Chapter Six

Ugh, Buffy struggled to sit up on the sofa. squinting as the bright lights of the city filtered through the blinds. She must have fallen asleep. Now her head pulsed as if someone had relentlessly thrashed her brain up against a brick wall, just for kicks. Never again would she drink a drop of alcohol —especially now that she remembered that it had been her drunkenness that had initiated this little trip into another dimension.

She'd been the scorned lover who played right into the manipulated hand of The Entertainer. And God only knew what that meant now. Had she broken his curse? Had she set him free from the confines of his television prison?

Buffy glanced at the time on her cell. It was already 5:34 am. Where was Willow? Where was Spike? The sun would be up in an hour or so. She slowly walked over to the window and peered out. A sliver of soft pink hovered just above New York's moonlit horizon

Where were they?

Where was he?

To get away from the crowded bar scene, the bachelorette party had drifted over to Joey's loft apartment in the East Village. It had been a little after one when Buffy and Dawn left. They'd gone to the True Love to meet Spike, but the restaurant had already closed for the night. Buffy had figured that he would be back at Dawn's apartment, but she was wrong. Spike hadn't even responded to her calls or texts.

What could have —?

Rattling of the knob, a click of the lock, and the door opened. Buffy snapped her head toward the arrival, expectantly. Spike cautiously crept in and shut the door, his bleached hair acting as a beacon to his arrival in the hazy darkness of the living room.

"Where have you been?" Buffy asked wearily.

Spike leapt back, hitting his head against the door. "Bloody hell," he muttered, rubbing at the sore spot. "I didn't want to wake you, Slayer."

"I was already up."

He came toward her, holding out a brown paper bag. "Sorry, if I worried you, love, just thought I'd stock up on some cow blood."

Buffy raised both of her brows. "All night?"

"Well, not really, no." Spike's gaze veered away from her face. "Before the butcher opened, I went for a long walk. Clear my head after the party," he said, strolling past her into the if he wanted to end the conversation.

Buffy stood still and watched him through the archway. "You went for an all-night walk to clear your head, "she stated more to herself than to him before asking, "What exactly happened at that poker game?"

Spike scoffed and fell silent as he placed the bag in the fridge and closed it. "Funny thing happened, actually," he began to say, moving back into the other room. He leaned a shoulder against the wall by the archway, his eyes meeting Buffy's once again. "Our ever so playful beastie decided to crash the game."

Her throat tightened into a brittle ball as she stepped closer to Spike. "What do you mean? Is he—uh, is he free?"

Spike shook his head. "He's still trapped in telly land, thankfully unable to annoy any dimension from the outside."

"Thank God." Buffy sighed, feeling brief relief before a new set of questions formed in her head. "What did the reptile say? Did anyone else see him? What does he want?"

It was Spike's turn to sigh. "Nobody else had the unpleasant experience, no. The Entertainer just wants my gratitude for our little reunion if you can believe it."

"Why?"

"'Cause I set this whole sodding mess into motion, Buffy," he replied regretfully.

She vehemently shook her head and revealed the truth. "No, Spike, you weren't. I, uh, I don't know what that asshole's trying to pull, but this is my doing. You see, um, I remember what happened the night of my birthday, okay? This was all my fault."

Spike straightened up. "No, Buffy. I remember, alright? I was sloshed and missed you—"

Buffy spoke over him, not really taking in what he was saying. "I was drunk and I was pissed at you for being alive and not coming to me—."

"Why won't you let me take responsibility? I did it!" Spike yelled, silencing her for only a second.

"No. God, Spike, I was the one who did it! If you'd let me explain—."

"Bollocks, woman, you're so bloody stubborn! Let me tell you what I did!"

The apartment door slammed, hard.

"You both did it!"

Buffy and Spike turned toward the new voice, their verbal battle momentarily forgotten.

Willow smiled remorsefully. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scream like a banshee, but your fighting was dizzily pointless."

"Will, how long have you been standing there?" Buffy asked.

"Long enough."

"Late night for you, Red?" Spike lifted a brow.

"Willow's been tracking down a big lead," Buffy informed him and then turned to Willow. "What do you mean we both did it?"

"It was a unique connection spell." Willow took off her jacket as she continued, "The spell only allows the two of you to open the portal."

"Well, at least we're getting somewhere." Spike said gratefully.

Willow moved across the room and switched on the lamp near the sofa. "I just spent a total of twelve hours on a murky bus and need some brightness."

Buffy eyes widened. "Yeah, I was getting worried about you. Where exactly did you go?"

The redhead sat down and took a deep breath. "Short story would be Capeside, Massachusetts."

"I reckon that's the hometown of Pacey and Joey, innit?" Spike supplied. "It's a fictional town in our dimension from Dawson's Creek. They ended up in New York in the finale five years into the future."

Why was she having a hard time remembering that? Buffy wondered. She still had only an out of reach familiarity of Pacey and Joey that dangled over her head. When she thought of their story, however, this alternate universe's show The Creek came to mind. Spike was the only one who could distinguish between the two dimensions, even if it was merely to an extent. But they'd both evidently opened the portal. How did that make any damn sense? Some connection spell.

"What's all the noise?" Dawn asked woozily as she staggered from the bedroom. She looked between Spike and Willow. "Oh, where've you guys been?"

"Spike took a long walk to think and stopped by the butcher. Willow had a long bus ride to and from Capeside where Pacey and Joey grew up. Oh, and Spike and I supposedly opened the portal." Buffy quickly summed up matter-of-factly. "There, all caught up. Now that everyone's here, Will, please give us the long story."

"Okay," Willow said and took a deep breath. "Yesterday, I discovered that there's an actual coven in the Manhattan Chinatown, so I decided to check it out and hopefully get some kind of scoop."

"There's actual covens of witches here?" Buffy asked, once again feeling disappointed in herself for not being on top of these things.

Willow nodded. "Apparently this place has some covens, but it's pretty much vamp and demon free, well, except for those like our friendly Entertainer buddy who can cross dimensions. Anyway, it's a pretty conservative coven that doesn't believe in demons in any form. The group gave me weird looks when I asked about The Entertainer. They just work with potions and spells. I was about to give up, but then one of them mentioned a crazy fortuneteller by the name of Madame Anna Zenovich who insists that her sister cursed her demon lover into the TV and the Madame just so happens to live in Capeside."

"Bingo," Buffy replied, completely enthralled. She sat down on the other end of the couch while Spike and Dawn took the armchairs on either side. "So, you met with this Madame Zenovich?" she asked Willow.

"The Madame acted like I was a dear lost friend. Poor thing. It turns out she lives in a retirement community and I, uh, don't think the she gets that many visitors. She was absolutely giddy to share her story, and with someone who actually believed her," Willow began, setting the framework for the fortuneteller's account of what had happened between her younger sister Dana and The Entertainer.

As young girls, both Anna and Dana Zenovich had been believers in magical worlds, worlds that made anything possible. But as the sisters grew older, Anna's beliefs had strengthened due to the discovery of her true gift of predicting the future. Dana's beliefs, on the other hand, had wavered when she developed severe scoliosis, causing her to feel like a human pretzel due to her curved spine. She'd isolated herself from the world— including from her own sister.

Despite many attempts, Anna hadn't seen her for ten long years until one-day Dana breezed through her door, radiant with a back as straight as an arrow. The woman had beamed when she told Anna that she'd fallen in love with an amazing gentleman. He went by the surname of Lee, simply Lee. Lee would always appear and keep her company while she waited to see her doctor at the hospital. He would captivate her with stories of his many adventures to different lands, promising to take her with him on his travels, someday, when she was well. At first, Dana had pushed that notion away until Lee revealed that he knew a magic cure for her disfigurement.

It had been some time later when Anna found out that Dana meant a magic cure, literally. The cure was actually a healing spell: something that Dana had always believed was a myth until it'd cured her of her suffering. Little by little, Dana had divulged more to Anna about her supernatural lover and his special gifts, including altering his physical appearance from man to beast, which apparently hardly fazed the fully recovered woman. She'd seen him as the most perfect man.

Anna, however, had taken this with a huge grain of salt. She'd lost her beliefs, after all, even though she kept silent to prevent a rift with Dana. As more time past, though, Dana's love affair had begun to sour. Her adventurous out-of- this-world lover, who'd given the woman her life back, had become lazy and more infatuated with the make-believe happenings on the television than with Dana causing her to become angered and restless.

After years of being cooped up, she'd longed for adventure and romance. One evening Dana's frustration hit its peak. She'd stormed over to Anna's, sobbing that Lee had never intended to keep his promises. He'd admitted that he only wanted a chance to play someone's hero like in the movies, causing Dana to lose all reason. Taking a lesson from his own book, she cursed him—her only love—not only into the world that he seemingly loved so much, but she'd made it so that he would forever be the beast he truly was.

"Unlike what we'd thought, there was only one scorned lover who could free Lee or, uh, The Entertainer from the curse, and that would be Dana," Willow explained. "And unfortunately for him, Dana passed away in her sleep shortly after the spell was cast. The Madame says the coroner's report lists cardiac arrest as the cause of death."

"Talk about tragic love." Buffy sighed. "I almost feel sorry for the evil reptile. I don't get, though, why Madame Zenovich told you this if she didn't truly believe it herself."

"Now she does," Willow said. "The Entertainer has been visiting her through the TV since Dana died. Initially, he taunted her, taking his anger at one sister out on the other, but lately he's been using her as a sounding board, almost confiding in her. It's how the Madame knows that The Entertainer used the connection spell on the two of you." Willow looked at both Spike and Buffy. "The spell was for two estranged lovers. That's you. It seems Dawn and I were just collateral damage, at the wrong place at the wrong time, you know, staying in the same apartment when the portal opened for Buffy."

"Well, I take it, then, that the portal isn't at a specific place, like we originally thought from the documentation," Buffy said, trying to put all the many pieces together. "If Spike and I both verbally opened the portal to get us here, we need to do it, again. What do we say? What are the magic words?"

Willow tiredly shook her head "I don't know. The Madame didn't know."

"How convenient," Spike replied dryly. "For a fortuneteller and all."

"Well," Willow countered, "she says she has trouble reading him. Maybe 'cause he's non-human."

"Yeah, right."

"Hey, maybe if you guys click your heels together three times," Dawn offered. "The guy is obsessed with movies."

Buffy looked at her sister sharply, then slightly smiled. "If only it was that simple."

"The git could be lying," Spike said as he leaned forward in his chair, "He did make me believe that I was the only one responsible for our little journey here, and, uh, that Buffy was the only one who could save us. But just to let you know, the git also mentioned that we only have until Pacey and Joey say their vows, or both dimensions will be dust."

"Okay, good to know." Buffy replied wryly. They at least had more than her gut feeling now. "That still gives us about thirty-six hours to find the answer If we don't, we may just have to stop a wedding."

The clock was ticking.

….

As they stepped into the serene chapel the next afternoon, Buffy said to Willow and Dawn with feigned elation. "So, how do we stop a happy couple from saying 'I do?'"

T-minus two hours and counting, Buffy thought as goose bumps broke out on her arms. They still were no closer to preventing an apocalypse. It seemed like the easiest of solutions. All they had to do was find the right words. Why was it so hard?

She had compared notes with Spike. They both had been wasted when they'd unknowingly accepted The Entertainer's so-called help. But neither one of them remembered key words being used during either exchange that could possibly be the answer to getting back home.

"Let me try Madame Zenovich again," Willow said, taking her cell out of her purse. Even though the fortuneteller had no luck using her psychic powers on The Entertainer, they hoped that she could find an old diary of Dana's or a spell book that would point them in the right direction.

The chapel door swished open and Spike stumbled in. He was covered head-to-toe in a fireproofed blanket, which he quickly shed, shoving it under a pew. "Nice place," he said, looking around the candlelit nave and the white and lavender orchid-adorned mahogany pews and altar.

His gaze then fell on Buffy, sweeping over her simple lavender-knit dress and her elegant French twist that left some tendrils loose around her face. "You look lovely," he said approvingly.

"What? This thing," Buffy replied kind of coyly, glancing down at herself. She hadn't planned on being invited to a wedding on this visit to see Dawn, so she'd picked the first appropriate outfit out of her luggage.

Spike, on the other hand, seemed to have gone shopping. "Nifty shirt," she said, her eyes moving over his button-down, black shirt that was opened at the collar, bringing out the amazing blue of his eyes. "Is that why you ran out earlier? Almost got yourself dusted?"

Spike shrugged. "There's a shop across the street and I got bloody tired of wearing t-shirts."

"Well, you look good," Buffy said, looking warmly into his eyes.

Willow coughed. "It's stuffy in here. I'm, uh, I'm gonna go get some fresh air and make the call."

Buffy turned her head, catching Willow's jerky head motion at Dawn.

Dawn coughed. "I'm gonna go, too."

The two ladies scurried away, leaving Buffy alone with Spike. Nobody else had arrived yet, but Buffy knew the wedding party and guests would be here momentarily. She rolled her eyes as the door shut behind her sister and best friend. "They can't be less subtle, can they?"

Spike gave a small smile. "This is different, innit? From the last time we were in a chapel together, "he said, seemingly getting distracted with something behind Buffy. He stepped around her, moving down the center aisle.

Buffy watched him as he stared up at the crucifix above a brilliant stained-glass image of angels. Instantly, she knew what he was thinking. How could she forget the last time? He'd achingly bared his soul to her that night, his words cutting through to her heart. She shall look on him with forgiveness, and everybody will forgive and love. He will be loved. Her eyes closed as she remembered how vulnerable he had been with his exposed body draped over the smoking cross.

"I was out of my skull that night," Spike said as if he was miles away. "I was caught between hatred for myself and love for you. I just wanted to be worthy of you—but all my soul did was make me realize that I didn't deserve you."

"Spike, no," Buffy whispered, the anguish in his voice hitting her heart with blunt force. She wanted to beat it away. "It's not true."

"But it's how I felt, Buffy." He turned to her then as if the answer to a crucial question just occurred to him. "And I reckon this is what it's all about."

"What are you saying, Spike?"

"I missed the significance of something The Entertainer said," Spike replied. "This is all about how he feels. He told me he wanted to make it right with his lost love. Maybe this doesn't only have to do with some bloody fun and games or ending the world. Maybe, in his own twisted way, he's trying to make things right —Just like I did by getting my soul back, or just like trying to protect Dawn after you died, out of regret and love for you."

Buffy shook her head and sighed. "You can hardly compare the two situations. Okay, say The Entertainer pushed Dana away for her own good, and later regretted it after the curse and because she passed, but it doesn't add up to sending a group of people to sink or swim in another dimension."

"He did ask us both if we wanted a second chance," he reminded her.

"It still doesn't add up, Spike. How does fighting to get home together equal second chance?" she argued, then softened her tone to say, "Spike, you almost killed yourself to be a better man and I love you for it. I just don't see a comparison. What you did was brave and what this guy did is diabolical at best."

Spike stilled. "What did you say?"

"What? I just don't see —."

"No, not that." He waved his hand. "Before that, the other thing."

Her eyes gentled as she realized what she'd actually admitted, so she admitted it again. "I love you, Spike." She smiled slightly at how good it felt, and said it again. "I love you. And it's in the present tense. I have for a long time. I loved you in the hellmouth and I love you now, Spike."

Spike looked at her in wonder —then suddenly his eyes rounded in alarm. Buffy stiffened, her body growing numb when she saw it. A whirlpool of vibrant light rushed beneath their feet, flooding the whole chapel and sucking them under until they were completely gone.

….

Buffy kept her eyes shut as her heart rapidly hammered against her chest. Her hands moved around the ground, a soft, cushy ground. "Sp—Spike," she mumbled as she slowly lifted one eyelid and then the other, seeing only gray carpet looking back at her. "Spike," she said louder, staggering to her feet.

"SPIKE!" Buffy screamed as her surroundings tilted this way and that way. Her hand flew to her forehead. Breathe, she ordered herself, in and out, in and out. The room steadied, the room that was her living room in her London flat, she realized, and then another thought gripped her. "DAWN!" she hollered, running down the hall toward the bedrooms. "WILLOW! DAWN! WILLOW!"

They had been outside the chapel when the portal opened What if—? Doors swung open and Buffy found herself being squeezed into a group hug by her sister and best friend.

"Oh, God, Buffy," Dawn said. "What just happened?"

"One minute we're walking back in," Willow chattered excitedly, "and, and the next—the light." Her arms flailed as she looked around their flat, clearly astounded. "Now we're home."

"I know," Buffy said in a reassuring tone. "I'm just glad we're all back." Her mind wandered back to Spike. He probably reentered this universe wherever he'd left it just like they'd seemed to do. She hoped that was the case.

"How?" Dawn asked. "How did we get back?"

"Madame Zenovich didn't have new info," Willow put in. "She just got fortuneteller-y and said Buffy needed to be true to her heart and it would be our answer."

"Well, I guess, I did, then" Buffy replied carefully, "I think, uh, I unknowingly did it by telling Spike that, uh, I loved him and I think I finally owned it. I mean, I didn't try to back down from it this time."

"Really?" Dawn grinned.

"Good for you, Buff." Willow said chirpily. "It would've helped if you'd done it sooner, but I'm not gonna be too picky."

"Thanks for that, Will, I guess," Buffy replied wryly, turning back to the living room before she was bombarded with more questions. Her head swirled with all that had happened. My dear, I can help you have a second chance with Spike…Yeah, I was having a super-duper time after all the bloodshed and thinking you were gone for good, Spike… God, you're a moron. Don't you get it? I missed you… I missed you, too, love… Yuck. No way were we that disgustingly lovey dovey, in front of Giles no less. It's, it's a show within the true show Dawson's Creek and I spoke to one of the characters tonight. I spoke to the real flesh and blood Petey tonight…I love you, Spike. I love you… They ended up in New York in the finale five years into the future.

"Five years into the future?" Buffy muttered to herself, pulling out of her momentary stupor and racing to her desk, Willow and Dawn on her heels.

"What is it, Buffy?" Willow prodded.

It couldn't be, Buffy thought as she checked the date on her laptop.

March 7, 2004.

Oh, My God.

It was true. They were not only back home, but they'd just come back from a time jump in the other dimension. That insane son of a bitch must have implanted all of them with five years of fake memories.

"Oh, wow," Willow breathed, looking over Buffy's shoulder and seemingly coming to the same conclusion.

"Seriously, you guys are scaring me," Dawn said hesitantly. "What now?"

"Looks like we went back to the future, so to speak," Buffy replied, glancing down at Dawn's schoolbag propped up next to the desk with a high school chemistry textbook peeking out. "The Entertainer had fun playing with our memories along with everything else."

"You're telling me I'm still a high school senior?" Dawn glowered. "But I was almost done with college over there!"

"I know this whole thing sucks for all of us," Buffy sighed tiredly. Not only had this timeline gap affected Dawn's academic career, Buffy realized, but a lot of her own life was still a work in progress. The First had only been defeated less than a year ago. The slayer training academy was still in the early stages. Giles was still putting together a new council and they'd only recruited a few more slayers over the last couple months. They desperately needed more help. Xander was still off on his cross-country trip and Willow had just returned from her parents in Connecticut for Buffy's birthday.

As Buffy sorted out these true memories from her mind, the false memories started to get hazy like an intense dream after waking up—a dream that had fooled her into thinking Spike had been gone for five years, she realized. He still hadn't come to her immediately after his resurrection. She'd still struggled unnecessarily with restless nights missing him, longing for him. But right now, it didn't matter.

She only wanted to see him.

"Where's Spike?" Willow asked as if reading her thoughts.

"I don't know." Buffy replied, failing to keep the frustration out of her voice. "I'm guessing L.A. where the portal opened for him, but I wanna know for sure." She reached for her cell and then noted that she still wore the same pocket-less lavender dress that she'd been wearing in the chapel. Her eyes scanned the room and spotted her everyday jacket draped over a chair and dug through the pockets. She pulled out her cell—her less advanced cell than in the futuristic universe. A new text message had just been received moments ago.

Meet me at The Brew tonight. I'll be there.

A bemused smile swept across her face.

"Buffy, what is it?" Dawn mimicked the smile.

"It's Spike. He's at The Brew."

"The former coffee shop in New York? Over there?"

"No, Spike's coming here. To London."

…..

They did it, Joey mused, they were finally married. It was her first peaceful moment all day and she let the thrilling notion truly sink in after the rollercoaster of wedding madness. The usually busy True Love was temporarily turned into a glamorous reception for family and friends. Joey stood by the main table and sipped her champagne, watching their guests mingle about, enjoying the delicious food and infinite number of free drinks.

It couldn't have been a more perfect day, excluding her almost stumble down the aisle. Even that, though, hadn't destroyed this day. It had already become a silly anecdote that would be told for generations to come.

"You having second thoughts there, Potter?" Pacey whispered lightly into her ear as his arms slid around her waist, drawing her back against him.

Joey tilted her head toward him, her lips spreading into a teasing smile. "Not a chance, Witter. And it's Mrs. Witter now."

"How could I ever forget?" Pacey grinned and kissed her forehead.

"Hey guys, sorry to interrupt," Jack laughingly said, limping toward them with his young daughter gripped to his leg. "But this flower girl wants to ask you something?"

Joey knelt down carefully in her gown, smiling at the curly blond-haired little girl. "What can I do for you?"

"Wanna cut cake?" Amy asked before burying her face back into her father's leg.

"Well," Joey replied, "after Uncle Pacey and I have our first dance, then it'll be cake time, okay, sweetie?"

Amy nodded.

"I can't wait for cake, either," Pacey said conspiratorially.

"Hey, Pace, where's that Spike guy?" Jack asked, his eyes scanning the crowd.

Pacey shrugged. "We invited them. Something must've come up."

"You know, it's strange, but it just dawned on me who the dude really is," Jack replied flippantly. "He must be really dedicated to his job."

"Why do you say that?" Joey slowly stood back up.

"He must go in-character to Comic-Cons or something," Jack said. "His resemblance to the original actor is really uncanny."

"Jack, man, what are ya talking about?" Pacey asked with narrowed brows.

"You don't see it? If I didn't know any better, I'd say Dawson hired him for the bachelor party. C'mon, he's Spike from Buffy." Jack laughed as if he'd figured out a practical joke.

Joey shared an agape look with Pacey. They had both thought Spike and Buffy seemed familiar, but neither one of them had connected the dots to the popular television show. God, it was so glaring now. Were they being played by the duo? Joey wondered. Who were they really? "Buffy" had seemed so authentic at the bachelorette party. Her raw pain and frustration over the past couldn't have been entirely phony "There has to be a good explan—"

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it's that time," the DJ announced, cutting off her train of thought. "Will Pacey and Josephine Witter please make their way onto the floor for their first dance as husband and wife?"

Pacey gazed at her with his adoring let's-do-this expression, holding out his open palm toward her. Joey gladly took it and they moved onto the dance floor, effortlessly falling into step with the beat to their chosen song.

Look into my eyes – you will see

What you mean to me.

Search your heart, search your soul

And when you find me there you'll search no more.

"It's insane, right?' Joey asked Pacey, unable to let go of the nagging feeling as they slowly spun around the room "We heard Jack wrong, right? Or were we conned by two TV show obsessed freaks who look identical to the characters? Are we that dense not to recognize them? Did we really, I mean, Pacey, did we—"

"Befriend an honest to God vampire and a vampire slayer?" He chuckled, easing his arm more comfortably around her, bringing her closer to him. "Nah, Jo, of course not. But if by some cosmic means we did, then at least we're insane together, right?"

"That's one way to look at it," Joey replied dryly, making a tentative smile. Maybe it was his signature glib response, maybe it was his thumb lazily caressing her nape, but the absurdity of the idea began to fade. She rested her head on her husband's shoulder, completely surrendering to the dance.

Vampire or not, slayer or not—wherever they were— she hoped they were finding the same happiness.

…...

It was extremely coincidental that there was the same unique coffee shop, not only in two different dimensions, but in two different cities on two different continents. Granted, the other shop had been converted into The True Love Bar & Grill, but that was neither here nor there.

True Love?

The answer was poking her in the face all along, Buffy thought unbelievably as she walked the last block toward The Brew. How could one demented demon be so transparent and so unpredictable at the same time? If the Entertainer's ultimate goal had been to play matchmaker between her and Spike, why the mind games and the time jump into a different dimension? It didn't make one iota of sense. Then again, demented demons very seldom made sense, she knew, ergo why they were referred to as demented.

Buffy tilted her face up toward the crisp, starry night sky, bearing a sort of freshness that was full of promise. She shouldn't be focused on the big baddie's doings at this moment. It was just easier to think about what had happened than what she wanted to happen in just a minute or two with Spike. How had she become such a wuss in matters of the heart?

Fuck abandonment issues.

Her footsteps slowed as she closed in on the red awning of the coffee shop. Through the wide window, she saw a bunch of empty couches and tables. Nobody seemed to be there. Buffy sighed and went inside, intending to settle in for a wait. She caught a familiar song filtering through the overhead speakers as she turned toward the counter, her eyes falling onto Spike.

Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for.

You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for.

You know it's true:

Everything I do, I do it for you.

He stood there with unbearable hesitancy in his blue eyes, and a shadow of a smile across his face. Aching at the sight, Buffy wordlessly went into his arms. In that moment, she didn't feel confusion, she didn't feel anger or regret as his arms enveloped her, pressing her firmly to him. All that mattered was holding him, and being held by him.

Look into your heart – you will find

There's nothin' there to hide.

Take me as I am, take my life.

I would give it all, I would sacrifice.

"I meant what I said, you know," Buffy whispered into his ear, her hand lightly gripping the back of his head. "I love you, Spike."

His head lifted from her shoulder and he looked directly into her eyes. "Yeah, I got that, love," he said, his mouth curving up slightly. "Or we wouldn't be home, right? It didn't take long to figure that out."

Buffy took a step back, wanting things to be perfectly clear between them before she became too caught up in the warm fuzzies. "Okay, so why didn't you come straight to my place? Why meet here?" she asked, his hands gesturing to their deserted surroundings.

"Well," Spike replied, "I wasn't sure how you'd feel after our heads got unscrambled. I mean, Buffy, I may not have stayed away five years—it would've bloody near killed me—but I still stayed away. And truthfully, if it wasn't for our little alternative dimension holiday, we wouldn't be standing here now, but that's not to say, I wouldn't have come soon enough. It was bleeding torture without you."

"I get that." Buffy nodded, liking his honesty. "And I'm not gonna lie. I'm still miffed that you didn't come to me right away, or at least let me know that you were perfectly undead, but I get that you needed time to figure things out on your own, Spike. I had the same idea before we defeated the First. I didn't know what I really wanted until you were gone." She sighed as she heard Joey's words of wisdom. I just stopped letting fear dictate what I want to do, or uh, who I want to be with… Yeah, there's only imperfect fairytales. It's always a work in progress, but it's worth it. Letting go of her own fear, Buffy continued, "It's no fun baking on your own. It may take a lifetime before you become a delicious, gooey cookie, you know." She laughed at her own silly metaphor. "Do you follow?"

Spike shrugged and simply said. "A cookie can't bake alone, right?"

Her lips spread into a fleeting grin before she turned serious again. "I'm tired of thinking of the past as baggage. I'm just tired of missing you. I wanna have a real chance with you, Spike—I want us to have something real and true," she said softly, baring all her vulnerability. "That is if it's what you want. Is it what you want?"

"Bloody hell, it is!" he replied strongly. "Why wouldn't it be?"

Buffy sighed before she confessed to yet another doubt that couldn't be pushed away under the ridiculous rug until she let it out into the open. "I know you found a sense of purpose working with Angel. And I know you said all that over there, when our memories were all doctored, but I don't wanna stand in your way."

Don't tell me it's not worth fightin' for

I can't help it, there's nothin' I want more

You know it's true:

Everything I do, I do it for you, oh yeah.

"Slayer." Spike scoffed, eliminating the space between them as his hand cupped her cheek. "I'm not in love with Angel, alright? I'm in love with you, Buffy," he said, his voice turning raspy as his eyes held a mixture of tender longing and pure desire, making it clear where he really wanted to be.

Buffy wasn't sure who made the first move, but their lips met urgently, feverishly. His arms wound around her back while she pressed her body closer to him, wanting more. Then suddenly their ardor slowed, gentled as they savored, for the first time, the simplicity of just being together. "I'm glad we're finally on the same page." She smiled as her lips sought out his once again.

….

From behind the screen of a TV suspended on the far corner wall of the coffee shop, a rare yet warm smile spread across the face of a beast, a smile that came from the regretful man within. He couldn't undo the heartache that he had caused the only woman who'd tragically loved him. Guiding Buffy and Spike back to one another, however, had become the next best thing. They'd passed his tricky test and triumphed in the end. Buffy had finally opened her heart to Spike. If only he could've done the same with Dana, The Entertainer thought longingly, watching the lucky couple walk out into the vast night together full of hope for their future.