Wesley could feel himself waking up and tried to fight against it. He knew that waking would come with pain and he could do without that. "Mountains loomed dark in the distance against a pale sky. A long grey road wound back out of sight. Far away a figure came slowly down the road, faint and small at first, but growing larger and clearer as it approached. Suddenly Frodo realized that it reminded him of Gandalf. He almost called aloud the wizard's name, and then he saw that the figure was clothed not in grey but in white, a white that shown faintly in the dusk; and in its hand there was a-" Wesley opened his eyes when the voice stopped. He tried to open his mouth to speak, but his jaw was wired shut. Sitting by his bedside was Evi, reading from a copy of The Lord of the Rings. "Hey," She said "I thought you were awake."
He could only nod in response.
"You used to read this to me. You read all of them to me, even the really dense ones like The Silmarillion. You instilled in me at an early age an appreciation of British literature."
Wesley stared at the girl. She seemed calm. The book lay open on her lap and her hands rested gently on it. Her spine was straight and her lips formed a neutral smile. But behind her eyes he saw only fear and panic. They ran back and forth like pursued mice.
"Do you want me to go?"
He shook his head.
"I wouldn't be offended if you did."
He shook his head again.
"Do you need anything?"
Wesley thought about this. He could tell he was being medicated already because the pain didn't feel like it should. It hurt, but in a medicated way. He was sort of thirsty, but not enough to want to deal with drinking when his jaw was wired shut. There was one thing he would really like though. He lifted his left hand, a motion that made the hole in his palm send out renewed pain signals, and mimed writing. Evi got it immediately and stood up to go fetch him a pen and a pad of paper. When she returned Angel, Fred, and Gunn were with her.
"Hey Wes," Fred whispered as Evi handed her father the writing utensils
Wesley knew how to write without using his dominant hand, which he had to do because the burn was far too painful. But his other hand wasn't in great shape either and writing was far more of a chore than he had expected it to be. Did you find Holtz?
Angel shook his head with a sorrowful expression. "But we will."
"Son of a bitch isn't going to get away with this." Gunn said
There was also a demon. I believe it was named Sahjhan.
"Yeah, we're looking into him." Angel said "Anya knew him way back."
Wesley wanted to find out more, but his hand felt heavy and the desire to learn competed with the desire to lie completely still and not tempt the pain to multiply. "You need some rest man." Gunn said "We'll come back later. Just focus on healing, okay?"
Wesley nodded wearily. Angel and Gunn left, but Fred lingered. She walked past Evi to stand right next to Wesley. "I'm so sorry this happened to you." She whispered
He shook his head, too tired to write. Although he very much wanted to.
She reached out as though to touch him and then stopped. "Get better, okay?"
Wesley nodded and then watched her go. Evi sat back down and Wesley saw that she was looking toward where her mother had left. Evi turned back to Wesley with an almost playful smile on her face. "I think she likes you." The young woman teased "But I'm not objective."
Wesley had to smile at that.
"Do you want me to read some more?" Evi help up her book.
Wesley shook his head. Even though he was exhausted he summoned the energy to write four words on the notepad. Tell me about us. Wesley closed his eyes.
Evi seemed to understand. "Once when I was four years old, and nobody ever believed that I remembered this, you and mom took me to a zoo. I loved the animals, almost all of them, but my favorites were the reptiles. The snakes to be specific. You were a little freaked out by how close I got to the glass and how excited I got watching the deadly creatures. Mom just thought I was being adorable. I liked how simple they were. You bought me a rubber snake at the gift shop at the end of the day. Later that week when Uncle Gunn came by to visit I put the snake in his chair when he got up for Coffee. He freaked out. You wouldn't stop laughing and mom said you were setting a bad example. But then she started laughing too. I don't remember why I did that. I don't think I was trying to scare him, I just wanted him to meet my snake."
Evi went from memory to memory. She talked about the good days before Fred had been infected and the bad days afterwards. But each story was pleasant, or had at least one pleasant aspect to it. Wesley found these stories incredible soothing and actually fought against the pull of sleep so he could continue to listen to them. But eventually, sleep did claim him.
…
Warren led the women down into the basement where his coconspirators starred in awe at the one creature they never expected to see down here, the human female. Andrew was none too pleased by this development. "What are they doing here?!" The young man adopted a loud nasally voice to express his outrage. "No girls allowed!" He was furious.
"Who's the four year old?" Cordelia asked
Jonathan stared at the group in terror. "Why did you bring them here Warren?"
"I didn't have a choice. They were going to hex me." Warren said in a grumpy tone
"And we still might if you don't tell us what you're up to." Cordelia said
"Just some harmless…supervillainy." Jonathan said
Dawn snorted with laughter. "What a bunch of dorks."
"Hey!" Andrew said "For your information we've gotten a lot done. We stole a diamond and made an invisible-" Andrew was cut off by Warren's harsh anger.
"Shut up you moron!"
"Who are you?" Cordelia asked of Andrew again
"I'm Andrew, I set the flying monkeys loose at the school play that one year."
Cordelia turned to Willow, who shrugged. "No idea," The witch said
"He's Tucker's brother." Jonathan muttered
"Oh," Willow and Cordelia said simultaneously
"What is all this junk?" Dawn picked up an action figure.
"Don't touch that!" Andrew whined
"Why?" She asked
"It's limited edition!" Andrew said
"And you," Cordelia pointed at Warren. "You look familiar."
"Warren," He muttered
Cordelia's blood chilled. Warren was the name of the criminal Evi said almost ended the world. Cordelia had trouble picturing a geek with bold aspirations putting an end to anything, but she wasn't going to take any chances. "Okay boys, we're going on a field trip."
"What if we don't want to go?" Andrew crossed his arms.
"Warren, show them what we did to your toy." Cordelia said
Warren raised the ruined device. "Ah man," Jonathan said
…
Lilah walked into the white room. She had never been in here before. Consequences of doing so had ranged from death to insanity. But to survive one had to take risks. Lilah looked around at the infinite emptiness. She saw nothing that could be the conduit. Then she heard the sweet innocent-sounding voice. "You are not brave or stupid, so you must be desperate."
Lilah turned around and saw the little girl in a pretty frock. "How about ambitious?"
"We love ambition, it often leads to cruelty. What cruel acts do you intend?"
"I intend to betray my superior."
"How is that?"
"I have seen into the future. I have seen old ones called Es and Troy battle here."
The little girl frowned. "Where did you see that?"
"In the mind of a time-traveler. There are two, a vampire and a human."
"You want us to promote you in exchange for bringing them to us."
"No," Lilah said "I'm going to bring them to you anyway. I want you to promote me so I don't have to deal with that idiot Linwood getting in my way. It's you I'm concerned for."
The child smiled. "Oh I'm sure."
"There is one other thing."
"There seldom is not." The child said
"The demon Sahjhan has agreed to help us if we kill the miracle child and make him corporeal. He has already been invaluable to me. I think his assistance might be pivotal."
"So you want us to undo what we did to him?" The child asked Lilah
"No, not necessarily." Lilah said
The child giggled. "We like you."
"Thank you," Lilah said
"Tell Sahjhan we agree to his terms." The child pointed at a section of the blank whiteness and a man in a suit appeared. "This is Hamilton, if you have any concerns you wish brought to our attention you can just tell him, instead of coming all the way up here again."
Hamilton stuck out his hand. "Ms. Morgan, a pleasure."
Lilah shook his hand. "Likewise,"
"As for Linwood," The conduit said "You will find that his life is in your hands."
"Look at your phone." Hamilton elaborated
Lilah pulled out her phone and saw a new app that it took her only a moment to realize allowed her to control booby traps in every chair in the building. She could decapitate anybody who was sitting down. Lilah grinned like a child receiving her first bicycle. "Oh I like this."
…
Fred entered the hospital room and heard the end of a story Evi was telling Wesley with both her rambling voice and animated hand motions. Fred looked at the girl and saw herself, excited about a physics problem or an epiphany concerning a case. Fred realized that this girl was without a doubt her daughter. Fred was so stunned by the sudden certainty and reality of the girl that it took her a moment to realize Evi had stopped talking and both she and Wesley were staring at her. Fred cleared her throat. "Buffy said she thinks Willow can probably fix your jaw, but we don't exactly know where she is. Buffy went out to find her." Wesley looked concerned by what she had just said. He didn't have to say a word for her to know why. "We don't think she's missing or anything. She's just not here right now. Don't worry, everybody's fi- Well I don't mean everybody's fine. Obviously you're not. Which is not to say that you're not fine, just that you're hurt. But you'll get better, and then you'll be fine. So everybody will be-"
Wesley held up a notepad and Fred stopped talking to read it. I know what you meant.
Fred looked at him and he was smiling. Well she was pretty sure he was smiling. The jaw wired shut thing made it a little hard to tell. "So uh… What were you guys talking about?"
"Demon robots," Evi said "You took down an army of them one time."
"I- what?" Fred realized the girl must be joking. "Oh, funny,"
"No it's true. Want to hear about it?" Evi asked
"Uh, sure." Fred pulled up another chair. "You don't have to start the story over."
"Yeah I was just getting to the best part." Evi said "So you and dad were pinned down in the lab with the possessed robots right outside. Things were looking really bad."
Fred fired out the window at the crowd of evil robots and then frowned when she saw one go down. Her weapon had a low charge, taking them out one by one was pointless. "Did you find a way out of here?" Fred asked as she heard footsteps behind her that she knew so well
"No," Wesley said as she turned around "Do you have a plan?"
"A plan? My plan was us escaping. That was the plan."
"Was there a plan B?" Wesley asked
"That was plan B, and C, and D, and E, and F, and G, and H, and-"
"I got it honey." Wesley said, holding back a chuckle
"This isn't funny." Fred said "Those things want to kill us." A loud bang on the lab doors emphasized her point. "Why don't you come up with a plan bookman?" She asked
"They're robots. Robots fall into your territory." Wesley said
"They're possessed, you're possessions." Fred insisted
"Possessions are really more Willow's thing." Wesley said
"Since when?" Fred demanded
"Since right now," Wesley said "Because I don't have a plan."
Fred sighed. "Men, you suck at planning because your plans are always either hit it with a heavy thing or cast a spell on it. You're all about the big picture, not detail."
"Sometimes we also swing sharp things at it." Wesley said
Fred giggled. "Oh Wesley, we're in trouble."
Wesley looked at the lab door. "I can't exorcise a thousand robots. I don't even know if a robot can be exorcised. We're going to have to go after the mechanical part."
"Okay, we can finish that fight later." Fred said
"We were fighting?" Wesley asked, genuinely surprised and a little bit hurt
"Oh honey," Fred kissed him briefly on the lips. "No, but you get so adorable when you think I'm mad at you." She looked back out the window. "Of course! I know what to do!"
…
Cordelia entered the Summers residence pulling along Jonathan by the arm. "Ow, that hurts man! Stop it Cordelia!" Buffy, Angel, Spike, Xander, and Anya stared in surprise as Dawn came in pulling Andrew and Willow came in with her grip on Warren's arm. Tara brought up the rear holding a number of strange devices. "I swear this is a big misunderstanding!"
"Shut up." Cordelia pushed Jonathan into a chair.
"Cordy what-" Buffy began
"Why didn't you answer your phone?!" Angel demanded
Cordelia pulled out her phone. "Oops, my bad."
Lorne entered the living room. "What's with all the noise? I just got the baby asleep."
Willow let go of Warren. "These guys were building techno-mystic weapons."
"What kind of weapons?" Buffy asked
"All kinds," Tara said "I think this is supposed to be a Cerebral Dampener when it's finished, but I can't be sure. It could be used for mind control." She shivered.
"Warren, why am I not surprised?" Buffy asked as she took in who her visitors were
"You're not a cop." Warren said "You can't do anything to us."
"She's the slayer." Cordelia said "She can do whatever she wants."
Buffy was annoyed by that remark. "No I can't Cordelia."
"So can," Anya mumbled under her breath
"And," Cordy said "This is the guy Evi said almost ended the world."
"What?!" Every member of the trio said at once
"Oh yeah," Angel said "She did say his name was Warren."
"I never- This is a frame job!" Warren insisted
An infant's cries filled the house. "Nice one," Angel said as he went to comfort his son
"Where is time-girl?" Buffy asked "I want the full story."
…
Amy sat in the dark abandoned building and absorbed the power from the crystals and trinkets she had stolen from the magic box. She gasped in ecstasy as the magic lit her blood on fire and made her eyes stop working right. Everything was color now. There were no shapes, only the color of energy as magic everywhere showed itself to her. "Look at you."
Amy saw old energy, old and evil. "What do you want?" She demanded
"I find myself in need of magical assistance. You seem suitably without ethics."
Amy laughed. "What's the pay?"
"If you're successful, anything in this town you want. The whole thing if it pleases you."
"What's your name?" Amy asked the dark energy as her vision started to come back
Standing before her was a hideous demon. "I am Sahjhan."
Amy didn't even flinch. She stuck out her hand. "Amy,"
"I don't shake." Sahjhan said "I've got a condition."
"Whatever man,"
…
Fred was captivated by the details of her ingenious plan. It both sounded like her and did not sound like her at all. It was a bold plan, bolder than she was. But it was also a very complicated plan, following several trains of logic. Fred was the same way, thinking twelve different things at once only strenuously connected. But despite how complicated it was all the threads of her plan linked back up and made it simple in application. This was the plan of a confident person, who knew her strengths and demanded perfection of herself. Fred wasn't sure how she had become that person, but she rather liked the sound of her. So she kept listening.
Fred ran into a room full of computers. The twelve dozen robots that had been pursuing her burst into the room. "Hey guys," Fred said nervously "This is a little awkward."
One robot raised a sword, but before he could start toward her a hand reached from the ceiling and she reached up to grab it. The floor evaporated and the robots fell into a long sewer tunnel where they saw several of their brethren similarly trapped. Fred was pulled up onto one of the pipes the crisscrossed the ceiling. "I think that's the last of them." Wesley said
"Or near enough." Fred said "Press the button."
"You built the bomb, you should get to set it off."
"Oh thanks sweetie, you're a peach." Fred plucked the remote control from her partner's hands and pressed a button. A second later the walls of the sewer tunnel exploded inward, crushing the robots. "Scrap metal," Fred said "Not so scary now." She grinned
"I'm scared." Wesley said "I'm afraid of what will happen when Buffy finds out how expensive all the damage we caused is. We'll be lucky is she only fires us."
"She won't fire us." Fred said "We just saved Beijing."
"Hm," Wesley looked down. "Hey did your plan cover how we get down?"
The smile slipped off Fred's face. "I knew I forgot something."
"I'm sure someone will find us eventually." Wesley said confidently
"Yeah, it's not like no one knows where- Wait, does anyone know where we are?"
There was a long silence. Finally Wesley spoke. "Shit,"
Fred groaned. "I told you we should have brought backup."
"What?! No you didn't."
"I did, I said we should bring a slayer."
"You said no such thing. Your exact words were, and I quote: Hey Wesley there's been a report of some enchanted robots in Beijing. Sounds like fun, want to check it out with me?"
"No, that's not what I said."
"That is exactly what you said." Wesley said
"See you never listen to me." Fred said
"What are you talking about? I always listen to you. I listened to you when you said you wanted to paint the apartment that bloody awful shade of orange and-"
"It's apricot and you said you liked it!"
"I was being nice."
"Hey guys!"
Fred and Wesley looked down and saw Willow and a slayer. "Hey Will," Fred said
"You need some help?"
"Yeah, settle this for us, do you like the color we painted-"
"You painted," Wesley muttered
"We painted," Fred insisted "The apartment,"
"Honestly?" Willow asked
"Please," Fred said
"It's… kind of horrible Fred."
Wesley smirked at Fred. "I told you." Then he turned to Willow. "Hey can you get us down from here? We'd really appreciate that as well." He told the witch
"If you need time to work through this-"
"I think we're good." Fred said
Willow waved her hand and gently floated Wesley and Fred down to an area where there was a floor and then smirked at them. "Buffy is going to be so pissed at you guys."
"Hey," Wesley said "We were told about enchanted robots."
"Yeah," Fred said "Nobody said anything about possessions."
"How'd you find us?" Wesley asked
"I followed the trail of destruction." Willow said
"Well since the emergency is over, who wants Chinese food?" Fred asked
Wesley started laughing. "Don't ever change." He begged her
"Of course not." She kissed his cheek.
"So was that a fight?" He asked
Fred shrugged. She grabbed his shoulders and kissed him again. "Who cares?"
…
Buffy and Willow walked to the hospital while the majority of their group stayed behind to watch the prisoners. Gunn was still in the hospital waiting room and followed the pair to Wesley's room. Buffy knocked on the door and Fred answered it. "Hey," Fred said
"Is time girl here?" Buffy asked
"Evi?"
"Yeah," Buffy said "I need to ask her something."
Evi walked into the hall. Gunn went into the hospital room to check on his friend and Fred was left wondering whether to join him or the slayer's conversation. She opted for the latter and listened to Buffy question her daughter. "What's up?" Evi seemed far more cheerful than she had been the last time Buffy saw her. The girl had been a mess and now she was all pep.
"Warren, you said he almost ended the world."
Evi frowned. "Did he do something?"
"That's what I'm asking you."
"Yeah well he's the one who-" Evi looked at Willow and stopped talking.
"What?" Willow asked
"I- I'm not sure how- I didn't mean to upset you and I don't want to… again."
Willow's eyes widened as she understood. "He shot Tara." She whispered
Evi nodded.
Willow was shaking with rage. "I'm going to kill him."
"No!" Evi's objection was loud enough to draw stares. Evi lowered her voice. "You did that last time. That's why… That's why a lot of bad things that happened… happened."
Willow frowned. "Like what?"
"You were younger then-now. You were-are not the same- What I'm trying to say is that you made a mistake. We all do. But you're so powerful, and there were… consequences."
Fred stepped up to Evi. "It's okay sweetie, nobody is mad at you."
Evi looked at her mother with infinite gratitude. "He did a terrible thing. No one mourned his death. But once you cross into the dark magics it is hard to come back. She did, but first there was a lot of terror and ruin. Willow," Evi looked at the witch. "You tried to destroy the world."
Buffy laughed. "Sure she did."
"I'm serious." Evi said
Buffy's face hardened. "You're a liar."
"Hey," Fred said "There's no-"
"Shut up." Buffy said "I don't know either of you. But I do know Willow and Willow would never in a million years try to hurt me, or any of her friends. You're lying."
"It was a mistake." Evi said softly "We all make-"
"I said Shut. Up." Buffy's tone was harsh.
"Buffy-" Willow began
"Come on Will, we're leaving." Buffy turned to go and after only a moment of hesitation Willow followed her. Evi and Fred watched them go, disheartened.
"I screwed up again." Evi whispered
"Well," Fred said "To finish the wise statement you were attempting to make before, we all make mistakes. What's done is done. You were upset about Wesley, it's not your fault."
"I just don't want to lie." Evi said "I feel like that would make it worse."
Fred nodded. "Sometimes there are no good answers. Let's go check on your dad."
Evi didn't move. "Do you love him?"
Fred was taken aback. "What?"
"S-sorry, I keep-"
"No it's okay." Fred said "I uh- I don't really know him well enough to love him."
"Oh," Evi looked disappointed. "Well do you think you could, one day?"
Fred really didn't want to continue this conversation, but she didn't want Evi to launch into another stammering apology either. "Well you sort of answer that question, don't you?"
"I've changed things, but that's the one thing I don't want to change." Evi said
"Well we'll see what happens." Fred said "Try not to worry."
Evi sighed. "If I hadn't upset Willow she would have healed his jaw."
Fred hugged her daughter. She wasn't sure why she did, she was operating off of pure instinct at this point. "You can't dwell on what's past, it's done and you can't-"
Evi started laughing. She giggled into her mother's shoulder. "I can't go back?"
Fred giggled too. "Well, you know what I mean."
…
Faith woke up because of a pain on her head. Her eyes opened and she realized she was being dragged along the ground by her bound together feet. She struggled against tight ropes that also bound her wrists. She thrashed about and saw sand and stars. She tried to calm down and think logically and the first part of that was evaluating her surroundings. She stilled for a moment and then the sand and stars separated. She was in the desert at night being dragged by a dark figure. "Who are you?!" Faith demanded "How did I get here?!" She tried to kick.
As the figure continued to silently drag her Faith saw pale figures in the distance that they were getting closer and closer to. They were disgusting. They looked like they were made out of something insubstantial. Their eyes were on her as Drusilla dragged her forward. "Slit her throat." One commanded "Drain her blood and let us lap it up from the ground like beasts."
"No," Said another "You are fair. You know she was mine. If you kill her and not the others it gives my sisters an unfair advantage. But give her to me and I will fetch their bodies for them to make it fair." The tall disgusting winged thing smiled at Drusilla. "And you know you love your spider queen most of all. You know you are my favorite."
Drusilla giggled. "She is yours." Drusilla said in a tone of one acknowledging fact
"She was," The first speaker, shaped like a child, spoke again. "Es abandoned her claim when she altered time. She made us like this, she weakened us, and she should suffer for it."
"You are no fun at all." Es said "All doom and destruction."
"I side with Es." A tentacle-covered creature said
"Not I." Troy said "She killed me."
"I left you alive in the witch." Es said "A little gratitude perhaps?"
Faith kicked Dru in the gut and then jumped to her feet. While the vampire tried to get her bearings Faith slammed her bound together hands into Drusilla's face in the form of a double fist, a powerful blow. Faith swayed on her bound feet. Drusilla grabbed Faith and pulled out a knife to cut her with. But Drusilla hesitated. Faith brought her wrists up and cut the bonds before Drusilla could react. Faith hit her again with one hand while taking the knife with the other hand and then cut free her feet. "After her!" Illyria demanded of the vampire
Faith ran and as she did she heard a laugh. "Now what spider queen?" The vampire asked
"I love a good chase." Es said excitedly
"You can't walk." The nameless one said bitterly
"All the more fun that makes it." Es said
…
Buffy slammed the door shut as she entered her home. Willow looked at the slayer nervously, too afraid to speak. An infant's cries filled the house, but no one was stupid enough to reprimand Buffy. Buffy looked around for someone that might be tempted, but they all kept still and quiet. It seemed Buffy's fury would go unchecked. Then Angel came out. He took one look at Buffy and then headed for the back door. "We're going for a walk." He told the others
Buffy followed him outside. She started ranting the second they were out of earshot of the house. "You wouldn't believe what that bitch said about Willow. How dare she accuse my best friend of something like that? Even if it had been true, hasn't she ever heard of tact?"
"Buffy,"
"I mean there are things we say in public and there are things we say in private and there's a pretty big distinction. What a psycho. If she's supposed to tell us how to avert the apocalypse then we're all doomed because she's nuts. But I think she's been lying about everything from the beginning anyway. I just wanted to throttle that little-"
"Buffy,"
"How dare sh-"
"Buffy!"
"What?!" Buffy shouted
Angel lowered his voice. "What did she say?"
"She said Willow was going to try to destroy the world."
Angel frowned. "That doesn't make sense."
"I know. Wi-"
"No, I mean that doesn't fit with the other stuff she told us."
"Oh, well that just further proves that she's lying." Buffy said
Angel frowned. "We should go talk to her."
"I don't want to talk to her." Buffy said
"Buffy, if she is lying then she's probably working for our enemies. If she is an imposter then she's dangerous. We have to find out one way or the other whether she is here to help us save the world or help someone else destroy it. We have to know."
Buffy looked back at the house. "I just thought of something."
"What?"
"Spike," Buffy said
Angel frowned. "If Evi's a fake-"
"Then Spike's lying." Buffy finished
"He could be playing along with her lie just to screw with us." Angel said
"I'll stake him." Buffy growled
"We have to know for sure." Angel said "We can't let emotion cloud our judgment."
Buffy nodded. "You're right. The wrong choice could doom the world."
"So what do we do?" Angel asked
They both heard it at the same time. Feet hitting pavement with loud smacks and frenzied shallow breaths, someone running for her life. Angel and Buffy ran to the street. They gaped when the last person they expected to see tried to stop but tripped and fell to her knees in front of Buffy, gasping and bleeding. "Faith?!" Buffy shouted
Faith tried to suck in air. "Bu-" Her labored breathing hurt Angel's ears. "Ffy,"
"What are you doing here?" Buffy demanded
"Vampire," Faith gasped for breath. "Demons," She clutched at the ground.
Angel reached down to help Faith to her feet but she pushed him away. "Faith-"
Faith cut Angel off. "We have-" There was more gasping. "To kill-"
Buffy bristled. "Haven't you had enough of that?"
"Them," Faith struggled to her feet. "We have to kill them."
"Who?" Angel asked
"The demons,"
"What demons?" Angel asked "Where?"
…
Gunn was asleep in his chair and Evi was asleep on the couch. Fred realized that she had to talk to Wesley now, or she wouldn't be able to claim she wasn't putting it off. She moved her chair closer to his bed and he looked at her, attentive. "This is crazy." She said
He nodded.
"I never… I never thought of you like that. Did you… think… of me?"
Wesley hesitated. Then he nodded.
Fred blushed. "Why didn't you tell me?"
There was another hesitation. Then he wrote. Truth?
"Please," Fred said
Billy
Fred stared at that word. She couldn't respond. "Oh,"
I'm sorry.
Fred looked down at her hands. "For what?" It took her a moment to remember that she had to look up to get his response. But there wasn't one, just sad eyes. "Wesley?"
Everything
"That's not an answer."
In that other timeline the only reason you loved me was because of a spell and I'm sorry that you had your life meddled with in that way and that I was a part of it.
Fred looked toward Evi. "I'm not." The look he gave her was disbelieving. "I don't know if I loved you or if you loved me. But we loved her. She loved us. That means something."
Children will love bad fathers. Trust me, I know.
Fred stared at him. "You weren't a bad father."
How do you know?
"I know." Fred said "I don't believe that the future is certain. Whatever happened before doesn't have to happen again. But… Why avoid a good thing? I know you're a good man, and I know that if you were with me it was because you thought you loved me and I loved you. And if I was with you I thought I loved you and you loved me. So if we're not meant to be we won't be, because there's no magic this time to lie to us. But if we are meant to be…"
I don't understand.
Fred smiled at him. She couldn't help it. "Me neither, but that's okay, isn't it?"
Wesley nodded, still confused. Fred leaned over the bed and kissed him. It was weird and not at all erotic to kiss someone with his jaw wired shut, but she did it anyway. The kiss was only a second long, but when she leaned back she was blushing. He smiled at her.
"See, I didn't understand that. But it wasn't bad."
Wesley thought it was odd how all of a sudden the intense pain had moved to the back of his mind and all he could think about was Winifred Burkle. But he wasn't complaining.
…
Anya unlocked the door to the Magic Box in a huff. No one appreciated her leaving her business, and the opportunities for making money in it, to help them. No one ever thanked her or expressed any understanding of her. Well she was glad to be back with- Anya's jaw dropped when she took in the scene. Her keys clattered on the floor and she screamed in rage when she saw her depleted stock. Anya stormed behind the counter and pulled a box out from under the cash register. She unlocked the box with a key from a chain around her neck. She shifted through the contents of the box and then pulled out a medallion which she slammed on the glass counter with a force that made her glad she sprung for the reinforced glass. Anya replaced the box and then grabbed the medallion and began chanting. She was going to get vengeance.
…
Spike was shifting through the contents of Buffy's fridge. "Do you have any blood?!"
A strong hand grabbed Spike's shoulder and yanked him back. Spike was thrown against the wall and found himself facing Angel. "We've got some questions Spike."
Spike shoved Angel aside and saw Buffy standing there. "All right, no need to get with the manhandling. Ask away." Spike pulled a soda from the fridge. "What's up?"
"Are you lying about being from the future?" Buffy asked
"Of course not," Spike said
"Are you willing to prove you're being honest?"
Spike raised his brow. "Prove how?"
"Just a little spell," Buffy said "No big deal,"
Spike stared at Buffy. "Fine,"
Angel gave Spike a suspicious look. "That's it?"
"What do you mean?" Spike asked as he knocked back half the can of soda in one gulp
"You're not going to argue with us?" Angel asked
"Where's Red? I want to get this over with." Spike walked toward the living room.
"He is different." Buffy confessed
"Yeah," Angel looked unsettled.
…
Gunn was walking outside to get some air when he saw Evi sitting under a tall tree staring at her hands. That alone wasn't too weird, but the fact that her hands were glowing was more than odd. Gunn walked closer while making as little noise as possible. From behind her he could see her skin cracking and peeling under the warm glow. "What is that?"
Evi jumped and the glow cut out. "What are you doing?!" She got up and turned to face Gunn angrily. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that!"
Gunn held up his hands in surrender. "Okay," He nodded toward her hands.
"Keep quiet about this." Evi insisted
"I thought you were here to tell us things, now you're keeping secrets?"
"I'm not keeping secrets about the future, just about me."
In the darkness he could not see her face. He could only hear her anxious voice. "You've rubbed a lot of people the wrong way since you got here, you know that right?"
"Are you angry now as well?" She asked in a forlorn voice
"No, I'm not mad. But I'm not sure I can trust you either. So let's make a deal. I'll forget I ever saw this, and in return you promise not to hold back any information about the future."
"How do you know I'll keep the promise?" She asked
"I don't, but if you break it and I find out I'll know I can't trust you."
"Okay, deal." Evi held out her hand and Gunn was shocked that when he took it to shake it was neither warm nor scarred. It was a normal hand.
"So did we get along? In the future?" Gunn asked
"You gave me your sister's movies. We watched them together all the time. We danced to all the songs. You told me you used to do that with Alonna and you-"
Gunn yanked his hand out of Evi's grip. "I have to go." Gunn turned around and left.
Evi sat down and within a few moments her hands were glowing. The skin cracked and peeled while tears fell into the heat and evaporated with sizzling sounds.
…
With all the interrogations going on at Buffy's house Willow and Tara were of like minds in that they wanted to get away for a while. So they walked through town. Neither knew which one of them had taken the other's hand first and neither wanted to let go of the other. "Do you feel it?" Tara asked while looking up at the dark sky
Willow looked at her lover. "Do I feel what?"
"Do you know how the air feels different before it rains?" Tara asked
"Sure," Willow said "Kind of heavy and electric,"
"It feels like that."
"Like it's going to rain?" Willow asked
"No, like something is going to split open and pour out onto our heads." Tara said
Willow looked up. "It probably isn't something nice."
"Hasn't been yet." Tara conceded
Willow moved closer to Tara and Tara rested her head on Willow's shoulder. They stood still as they contemplated the sky together. There was magic in the air. There was the good kind, flowing through natural currents, but there was also darkness. "I feel it." Willow said
"Are you scared?" Tara asked
"Yes, but no. All I'm afraid of is losing you. Anything else I can take, but not that."
Tara kissed Willow's neck. "I'm always with you. You know that."
"You were going to leave."
Tara pulled away and Willow was afraid she had offended her. But before Willow could apologize Tara explained. "I love you Willow. I always will. I know you love me. So even when we're apart, when we're angry, when we're hurt, I'm with you. And you can always call on me when you need me. Even if I leave you can't lose me. Don't you know that?"
Willow began to cry. "But I need you. I need you here."
"Oh baby," Tara took Willow's face between her hands. "I'm right here."
Willow kissed Tara. "What if…"
"What?"
"Nothing," Willow wrapped her arms around Tara. "It's nothing. Everything is going to be all right because I'm going to take care of us. No matter what happens we'll be okay."
"Willow what happened?" Tara asked "Tell me."
"It was nothing." Willow buried her face in Tara and the two of them stood under the dark sky as a single person, bound by their souls and separated by bodies that knew each other so well they possessed each other. So they were one. And the air grew heavier.
