Chapter 2: Becoming a New Woman

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. characters belong to . I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

A/N: After a little bit, Buffy's name will change to suit her new 'life' in the past. She isn't exactly either Buffy or Darla anymore, but a mixture of the two.

A/N2: Thanks to my betas…zigpal, ktweaver and AshDawnSoulmates.

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Galway, Ireland

1753

Buffy shook her head to clear the fuzziness that overcame her. When she opened her eyes, it wasn't Sunnydale with little trick-or-treaters running around that she saw; it was some old-time village place. What the Hellmouth was going on here? Oh crap! The Hellmouth! Something must have happened. But what?

She touched the sleeve of a passing gentleman and inquired, "Pardon me, kind sir, but I've been injured and have lost my memory." She didn't talk like that. Who was she channeling?

The man smiled warmly in greeting. "How can I help you, miss?"

"Could you tell me where I am and…it may sound unusual, but what year it is?" Buffy asked, hoping that he wouldn't call the authorities and have her locked up.

But he just looked sympathetically at her. "Ah, ye poor lass. This here is the village of Galway in Ireland and it is currently the Year of Our Lord, seventeen hundred and fifty-three. Do you require medical attention?" he offered.

Buffy tried to think; that place sounded familiar to her somehow. "No, but maybe you could direct me to someplace to get a bite to eat?"

"Surely. You can come home with me. My wife makes the finest pot of stew you've ever tasted," he boasted.

"Thank you…" she trailed off, unsure of how to address him.

He took her hand and gallantly bowed over it. "Seamus O'Connor at your service, milady."

Buffy blushed at his literally old World manners. "Thank you, Master O'Connor. Umm, I guess I should think of something you can call me," she replied absently.

"My daughter's name is Kathleen, or Kathy, and my wife's is Bridgett. Or we could ask them to help us," Seamus suggested.

She nodded her agreement, then asked, "Oh, do you have any other children?"

His eyes darkened, either in anger or shame. "Sadly, yes. And I must caution you to watch yourself around my son, Liam. He is quite the wastrel and will likely do whatever he can to rob you of your innocence," he warned her.

"Then I shall do my best not to succumb to his charms," Buffy promised as they stopped at the door to his home. She followed him in, having received his invitation to cross the threshold.

Seamus called out, "Family! We have company. This young lady has somehow lost her memory and needs our help," he explained.

The little girl ran up to Buffy in excitement. "Ooo, you are very pretty! Like a life-size dolly," she declared.

Buffy laughed at the girl's enthusiasm. "Thank you. You must be Kathleen. You are very pretty as well," she returned the compliment.

Heartened by the instant bond between his daughter and the young stranger, Seamus confided, "We were hoping that maybe you two could help us come up with a name we can call her."

Kathleen beamed at the news. "Can I name you?" she pleaded. Buffy nodded, thinking that if it were really bad, she could just change it when she left this place. "Then I choose…Nya."

Buffy rolled it over in her mind several times, getting the feel for it. "That's an unusual name, isn't it?"

"Somewhat. It means champion. Why did you choose that, Kathleen?" Seamus inquired of his daughter.

The little girl shrugged. "It just feels right for her."

"Then Nya it shall be. Greetings to you, Miss Nya," Seamus greeted her again formally.

Buffy turned to the lady of the house to address her, "Thank you for welcoming me into your home, Mistress Bridgett. Your family is very kind."

"It is our Christian duty to help those in need. Do you have any injuries that need tending to?" Bridgett wondered. There was something different about this young lady; she could just tell that helping her was the right thing to do.

"I haven't felt any. I simply woke up feeling groggy and had no idea where I was," Buffy replied, feeling bad for lying, but knowing she couldn't tell them the truth.

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After dinner, Buffy was given nightclothes to sleep in. She was confused by the conflicting thoughts she'd been having all night. Suddenly, she had a horrible revelation and rushed to the nearest reflective surface, only to discover her fears were real…there wasn't anything looking back at her.

It was then that she remembered who she dressed as for Halloween. Fate had a sick sense of humor to turn the Slayer into the vampire who sired Angel. And that reminded her that she was in the village where he was born. Had he already been turned or could she stop that from happening? Should she?

A voice in her head that sounded like Giles said it was wrong to tamper with history; you never knew what the slightest changes could do. And not turning Angel into a vampire would make really big changes. Not just to history, but her history. If she did this, she would have to make sure to do the good things Angel did.

Then another thought startled her. She just spent the evening with humans, eating regular food and talking to them. Shouldn't she have killed them and drank their blood – or however that worked? But the thought of feeding the vamp way sickened her. So she was a vampire that didn't drink blood? What else was different about her?

She was invited in, so she didn't know if the invitation rule applied to her or not. Umm, holy objects…Wait! She was still wearing the necklace Angel gave her when she first got to Sunnydale. Did that mean he was already turned? But it did answer the question of whether she could touch crosses. As curious as she was, she wasn't going to test the staking rule – or beheading for that matter.

Let's see, what did that leave she could try? Holy water and sunlight. Well, the latter should be simple enough. In the morning, the family would probably expect her to go outside. Although, maybe it would be better to test it without them nearby so she didn't scare them. There were other buildings she could stay in until dark if necessary. When it got closer to dawn, she could go to one of those.

If that didn't kill her, she could check the holy water, and maybe find a house to try to enter without an invitation. But first she should rest.

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Shortly before dawn…

Buffy/Darla/Nya – man, she had too many names right now – slipped into her 'costume' and snuck out the door to the nearest building to wait for the dawn. Should she just walk into the sunlight and end Darla's existence? But then she couldn't keep track of Angelus – if he was turned yet – or keep herself safe in the future. In the end, she decided to be cautious and take it slow until she knew if there was an Angelus or not.

As if the Powers heard her, a man entered the courtyard just as the sun began to appear. She recognized him even though she had never seen him in the sunlight. So he was still human! Carefully making her way into the light, she was pleased to see it didn't hurt her either.

Before she could rejoice in that bit of news, she was sickened to witness her former crush's assault on the young woman who worked for the family. She rushed across the courtyard to save the poor girl from being raped by him.

Immediately after she yanked him off his victim, Seamus came storming out of the house. He tore into Liam for disgracing the family this way and kicked him out. Then he took the serving girl and Buffy back into the house, where he thanked her for helping out – even if she put herself at risk by doing so. His daughter named her well, for she certainly was a champion and proved it that morning.

Unable to stay in the same village with the disappointment that was Liam, Nya – she decided to go with that name – pretended to regain some of her memory. She claimed to have family in England that she could go to until she was fully well again. It just hurt too much to see that face and think of the ensouled vampire she was on her way to falling in love with. How could her Angel be him?

The goodbyes were surprisingly tear-filled for only having known them a few days. Seamus insisted on giving her some money to help her until she got home, saying that it was the least they could do for saving their family from the scandal if Liam had succeeded in raping the girl. Since she didn't have any other choice, she reluctantly accepted the coins and left.

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A/N: Next…Nya starts affecting history even more.