Title: Two Weeks With William
Author: Edith Campbell
Section: 3
Relationship: Spike/Buffy
Disclaimer: Alas, they all belong to the mighty Joss, except for
the ones I made up to use in Spike's memories (ie. his sister).
Those are mine. :)
Distribution: I don't mind, but please let me know where it's being
distributed. :)
Rating: PG 15 for language
Spoilers: Up to 'The Gift' Please note that Buffy is back. How?
Use your imagination. :) Major 'Fool For Love' spoilers.
Feedback: Oh please! Yesterdays_Child4@y... Thank you for all the
lovely comments last time. :) You're all too nice!!
Summary: While fighting a pack of vampires with Buffy, Spike gets
knocked unconscious. When he wakes up, Buffy is presented with a
slight problem: Spike thinks its 1880. In order to repay Spike for
attempting to save Dawn, Buffy brings him to Giles, who determines
that he is suffering from a temporary amnesia. Will the gang be able
to accept William? What will happen when Spike comes 'back'?

******************************************************************

Buffy pushed open the door of the spare bedroom and hurried in before
William, suddenly self-conscious. She was still unsure and
uncomfortable in her role as head of the house, and she longed to be
able to inspect the room before handing it over to a guest.

She shook herself. This was Spike, for crying outloud. It wasn't as
though he hadn't seen every single room in her house before. She
didn't have a thing to worry about.

But she did, and she couldn't place what exactly. She wanted to...
please William. He seemed shy and sweet, and the Slayer liked him.
Plus, he had no memory whatsoever of trying to kill her, and that was
an added bonus.

"You can stay here," Buffy said, moving out of William's way.

He stepped neatly around the Slayer, taking great care not to crowd
into her. Intimidation was not William's forte. Quickly, he
surveyed the room, taking note of the comfortable looking bed and the
soft beige walls that were decorated with pieces of art that he was
not at all familiar with. It was a very nice room, and he told her
that.

Buffy felt a blush approaching and quickly shoved it off. "Thanks.
My mom designed it. She was good at that sort of thing."

William noticed how her voice trailed off, and he saw the pain in her
eyes. Carefully, he questioned, "And will I get to meet her? I'm
sure she's a wonderful woman."

"She was," Buffy said, pointedly looking away.

He realized his mistake immediately and took in a breath of air that
he didn't know was useless to him.

"I'm very sorry," he said, sincerely, "I understand your pain. My
father's past on, too."

Buffy nodded and hurriedly changed the subject. "Can I get you
anything?"

He looked behind him into the room, and looked uncomfortable. Buffy
noticed this, and instantly hypothesized that he was in need of
something. Timidly, he turned to her.

"My things..." he began, "When I was spirited out of England... where
are my belongings? I'm sure I brought some."

"Y-your stuff?" Shit. Buffy gaped at him, speechless.

"Yes. That is- please, I would like to have them."

Buffy chuckled, nervously. "I bet you would. So... so I'll get them
for you! They're at... at... Giles' house! Yeah, silly me, how
could I forget? I will get them for you right now."

"Thank you," he said, somberly.

Buffy nodded, her distraction showing. She was almost out of his
room before she remembered the paper Giles had slipped her before she
left his house. She dug it out of her back pocket, and handed it to
William.

"Giles wants me to get you to fill this out. Don't worry, I made him
promise not to tell the Watchers Council."

"The what?"

"Oh... haha," she laughed nervously, "Nothing. I'll be getting your
stuff now."

She smiled, turned around, and spun out of the room, swearing under
her breath. Once she heard the click of William's door closing, she
turned to glare at it.

"You want your things, Spike? Where the HELL do you except me to
find them?" she hissed, annoyed. She stood glaring at the door for a
full five minutes, before turning to use the phone. Impatiently, she
dialed Willow's number, and waited for the witch to pick up.

"Hi, Wil?... Yeah, it's Buffy... No, nothing's wrong. Spike's still
not Spike... I know, very wiggy... Listen, you think you could come
over? I have to go do some searching in Spike's crypt and I don't
want him to get all extra crispy while I'm gone... No, Dawn doesn't
know yet. She's still sleeping. I'll tell her tomorrow... Thanks,
Willow! I owe you!... Yeah, okay, bye!"

Twenty minutes later, the Slayer was on her way to Spike's crypt.

****
Buffy had never experienced the slightest bit of guilt over barging
into Spike's crypt in the morning when he was in it. When it was
empty, she was hit with a boatload of it, and it completely disgusted
her. Here she was, one of the greatest Slayers of all time, and she
was hovering on Spike's doorstep like a scared fool.

"You're just not a snoop," she told herself, innocently, "Besides,
it's not like Spike went through your things. Oh wait, yes he did."

Feeling justified, she pushed upon the door of the crypt and walked
confidently in, taking time only to yell out a mocking, "Honey! I'm
home!"

The heavy smell of musty cigarettes was the only thing that greeted
her. She hesitated for a moment, breathing in the comforting smell.
She'd smelt it clearly on his duster, that distinctly familiar scent
that was all Spike's own. She would never admit it outloud, but it
was one she liked. Leaning against the bier, she remembered when
he'd talked to her on her porch the night her mother had stayed at
the hospital. As soon as he'd sat down, she'd felt comforted and
safe. He was there- her familiar... constant?

He shouldn't make you feel safe, she reminded herself, stepping
around the bier in search of something that Spike might have kept
from his time as a human. He should make you feel scared and
intimidated.

She didn't feel that way at all.

"It's his chip!" she cried, frustrated, "He doesn't scare me cause of
his chip."

Nodding decisively, she moved to go downstairs. She paused at the
top, remembering how much it had hurt to be electicuted by Dru.
Then, she recalled Spike's Buffy shrine, and she grimaced. What if
it was still down there? Timidly, she peaked around the corner,
trying to shake off a major case of the wiggins. She couldn't see
anything, but that didn't mean it wasn't there. But, then again,
Dawn had been there since THAT night, and she would have told Buffy
if Spike was still all freakily obsessed... wouldn't she?

She would have. Taking a deep breath, Buffy ran around the corner
and saw...

Nothing to do with her. She breathed a small sigh of relief, and
turned about, anxiously waiting for something to catch her eye.
Something did.

Not far from where she had been chained to the wall, there was a pile
of miscellanious stuff. Quickly, she moved to it, and squatted
down. The Slayer had to shove off a pile of blankets and a few
changes of clothes before she found the trunk underneath. Squealing
with morbid curiousity, she hoisted up the lid, half expecting to
find a dead body or some other sick suvenir Spike might find
amusing. Once the cloud of dust had cleared, Buffy began her work,
gingerly picking through his items.

At first, she didn't find anything at all except for an odd weapon or
two. Her search was beginning to bore her. She was just about to
stand up when her hand brushed against something that felt like...
hair?

"Ahh!" Buffy yelped, jumping to her feet, and taking the hairy object
with her. She pulled it around to her front so that she could see
what she'd grabbed, and found a porcelain face with its eyes missing
staring back at her.

"AHHHHH!!!" she screamed, louder this time. She chucked the doll at
the wall opposite her, and quickly began to wipe her hands on her
pants. "Eww... dirty Dru doll... Yuck!"

For a moment, she did nothing put clasp her heart and feel
disgusted. Then she turned back to the trunk.

Dropping to her knees, she mumbled, "Crazy bitch."

Swearing nervously, Buffy begin to dig through the rest of the trunk,
depositing the odd period piece outfit beside it. Spike obviously
wasn't one for saving things, she thought dryly. Under one of Dru's
gowns that Buffy had to begrudgingly admit was quite lovely, she made
her first real discovery. Shoved in the corner, Spike had placed a
tiny, intricately carved box. She grabbed at it greedily, and opened
the lid. The hinges squeaked loudly, and Buffy's instincts told her
this box hadn't been opened in a very long time.

When she saw a portrait yellow with age of a young woman with huge
brown eyes laying on the top of the box, she knew she'd hit the
jackpot. Carefully, she sat on the floor and pulled the photo out
for a better look.

The woman was beautiful. She had the sweetest heart shaped face
Buffy had ever seen, and she was definately dressed stylishly. Who
was she?

Impatiently, Buffy flipped the photo over, looking for a clue. In
exquisite cursive, somebody had scrawled 'Cecily Addams'.

Cecily Addams? Had Spike- had _William_- taken a wife? Something
deep inside Buffy twitched and her eyes grew wide.

"That so was not jealousy!" she said loudly, to the empty
crypt. "Spike can marry whoever the hell he pleases."

Despite her statement, she was relieved to remember that Spike's last
name was Wyndham, not Addams. Determindedly, she shoved the photo
back in the box, and stood up.

She needed to go back to her house. It was time to find William and
ask him some questions.