Chapter Five

The next morning, Dawn practically jumped on Buffy as soon as her sister entered the kitchen. "Tell me, what happened last night?"

Buffy rubbed her sleepy eyes and yawned. She'd suffered another restless night and really didn't feel like playing twenty questions right now. "Good morning to you, too," she replied hoarsely. "Can I have some coffee first?"

Dawn handed her a steaming mug of java.

"If I snap my fingers, will you conjure me up a plate of pancakes and bacon, too?" Buffy stalled, letting the delicious caffeine perk her up.

Dawn rolled her eyes. "C'mon, tell me about last night? Give me all the details."

"Where's everyone else?" Buffy looked into the living room at the empty couch with the still fresh body impression dented into the cushions.

"Willow went on a research errand and Spike's in the shower," Dawn replied, crossing her arms. "Now talk."

Buffy listened to the water running, an image of a wet and naked Spike springing to mind. She shook it away as quickly as it came. Get your mind out of the gutter, she told herself and sighed. "Well, okay, we found out there may be an apocalyptic wedding on Saturday, which should be a blast. And oh, I got invited to the bachelorette party tonight."

"So, you think the big bad brought us here to see the world end at some wedding?" Dawn asked dubiously.

"Well, when you put it that way, it sounds kinda goofy, but since when do evil beings have to think with a full deck?" Buffy took a sip of coffee before saying, "We need more info. That's why I'm gonna go tonight and Spike will be at Pacey's bachelor shindig. You should come with me. Joey's okay with it."

"Okay, it will be kinda cool to meet TV characters that've come to life." Dawn shrugged and then her lips curled up into a sly smile. "But speaking of Spike, I was really asking about him and you."

"No, really?" Buffy smirked. "I completely missed your obviousness."

Her sister ignored her sarcastic deflection "Buffy, just spill."

How could she spill? Running to the safety of the bedroom out of fear of what could happen wasn't exactly one of her stellar moments, Buffy thought. It wasn't something that she wanted to share with her nosey little sister, so she just said, "It was a fake date, remember?"

"Uh-huh. Lame" Dawn replied, obviously not accepting that answer. "I was hoping that despite Spike sleeping on the couch, you guys had made a tiny bit of progress."

"Well, sorry to disappoint."

"So, are you saying that late movie was a waste?" Dawn complained. "You know, Buffy, Willow and I wanted to give you and Spike some alone time."

Of course, they did, Buffy thought, lifting her eyes skyward before saying, "Oh, must've been hell. You had to suffer through a movie of all things? How can I make it up to you?"

The shower turned off.

Dawn sighed, "I just want you to be happy, Buffy."

Some of Buffy's irritation deflated. She really did appreciate Dawn's warm-hearted—if not excessive meddling. But Buffy didn't need any more reminders of her troubles. She was already quite familiar with them, thank you very much. Exhibit A. had been running away last night like a scared puppy from Spike's innuendo. "Things are just complicated, you know, Dawn, between Spike and me," she replied. "It can't be patched up overnight, especially while we're stranded in this unknown universe."

"But you're trying?"

"I thin—"

"Trying what?" came the laidback British drawl of the very object of conversation.

Buffy spun around. Spike slipped a black-T over his head and down his chiseled chest. His damp hair spiked up at all ends, giving him a boyish allure. God, he looked awfully good, Buffy mused. Her throat went dry. "What?" she asked blankly.

"If you're thinking about trying those strawberry Poptarts, think again. They bloody taste as old as me." Spike cringed.

"No" Buffy shook her head, pushing any lusty thoughts far away. This was no time to fall in the gutter of horniness. There was a possible apocalypse to stop and years of abandonment issues to get past before she could welcome any fall with open arms. "We were just chit-chatting." She looked over at her sister for help.

Dawn nodded. "We're just shooting the breeze. You know, the sisterly bonding thing. Yep, that's what we're doing."

Buffy shot her a look.

"Is that right?" Spike replied, his mouth breaking into an amused smile.

"You know what?" Dawn said a little too brightly. "I'm gonna go buy fresh Poptarts. You know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

"Dawnie," Buffy said, shaking her head. "Just go."

"I'm going." Dawn walked swiftly out the door.

Spike watched the door close and then said, "Obvious little Nibblet, isn't she?"

"You could say that," Buffy replied dryly before changing the subject to safer territory. "What do you have planned today?"

"Marathon on the Telly."

"Very productive."

Spike shrugged. "Hey, it's all for research, right?"

"Right." Buffy tried to smile, but it turned into yet another yawn. She sighed trying to hide her exhaustion.

Spike's gaze roamed over her face. "You look a bit knackered."

"Hard night."

Spike nodded. "You aren't alone, pet, but we'll find our way back home."

She nodded. What else could she do? She couldn't admit that the dilemma of finding a way home hadn't entered her mind all night, that he had consumed her thoughts. It was quite pathetic by any woman's standards, but she was the leader of the slayers. She should've been able to shove away unsure feelings over an ex and get on with leading.

"It's getting late," Spike said as he glanced at the microwave clock and then headed into the living room.

"For what?" Buffy shook off her melancholy and followed, plopping down on the sofa next to him. "What is this show called?"

Spike aimed the remote at the television as he replied, "The Chosen One."

Oh hell no.

The screen flashed on to an eerily recognizable scene. "Honey, we need to talk about the invitations. Now, do you wanna be Thomas the Bloody, or just Slash?" the spell-induced slayer asked as she sat on the lap of the peroxide-haired vampire. "'Cause, either way, it's gonna look majorly weird."

"Whereas the name Steffy gives it that touch of classic elegance," Slash retorted.

"What's wrong with Steffy?"

"Bloody hell." Spike scoffed. "Freddie ought to stick to playing with Scooby Doo. The fella can't be me, not with that sodding fake accent."

"Well, I've got The Ghost Whisperer as my alter ego. It's a tossup," Buffy said dryly before grimacing as the TV couple kissed. "Yuck. No way were we that disgustingly lovey dovey, in front of Giles no less."

Spike shook his head. "Hardly, Slayer. We were more so."

"I must've blocked that out," she replied wryly.

With that, her unsure feelings went to the backburner for a little while as they became absorbed with the weird depiction of their past.

…..

Spike stepped into the large backroom of The True Love Bar &Grill. It was quite posh, he reckoned as he took a quick glance around. A hockey game played on the telly across the room. Right in front of it sat a pool table, with a good-sized refrigerator in the adjacent corner. Just all the comforts of home for your average bloke.

Spike spotted Pacey seated at the poker table in the middle of the room with two of his guests. It was odd being able to put names to faces who technically ought to be strangers. They were not the characters that he'd judged and ridiculed from the privacy of his crypt every Wednesday night, he reminded himself. Here, they were living and breathing human-beings.

"Hey Spike!" Pacey called him over as he got to his feet. "Glad you made it!"

"Didn't take you for a shady sort, mate," Spike joked as they shook hands. "Back room gambling, innit?"

"Only for tonight, I'm afraid." Pacey chuckled. "My surly sheriff of a brother would have me in lockup so fast and he doesn't even have jurisdiction here."

"Bet your ass I would, little brother." The bloke in question smiled and slapped Pacey on the back before holding his hand out to Spike. "Hey, I'm Doug."

Spike shook it and exchanged pleasantries, trying not to let his dislike for the arrogant git to show. Pacey had to deal with lots of taunting and ridicule from his brother. Spike could easily relate to Pacey from the harsh slights that he endured in London society as a human.

In all fairness, though, things had improved for Pacey and his family. Doug seemed to become a better brother once he'd stopped hiding from his true self and found love with Pacey's good mate Jack.

If only life and love was that bleeding simple for everyone, Spike thought grimly as he greeted Jack. Spike had conquered his demon, but the love part remained a struggle.

All day he had tried to give Buffy space and not pressure her about what was so obviously troubling her. But it was killing him to stay silent. He knew exactly why she'd run into her room last night. He'd seen it in her face, in her eyes.

Then today, he'd thought he seen that look again, but Buffy started acting like they were just two old chums watching the telly. Nothing sparked between them, not even a sodding tingle. Don't get him wrong, Spike relished trading barbs with Buffy, even with their poor entertainment, but he just wished that they were on their way to something.

Spike broke out of his reverie as Jack laughed and said, "Forgive me, but I gotta say that you look an awful lot like that dude Slash, you know, from that TV show."

"I don't think so, mate," Spike scoffed. "We've got clearly different looks and he's duller than watching a bowling tournament."

Jack chuckled, but before he could comment, a new voice entered the room

"Hey guys."

Spike turned his head to see Mr. Hollywood himself walk in looking haggard and disheveled with a wrinkled shirt, tousled hair, and all. Spike was never a big fan of the idealist Dawson Leery, but the bloke sure knew how to make an entrance.

"Dawson, what happened to you, man?" Pacey asked and then lightly said, "I was beginning to wonder if you had second thoughts about being my best man."

"I'd be happy to step in," Doug replied dryly. "I'm the brother after all."

Dawson shook his head and sighed. "Sorry to disappoint you guys, but it was just a four-hour plane delay due to a storm. Besides you know Joey would kill me if I backed out now."

"You and me both, my friend," Pacey joked.

As Spike watched the exchange between the childhood friends, Jack handed him a Budweiser and he took a few swigs, trying to figure out what the big bad could possibly have planned for this group, if anything at all. Was the Entertainer responsible for the plane delay? If that was the case, it seemed like hell of a weak attempt to cause a catastrophe Maybe the truth lay with the Dawson-Joey-Pacey triangle. Maybe the evil plan was to cause a rift between the three chums, but it sounded all bloody juvenile and not worthy of having the slayer as a witness.

A short time later, Pacey introduced Spike to Dawson as "his biggest fan." After an endless couple minutes of talk about how much Spike "loved" The Creek, the men finally sat down to play poker.

"Wait, wait, you guys, I've got something to say before we deal," Dawson called out to everyone and stood up, halting voices around the table and having all eyes turn to him. "I just wanna make a toast to Pacey—"

"Nah, Dawson." Pacey put up his hand. "Save it for the wedding reception."

"It'll be brief, Pace, don't worry. I'm just gonna say that despite the geographical gap between coasts, and my tardiness tonight— and yeah, my failure to follow through with the customary best man duty to obtain strippers. I'm—" Dawson paused for some laughter. "I'm honored to stand beside you as you wed my other best friend. The past is the past. We all know that I didn't always welcome the idea of you and Joey together, but now I can't imagine it any other way. He raised his beer bottle to Pacey. "Cheers, man."

Pacey grinned. "Thanks, man, it means a lot. Now let's get down to serious business of playing some poker." He gave the table a robust tap.

And just like that the past burned into ash, Spike mused as he brought his drink to his mouth. He tilted the bottle and— out of the corner of his eye, he saw a cloaked figure flicker across the telly. His head snapped toward the screen. Nothing.

Only a Bruins goal instant replay.

Yeah, right.

They had an unwelcome guest. Of that, Spike was bloody sure.

…

Buffy and Dawn followed Joey and her other party guests toward the only two empty booths in the Contemporary American Restaurant lounge. It was their last-ditch effort to save the night after Joey's sister Bessie had gotten into a heated argument with themanager who'd lost their reservation. Now they had to stay in the crowded bar area.

"The bartender's a cutie." Joey's longtime gal pal Audrey smiled when everyone else took a seat. "I'll get us some more drinks."

"Oooh, Audrey," Buffy called back at her and she turned around. "Could you pleassse get me a Piña Colada?"

After a nod, the blond walked off.

Dawn looked at her sister hesitantly. "Do you think that's such a good idea, Buffy?"

"Dawnie, I'm fine, maybe just a bit tipsy, but fine," she said cheerfully, thanks to the few glasses of complimentary bubbly she'd had at the bar earlier while they'd waited for Joey and Bessie to do damage control. Buffy knew that a little alcohol wouldn't erase her list of worries, but it sure did help her relax.

The day had been such a mixed bag. At first, it was fun hanging out with Spike and watching that God-awful marathon, nitpicking apart their alter egos. Then, as they sat there through one episode after another, it had slowly settled over Buffy once again how far they had come, as individuals, as allies, and as friends.

And she grew more uncertain of their future. Was wanting more truly worth risking a priceless friendship? There were no guarantees in long haul relationships, especially for someone with her history.

Plus, there were other concerns that were eating her up that should take priority. Willow had texted Buffy an hour ago saying she was potentially zeroing in on a big break and she would get back to her as soon as possible. Buffy knew that she should be out there with Willow, tracking down a break, finding The Entertainer, but something told her to stick by Joey's side.

A lost bachelorette party reservation could be a minor hiccup in the grand scheme of regular wedding hoopla, but Buffy didn't want to take anything for granted.

"I still can't believe such an upscale establishment would be so careless as to allow a reservation to just disappear," Bessie said for the tenth time that evening, drawing Buffy out of her thoughts.

"It's okay, Bess." Joey reassured her sister. "It's not like Pacey's having a big extravagant bachelor party. I really didn't want a lot of fuss."

"I just wanted to do something special for you, Jo," Bessie replied. "You've grown from such a wary girl into a strong, confident woman in a short while. I'm just so proud of you."

As Buffy listened to the Hallmark-worthy moment between the sisters, she looked over at her own baby sister next to her, laughing with another guest. How had things gotten so blurred? Just like Buffy, Bessie had become Joey's legal guardian when their mom passed, but that's where the similarities ended. Dawn had transformed into Buffy's mother hen the last few days, if not for a bit longer.

Joey rolled her eyes and laughed. "I'm still that wary girl. I just got better at hiding it."

Buffy took in her words and found herself saying to Joey, "Wariness is not a friend, that's for sure. More like an annoying enemy who won't die. How do you deal?"

The bride-to-be looked across the table at Buffy and shrugged. "Well, I guess, I just stopped letting fear dictate what I want to do, or uh, who I want to be with, to be more accurate."

Buffy sighed and rambled. "Nothing's that easy. It's a constant revolving door of comings and goings and staying gones—and comings again"

"You're right." Joey gave a weak smile before carefully asking, "You're thinking about Spike, aren't you?"

"She's always thinking of Spike." Dawn smirked.

Buffy slapped her sister's shoulder before Dawn went back to talking with someone else.

Joey grinned before saying, "Sorry, it's none of my business, but Pacey just told me a little about the two of you."

"Oh yeah, I forgot the boys have been quite chatty," Buffy replied dryly and then sighed. "We're not a we, Spike and me, never were, really. We're—or more like I'm trying to get over past baggage, messy baggage, really, quite dirty, actually."

Joey snickered and nodded. "I've been there. I'm still there, but I realized—after a close friend of ours passed—that you need to take a chance when it comes. Yeah, there's only imperfect fairytales. It's always a work in progress, but it's worth it."

"Sorta like saving the world from evil baddies," Buffy unintentionally mumbled out loud, earning her a few side-eye glances from the other guests.

"Alrighty, these are on the house, guys!" Audrey's jubilant return stole everyone's attention. She carried a couple drinks in her hands while a bow-tied waiter served the rest from a tray. "Here you go, my dear," Audrey placed a frosty Piña Coladain front of Buffy, triggering a sudden flicker of memory.

"My dear." The Entertainer's voice had stopped her in her tracks and she'd spun around. "My dear, I can help you have a second chance with Spike." The indulgence demon had grinned at her from her living room TV the night of her birthday, after all her guests had left her alone to sort out her feelings after some revelations had come to light, after Andrew had spilled the beans about Spike being alive.

"Nice try," Buffy replied as she stood there, scowling at the tuxedo clad beast. She drained the last drops of yet another cocktail, trying to numb the hurt of betrayal. "No second chances here, buddy." She scoffed. "Spike's been dead and he should stay away—away off this planet, for all I care." She lazily shot her arm up like a rocket ship taking flight. "Bang zoom, out of this universe."

The Entertainer smirked. "You mean it?"

She bobbed her head. "Yes sirree, there's no love here."

Oh, God! What had she done? Buffy squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the truth from her memory.

….

Spike glanced at the telly for the hundredth time in three hours. The bloody Entertainer still hadn't come out of the shadows, but he knew the git was there, skulking like an annoying rat.

"Well, I'm out." Pacey put down his hand and leaned back. He had been the only hold out against Spike once again.

Spike turned back to the game and grinned as he lay down his straight flush, his third win of the night. "Sorry, Witter, really hate to do this to you before your wedding, mate."

Pacey chuckled. "Right, I'm just glad that we weren't playing for real cash, or I'd have to deal with a pissed off bride on our honeymoon," he said as Spike collected the heap of coins in the center of the table.

"As much fun as it's been seeing you lose, little brother, Jack and I can't afford to lose anymore," Doug said standing up. It was after one in the morning and the bloke looked knackered.

"Yeah, Grams' probably exhausted after a whole night with tornado Amy at the hotel," Jack said, referring to his two-year-old adoptive daughter, as he put on his jacket.

Pacey and Dawson saw the other two men out, leaving Spike in the backroom alone with the beastie. Spike stalked toward the telly, yelling, "Come out! Come out! They're gone, you sodding nit!"

He waited.

Nothing.

"Bollocks!" Spike rolled his eyes up to the ceiling and then said, "Never figured you for a bloody coward. You zapped us into this alternate dimension, but you won't tell us why" He started to back away.

A whisper of a cackle made him freeze.

He stepped back.

The Entertainer came like a bolt of lightning onto the screen that featured an infomercial for a potato cutter. He threw off a black hood to reveal golden skin and a twisty sneer. A sneer that was meant to be threatening.

Spike wasn't fazed. "You aren't a good-looking fella, are you?"

"There you go with the insults again." The demon sighed. "After the big favor I did for you, Spike, I should have a little gratitude."

It was Spike's turn to cackle. "I've never met you before, in all my existence. What bloody favor?"

"Oh, right, you cannot remember." A scaly hand pressed up against the screen. "Let me help you," The Entertainer hissed.

Spike winced as a bright flash shot through his brain.

He was missing her birthday again, Spike had mused, lying in bed with a bottle of whiskey. She was having a party, he had known from Andrew's constant updates, not that Spike had asked mind you. This party would probably end with terror and bloodshed like all the rest—and he wouldn't be there to help.

Spike gulped down more whiskey, savoring the burn down his throat to his gut. He wanted to get sloshed, so he couldn't think about his idiotic mistakes., all the what ifs…

"This breaks my heart."

Who in the bloody hell is that? Spike bolted upright, his eyes snapping to every corner of the dim room until they landed on the telly.

The ugly face looked back at Spike like he knew a juicy secret. "I know how to make everything better for you, Spike. You miss her, but you don't have to any longer."

"Who the devil are you?"

"You can just think of me as a friend" The beastie tried to gentle his sneer, but it just made it worse. "I can give you a second chance with your lost lady love without any messy mistakes on your part."

"What's in it for you?"

"Let's just say I want to make this right with my own lost love. What do you say?"

"Yeah, whatever, mate," Spike murmured as he lay back down and closed his eyes.

…

"I was bloody sloshed!" Spike roared at The Entertainer now. "I didn't even think you were real."

"Oh well."

Spike wanted to tear that smirk right off the monster's face and beat him with it. "You're an indulgence demon, I know that now. What did you indulge in by sending us here?"

"Well, entertainment, of course." The Entertainer chuckled at his own ironic joke. "I got to see my two favorite couples in one world. My favorite slayer and vampire interacting with the Dawson's Creek hit pairing, but I've got to admit the poker game was an unexpected treat that I had to crash."

"All right, it was a bleeding good time," Spike replied wryly. "Now, send us back home!

"I'm afraid only Buffy can do that now."

"How?"

The Entertainer wagged his finger. "Now, now, if I told you, it would be cheating, but she better do it before Pacey and Joey say their vows or your two universes will be destroyed forever."