Chapter 6 – Tuesday, Alternate Reality

Buffy woke early next morning. The sun was up, but only just. For a second she wondered why she was sleeping in Willow and Tara's room. A minute later, she had thrown on some clothes and gone into her own room. Spike looked a lot better. He was upright, and had managed to find some clothes. "Where'd they come from?" she asked, confused.

"Your drawer, over there," came the amused reply. "I needed something. Didn't really know what I'd find, but came up trumps. Just my size, exactly what I like to wear. I think your other self had better taste in men than you have, pet."

Buffy blushed at the obvious inference. The other Buffy having Spike's clothes in her bedroom definitely suggested a different type of relationship. Even Riley had never kept a change of clothes in her bedroom. Curious, she asked, "Is that all of it?"

"No, pet. Take a look." As he said this, he opened a drawer. It contained two more pairs of jeans and at least half a dozen T-shirts as well as what looked like a toiletry bag, some cigarettes and a spare lighter. "I bet, if you check the fridge and freezer, you'll even find blood. Maybe your sacrifice yesterday was for nothing." As he spoke, he remembered the taste of her blood on his tongue. He knew he wouldn't be as strong as he now was if he'd only had pig's blood.

"There's nothing in the fridge, I'd have noticed," she quickly corrected him.

"Then it's in the freezer." He looked at her bandaged wrist. "'Twasn't a waste, either, you know. Meant a lot, you being willing to do that. And I'd still be flat on my stomach without it."

Buffy nodded, not sure how to take his gratitude. It seemed genuine, with none of his usual bluster. She quickly changed the subject. "So, do you want some breakfast? Or just a mug of blood if there's any?"

"Both, I think," he replied. "Then, I suppose I'll be ready for a shower, if that's ok. I'm healing pretty well, and I don't think I can get an infection, but I'd rather not take any chances. Better keep everything clean. Talking of which, how's your wrist?"

Buffy hadn't checked it since before she slept, so she carefully unwrapped the bandage. The cut was almost completely closed.

As Spike had predicted, there was plenty of blood in the freezer. It did his ego good to realise that another Buffy in another reality obviously took his feelings seriously enough to reciprocate them. Buffy just felt worried. She already had some serious misgivings about the signals she had been giving Spike – especially that kiss. Despite the fact that she was glad not to be stuck in this reality alone, she still felt she would prefer anyone to Spike. Having thought that, she realised that everything was easier between them with the knowledge that her friends were not going to suddenly appear. She started to wonder just how much their disapproval of Spike had coloured her own judgement. After breakfast and a shower, Spike decided to have a look around the house for weapons which could be useful if they had another run in with the vigilantes. He didn't find weapons, but he did find something in the basement which could be useful. He called Buffy down. "Look, " he said, opening a trapdoor. "Just a little extra proof, if proof were needed, that I'm a regular visitor here – and not just recently. It leads to the tunnels – no more dashing for the manhole in daylight!" Buffy smiled at Spike's obvious delight at his discovery. He seemed to be taking the apparent closeness of their other selves as encouragement, and she found his enthusiasm infectious until she realised where it could lead.

While Buffy did some things upstairs, Spike decided to take some precautions. He'd lived with Dru long enough to appreciate that it's sometimes necessary to get away in a hurry – and that's always easier when you're prepared. He found a cool bag and located some chiller packs in the freezer. He made sure he could pack up some blood quickly and checked the house for other essentials. When he had found everything he could think of, he went looking for Buffy. She was in her bedroom and the door was closed. He knocked, and entered when invited. She was sitting on her bed with what looked like a diary on her lap. She didn't look up as he entered. "Find something interesting, love?" he asked gently.

"Diaries," she answered, still reading. "In my reality, Dawn kept diaries. I started a few times, but never really kept it up. Too many other things to do. I've been reading these. Last few years, anyway. You know, she never knew Angel? Never accepted the role of Slayer? Never really kept any friends. Her Slayer strength just frightened people away at school. She never told anyone about it, just accepted she was different. You were the only person who accepted her as she was. You're all she talks about for the past couple of years, apart from Mom dying. That happened here too. It was different though, her mom was ill for a lot longer than mine was." There was a lot written about that time, including some things about Spike she didn't want to share with him. Some things she wanted to think about. She continued. "Well, there was the Initiative too. Seems Riley liked her, though. She mentions him a few times – that he asked her out, but she didn't accept. Already involved with you – or your other self. Don't even think he's chipped, there's certainly no mention of it. Her entry for last night's interesting, though. It seems you, or the other you, is worried about Riley's motives. When he came to Sunnydale, he was just a part of the team. Some time later, he took over the whole operation. It was his idea to arm the civilians, and that's how the demon population was reduced. But the other Spike thinks he's being financed by someone other than the Government. He thinks there's something else going on, but she thinks it's just jealousy on his part. Thinks he's still worried about Riley taking her from him. They had a row about it, just about the time we were with the music demon. Except, it sounds like she was almost convinced he was right."

"Glad to hear my other self has Riley pipped. But that theory might be right. I think, maybe we ought to check it out."

Buffy's attention was drawn to the window. Outside, approaching the house was an angry mob. "It looks like they found us," she said, heading for the door. Spike overtook her on the stairs, getting to the kitchen for the blood and freezer packs and adding the cool bag to the things he'd packed. Then he and Buffy headed for the basement and out to the tunnels. A quick discussion as they made their way to the main tunnel led them to decide to head out of Sunnydale. Spike had used some caves outside the town to hide in when the Initiative was after him last time, and that seemed the best idea.

They made good time, and didn't hear any sounds of pursuit. Buffy didn't dare think about the state of her house. She didn't really expect it to survive if they treated it the way they had Spike's crypt. By the time they reached the outermost limits of the tunnels, it was dark. They crept up into the streets unseen and made their way to the caves.

They were still half a mile from their destination when they became aware of a presence. Buffy's Slayer sense prickled, so she knew it wasn't human. They tensed, back to back, assuming a defensive posture. Buffy had picked up some larger twigs on the way, which she hoped would pass muster as stakes. As they watched, they found themselves approached by a group of three. Two were human but the other was a demon Buffy didn't recognise. It was huge – over 7 feet tall and built to match, and not exactly pretty. She reckoned it was probably blue in colour, but it was too dark to tell for sure. It seemed scaley, but had no signs of claws or particularly vicious teeth or other offensive attributes. One of the humans, a man, spoke. "What have we here? Spies?" His demon companion shook his head. "One of them is a vampire. Who are you?" Spike made a brief introduction and waited for their response.

"I've heard of you. If you are who you claim to be. Why don't you come along with us? We'll decide what to do with you later." With that, another, previously unnoticed, person touched both with a cattle prod and Buffy and Spike fell to the ground.