"You!" Spike exclaimed as Willow tried to understand what she was seeing.

Willow knew Annie and Spike had been having a hard time the past couple of days, but she couldn't imagine why she would want to tie her father up, especially for his own anniversary party. And now he was yelling at her about it? It was all very confusing.

"Me?" Willow said, looking behind her as Annie quickly threaded the ropes around her Dad (the daughter of Demon hunters gets pretty good at tying people up in a pinch). "Me what, Spike?"

"You did this to me," he shouted at Willow, veins popping in his neck. "Some type of...some type of bloody spell to mess with my head!"

He wasn't stupid. Spike could tell Red looked different...very different... from the last time he had spotted her. She was older, a bit more freckly and she had a single gray streak running through the front of her bobbed hair.

Must be part of the spell, he thought, before he continued his shouting.

"For your information, I'm actually trying to help the bloody," he tried to move his arms but found he couldn't.

"Bloody," he tried and looked down to find himself tied to the kitchen stool, "HELL!"

His vamp face took over as he struggled in the chair.

Spike futilely continued squirming around, trying to free himself. Luckily the Buffy-not-Buffy girl caught the stool just before he nearly tipped it over. She didn't even bat an eye at his fangs.

"Ok guys," said Willow, who gingerly placed a pile of pizza boxes on the counter. "Whatever is going on between you…"

"He's not my Dad," said the girl breathlessly, cutting her off.

"Annie, don't be like that…"

"Then why do you keep…" Spike started.

"No," the girl cut them both off. "He's, you know, Spike, I think. But not, like, our Spike."

"Oh," said Willow, a shred of understanding appearing on her face.

"He doesn't know who I am, or about Passions, or even about Weetabix," the girl, who was apparently named Annie, continued.

"Oh," said Willow again, this time with widened eyes and a little quiver in her voice. "This is not of the good."

"Don't I know it," Annie said with a frown. Her hands were on her hips and she was staring at Spike. His face was returning to normal, though he was still seething.

"If you bints don't tell me exactly what's going on, right now, your precious Slayer is never going to be able to defeat Angelus," he said between clenched jaws.

"Angelus? Angel hasn't lost his soul since…" Willow began. Annie could see the calculations starting in her brain.

"Yep. I think it's one of those timey-wimey New Sunnydale things. Like when those hellhounds chased Dawn on the way to work and when we found that weird Robot that looked like the Three's Company guy on the stairs." Annie said. Then she pointed to Spike's face. "See these scars?"

Willow squinted and leaned over the kitchen island.

"Woah," she said, looking back at Annie with a wince.

"Oh, suddenly all concerned about my scars are you?" Spike spat at Willow. "You helped me get em, Red."

She flinched back and gave an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that," Willow said. "Well sort of. Kind of necessary since you were trying to kill us at the time."

"Trying to kill Buffy," Spike corrected. "And by the way, where is the bloody Slayer? She can clear all this up right quick and then you can stop this nonsense."

"Who's trying to kill Buffy?" Xander asked as he stepped through the kitchen threshold holding a handful of DVDs. "Whoever it is going to have to call off the hit until we finish our Spuffy Anniversary Kung Fu mara…"

He stopped in his tracks to take in the scene. Annie, Willow and Spike stared back at him.

"Well this is a blast from the past," he eventually said.

Spike wouldn't have recognized this Scooby if he hadn't looked at the fridge pictures. Xander was certainly huskier than he remembered and the eyepatch was, well.

It's a look, I guess.

Spike shook his head. There was no time to consider Buffy's friends and their choice in accessories. He had to get to the mansion, had to save Dru.

"No movie marathon until you end this blimey charade," he said. "I've got places to be, important people to kill."

"But, I got The Bride With White Hair," said Xander sadly, holding up one of the DVDs. "Also, why are you tied up?" He looked around at Annie and Willow. "Guys, why is he tied up?"

"Timey-wimey stuff," said Willow.

"Oh no," said Xander, looking from Spike to Willow to Annie and back again. "Oh no!"

Spike rolled his eyes.

These Scoobies always talk like bloody morons.

"What is this timey-wimey bullocks you keep going on about?"

"Uh," said Willow, nervously smoothing her pink velvet skirt. "So, I didn't do any spell on you. But, you see, Sunnydale… well, it's sort of complicated, but Sunnydale became a time island…"

"A time island?" Spike looked at her as if she was mad. "That isn't a thing, love. Sunnydale is a Hellmouth and we all know it."

"It was a Hellmouth," said Xander.

"Then you destroyed it," added Willow.

"I destroyed it?" Spike's eyebrows were getting more furrowed the more the witch talked.

"This could turn into a really long conversation," said Annie as she gathered an armful of streamers. "And I have to finish decorating. Willow, do you think you can get this Spike back to the right time?"

"Yeah, I'll have to go over some things and we might have to wait for the right time wave to come by," she said, "But I think I can do it."

"And we can wipe his memory?"

"Wipe my memory?" said Spike, his voice slightly edged with fear.

"Just about this, it would ruin the continuum if you know about the future," said Willow. She turned to Annie. "Yeah, I can do it."

"Good," said Annie with a determined smile. "Let's move this to the living room."

Spike's mind whirled again as the girl — Annie, almost like his mother's name — and Xander lifted him up and brought him out into the living room.

Red had said it was the future. Of course that could just be part of the trick. It was a good trick though, a thorough one. Would she be able to pull something like this off?

What if they were telling the truth? Buffy and her pals were the do-good types. He looked around.

Was this his future?

Spike wanted to hate it. Married to the Slayer. Like some nit copying stupid Angel. Hanging with her Scoobies, eating bleeding onions and watching bad action pictures.

Like hell.

But, he had to admit the place was quite cozy. There was the overstuffed green velvety couch, a little worn but piled with equally overstuffed pillows. Spike quite liked the rugs and the funny little lamps scattered about, shedding soft light around the house. He also liked the bookcases and paintings and the messy pile of shoes by the door.

Feels like home.

Spike shifted in seat uncomfortably.

No it does not, he told himself sternly. Dru was his home.

There was also the girl. Annie. He hadn't really had a proper look at himself for a century or so, but after seeing those photos he now noticed bits of himself in her eyes, maybe her jaw too, and something about her hands.

It's impossible, you ninny. You're a vampire.

Spike sighed. He had wanted a family back when he was William. Hadn't thought about it in ages. But his mind kept replaying that moment from before. When she said love.

Nobody had said the word to him like that in so long, not since…

It took some strength to keep hot tears from springing to his eyes when he thought about his mum. And what he did to her.

Bugger. I'm really losing it.

"Doin okay there pal?" asked Xander as Spike tipped his head back in frustration.

"Well, I'm tied to a chair listening to you chew," Spike snapped, "What do you think?"

"Want an onion?" Xander lifted up a piece.

"No hands," said Spike with a wiggle of his arms.

"I'll just feed it to you," said Xander, moving closer to Spike. Suddenly, all eyes were on the eyepatched Scooby.

"Feed me?" Spike choked, recoiling from Xander.

"Don't act like it's so crazy," said Xander defensively. "I used to do it all the time."

"You used to feed Spike all the time?" said Willow, mouth agape, as she held her place in a large magical text, polishing up on the method to get past-Spike back.

"When we lived together," said Xander, even more defensive, and a little shouty. "And I had to keep him tied in my basement.

"Alright, I know what happened," said Spike, closing his eyes. "Buffy staked me and now I'm in hell."

"I didn't feed you when we lived in the Tenderloin with the cats," said Xander to Spike. "I didn't feed him then," he said again to Willow and Annie.

Annie slowly stepped down from her step ladder.

"I'm going to get some more glitter," she said. "I'm also going to try to erase that image from my memory bank before it has time to settle in."

Spike thought he saw something funny near the collar of her shirt as she turned around. Sort of greenish and oozy. Willow saw it too.

"Oh honey," she said, turning the book over and going to Annie. "Your…"

The girl looked down and groaned.

"It keeps doing that huh," said Willow, pulling apart the lapels of Annie's flannel to reveal a jagged wound running down her chest. It seemed to be the source of said green ooze.

"Just when I think it's done," Annie said. "You think any prom dresses will go well with chartreuse slime?"

Willow smiled sadly at the attempted joke.

Spike had a very irritating and dumb urge to give Annie hug and tell her everything would be all right.

Instead he said "That's a nasty one. What beastie got to you?"

"Nietzer demon," Annie said, frowning down at her chest. "I'll go get some bandages."

Spike grimaced.

"Not many people survive those attacks," he said gravely. "Impressive."

"Thanks," she said, in an almost relieved tone, "You would think that some people…who are also you...would understand that…"

She made a face.

"You guys weren't kidding about this Sunnydale stuff," Annie said to Willow and Xander. "This place is…"

"Beyond wiggins," said Willow.

Beyond wiggins. It didn't make sense, him having a daughter. Couldn't really be the future.

"So," Spike cleared his throat. "If you want me to believe that this is the future and she is the fruit of my loins…" he said pointing to Annie.

"Ew, Dad," said Annie, reflexively. "Don't phrase it like that."

He sucked in his cheeks and ignored her. Maybe this would make the whole thing unravel.

"How exactly," Spike continued. "Do you explain that, considering I'm a bloody vampire?"

"A lot has happened since 1998," said Willow, going back to her book. "Lots of magic stuff, mystical stuff. Could take a while to explain."

"Humor me," he said, before they were interrupted by more people at the door.

"Hey party people," said Dawn. "I'm here with our surprise guest!"