Chapter Three: Identity Crisis

A couple of hours went by and to Buffy's surprise, Wesley came back. She was relieved. He didn't just up and leave her like she had thought. He came back with books in his hands and he set them down. Buffy looked at Wesley and said,

"You're back."

"Did you think I wasn't coming back?" Wesley asked and Buffy shrugged. He sighed heavily. "Look, I got some books to help figure this out."

"Th-thank you." Buffy stuttered, still unsure of Wesley.

Wesley nodded. "How about some dinner?" He paused. "I don't have anything in the fridge, but we can order out."

"Sounds good." Buffy said.

Wesley made a phone call and ordered some food. Meanwhile, Buffy watched the news. A reporter came on and revealed a picture of her current body. Buffy's eyes widened. It was the girl. It was a picture of Ella Wright. Buffy turned up the volume. The woman from her dreams stood in front of a house. It was the house from Salem. Buffy recognized it. The woman looked like a mess.

"My name is Elena Wright," the woman cried. "If you have any idea where my daughter Ella Wright is, please give me a call or call the police. She is not in any trouble at home. I just want her back. Please Ella, if you see this message, just come home. We can figure it out together."

Then the screen turned to the reporter and the reporter said, "This is a tragedy. Please give us a call with any information regarding Ella Wright."

Wesley sighed heavily and there was a knock at the door. It was the food. Wesley paid for the food and closed the door. He set the food down on the coffee table and looked at Buffy.

"I thought we had more time." Wesley said flatly. "You're going to have to call them and talk to them. We need to come up with a plan."

"I can't just go back!" Buffy blurted out.

"Buffy, you are underage and this is going to get worse if we do nothing." Wesley said. "You are going to have to call them."

Buffy sighed heavily. "Fine, we'll do it tomorrow. For now, I think we are safe."

Buffy hoped that she was going to be able to just run away and that nothing was going to happen. Now she thought that hope was just being naive. Buffy and Wesley ate their food in silence. She noticed that he kept touching his bandage on his neck and she grew curious. Buffy set her utensils down and asked,

"What happened to you?"

Wesley looked at Buffy and was surprised. He was surprised that she thought about him at all. Could he tell her what really happened? It seems like it was just yesterday. Maybe he could tell her what happened about the attack and then just be done with it. Wesley wasn't ready to share the full story.

"I made a wrong choice." Wesley croaked. "I trusted the wrong people and was attacked."

"Attacked by who?" Buffy asked.

Wesley flinched at the memory. He was attacked by his enemy. Then his friend. Then he was shunned. Wesley sighed and looked down at the floor.

"I was attacked by my enemy." Wesley told her. "Then I was attacked by someone I thought was my friend."

"Who was your friend?" Buffy asked.

She knew she was pressing him for information, but she wanted to know what happened. He knew what happened to her. Buffy thought that if she knew what happened to him that it would explain his cold heart. He was different in so many ways, but mostly…He was colder. He was almost meaner. Wesley thought that if he told her the truth about what happened then it would change her mind forever. He looked at her and asked,

"Do you really want the truth?"

"Yes, I want to know…" Buffy told him honestly.

There was a knock at his door. Wesley looked at Buffy and then at the door. He wasn't expecting company. He opened the door and there was Lilah Morgan.

"Get the hell out." Wesley snapped. Buffy looked at him with shock.

"Oh you have company." Lilah said and tried to step in.

"It's not like that." Wesley said flatly.

"It never is." Lilah said and pushed past the door.

Wesley sighed heavily. "What do you want Lilah?"

"I think you know what I want." Lilah said.

"You're here to offer me a job." Wesley said.

"And to give you a gift." Lilah said and handed him a book.

Wesley unwrapped it and threw it to the floor. "I've read it."

"Well, think about our offer." Lilah said and walked to the door. "I'll show myself out." She opened the front door and left. Wesley closed the front door. Buffy looked at Wesley and asked,

"What was that all about?"

"Wolfram and Hart." Wesley replied and sat back down.

"Is that what happened to you?" Buffy asked.

"No, Buffy," Wesley said and sighed. "Angel tried to kill me."

"What?!" Buffy stood up and shouted. "No, there's no way." She paused. "Did he turn evil? Did he lose his soul?"

Wesley shook his head and stood up. "Buffy, he's not evil. He told me that himself. He tried to smother me with a pillow."

Buffy sat back down on the couch. "Oh my God…" She sniffled and looked at Wesley. "But why?"

"I tried to take his son." Wesley said.

"Wait, what?!" Buffy shouted again. "His son?!"

"He and Darla had an affair. They bore a son." Wesley explained.

"He killed Darla." Buffy said. "I remember that. How can they have a son?"

"Wolfram and Hart brought her back to life." Wesley said.

"Oh My God…" Buffy said and tears formed in her eyes.

This news was a big deal to her. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Wesley saw this and sighed. He didn't mean to drop a bombshell like that on her, but he felt like it was necessary. Buffy needed to know. There was so much that she needed to know.

Buffy was having a mix of emotions. She was crushed by that news. Angel and Darla had a son? How was that even possible? They were vampires. There was no way that it was physically possible for vampires to procreate. They were dead. So how did this happen? Buffy wiped away her tears.

"Sorry," she told Wesley. "I didn't mean to break down in front of you."

"It's okay," Wesley said. "I understand how hard this must be for you."

"Yeah," Buffy said. "But I'll be okay. So what happened to his son?"

"So much has happened." Wesley told her. "I found a prophecy that I thought was true. Turns out, it was a false prophecy."

"What did the prophecy say?" Buffy asked him.

Wesley sighed again. "The father will kill the son." He shrugged. "I thought it was true. I wanted to explain to them, but that will never happen. I am never going back."

"I'm sorry." Buffy said and sniffled. Wesley handed her a tissue. "Thank you." Buffy said. "I guess we have to call the police tomorrow, huh?"

"Yes, that would be wise. I don't think it's a good idea for us to leave if the entire nation is hunting you down. We'll call tomorrow." Wesley said.

"I think I need to rest." Buffy said.

Wesley nodded. "I do too." He stood up and locked his front door. "Good night." Buffy fell asleep on the couch and Wesley walked to his bedroom.

In Sunnydale, the entire group defended the Magic Shop. Spike defeated some of the demons and shook his head.

"This isn't going to work!" Spike yelled. "We need help!"

"Where do you suppose we get some help?" Xander snapped.

"I have some friends." Spike said. "It'll take me a moment to get there, but I know some friends that can help us get rid of these demons."

"Where are these friends?" Anya asked.

"Washington." Spike said.

"Washington?!" Willow shouted. "We don't have time for that!"

"Yes we do," Spike said. "You guys hold them off. I'll head to get help. I'll be back with reinforcements."

Spike headed out of the Magic Shop and hopped on a motorcycle. He turned it on and sped out of town. He drove all night and found shelter in the morning.

That morning, Buffy and Wesley called the police. They let them know that Ella was safe. They demanded to see her and Buffy had to go to the local police station. Her mother, Elena, was on her way. Buffy and Wesley waited in the police station for Elena to show up. Buffy twiddled with her fingers. She was nervous. Then she heard a woman shouting,

"Ella, Ella, Ella!"

Buffy lifted her head and saw the woman from the house. It was Elena. She ran towards Buffy and Wesley. Several police officers stopped her because she was hysterical.

"Did you kidnap my daughter?!" Elena screamed. "Did you?!"

"Ma'am please calm down," one officer said. "He helped find your daughter, okay? Please calm down."

Elena took several breaths and calmed down. She sat in a chair while the police filled her in on what happened. Wesley stated that he found the missing teen at the bus station, which wasn't a lie. The officers finished with Elena and she stood up. She walked over to Wesley and Buffy. Elena held out her hand to Wesley and said,

"Thank you." Elena paused. "Thank you for finding my daughter."

"You're welcome ma'am." Wesley said and shook her hand.

"Ella, what do you have to say for yourself?" Elena demanded.

Buffy stood up. "Can we talk privately?"

"Yes, when we are home." Elena said and put her hand on Buffy's shoulder. Buffy shook it off and took a step back. Elena looked confused.

"Ella, what's wrong?" Elena asked.

"Ma'am," Wesley said flatly. "We need to talk."

Elena looked worried and hurt. She followed Wesley and Buffy to a coffee shop. They all sat down together. Buffy sat next to Wesley and Elena sat across from them. She looked at Buffy and asked,

"Ella, what's going on?" Elena paused. "Who is this man?"

"This is Wesley Wyndam-Pryce." Buffy introduced him. "I'm not your daughter. I was placed inside this body by mistake."

"What?" Elena asked. "Body? What do you mean?"

"She's really Buffy Summers." Wesley explained. "Your daughter's soul went somewhere else and Buffy's took over your daughter's body."

"This is unreal." Elena said and gritted her teeth. "There is no way that this is even possible."

"It's magic," Buffy explained. "Anything is possible."

Elena's eyes watered. "You're really not my daughter?"

Buffy shook her head. "I'm sorry, but no. I'm not." She paused. "I don't remember anything about being your daughter. I don't remember you."

Elena sniffled and wiped away her tears. She was trying not to sob. This was all too much for her. Her daughter was gone and there was some stranger inside her body. How was she going to get past this? Elena wondered. She looked at Buffy and Wesley.

"So magic is real?" Elena asked and Wesley nodded.

"Magic is real and there are many other things that are real as well," Wesley explained. "But that's a long story."

"So how do you fit in?" Elena asked him.

"I help people like Buffy." Wesley explained. "I help people that need guidance."

"So you're going to take care of her?" Elena asked.

"Yes," Wesley said. "But we can't stay here. We need to leave."

"Where will you go?" Elena asked.

"Washington." Wesley said. "That's where I was headed when Buffy found me."

"I can't stay with you." Buffy said. "Wesley can help me. Can you handle that?"

Elena sighed heavily and wiped away her tears. "I guess I have to." She said, "But will you keep in touch? I know you're not my daughter, but you have her body and well…"

Buffy nodded. "I will keep in touch."

Elena smiled a little. "Thank you. Let me know when you get to Washington."

"We should leave sooner rather than later." Wesley told her and pulled out a notebook. "What's your number?" Elena told him her number and Wesley wrote it down.

"Please, don't forget about me." Elena said.

"I won't." Buffy promised.

"We should get going on." Wesley said.

Elena stood up and held out her hand. "It was nice to meet you."

Wesley shook her hand. "It was nice to meet you too."

Wesley and Buffy returned to Wesley's apartment. Everything was settled. Wesley bought two bus tickets online to leave for Washington tomorrow.

Author's Notes: This is a different twist and I hope it flows right! More will be explained in the next chapter!