Warnings and disclaimer in Chapter 1. Enjoy!

Xander glared at the detective when the door opened. "Good morning," he greeted them, holding out a fast food bag. Xander made no move to take it. "You said you wanted something besides gas station sandwiches."

"Why now?" he asked, never letting go of the bundle in his arms. It had taken him a long time to get Buffy calmed down. He half thought she didn't calm down as much as pass out. When her grip slackened, he tried to make her as comfortable as possible. He peeled the wet clothes off of her, drying her as well as he could with the thread worn towel he saw folded up under the clothes, before dressing her in new, dry, warm clothes. He quickly did the same with himself before gathering her in his arms and pulling her as far from the center as he could. She was violently shivering the entire time. He didn't know if her fever was any worse or is she was just reacting to what happened, but this, at least, he could help with. He grabbed every single blanket he could and cocooned themselves tightly. Then he prepared for a long night. Her nightmares were worse than ever and her shivering didn't stop until it was nearly morning. Try as he might, his own exhaustion forced him to sleep. When he woke, he saw Kestrel watching them contemplatively. Xander glared at him. The detective smiled and left. Xander thought they would be alone for a few hours, but the detective returned an hour later, bearing food that was hot and fresh.

"It's time to move," Kestrel said. Xander looked around the room. The desk and the computer were gone, leaving the room completely bare. Kestrel opened the cell door and put the bag of food in front of Xander. His mouth watered at the smell of egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches. "There's nothing wrong with the food," Kestrel told him. "The water is drugged though," he said putting two bottles of water in front of them. "It's just a mild sedative, enough to knock you out while we change locations."

"You expect us to drink that?" Xander asked indignantly.

"The alternative is much worse," Kestrel told him, pulling out the bottle of chloroform. "Or I can always knock you upside the head again."

"You're going to kill us," Xander said. Kestrel sighed.

"I hope not," he told him honestly, reaching for the bag and pulling out a sandwich. He started eating and Xander unconsciously followed. "I must say thank you. This whole setup," he waved his hand around the room, "was designed to break the control her Masters had on her. I expected to be here for months as we slowly undid all the damage they inflicted. I never thought she would defy me after only a few days. That shows tremendous progress and healing that I can only attribute to you and your family. I am impressed."

"Impressed enough that you're going to let us go?" Xander asked hopefully. Kestrel sighed.

"As much as I would love to," he started, "we still have the small problem of the Slayer." He took a couple steps back, sliding down the front bars to be at their level as he talked to him. "We need the Slayer to be active."

"She's…" Xander started.

"Retired," Kestrel interrupted him, "yeah, you've said that enough. But the thing is, my boss doesn't believe it. And if my boss don't believe, I don't. So now the problem isn't how to overcome The Ring's brainwashing, it's how to coax the Slayer back out into the open. And I think I've figured out how."

"By killing us," Xander scoffed. Kestrel smiled.

"We'll see." He stood and offered them the water. "Easy way or hard way. Your choice." Xander sighed before reaching for the bottle. He coaxed as much as he could into Buffy until she fell limp beside him. He turned to glare at the detective one more time before chugging what was left of the bottle. The effect was almost instantaneous. His last coherent memory was them taking off his chains before the world went completely dark.

Willow smiled as she spotted the familiar outline in front of her. "Be it ever so humble," she said as she effortlessly jumped the wall and landed on the grounds inside, "there's no place like home." She went over to a clump of trees, thinking of before. This was the very spot where she watched Buffy destroy her mother's home after she killed Joyce and Dawn. She looked at the dwellings on each side. They had initially left those homes alone, until she needed a place to practice her Dark arts. She smiled at the memory of how easy it was to summon a fireball powerful enough to destroy Giles's house in an instant.

Her smile faded when she saw movement in the upstairs window she now knew was the nursery. She thought she had everything planned so perfectly. How could one little change affect everything so much? She slowly made her way across the grounds, not even bothering with stealth. It didn't matter if they saw her coming or not. The outlook would be the same.

She thought back to her perfect plan and how quickly it had been unraveled. The first part had worked out perfectly. Her time jump had allowed her to make sure Hank Summers arrived at the party on time. She stayed with him just long enough to see the look on his face when he saw his daughter was the entertainment before she left. Then she waited a few more days until she heard about the bust. Smiling at her own genius, she cast her spell to go back home sure she had fixed the problem and excited to see her lover again. Then something went horribly wrong.

Instead of returning to the future that was Hell on earth with her vampire lover waiting for her, she was violently pulled out only a few months later. She was confused until she started noticing the changes. While her Earth wasn't completely down the drain yet, there were a few changes that should have been noticeable by now. Except they weren't. It didn't take her long to figure out what went wrong. Somehow her actions had unforeseen consequences and she would have to wrong the rights if she wanted to get back to her home.

She knew immediately what she had to do. Drusilla had to turn Buffy. If she did then everything important would be right again. Of course, she might return to a world of unicorns and butterflies, but she would return to her vampire lover. The rest they could fix when she got back.

Only it was proving a lot harder to turn Buffy than she thought it would be. Drusilla was easy enough to manipulate, but the Scoobies stopped the crazy vampire at every single turn. She then turned to the only other member of the Aurelius line she could count on to get the job done, Angelus. But he had that pesky soul problem that she would need to take care of first. She set him on an uncertain path that would hopefully solve that problem, but it would still take time to see if it was working. That's when she had an epiphany. She didn't need Drusilla or Angelus to turn Buffy because she already had a vampire Buffy that would work. She just needed enough power to bring her through the portal. And suddenly she knew what she was going to do.

Doing it was a bit more problematic. Dawn was well protected and she was smart. It took weeks to set the trap and gather enough power to spring the trap but it was all worth it when she held her lover in her arms once again. They disappeared from the world for a few weeks, caught up in their reunion. When they finally emerged they set out to fix the changes and return to their world. The first thing that had to happen was this version of Willow needed to lose her soul.

They worked on the plan for weeks but it was ultimately ruined by the Watcher. They didn't know how he figured them out, but the Scoobies ruined their plans again. The mounting frustration exploded when Joyce had the nerve to accuse her of kidnapping her daughter. It took Buffy days to calm her lover down enough to actually listen to the plan the vampire made. It was vile and horrible and so detestable Willow couldn't wait. "If we can't steal her soul by stealth we'll take it by force," Willow mumbled as she let herself into the house. She looked up at the sounds of children's laughter.

She heard the rumors of children of the Slayer as soon as she was pushed out of her portal, but it didn't concern her until she got her Buffy back. When Buffy admitted that she gave birth to seven children that were sacrificed for the Third Age to start, Willow realized that these were Buffy's children. Another unintended consequence from her meddling. Buffy wanted to kill them immediately, but Willow was able to talk her out of it. Until now. Now they were getting desperate and Buffy argued that finding the mutilated corpses of the two infants would cause such grief that they would be able to force Willow's soul out of her. She followed the sound of laughter upstairs into what was Buffy's room. She opened the door quietly and watched as Joyce bent over a crib, making faces for the baby's amusement.

"Hello Joyce," Willow finally spoke up after watching them interact for a moment. She gasped when she turned around. "Tara?"

"Willow," she greeted sadly. "I know why you're here. Please don't do this."

"If I don't, she will," she said simply. "And it will be a lot messier."

"You're better than this Willow," Tara insisted. Willow shook her head.

"I'm not. I don't have a soul anymore. I'm a monster."

"Not having a soul does not mean you're a monster," Tara told her gently. "This family knows that more than anyone. It's the choices you make that makes you a monster or not. You don't need a soul to know wrong from right. You can still redeem yourself, but you have to make a choice right now."

"I have made my choice," she said sadly. "I'll make it quick. They won't suffer."

"Just everyone else around them," Tara said sternly. "This is not the way."

"It's the only way for me," Willow said darkly. "And I will kill anyone who tries to get in my way."

"I'm sorry," Tara said, flinging her arms out in front of the crib like a shield. "I wish it didn't have to go like this." Willow scoffed and was about to rebuke when a new voice sounded.

"Wish granted," Anya said from the corner of the room.

Spike ran as fast as he could. He could hear the vampire chasing after him, crashing through the underbrush as Spike led her through the forest that separated the Summers compound from the rest of the town. He stopped in the middle of the forest.

"You feeling your age?" Buffy asked, stopping right beside him. He looked over, breathing hard to see her smirking at him right before she threw a punch. He flew through the air and she followed, stalking after her prey.

"Not quite luv," he said as he cowered before her. "I am, however, tired of playing the bait."

"Bait?" Buffy asked, all levity gone. Spike smirked as all around them hell broke loose.

"Go. Go. Go." Riley yelled at his men as they approached from one side, while demons of every shape and size approached from the other. Spike crouched down, letting the two waves converge on the surprised vampire. Each side got in a few good hits before the shock wore off and she really started fighting. It was beautiful to watch. Buffy truly was the most talented Slayer Spike had ever known, but the two groups had sheer numbers on their side.

"Woah," Spike jumped in to save a commando from what would have been a terminal blow. Buffy growled, but her attention was forced elsewhere.

"Thanks," the young soldier stammered as Spike dragged him out of the immediate area so he could regroup.

"Don't mention it," he said, leaving the soldier and heading back into the fray. Chaos reigned supreme. The overwhelming numbers were starting to dwindle to their more powerful foe, but they had only lost a few soldiers and demons. Buffy wasn't able to go in for the kill as much as she wanted. There were just too many fighters for her to focus on a single death stroke. Spike frowned.

"Is it just me or is she still playing with us?" Spike asked as he reached Riley's side. Riley looked thoughtful and took a second to survey the battlefield. It was all going according to plan. Their main purpose was to keep Buffy from joining up with Willow. If they were able to weaken the vampire that was a bonus.

"What more can she possibly do to us?" Riley asked, but Spike could hear the sincerity in his voice. He, too, knew what she was capable of and this cat and mouse game she was playing didn't sit right with him either. Spike pondered this for a minute while even more soldiers and demons converged on the vampire. There was a break in the troops and that's when Spike saw it. The rudimentary circle was so well hidden they didn't even know they were in it. Riley saw it too. "Fall back!"

"Get away!" Spike shouted. "Move!" Spike heard Buffy sigh disappointingly as the soldiers started heading away. Some of the demons followed, but the majority of both groups were still inside the circle.

"Incendiate," Buffy shouted and the whole area went up in flames.

"I don't like this," Wood said as he rocked Billy in his arms. "I don't like this at all."

"Take a number," Joyce said harshly. She closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for." She had finally gotten Alex asleep and had laid her down on the couch in the principal's apartment.

"That's okay," he told her. "You obviously have a lot on your mind." They both looked up when a scream could be heard coming from the upstairs bedroom.

"You have no idea." Joyce said. Robin took a minute to really look at the woman.

"So is this an everyday occurrence?" he asked. "Cause you're not freaking out at all."

"I freak out once this is over," Joyce smiled at him. "Until then, mom is always calm." He smiled back until a knock sounded at his door. He passed Billy to Joyce and headed to the door, pausing only long enough to grab his sword. He opened the door a fraction of an inch.

"Yes?"

"I'm looking for Robin Wood's apartment," a strange voice called out. "Am I in the right place?"

"Why?" Robin asked, not answering her question.

"Doctor Wilkinson called me for a referral," she continued. "For a rather unique case. I'm Doctor Emily Carlson. OB/GYN."

"Emily," Ben called as he rushed down the stairs. "Is that you?"

"Ben?" she called out. Ben nodded to Robin, who opened the door wider.

"She's upstairs," he told her, stepping out to grab her arm and leading her inside. That's when they noticed the white cane she was using.

"You're blind?" Robin asked as he closed and locked the door.

"That's what you're focused on?" Ben asked as he led her up the stairs slowly so she wouldn't trip. "A vampire is about to give birth upstairs and you're focused on the blind doctor?" Robin looked down in shame. Joyce thrust Billy back into his arms and followed the group upstairs. Sighing, he headed back toward the kitchen. Lorne was making himself at home, cooking something that Robin grudgingly admitted smelled fantastic. He wasn't alone though. The older twins were watching him like a hawk.

"What's he doing?" Robin asked as Lorne stirred a pot. He dipped a spoon in for a sample.

"It's French Onion Soup," Lorne said, offering the spoon to Wood. He shook his head. The twins just stared at him in disdain when he offered it to them, but Lorne just shrugged and tasted it himself. "You're right. It needs more salt." He then went back to the stove.

"You guys don't need to stay in here," Wood told the twins. "Alex is sleeping on the couch. Maybe you guys could play a board game or put together a puzzle in there."

"We will never trust a demon," Dash said. Sparky nodded his head. Wood sighed, bracing Billy on his shoulder as he watched Lorne.

"Why aren't you out there fighting?" Robin asked.

"I'm a lover, not a fighter," Lorne responded immediately. He turned to face him. "I know what you're thinking. With a face like mine, how can I ever be anything other than a monster? But not all demons are like that. It's not our fault we're born like this, but it is our fault if we choose to stay like this. I choose to do better." Lorne turned back to the stove. Robin sighed as he passed off Billy to Dash. He then went and made himself comfortable in the living room. It was going to be a long day.