Part Seven

Romantics

Little was said about the errand upon which Josiah had sent Buffy in his injured state. The concern when the two finally returned to the lawmen was to make a hasty return to Chris’ shack. Vin had already departed with Josiah so he could be treated for his massive injuries. Neither Buffy nor Spike spoke to each other when they rode back and the atmosphere in general was thick with tension. However, despite the silence, the riders were replete with their own thoughts. Chris was concerned about Josiah but his thought centred primarily on what was to be done about this situation. How he could continue to protect an enemy that they could not kill for fear of protecting some future timeline? Somehow, they had to come up with a different way of dealing with these vampires since their present tactics were getting them nowhere. They had to find a way to drive the demons from Four Corners and from Ezra permanently.

Chris glanced sideways at Vin and remembered the tracker had already ridden ahead with Josiah in order to reach Nathan quicker. It felt odd not having Vin by his side but then there had been no avoiding it. Chris, who thought he had seen the depths of human ugliness, had been shocked at Josiah’s condition. In every sense of the word, a monster had been unleashed upon him. So far, Ezra, Buck and Josiah had been hurt fighting these creatures and Chris was starting to wonder whether or not it was possible to defeat them, that the danger to the timeline had to be risked by killing one of them. However, once again, he was faced with the frustrating realization that anything that diverted from how it was meant to be could have untold consequences in the future. He liked Buffy. She was a spirited young woman with a terrible burden to bear. The weight of it on her psyche was evident in her eyes and he could not imagine how she endured it. Unfortunately, Giles was correct, the future needed her and her erasure from existence was simply not an option they could risk under any circumstances.

No, the key to this was not defeating the vampires; it was convincing them to leave of their own free will. From what Spike had told him about ‘the family’, it was clear that Angelus ruled things. If Chris wanted his friends free of this danger, then it was Angelus he was going to have to deal with. From Giles’ description, Angelus’ reign as a master vampire was bloody and brutal. He did not merely kill his victims, he destroyed them. A creature like this could not be reasoned with, not unless they had something to bargain with. Chris came to the understanding that this situation could only be won with cunning and for him to manage that little feat of magic, he was going to have to know his enemy a little better.

"Tell me about him," Chris broke the silence that rested over them like morning mist. "About Angelus."

Spike looked over his shoulder at Buffy, trying to determine which one of them should answer the gunslinger’s question. He knew Buffy would not be anxious to tell Chris all the details about he relationship with Angel, just as Spike was not eager to hear it. It was bad enough knowing that his grandsire was her greatest love and probably always would be without having to endure listening to her describe it from her own lips.

"What do you want know exactly?" Buffy asked first, her brow furrowing at Chris as if he had asked her something really personal.

"Tell me about him? Who he was, what he’s going to be." Chris returned, noticing the tension in her when he asked the question. Suddenly, he was filled with the notion that Buffy and Spike were not telling him all there was to know about Angelus. Even JD shot Chris a doubtful look, revealing that he noticed the hesitation as well.

"I know where he’s from," Spike volunteered, more intimate with Angelus’ early years than his latter ones. "He was Irish, think he said his name Liam."

"Liam?" Buffy rose a brow in surprise. She had not known that. Of course, Angel did not like talking about his past because inevitably, they would come headfirst into the brick wall that was the subject Angelus and Angel was reluctant to reveal anything about his life as the master vampire. "His name was Liam?"

"Yeah," Spike nodded, hating to talk about his grandsire when Buffy was present. It was bad enough the slayer had such an involved history with Angel but talking about it made Spike uncomfortable, not to mention jealous at her reaction. "He didn’t like to talk about his past much. His father was a preacher or something, pretty heavy with the bible I hear. Angelus didn’t like him at all, I think he might have killed his father and the entire family."

"His own family?" JD exclaimed aghast with horror.

"Yeah," Spike nodded, remembering that he could not bring himself to show his face to his mother when he had been turned. His mother had loved him and it was enough for Spike that she had lost her son without visiting any further misfortune upon her. However, it was different with Angelus, he had hated his father from all accounts and wanted to prove something to the man. "His father told him he’d amount to nothing, I guess Angelus took that personally."

"That explains why he treated Josiah the way he did. What else?," Chris retorted, having no wish to hear of every bloody detail of his victims. "What is he like?"

"Obsessive," Spike said quickly. "He used to drive his victims insane. For the rest of us, we like the clean kill. We need the blood to feed and that’s all there is to it. With Angelus it was more. He killed Dru’s family. He drove her mad before he turned her, ironically enough on the day she took her vows to become a nun. He was right bastard back then."

"How come you didn’t kill him?" JD inquired, unable to imagine that such evil could lurk in any creature’s soul.

"Good question," Spike threw her a nasty smile to which Buffy returned a venomous glared.

"There was a curse," she said softly after a little pause. She did not want to tell Chris about this but he seemed to have a point to his question. "Twenty years from now maybe a little less, he bites a girl in Europe, a gypsy. Her family apparently had something to do with magic and stuff. They put a curse on him. It brings back his soul."

"What does that mean?" JD blurted out with confusion, knowing that it was important but not how.

"When you get turned, your soul is gone and the demon moves in," Spike explained impatiently.

"In other words, Liam or what was left of Liam, came back?" Chris ventured a guess.

"Yeah," Buffy nodded slowly. "He got his soul back and he had to remember every terrible thing he had done for the last hundred years. He was sorry."

"He was stupid, that’s what he was!" Spike barked back in annoyance. "He had nothing to feel sorry for. He didn’t do anything! Angelus did it all! He spends the next ninety years trying to make up for something he didn’t do. Turns brooding and acting mysterious into an art form. You know what I’m taking about." He gave Chris a look.

"Spike shut up," Buffy snapped. "Look, Angel tried to make amends for what he did. He’s still trying."

"So he became good?" JD inquired, fascinated that a soul could return to a body after being driven from it, especially to the creature that had been attempting to kill these past few nights.

"Except for little lapse," Spike glanced at Buffy who swore under her breath for she had no wish to dredge up everything that transpired between her and Angel.

"Little lapse?" Chris stared at them. "What’s that suppose to mean?"

Buffy exhaled deeply and supposed that Chris had a right to know since he and his men were doing everything possible to keep her and her ancestor’s life safe. "It’s the curse that he’s under. He only has his soul while he’s feeling guilt for the terrible things he did. Once he doesn’t feel that way any more, the curse lifts and Angelus is back. Angel tried to make things right by helping me in Sunnydale, fighting evil, we became close."

She raised her eyes to Chris and in one moment of flickering despair, Chris understood everything.

"You fell in love with him and lost him." Chris said simply, sparing her the anguish of saying it. He could not even begin to imagine what the girl must have endured, to give her heart and her soul so some she obviously loved only to have that person snatch away by that very gift. It explained a great deal the sadness that was in her eyes and why she had been so struck when she had first encountered Angelus in this place. Chris knew all about losing the love of one’s life and he could tell by the pain reflected in Buffy’s eyes now that Angel had been that for her. How must it be for her to watch this earlier version of her love murder and torture so many? It was no wonder she was so afraid of allowing Spike, who adored her, close.

"Yeah," Spike muttered. "It’s a tragedy."

However, Chris saw through the vampire’s sarcasm to recognize the pain he felt of never being sure that he would ever be able to acquire Buffy’s love the way Angelus had. Despite the emotional turmoil that the two visitors from the future must have been experiencing, Chris had something of an idea forming inside his head. "What happens to Angelus in the future where Buffy doesn’t exist?" He asked Spike, hoping to propel them past this painful subject as soon as possible.

"Oh Peaches stays the same," Spike replied offhandedly. "He’s fighting evil, has no idea who Buffy is or the fact that if he met her he could be blissfully happy and that she could bring Angelus back because of it."

"Great," Buffy frowned, uncertain of how to take that.

Spike stiffened in response and Buffy knew instantly that he was hurt. Unfortunately, she knew of nothing she could say that would salve his pain because she would always love Angel in a way that Spike could never hope to understand, no matter how she might care for the vampire in the future. Angel was apart of her and that would never change. He did not look at her and though her arms were wrapped around him as they rode double, Buffy could tell that he was not happy at her touch. She groaned inwardly, wondering where Chris was going with this inquiry. "Is that it?" She stared at the gunslinger with no attempt to hide her discomfiture with the discussion of this particular subject.

"Yeah," Chris nodded slowly, his mind grasping the kernel of an idea that had formed at Buffy’s explanation regarding her history with Angelus.

"Was there any particular reason for that question or did you just want to know my deep dark secret for no good reason?" Buffy asked.

"I was just thinking that maybe what Angelus needs to know is the truth." Chris remarked.

"The truth?" Buffy exclaimed as all eyes turned to him.

"Without you," Chris reasoned his idea out loud. "He vanishes in twenty years and never surfaces again, is that right?" He stared at her hard.

Buffy found Chris’ gaze uncomfortable and found herself involuntarily flinching under his power glare. The man’s eyes were like high-powered sensors that bore into one’s soul. The only time she had ever felt this way was with Spike but she had no doubt that the man in black had the same ability to see through her as Spike did. Must be the long, black coat, she thought absurdly to herself. "Unfortunately, yes." She replied. "Did I forget to mention the whole ‘I don’t want to talk about this deal’ with you or are you a son of a bitch most times and couldn’t care less?"

"He’s a son of bitch most times," JD added with a grin. "But you get used to him though."

"Thanks," Chris flashed him a look.

"I had to say if for Buck," JD quipped mischievously.

"Fine," Chris grumbled, "The fact is we’re not winning any battles the way we’re fighting him. We’ve got to think of something different."

"Like what?" Spike stared at Chris, starting to see that the man might have an idea.

"Maybe we ought to just tell him that if he kills Ezra, he kills any chance of breaking the curse that might see him back to his murdering demon self."

"Hey," Spike nodded in understanding not to mention admiration, "that’s not bad. That’s not bloody bad at all."

"He wouldn’t go for it would he?" Buffy asked. If it was a question of how Angel would react, Buffy would have no trouble making an informed guess but Angelus was an unknown. All she knew of him was that he was brutal and sadistic, she had no idea how powerful his need for self-preservation might be. As Angelus, he had attempted to open the gates of hell by awakening Acathala. Buffy had no idea whether or not he would be swayed by the possibility of his own demise.

"Not unless we gave him proof," Chris retorted.

"How do we manage that?" JD asked perplexed.

"We could get the witch to do a spell," Spike pointed out. "Something to show him that we’re telling the truth."

"It’s a plan," Buffy stated with a smile, clearly impressed.

"It’s a long shot," Chris confessed because he was playing a hunch. Everything he knew about Angelus gave him a feel for the creature he was dealing with and short of killing him, nothing else they attempted would work except for this. At the moment, Angelus pride was hurt and that was fuelling his determination to kill Ezra, without even knowing why. However, if he were to learn that in less than 20 years, he would be imprisoned inside a body possessing a soul, with no relief in sight except for the tragic love its owner would have with Buffy, perhaps, Angelus might see that there were worse things than injured pride.

"Its a better than nothing," Spike commended. "It’s bloody better than anything we’ve come up with so far. I saw how much Angelus hated it when he lost control, he hated being trapped with no way to kill or do the things he did to get his rocks off. Knowing that you’re the only way out he has, might actually give him something to think about. Angelus may be a bastard but he’s a smart bastard at that."

"Let hope he’s smart enough to know what’s good for him." Chris retorted.

*************

They reached Chris’ shack with the dawn nipping at their heels. Towards the last leg of their journey home, they had hastened their pace considerably in order to reach the shelter before the sunlight harmed Spike. Chris had decided that they would move into town sometime today since there was little reason to use the shack as a hiding place when Angelus knew about it. Besides, things had transpired last night that made their continued stay at the shack somewhat redundant. The most obvious being that Angelus knew where they were. However, with the attacks on Buck and Josiah, Nathan would want to be near his infirmary and Chris believed at this point, that was not a bad idea. However, Chris now wanted to be in a place where Angelus would find them easily, in order to make their plan work. They would have to bring a covered wagon for Spike to travel by day.

When Chris and the others returned to the shack, they saw Ezra and Giles at the front porch, armed with guns and stakes respectively, in case Angelus should attempt to make an encore appearance. Seeing that their friends were safe, the gambler and the librarian abandoned their watch for the moment and joined them inside. Chris found Vin was at what passed for his supper table, having been provided with a hot meal by Tara, who was looking down at the handsome tracker with the same affection that he was giving her. Buck on the other hand was lying on the spare coat, his throat bandaged the way Ezra’s was and appeared to be in a fitful sleep.

"How is he?" Chris asked as soon as he and Vin made eye contact.

"Josiah and Mary are with him now," Vin stood up upon seeing his best friend. "We don’t know much yet." He confessed.

"What about Buck?" JD inquired as he hurried to the big man’s side. "Is he gonna be okay?"

"Yes, fortunately," Ezra replied. "Mr. Jackson tells us that he lost some blood but not enough to impede his recovery once his wounds were treated."

JD lowered himself into a seat next to Buck, resolving himself to remain at his side until Buck woke up. It was not often that JD openly showed his age or his affection for Buck as a paternal figure. However, there was no mistaking it now as he stared in worry at his friend. Chris knew that nothing short of the world coming to an end would remove the young man from Buck’s side now. He supposed Vin had the same attitude towards him although their relationship was far different. They were comrades in arms, who understood each other, not the fatherly affection shared between Buck and JD. It was Buck’s goal in life to keep JD alive long enough for him to become a man in his own right. At this stage, the boy was all too fired up with romantic notions of what the West was about and there were too many young men like him lying in graves on Boot Hill.

Chris let out a sigh and poured himself a cup of coffee as the others around him settled in. "We’ll get a few hours rest and then move out. We’re heading back to town."

"Hallelujah!" Ezra cried out with relief. "Finally a sensible suggestion."

"I thought the plan was to stay out of sight?" Giles spoke up.

"Not much point to it Watcher," Spike retorted. "Peaches knows where we are and the cowboy here has a plan."

"Oh you’re a dead man," Vin retorted automatically as he saw the scowl on Chris’ face.

"I’m already a dead man," Spike returned, a little bewildered by the tracker’s remark.

"You’ll be a deader one if you don’t stop calling me cowboy," Chris growled in a response that was worthy of any vampire.

"Yeah," Buffy nudged him in the ribs before glancing at Chris, "just call him Billy Idol."

"I am not like Billy Idol!" Spike glared at her.

"People!" Giles burst out in a loud voice. "I think we are losing focus here!"

"Thank you," Ezra retorted gratefully at the librarian, glad that he was not the only adult in the room. "You have a plan Chris?"

"Yeah," Chris nodded shaking his head of their previous conversation. They were all tired and biting at each other but he needed to tell the others present what he had had planned in order to see if it was possible. "I got something of a plan, not sure how it will work though."

"We need your help Tara," Buffy replied.

"Me?" Tara’s eyes widened.

"She’s done enough," Vin countered. "These spells or whatever they are, they hurt her! When she brought you back, she was knocked out from the trying. I don’ think she should keep doing them."

Buffy glanced in Spike’s direction regarding the vehemence of Vin’s protectiveness for the young Wiccan. She knotted her brow in confusion because if she did not know better, she would say that there was more than just a general feeling of concern motivating Vin. Spike shrugged, a gesture she knew to mean they would discuss this later because now was not the time. Buffy turned back to Vin, preparing to say something about Tara being the only one who could do this when Tara spoke up herself and ended any need on Buffy’s part to speak for her.

"Vin," Tara placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, feeling her heart swell at his concern for her. "They wouldn’t ask me if there were any other way. I want to hear what Chris has in mind."

"Are you sure?" Vin stared at her worriedly. He didn’t know anything about magic but he had seen the effect it had upon her after she performed the spell to bring Buffy to the past. He could not help being afraid for her life if she continued.

"Yes," she kissed him gently on the cheek, drawing an expression of surprise from the tracker who seemed embarrassed by the action. The others in the room averted their eyes and tried to focus their attention elsewhere as the young couple took a moment for themselves. After a few seconds, Tara faced Chris again.

"What do you want me to do?" She asked.

Chris saw the troubled expression on Vin’s face but knew they had no choice. The plan he had was already a gamble to succeed, they needed some assurance and unfortunately, Tara seemed the only one who could provide it. He explained to her what needed to be done and she listened intently, her concentration wavering only when Giles, Vin and Ezra chose to comment because they were in the dark about Chris’ plan as she. What he was proposing was difficult but it was no harder than anything else she had to do since this had all began. Besides, the spell he wanted was no less complicated then the one that had brought Buffy here from the future and if all went well, then the situation in Four Corners would be resolved once and for all.

"Can you do it?" Chris asked when all was explained to her.

Tara considered the question for a moment. "Yes," she nodded. "I think I can."

"Are you sure Tara?" Giles looked at her with concern. He knew that they had been using her magical abilities more than they should and he hated asking for its assistance again but Chris was right, this plan as risky as it was had a chance of working.

"I’ll be fine," Tara assured her.

"Young lady, "Ezra spoke up. "As much as I would like to be free of this burden of being the one to sire the slayer, I do not wish it to take place at the cost of someone else’s well being."

"The lady said she’s fine already!" Spike groaned at all this talk. It was not as if they had not been told numerous times already. Besides, they didn’t have a choice in the matter and the witch seemed more acceptable of that fact then everyone else around her.

"Spike, I could slap you." Buffy rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Steady there love," he smiled cockily at her. "We’ll play later."

Buffy’s jaw dropped open in outrage but she had no chance to tell Spike what a pig she was because Nathan emerged from the next room with Mary at his side. The healer kept the door behind him closed, indicating that he wanted no one to disturb the preacher while he recovered. However, that did not mean he was not inundated with questions about Josiah’s welfare as soon as he was seen. Heading these demands for information was Chris and Spike, both equal in their concern and their guilt for Josiah’s current state.

"He’s gonna be okay," Nathan said first and foremost, drawing a collective sigh of relief from those who knew the preacher well and those who had only recently come into his knowing. "He’s been hurt pretty bad. If we hadn’t found him when we had, he’d be dead by now. There’s lot of cuts and burns, Angelus apparently was at it for quite some time. He’s sleeping now and I suggest we leave him be for the next day or so. I don’t think he had can handle travelling just yet."

"I’ll stay with him," Spike offered.

"Not for long," Chris retorted and saw Nathan starting to protest but he cut off anything the healer was going to say, "Nathan I want Josiah and Buck back in town. We got something planned and its going to be risky as it is without us being scattered all over the place. So Spike can stay with Josiah for awhile until we ride into town for a wagon. Then we’ll move both Buck and Josiah. Is that clear?"

Nathan frowned unhappily but he conceded to the gunslinger’s order. "Alright but I want to stay here with them."

"You can keep me company," Spike grinned, enjoying taunting the righteous healer to no end. "We’ll have loads of fun."

"Oh hell, kill me now," Nathan groaned.

"Don’t worry," Buffy quipped. "I’ll leave you Mr. Pointy." She produced her lucky stake and winked at the healer. "You can stake him if he gets too much for you."

"The rest of us," Chris spoke loudly to get their attention back on the subject at hand. "We’ll head back to town. Mary, can the girls stay with you for the day?"

"Sure," Mary smiled warmly at Tara and Buffy. "You can clean up and get some rest."

"That would be good," Buffy replied. "It feels like the day hasn’t ended." In truth, it had not. The night seemed endless to her after being spirited away from the future to this recent past, then encountering her ancestor and dealing with Angelus’ attacks on his friends, not to mention keeping Spike from committing suicide, at the very least a few hours sleep was not much to ask. "If you could just wake me before the night time that would suit me fine."

"I think we can manage that," Mary replied, "I could use some sleep myself."

"Well it’s settled then," Chris declared, glad that this part of the plan was met with approval. "We ride at first light."

***********

A short time later, the group was ready to ride to town and Buffy found herself saying a quick goodbye to Spike before they parted company for a while. Neither had spoken much about what had happened when they were alone tonight but it hung in the air, like a pregnant drop of water about to fall. She wondered why she had not let him do what he intended, knowing her life might be a lot less complicated because he was not in it. However, even as the thought crossed her mind she remembered what it was like to make love to him, the raw, unbridled passion he inspired in her that made her feel more terribly alive then she had felt since her resurrection. A part of Buffy knew that it was more than just lust that had made their coupling so wonderful. There was something more that made her feel safe in his arms that told her without doubt that he would never hurt her, would never leave her and he would die for her if he had to.

She had craved all these things from Angel and still he had left her, never giving her a choice in what was best for her own happiness. She had sought the same thing from Riley even though she felt less for him than the confused feelings she had for Spike and he too had gone. Spike would never leave, not as long as there was hope that she might love him back. It was a good feeling to know that his heart was so much in her keeping, even if she did not know what she intended to do with it. They all knew he loved her because he had come all this way to rekindle her existence, even at the cost of his freedom as a vampire. It surprised her to see the admiration in their eyes for him, even from Giles because a vampire would do so much for the slayer he loved.

"You gonna be okay here by yourself?" She asked quietly as the others prepared to leave, conscious that they might be watching her.

"Sure," Spike answered, somewhat surprised by the warmth in that inquiry. "I’ll just keep the healer on his toes." A perfectly mischievous smile crooked the corner of his lip.

"Leave the man alone," Buffy replied, unable to keep from being affected by his mood. "He’s got enough troubles."

"And you?" He looked at her with concern. "You gonna okay with your great, great grandsire?"

Buffy cast a glance over her shoulder at Ezra who was slipping on his red coat, unaware that she was stealing a glimpse at him. "Yeah, I can’t believe I’m related to that guy but I should be okay."

"He’s a good bloke," Spike pointed out. "A little wordy but his hearts in the right place most of the time, when its not in his wallet."

"Maybe he used to be part vengeance demon," she joked, recalling how Anya, Xander’s fiancée who upon leaving her vocation as a vengeance demon had developed a voracious appetite for money and the acquiring of it.

"I don’t think he’s quite that bad," Spike joked.

"Is it me," Buffy replied as she noticed Vin and Tara in deep conversation, "or is Tara a little friendlier with Vin then she ought to be?"

"Its not you," Spike sniggered. "I reckon the tracker makes the witch hot."

"Ugh!" Buffy glared at him for his choice of words, "can you be any more tactless? Maybe Tara’s being nice. You might have warned him that she’s gay." She pointed out.

"Luv," Spike stared at her, "in this age, he wouldn’t even know what that means."

"Well explain it," she said impatiently, not wishing Tara to be placed in an awkward position because of Vin’s affection. Besides, she was being seriously freaked seeing Tara with anyone else other than Willow. Ironically a few years ago, she would have been freaked about seeing Willow with another woman but then no more than Willow would be if she knew what Buffy and Spike had been getting up to lately.

"Explain it to him?" Spike raised a brow. "I don’t fancy getting shot pet. Bullets may not kill me but it will still bloody hurt. Besides, you don’t talk about that sort of thing in this time, especially to men who used to shoot people for looking at them cross eyed. Its all meant to be in the closet unless of course you’re French although in France who could tell? They all sound like a bunch of poofs anyway."

"Once of these days I’m gonna have to get you to explain to me this thing you Brits have with the French." Buffy remarked and leaned forward, planting a soft kiss on his lips, uncertain of why until she had done it.

Spike stared at her for a moment because it was so personal, like something one would do to a person who meant a great deal to them. "What was that for?" He asked mystified.

"I don’t know," Buffy shrugged, wishing he would not pay so much attention to it. It was not as if she had never kissed him before. She had just felt like it. "Just don’t get too used to it."

"I know, I know," Spike rolled his eyes but he could not deny his heart was dancing. "You won’t ever do it again."

"Yeah," Buffy said coyly as she drew away from him. "Just as long as you know."

**********

As the procession returned home to Four Corners, Chris found himself inching his horse along side of Mary’s. So much had happened in the last few hours that they had barely a chance to talk about what was happening. Chris could not believe she had ridden all that way to warn him of Angelus. She had to know that the vampire might still come after her once she had breached the safety of her home and left herself wide open to his attack. Of course he knew she cared, even if she did not say it out loud. He felt it and he hoped that she knew the feeling was mutual.

"It’s been a long night," Chris said as they rode alongside each other.

"To say the least," Mary smiled at him. "I think I will be glad when things return to normal although this whole thing has been educational."

"I don’t know if I would call it that," Chris said dryly. "I don’t think I wanted this much of a glimpse into the future."

"I’m wagering, neither does Ezra," Mary glanced at the gambler who was riding double on Chaucer with Buffy. Both of them looked so much like each other and yet seemed poles apart. Mary could not imagine how Buffy could be Ezra’s progeny. The young woman seemed so terribly serious when she should have been at an age where life was just beginning.

"Mary," Chris looked at her seriously. "I’m grateful you came after me. It was downright foolish and dangerous but I’m glad you did."

Mary looked as if she might protest but instead settled down to accept his gratitude more graciously, "you’re welcome." She smiled. "For some reason you’re the only person I know who can make enemies anywhere, even supernatural ones." She teased.

"Well its a talent," Chris said with a straight face before breaking into a grin.

"Any other talents I should know about?" Her brow raised in question.

"A few," he grinned. "But I think we should get to know each other a little better first."

"Mr. Larabee, I am intrigued." Mary laughed not at all disturbed by the suggestion in that statement but then she had always walked the dark side when it came to her feelings for him. "Why don’t we try supper first?"

And for the first time, Chris found that he was amenable to the idea. "That sounds nice Mary," he said honestly, realizing in recent days that it mattered telling the ones you cared about how much they meant because it so much worse if they did not exist at all.

**********

"They’re so into each other," Buffy remarked as she rode behind Ezra, glancing in Chris and Mary’s direction.

"If you mean there is a certain chemistry between Mr. Larabee and Mrs. Travis, I dare say that you are right," Ezra agreed. Buffy was not the first person to speculate about the relationship between the gunslinger and the newspaper editor. The rest of the seven had done it on occasion with Buck even making some pathetic attempt to play matchmaker that ended with him having half his moustache shaved off by one very irate Mr. Larabee. It was the last time Buck made such an effort even though he had been properly warned by the others that things with Chris and Mary would progress when they were ready for it to do so.

"So what’s stopping them?" Buffy asked. It was the first time she and her ancestor had engaged in any real conversation since her arrival. Even now, she felt uncomfortable that it was he she was riding with and not Spike. She kind of liked how it felt to hold Spike on horseback because there was a romance to the whole thing that she would die before she confessed to the vampire.

"Well Chris lost his wife and son some years ago in a fire and I do not think he’s quite recovered from that loss," Ezra explained.

So that’s it, Buffy thought to himself. That’s why he looked so sad when he thought no one was noticing. Buffy did not know what it was to lose someone in that way but she knew something about loss and could understand Chris’ reluctance to give his heart away again. "It takes a long time."

"I do not doubt that but sometimes, one has to take a gamble." Ezra pointed out.

"I don’t gamble," Buffy retorted. "I can’t afford to."

"I noticed that," Ezra replied and noticed Buffy stiffening immediately.

"What does that mean?" She demanded huffily. "I’m the Slayer! I can’t take chances or people will die. People have died. You have no idea what my life is like."

"Rather sensitive on the issue aren’t you?" Ezra remarked innocently.

"I can’t help it," Buffy felt a little embarrassed for that outburst. "You have no idea what I’ve been through."

"I don’t doubt that," Ezra agreed. "But you if you would care to take some advice from someone who has lived in difficulty, I can tell you that it gets no easier. Sometimes it becomes more impossible than you can believe but that is life my dear, it is not made to be easy or difficult. It just is."

"Can argue with you there," Buffy sighed in agreement.

"He loves you, you know."

Buffy’s eyes opened with surprise not expecting him to say that. "That’s none of your business," she retorted hotly after a moment.

"Perhaps not but it is true. I am aware of what he is and as much as I dislike the fact that one of my descendants might find happiness with one of his kind; I also have to remember that you are the Slayer. Mr. Giles tells me that it is your vocation until you die from it, that there is no release from the duty. Life is short my dear girl, even more so for you. How you chose to live it is entirely up to you and I do not think that you should be burdened by the path of those who came before you. Live your life, as you would choose not as anyone expects you to live it. I followed my mother’s path because I did not think I could be anything else," Ezra retorted, pausing a little when Maude’s name came into it. "It never occur to me that I could be anything that I wished, not until it was too late. My course has brought me to Four Corners and I have a second chance of being something better, something happier, I would give you the same advice."

"You want me to love Spike?" Buffy demanded, incensed that he could ask of that of her when he knew nothing about what Spike had been and how he had tried to kill her.

"No," Ezra shook his head and revealed he was capable of a few surprises still. "I want you to let him go if you do not."

"What....." Buffy gasped.

"You heard me," Ezra said sharply, unaware that he was rekindling a memory of a similar conversation Buffy had once shared with Xander on the subject of Riley. "If you love him, embrace what he offers you for I have no doubt that he would surrender everything for you and love like that, is fleeting and it is precious, no matter what the source. There are those who spend their whole lives searching for that feeling and never find it. However, if you do not love him, let him go. He is tortured by the unknowing. Anyone can see that. He lingers in hope because you give some semblance of it and that binds him to you."

"I don’t know how I feel about him," she responded weakly.

She had not been able to talk to anyone regarding her feelings about Spike. She was certain that anyone in Sunnydale she confided to about their relationship would undoubtedly be horrified that she was even considering the idea. After all, Spike had been her mortal enemy for so long and his murderous impulses were only kept in check by the chip that was presently in his head. Willow had so many troubles on her plate at the present that Buffy could not bring herself to burden her best friend with her confidence and Xander? Xander barely tolerated Spike at all and the mere suggestion of there being a relationship between her and the vampire would most likely cause Xander to stake Spike just to save her from herself. If Giles were here, perhaps she might confide in him but Giles, not the one who was talking with Tara and Vin as they rode to town, the father figure who had been her tower of strength for most of her teenage years, was gone. Still, it did feel good to talk to Ezra about it and it appeared as if he really wanted to listen.

"All I know is that lately, he seems to understand the things I go through better than anyone else. He’s taken care of Dawn and protected her. I know that if anything happened to me he would continue to look out for her."

"It appeared that your relationship might be closer than that." Ezra pointed out, not wishing to say outright that he noticed their intimacy but not wishing to ignore that fact either since they were having this honest discussion.

Buffy knew exactly what he meant and while her cheeks flushed with embarrassment at his discovery of their sexual proclivities towards one another, it also felt liberating not having to lie about that either. "He makes feel alive," she admitted. "I don’t know why but he does. When I’m with him I don’t feel so empty but it makes me feel ashamed."

"Because he is a vampire and a killer?" Ezra asked.

"Yes," Buffy nodded sombrely but knew she was not being fair on Spike. She had loved Angel even though he had done far worse as Angelus. "I don’t know. I’ve loved someone else who had for a time been far worse than Spike but this is so confusing."

"Maybe this has little to do with him and everything to do with you," he pointed out, sensing her insecurity. "Perhaps if you allow yourself to care for Spike you might find yourself completely lost in him and that frightens you."

"I’m not afraid," Buffy pouted but she knew he was not far wrong either.

"Of course you are," Ezra brushed aside that remark because he knew better. "You would not be human unless you were."

"I’m not quite human," she reminded. "I’m the slayer and what about you? How come there’s no woman in your life? How am I supposed to get born if you don’t even a girlfriend?" She asked, unable to deny that she felt a little better even if nothing had been resolved. Still, talking about it to someone had been liberating.

"The right woman will come along in due course," Ezra chuckled, glad that he was able to give her something to think about. "And if I am at all lucky, she’ll be filthy rich."

"Superficial much?" Buffy retorted in disapproval. "I thought you old fashioned guys liked to bring home the bacon."

"I am not chauvinist my dear," he grinned. "If you had time I’d introduce you to your great, great, great grandmother Maude and you’ll see that you come from a long line of headstrong women. Besides I have no difficulty being kept."

"Ewww!" Buffy laughed, smacking him on the shoulder. "You’re setting me up for severe dysfunction here, Ezra. Making me think about my ancestors having anything to do with sex or being kept is giving me the serious wiggies."

"Obviously resulting in your massacre of the English language," the gambler retaliated dryly.

"We’re a lot more hip in the future," she declared. "Most of the time when a guy likes a girl, he just goes up to her and says – hey you have a thing, I have a thing, let’s do the thing together." She burst into a wide grin as he looked over his shoulder at her.

"Thank god for the times I live in," he shook his head in disapproval. "Although I suspect that if given the choice, Mr. Wilmington would love it."

"Why?" She asked curiously.

Her interaction with the seven men had been limited. Most of her time had been spent in the company of Chris Larabee, a serious brooder who would give Angel a run for his money, if the chance for such competition were ever had. However, the man had a presence about him, a grim determination that demanded obedience and loyalty from those who followed him. Even Buffy was not immune to it. She could tell that the men he rode with would follow him through any calamity because he was their undisputed leader.

Vin on the other hand, was a tragedy waiting to happen. Buffy wondered if the tracker had any idea of how things would be if they succeeded in this plan to rid Four Corners of the ‘family’. The time line would repair itself and the Tara he knew would disappear. Giles had spoken to her about the consequences of what they were attempting to do and though Buffy did not like this at all, there was nothing they could do to change it. Tara and Giles would have no idea that anything had happened when they finally returned to the future. In fact, the only one who would be hurt by all this was Vin. Tara would have no memory of him because she never met him. Vin seemed like a nice guy who did not give his heart often and Buffy could tell that this was going to hurt him a great deal.

Buffy still had difficulty believing that this gambler with his airs and erudite speech, who put even Giles to shame at times, was related to her. He just seemed so unlike her and yet in the last few minutes, she had found it easier to confide in him then anyone else in recent months, except for Spike of course. However, he had also given her food for thought especially about her relationship with the vampire. She had no idea what her feelings towards Spike were yet but she could not deny that whatever they might, she was afraid of losing herself in Spike. It was an easy thing to do when the passions he awakened in her ran so hot. Still it had been good being able to talk about Spike to someone who would not judge her and she wondered what fate had in store for the gambler in the future. If she ever returned home, she was determined to find out.

"Short, sweet and crass is Buck’s way. I am sure he would be as successful with women in your time as he is in Four Corners." Ezra retorted.

"Quite the ladies man huh?" Buffy guessed by his remark.

"To put it mildly," he said sarcastically.

"What about you?" She asked, "you’re sort of okay looking for an older guy and that accents got to be a trip. How come you don’t have a girl friend yet? You know you need one if I’m gonna get born." She teased.

"Older guy?" Ezra cast her a look. "I’m only a decade or so older than you, my dear."

"Sorry," she chuckled. "So how come you’re not attached? I thought you were supposed to marry young in this age."

"I am not one to jump quickly into my relationships. I am certain when the future Mrs. Standish comes along, I shall know her."

"Why great, great, Grandpa Ezra," Buffy grinned, enjoying the frown that appeared on his face at that description. "You’re a romantic."

Ezra stiffened. "I am not."

"Are too," she insisted. "You talk about your true love being rich and all but you’re really a romantic!"

"Stop that," Ezra grumbled. "Stop that immediately or I shall ride to a monastery and live out my life as a monk."

"Great, great grandpa’s a romantic," she continued to tease in a sing song voice with Ezra shaking his head in annoyance and muttering under his breath;

"Never a vampire around when you need one."

*********

"We should have left," Darla stated within the confines of the Landers home at the same time the Slayer was torturing her ancestor. "Now we’re confined here until dark."

"It doesn’t matter," Angelus said confidently even though the events of the night had hardly been of his choosing. William was at the moment nursing some rather bad burns to his face because of Holy Water, an occurrence that Angelus believed he wholly deserved for allowing their prisoner to escape. Still, Angelus could not deny confessing a certain admiration for the preacher and his escape. He would have never have thought that Josiah would be sly enough to turn a cup of water into a weapon.

"Doesn’t matter?" Darla stared at him in astonishment, unable to believe he was underestimating their situation or the threat that they now found themselves in. "They’ll come back here during the day now that they know where we are."

"They can’t kill us," Angelus said with a confident smile as he sat comfortably in the wing chair within the parlour of the house. "Did you not notice that?"

"What do you mean?" Darla asked not understanding.

She paced the floor before him impatiently, waiting for an answer and wondering how this situation could have escalated to what it was. They should have left days ago, not remained, attracting more and more attention. As strong and capable as they were, vampires thrived in anonymity and this exposure made her uncomfortable. It was bad enough that Angelus was known as the Scourge of Europe and that their constant travelling was necessitated by his brutal and sadistic murders. He was never satisfied with victims that no one would miss. He wanted challenges and his efforts to play with his latest obsession before the kill had given him a particularly fearsome reputation known by those who did not even wish to believe in the existence of vampires.

"When they fought us, there were moments when they could have killed us and yet they did not. Do you not wonder why?" Angelus responded.

"Because we are better than them," Darla hissed in answer, as if there was any reason to think anything else.

"You and I perhaps," Angelus was willing to concede. "But Drusilla and Spike are younger, they don’t have the skill we do. Larabee could have staked him through the heart but he was careful not to. I wondered why at the time and last night when I followed William and the preacher, I overheard the Slayer and the one that looked like William. It makes perfect sense."

"It does?" Darla wished he would hurry up and explain. She did not like riddles.

"Yes," Angelus grinned. "They’re from the future and they can’t kill us because we have something to do with them in the future."

"You mean, someday Spike will turn against us?" Darla exclaimed in shock. "I don’t believe it."

Spike was young, brash, fearless and savage but he was not traitor. The only thing that made him different from any vampire she knew was his love for Drusilla. Vampires were not meant to lose their hearts to another as Spike did for Drusilla. While Darla felt deeply for Angelus, they both knew that if either of their existence were threatened, it would be anyone’s guess who would sacrifice each other for their own self-preservation. That was the way of things and it was expected. However, Darla noted that it was not so for Spike, the opposite, in fact. Spike would give up his life for Drusilla. Darla suspected that more of his human soul remained than was normal although how that had come to be was anyone’s guess. Perhaps the demon that inhabited his body had found kinship with the human he had been and they had forged some kind of alliance.

"Believe it," Angelus retorted, remembering the conversation between the slayer and Spike’s older version. It was precious. "He falls in love with a Slayer."

Darla’s eyes widened. "With a slayer?" The very notion was absurd. "How can that be! It’s not natural!"

"I do not know," Angelus confessed. "However, they need to keep us away from Standish because he is sire to the slayer that has come to Four Corners from the future. That is why they are so keen to protect. If we kill him, then she dies."

"And this other Spike?" Darla asked, trying to wrap her mind around this incredible tale.

"He came to stop his younger self, our Spike, from killing Standish, so that she could live. However, we have some part to play with all of them someday because they cannot kill us. If we were to kill our Spike, the one from the future would die too." Angelus explained, loving the delicious irony of it all.

"He was always a romantic," Darla shook her head in disgust. "We have to do something. Drusilla said this Slayer was going to take you and William away from her and see me dead. I won’t allow that." She stared at Angelus purposefully, demanding compliance in this matter.

"Neither will I my darling," Angelus rose to his feet and crossed the floor to reach her. Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder to still her pacing, he lowered his lips to hers and devoured her mouth with hungry passion. For a few seconds, Darla reacted in the only way she could, becoming lost in the power of his sensuous lips. He kissed her hard and forcefully before sliding his lips to her ear and whispering. "We’re going to Four Corners tonight and we’re going to find them all. We won’t let the Slayer tear us apart. Even if we have to kill everyone in that damn town to do it. I promise you that me love."

Darla listened dreamily, allowing him to undo the laces behind her dress and savouring the feel of his palm as it met bare skin. "I hope so," Darla murmured mistily, "its not like we have never done it before."

"Aye," he replied sliding towards the join between her neck and her shoulder, delighting in the alabaster cream of her skin before he slid off her dress. "And this time, we have the blood of a slayer to sweeten the experience and rid ourselves of William once and for all."

TO BE CONTINUED