Disclaimer: Joss owns the characters of BTVS. I am not making any money off of this fic. Please don't sue me. Beta'd by AtheneHahn

A/N: Written in answer to Redwolf50's Challenge 109. Challenge details at the end.

by Jackofspikes

Chapter 43

Xander's eyes widened in shock; paranoia quickly set in. Was this whole thing somehow his fault? He turned pleading eyes towards his friends. "Please tell me I didn't do this," he whispered.

"Huh?" Joan responded, shocked that he had come to that conclusion.

"Nah, mate, this is all Jonathan, Tucker's brother, and Warren the robot builder. Don't blame yourself for a second, Harris," William firmly assured the distressed teen.

"Warren the who what?" Buffy asked guilelessly.

"Robot builder," Joan responded. A memory suddenly surfaced and she tuned quickly to her mother. "Oh! If a computer salesman named Ted asks you out, mom, tell him no and then let us know." Joan ordered, shuddering in disgust.

Joyce widened her eyes in surprise before assuring the elder slayer that she would do just that.

"Mom's dating now?" Buffy asked in horror.

"Apparently not very successfully, pet," Spike chuckled as he pulled his girl back down on his lap.

Before Joyce could respond to the cheeky blond vampire, Willow grabbed her, pulling her aside for a very quiet conversation.

Not noticing the interaction going on between the redhead and her mother, Joan turned back to the two visitors and considered them seriously before giving Jonathan a rundown on the history she had with him. She told him how she saved him from committing suicide, how he had been the one to honour her at their prom, how he'd done a spell to alter reality and that she'd ended the spell and saved him from the monster of his own creation. Finally she reminded him of how she had treated him after the spell when he had felt ostracized by everyone else. Her eye's sparkled with unshed tears when she whispered the question that had been burning inside her. "Why? What did I ever do to you that would make you do this to me?"

Jonathan lowered his eyes in shame. He couldn't imagine anything that this girl could do would ever deserve the way he and his companion had apparently treated her in the future. He vowed that he would not repeat the behaviour.

"But he won't do it now. We won't," Andrew offered innocently. "You changed the flow."

"What does that mean, exactly?" Giles asked.

Andrew shared a glance with Jonathan. The small brunette nodded then took over the explanation. "You have to imagine that time is like a river with a really strong current. Normally you move with the flow of the river. If you do something big enough you can change the course of the river ahead of you, but because of the current you can't affect the river behind you." Turning to face Joan, he continued. "To be able to change the direction of the river behind you, you have to actively get out of the river and move further upstream. Whatever it was that our future selves created made that happen. And just by being here, you've changed the flow of the river."

"But...the Powers said, um, time isn't linier," Dawn offered hesitantly.

"Yes, little one. But you are thinking linier means a straight line," Andrew replied, attempting to project an air of wisdom.

"Uh...it does mean a straight line," Willow commented firmly, lifting an eyebrow and regarding the little blond sceptically. She really wasn't sure that listening to anything Andrew had to say would be totally of the wise.

"It also means one dimensional, Willow." Jonathan said quietly.

"So, you're saying time isn't one dimensional?" Giles asked, thoughtful. Removing his glasses, he proceeded to clean them as his mind raced over the possibilities that this information offered.

Buffy looked around the thoughtful faces and wondered if she was the only one that wasn't getting the significance of what was being said. "And that means...?"

Xander regarded his friend sadly, before trying to explain his theory in a way she would understand. "I think what's happened here, Buffster, is that we have two dimensions stuck together as one. Two worlds that, at this point in time, were exactly the same..."

"Wait...you mean like 'Sliders' and Quinn Mallory?" Buffy interrupted excitedly, with a little bounce on Spike's lap.

"Sort of, but unlike 'Sliders', Joan and William brought their original dimension with them." Xander focused on his friend as if willing her to understand. "At this point in time, their dimension hasn't split with ours. It's the only theory I can come up with that explains the four of you and the changing memory thing."

"So, what? You're saying that they'll go back when the dimensions split?" Spike asked carefully, still trying to process the information that they'd received.

Xander glanced at the couple in question furtively before giving his friend an affirmative nod.

"When?" Joan ground out between gritted teeth. She had a really bad feeling about this.

Jonathan shifted uncomfortably before answering the question in a guilt laced whisper. "In about four years."

Joan took a deep breath to steady herself, the horror of the situation threatening to overtake her completely. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that if she had to go through four more years of memory changes that she was going to lose the tenuous grip she had on her sanity. Tuning frightened eyes to William, she whispered her fear. "I'm not going to make it."

Wrapping the terrified blond within his arms and wings, the entire room heard his firm response.

"Not an option, Summers."

*~*~*

As William calmed her distraught daughter, Joyce made her way over to Buffy and Spike.

"I need to talk to the both of you."

Joining them at the table, Joyce smiled at the younger version of the embracing couple. "I need you both to know that I completely support your relationship and that what I'm going to ask you to do has nothing at all to do with trying to come between you in any way."

The two blonds shared a worried glance before cautiously nodding for Joyce to continue.

"Joan and William need a break from the changing memories and I need you two to help them with that." Joyce told them calmly, her demeanour serious.

"How?" Buffy asked suspiciously as she tightened her grip on Spike.

Joyce knew her daughter well enough to know that if the suggestion didn't come from Buffy, she'd get very stubborn and very quickly. "Sweetie, I'm not sure. I'm not as knowledgeable about these things as you. Can you think of anything?"

Buffy nibbled at her bottom lip as she considered her mother's question. She hadn't really taken the time to think about what it would be like for the older version of herself. So much had happened in such a short time, she'd been hard pressed to process it all once, let alone think about what anyone else was going through. She guessed it would be kinda wiggy to have to deal with uber-badness that her older self was dealing with. With that in mind, she was forced to acknowledge that she might not be the best person to ask. These were the sort of questions she usually left up to her watcher. She pouted, knowing instinctively that she wasn't going to be happy with whatever solution he not only already had, but had clearly shared with her mother.

Grumbling petulantly about sneaky mothers and their guilt trips, Buffy faced her watcher. "What's your suggestion?" she asked.

Before Giles could answer her question, Wolfie stepped forward.

"You need to claim Spike."