her in a comforting hug. "Don't worry, Buffy. We'll find a way to get you back there. You two should be together. And, until then, you have me. I... I'll be here for you whenever you need me. I promise."

"Thanks. That means a lot to me," Buffy whispered, returning his hug. After a moment, she forced herself to pull away. After all, this wasn't *her* Xander, even if they wore the same cologne. "So... if you and Cordelia were so in love, how come you broke up?"

Xander blanched. "Um... maybe I should tell you about the bug woman again..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A Hidden Lair

A phone seemed out of place in the cavernous, underground room. Stone walls covered with tapestries muffled the ringing noise, as did the billowing, gauzy curtains around the canopied bed. A languid hand reached out beyond the curtains and plucked the state-of-the-art cellular phone from the nightstand.

"Yes?" Her voice rippled around the room with voluminous power.

"Lyanna, it's Lindsey McDonald. I'm calling for Mayor Wilkens."

The lithe, blonde vampire in a white, silk nightgown reclined gently against her fluffy, white, goosedown pillows. "Yes, Mr. McDonald?"

"The Mayor wanted me to inform you that recent signs point to the perfect time to begin Phase One."

"Signs?"

"There has been a convergence of power in Sunnydale, and it seems to be centered around the Slayer."

Lyanna laughed. "Lovely."

Lindsey cleared his throat. "If you don't mind my asking... what exactly is Phase One?"

Her laugh tinkled around the room again. "The death of the Slayer, of course."

"Of course." Lindsey was silent for a moment, then he asked, "I assume you know the identity of the Slayer..."

"My children discovered that moons ago, Mr. McDonald."

"Ah, yes. Well..."

"Did The Mayor have any further messages?" Lyanna's beautiful, resonant voice took on a sharp tone.

"No, ma'am."

Lyanna clicked a button on the phone and cut him off before he could utter another word. She remained in her supine position for a few lucious moments, glorying in her eventual triumph. Then she reached out toward the nightstand and traded the phone for a large, silver handbell. Before the tones had finished echoing through the room, the door burst open and a slavering, feral vampire with a permanently ridged face and golden eyes scurried into the room.

"Ah, Jaques," Lyanna whispered. "Come, I must tell you something."

Jaques moved closer to the bed. He whimpered with pleasure when Lyanna ran her long, white fingers through his greasy, dark hair.

"My pet, I have a secret for you. The time is coming. Soon we will make our move upon the Slayer. And when we succeed in draining her dry, even Mayor Wilkens won't be able to stand against us."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

On the Road

Buffy sat in the front seat of her mother's van (When had she gotten a *van*? The Explorer had been much more hip...) staring out the window at the passing cars. Xander was behind her, and every time she moved she could feel him watching her. She didn't know if it was reality, or if recent events had put her imagination into overdrive. Buffy couldn't decide whether to apologize for not being the Buffy Xander and Joyce wanted her to be, or to get angry at them for not understanding what she was going through.

For her part, Joyce could sense the tension in the car, and just didn't know how to alleviate it. She was hurting herself, wondering where her baby was and what was happening to her. But she also hurt for Xander, who found himself suddenly alone, and Joyce also felt for Buffy. Buffy was still, in some part, Joyce's daughter, and nothing would ever change that, not even the big switch-a-roo. And, another thought kept popping into Joyce's mind. If Joyce felt anxiety, worry, and loss for her baby, there was another mother out there in the cosmos feeling the exact same way.

In the back seat, Xander felt like if anyone looked at him or spoke to him, he would explode into a million angst-ridden pieces. His eyes locked on the back of the seat in front of him, trying to will Buffy to look at him. But he didn't know what he would do if she did, so the logical part of his mind realized he was lucky that she refused to look at him. He still couldn't get his mind around the concept that his Buffy was gone, and another Buffy was in the body he knew so intimately. It just didn't seem possible. But it had happened. Right now, Xander was living for the moment in which Aidan and Jenny said they'd found a way to reverse the switch...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Oz's Van

"Do you think this is really a good idea?"

"I think you need to see her."

"But... what if she still doesn't remember me? I'm her best friend. I just can't believe this is happening..."

"Willow!" Oz turned his eyes from the road for a brief instant, just long enough to give his girlfriend a stern, yet loving look. The color of his eyes stood out against the new midnight black of his hair. "If what Giles said is true, Buffy will need someone to help her. You can do that better than anybody."

Willow tucked a strand of red hair behind an ear. "Yeah... she does have to keep up with the bad guys while she's here."

"Don't worry. It will all work out."

"It was just the way she looked at me, and that stuff she said... It... scared me a little."

"Buffy is your friend. In any dimension. I'm sure she'll remember that."

Willow sank down in the passenger seat until her feet touched the end of the floorboard. "I really hope you're right, Oz."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Oz's Van

"This isn't going to work, Oz. I just know it."

"You know you're the only one who can do this, Sonya."

"I think Faith should do it. Or Angel. Psycho-Buffy and I really did not hit it off."

Oz turned to give his girlfriend a stern, yet loving look. "Buffy is your friend. In any dimension. I'm sure she'll remember that."

Sonya gave him a dirty look, but they both knew she didn't really mean it. "Thanks for the Hallmark moment there."

Oz looked puzzled for a second. "It's weird. Suddenly that phrase just popped into my mind."

With a laugh, Sonya said, "That's some cranium you've got there, Bubba."

Oz couldn't help but laugh back. "Hey, I'm not taking that Bubba crap from you, babe."

"Babe?" Sonya's eyebrows rose, and when Oz looked satisfied, she realized she given him just the reaction he wanted. Then she looked around to see them pulling into the Summers' driveway. He'd manage to distract her for almost the whole drive. She gave him a thankful look. Then she realized something. "They aren't here."

Oz sat back in his seat. "We'll wait."