"As fun as this is," Angelus drawled. "I'm getting very bored. I think it's time we livened things up, don't you lover? And you," He turned his gaze briefly on Spike before returning to Buffy. "I'll deal with later."

Angelus lunged forwards, swinging his fist towards Buffy's face. Spike moved to help Buffy but she didn't need it. She grabbed Angelus's large fist in her own small hand and twisted it sharply. Even though Spike detested his grandsire, he couldn't help but feel a small amount of pity for him as he heard the dull crack that meant a bone had snapped. Angelus fell to his knees, howling in pain and shock, cradling his broken wrist.

Buffy acted fast; Angelus might be incapacitated for the moment but a little thing like a broken bone wouldn't keep him down for long. She scanned the ground for something she could use, something heavy and blunt. Not too far away from where she stood there was a fallen branch that looked like it would do the trick. Picking it up, she hurried back to Angelus and swung it down in a large arc. It connected with his head with a sickening thud. Angelus slumped to the side, his eyes closing and a snarl dying on his lips. Buffy dropped the branch, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Nice one," Spike said appreciatively. He retrieved the discarded branch and broke it in two over his knee, creating a rather jagged and primitive, but no doubt effective, stake. "Are we staking him now?"

"No!" Buffy all but shouted. "No," She said again, although much quieter this time in response to Spike's raised eyebrows. "If all this isn't some insane dream, if this really is," Here she winced slightly, not quite able to believe what she was about to say. "The past, then we can't just go around changing things. It could mess up the present," She frowned. "Or is it the future? Either way it's bad. Haven't you ever seen Back to the Future?"

Spike stared at her blankly.

"Oh for God's sake, Spike!" She cried. "You haven't even seen that? I'm adding it to the list!"

"Buff," Spike said patiently. "I think we have bigger things to worry about at the moment. The main one being that we seem to have been thrown back in time a few years."

"Right. Sorry."

"So if we're not going to make him into a big pile of dust, what are we going to do with him? We can't let him go back to the factory; he'll kill past me, which won't bode well for present me at all."

Buffy stared down at Angelus's prone form in silence, a small frown creasing her brow. Eventually she looked away from him and turned to Spike. "Know where we can get any chains?"

When Angelus woke, for a moment he had no idea where he was. The last thing he remembered was fighting with the Slayer in the cemetery, and now he was inside somewhere, although where he didn't know. However, it wasn't long before he recognised his surroundings as his old apartment, the hole his alter ego used to hide in.

Discovering where he was did nothing to diminish his confusion. Somehow he'd lost several hours out of the night. When he left the factory it had been shortly before midnight; now the familiar warning shivers that ran up and down his spine told him that dawn was fast approaching.

It was when he tried to stand that he discovered the chains attached to him that firmly secured him to the wall. Staring down at them incredulously, he tried to recall how this had happened. The memories of his fight with Buffy trickled back slowly. When he remembered seeing something large flying towards his face, he let out a furious growl and jerked against his chains. The manacle dug into his broken wrist, causing him to yelp in pain.

"He's awake!" Spike called, not bothering to look up from the book he was idly flicking through. He was draped over one of the armchairs, his back to Angelus.

"Spike," Angelus snarled. "Let me out."

Spike ignored him and turned another page of his book.

"Spike," Angelus said again. "If you don't let me out now I swear I'll kill you."

"Right. How do you plan on doing that?" Spike called over his shoulder. "Being all tied up is going to make murdering me pretty difficult."

Angelus was about to let loose a stream of threats but at that moment a distraction arrived in the form of Buffy. She emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed and towelling her hair.

"Feel better, love?" Spike asked, setting his book aside.

"Much. I needed to get the cemetery out of my hair," Buffy grinned. "How's grouchy boy?"

"As much of a wanker as ever."

"Let me out," Angelus growled at Buffy this time "Or I'll-"

"Or you'll what?" Buffy interrupted. "Kill me? I doubt it'd matter. I don't seem to stay dead for very long."

"This time no one will be here to – Wait," Angelus broke off, frowning suddenly. "You look different. Your hair, it's longer."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Points for observation." Ignoring Angelus, she made her way over to Spike and held her hand out to him. He took it and she gently pulled him to his feet. "Come on," She murmured, hoping that Angelus wouldn't be able to hear her. "We need to talk in private." She steered him towards the bathroom, the only room with a door and so the only place they could hope to get something resembling privacy.

As Buffy and Spike touched, Angelus lost all coherency and lapsed into a series of low growls. At the cemetery he'd assumed that Spike had been making a joke, albeit an unfunny one, about him being the only one to "get groiny" with Buffy. Now, watching their closeness, as well as the fact that when Buffy got close enough he could smell Spike's scent on her, he was forced to the conclusion that Spike hadn't been kidding. After a little light torture, he would have been prepared to forgive his unruly grandchilde for lying and locking him up and would have been gracious enough to let him keep his pathetic unlife. But this was the signature on his death warrant. Spike had touched his woman, his Slayer, and for that he would pay.

Listening to Angelus's fury, Spike grinned to himself. He slipped his arm around Buffy's waist as they walked and pulled her close to him, causing Angelus's growls to grow in volume and intensity. Buffy shook her head but didn't say anything. She didn't think it was the best idea to piss off a captive vampire, but they had bigger things than Angelus to worry about. Besides, after the torment she had put Spike through when he had first come to them for help after getting his chip she could hardly scold him for doing the same thing.

They reached the bathroom and Spike shut the door firmly behind them, muffling Angelus. "So," He said, turning to Buffy. "What's the plan?"

In present day Sunnydale, someone rummaged through Spike's crypt. It was originally their intention to find something that could be used to bring him back, but they knew it was pointless. Now throwing his possessions around was just making them feel better.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," They snapped. "Not like this. He wasn't supposed to go with her. She was supposed to go alone!"

"Maybe," Their companion ventured. "It'll work out alright. His presence can't affect things that much."

"Are you kidding?" The other said. "This changes everything. The whole plan, everything, is ruined."

Firstly, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I didn't expect the response the first two chapters got, but I'm very grateful for your views and encouragement. Secondly, updates are going to be much slower until at least the 20th due to an excessive amount of exams.