Chapter 21

Buffy stole a glance at the calendar as she entered her bedroom, It had been a year and a half since she had been found by Spike and only four months since young William had first began teaching her to speak, she had been a fast learner, surprising everyone when she came down to breakfast one morning requesting a piece of toast.

Buffy sat down on her bed and sighed, her life had gotten awfully complicated since that first night on the beach, all she had understood then was the splash of the ocean waves slapping at the sand and spraying her, She'd had no memory, no idea where she was or who she was.

She'd come a long way since then, she could talk and do things that normal people could do and she knew her name as well, Buffy Summers.

The only thing that she hadn't gotten was her memory back and it was the one thing that she wanted the most. Everyone claimed to be her friends and family, but she didn't know them, couldn't remember how much she had cared about them.

But then it wasn't really her was it?

No it wasn't her at all, it was the other girl, the real Buffy Summers, the Slayer.

And yes, she'd heard about the former Slayer's adventures and she knew as much about the girl's relationship with the two vampires, Angel and Spike, as any one would tell her.

She figured out some of it by just looking at Spike, that other girl had hurt him, and a part of her hated that girl for mistreating Spike for so long.

She hated that he suffered because of the Slayer, and she hated that he thought about the Slayer when ever he looked at her. She could just feel both of their hearts breaking.

There was a knock at the door that disrupted Buffy from her thoughts; she blinked as the door slid open a crack allowing for Spike to stick his head though.

He smiled at her, "Bit knackered Luv?"

Buffy sighed, "Yeah, I know its still a bit early but- "she shrugged, "Would you tell Mr. Giles and the others that I said goodnight?"

Spike entered the room and shut the door, "Something bothering you Pet?"

Buffy shook her head, "I just wish I could remember something, anything. I see how they act around me, Dawn wants to treat me like her older sister but she can't because I'm not her, and Mr. Giles, I see the hurt in his eyes when I say Mr. but its all I know, whatever relationship he had with her died when she did. The worst part of it is William, she was his mother, and I know he wants me to be his mom but its all so complicated and He's not my son, He is the son of a Slayer and I'm not a slayer. I'm not her and everyone wishes that I was, I just wish I could remember something that would help me, it would help everyone just a little if I could remember something."

Spike frowned and kneeled in front of her, "Don't ever think that Buffy, they love you just the same, they understand that your not the Slayer, they just need to adjust, Dawn, the Watcher, Andrew, William, Me, we all care about you. Besides, you weren't meant to remember your previous life, its part of the consequences of her putting on that Amulet, you weren't even meant to have Slayer abilities, but you do. That's something isn't it? You weren't left completely helpless, without memory or means of defending yourself, could've put up a hell of a fight that night luv, would've gotten my ass kicked.'

"I guess your right; it would just make things easier if I could remember though."

Spike stood up and gave her a small smile, "I'll give them your message, Luv" he closed the door behind himself as he left the room.

Buffy let out a sigh, sometimes when Spike was around, she felt as though she couldn't breathe, he was the most wonderful guy in the world; he'd been caring for her since she arrived. That was probably why she had come to care so much for him. Spike was kind, and caring, plus he was the prettiest man that she'd ever seen.

The only thing that bothered her was how he treated her like a child sometimes, checking in on her all the time and never allowing her to leave the house alone. William had more freedom than her, sure he was kind of a super kid, with the having of his Parents abilities and all but still, he was only eight years old. She on the other had could go nowhere, even thought she had Slayer powers, maybe she didn't know how to use them that well but still a little freedom wasn't too much to ask.

He's just looking out for me, I can't be angry at him for that. Spike cares about me a lot, I have to keep that in mind, he just doesn't want me to get hurt that's all. He loves me, he's said so. And as soon as he works up the courage he'll ask me to be his girlfriend.

Buffy laid down, thoughts of Spike and her as a couple running through her head. Buffy was content for a few moments until the scenery changed and before she realized it she was standing in the depths of hell, a man standing in front of her.

Buffy was terrified, she couldn't figure out how she had gotten here or how Spike would be able to find her, he couldn't exactly go to hell to rescue her.

"My name is Kromus, I Guard the portals of life, you have been granted passage back to earth, your journey is not yet done there.

Buffy took a step backwards, "How did I get in Hell?"

Kromus sat down on a rock, three portals sat eerily behind him, "I won't hurt you, Slayer, I have brought you here because you have forgotten our conversation, its not your fault, when you go through the portals it wipes your memory clean, you forget everything. I did not think of that when we spoke before."

"You called me Slayer, that's not who I am. I'm Buffy Summers, just Buffy Summers."

"No, you are the Slayer, you may not have the memories but it is who you are. And you were not meant to die when you did, that's why I allowed you to keep you powers when passing through to your new life, The Powers That Be have spoken to me, you are still needed as they Slayer, the amulet was a mistake, they had no intention of you dying, it was the Scientist at Wolfram and Hart that was meant to die, she was meant to go to the terminated Hellmouth with Angelus, but he called on you for the job and forced the Powers to redo their entire plan. The Scientist is no longer needed in the underworld." He paused to let the information sink in, "They have not yet replanted your future though, there is still one more factor that must be sorted out, the boys future is also at stake, the Powers have decided that you may stay as you are but you must take on the Slayer responsibilities of your former self. They don't care as long as you continue fighting until your time is up. However if you decide that it is too much for you, then have the option of returning to the person that you once were."

Buffy frowned, "This is a lot to think about, The Powers That Be want me to fight evil for them, I thought that there was tons of Slayers around the world fighting evil?"

Kromus nodded, "That is correct, but the balance is being thrown off because there are so many Slayers in the world, the scale is being tipped towards the side of good that they can not allow, they also can not allow for many of the Slayers to be killed, the balance could tip in the opposite direction soon because the girls have not been fully trained for their sacred duty. Great evils will becoming that will wipe them out and then there will be chaos. The Powers do not want this, so in order for the balance to be kept, the boy must have both the Slayer and the Vampire by his side till their ends, he will become the ultimate power and keep the balance between good and evil. Until then, he needs the Slayer and the Vampire to help him, train him and teach him. You can choose to bring back your former self, or you can become the Slayer the she was. I am afraid that is all the time that I have for you, I have a job that must be done. If you decide to bring back the other Slayer, u must make the wish with this amulet, it does not grant any other wishes. Now go!" Kromus stood up and stomped his foot on the ground causing the entire place to shake.

Seconds later, Buffy shot up in bed, the realization that it was a dream finally came to her and she glanced down, hanging from her neck was a small ruby amulet, on a gold chain. Buffy touched the amulet, if this is real then that couldn't have been just any old dream. I have to tell Spike and Mr. Giles, they would want to know. I won't include that part about the amulet or bringing back the Slayer, I won't let Spike be hurt by her again.

Authors note

Sorry that It took my so long to write that chapter, my muse went on vacation with out telling me and I was left unable to write anything for a while, but now she's back and hopefully I can get the rest of this story finished. Don't forget to review and let me know what you think, or what your thoughts are on what is going on or what you think is going to happen.

Once again I apologize for not getting off my lazy ass sooner to write this for you guys.

Enjoy the chapter!