Hello Again

Author: enigmaticblue

Rating: PG-15

Disclaimer: We all know the truth. None of these characters are mine, and if I were making money off of them, I could quit my job and go write on a beach somewhere.

Summary: A sequel to my short story, Summer Vacation. After the events of Forgiving, Wesley decides to take action after losing Connor, and finds something he never expected.

A/N: Because there’s quite a bit of time between this story and the last, there’s quite a bit of catching up to do. All will be explained eventually, but you’ll have to hang in there with me for a bit. Also, I’m playing around with time and canon. You’ll see what I mean.

Chapter 4: Revelations

“…You and I have something different/And I'm enjoying it cautiously/I'm battle scarred, I am working oh so hard/To get back to who I used to be/He's disappearing/Fading suddenly/I'm so close to being yours/Won't you stay with me/Please/Near to you, I am healing/But it's taking so long/'Cause though he's gone/And you are wonderful/It's hard to move on…I only know that I am/Better where you are.” ~A Fine Frenzy, “Near to You”

“I can’t believe you’re doing this, Buffy,” Willow objected. “You can’t. Not without me.”

Buffy sighed. “We talked about this, Will. You’re staying away from the magic.”

“You talked about it,” she retorted. “I agreed, but it’s been months.”

“Two months,” Buffy shot back. “It took Spike two weeks to heal.”

Willow frowned. “It’s not my fault that he got in the way. I told him to duck.”

It was the wrong argument to use, in Buffy’s opinion. While Willow had warned Spike to take cover, it had been too little, too late. If she’d called the warning just a second later, it would have been too late.

Since the spell had followed hard on the heels of Spike chewing the witch out, Buffy had a feeling that Willow’s failure to give an earlier warning fell under the heading of “accidentally-on-purpose.”

“I’m not having this conversation with you again,” Buffy finally said. “You’re welcome to give us a hand, but Tara and Wes are going to handle the magic for now. We might end up needing you, but I think—”

“You can’t force me to sit this out,” Willow protested. “I’m your big gun!”

Buffy swallowed her immediate reply, thinking that it would probably just make matters worse. Willow didn’t like being reminded of her mistakes, but Buffy wasn’t about to forget, not again, not when there was so much at stake. “Yes, you are,” she agreed. “But you’re my cannon. Right now I need a smaller gun.”

Willow didn’t look happy about that analogy, but she didn’t try to argue about it either, for which Buffy was grateful. “What’s first?”

“Tara’s going to do the reveal spell to see if Dawn’s blood will still open portals.” Buffy still didn’t like the idea of Dawn being involved in anything other than a pure researcher capacity, but this stage was safe enough. “After that, we’ll see.”

“Fine. What do you want me to do?”

Buffy supposed she ought to be grateful that Willow was willing to help at all, but she was having trouble dredging up the energy. She had too many things to do to waste time on smoothing over hurt feelings. “We still need to figure out how we’re going to locate Connor.”

Willow nodded. “I think I have a few leads in that area.”

“Great.” Buffy forced a smile. “I appreciate your help.” She glanced at the clock. “I’m supposed to be meeting Spike for patrol. I’ll be back later.”

The tentative plan was to do the reveal spell once she and Spike were done with patrol. The next day was Saturday, so Dawn didn’t have to worry about classes. Once they had figured out whether or not that route was open to them, they could proceed.

Those had been Wesley’s words, and his suggestion, and Buffy had agreed. She wondered what Spike’s reaction to the plan would be.

~~~~~

Spike wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but he’d wondered whether Dawn was really just a normal girl these days. In his experience, you couldn’t take something that was inherently magical and reduce it to a mundane form. It was probably better to figure it out sooner, rather than later, and he said as much.

“Good thing you told Red to keep her nose out of things, though,” he commented. “I don’t trust her.”

Buffy frowned. “I don’t think she meant any harm, Spike.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You know better than that, Slayer. The girl is a menace.”

“She is not.” Buffy glared at him. “Just because you don’t like my friends—”

“I might like your friends if they treated me half-way decent.” Spike generally tried to keep his mouth shut where it concerned Buffy’s friends. Whether she thought they were in the wrong or not, she didn’t like hearing them criticized. Her loyalty was commendable, but he thought it was misplaced in this instance. To emphasize his point, Spike added, “I like Tara and Dawn well enough.”

She opened her mouth to make some sort of retort, but fell silent. “Willow and Xander have reason to not like you. You did kidnap them and threaten to kill them.”

Spike snorted. “That was years ago. ‘Sides, I’ve saved both their hides since then.”

He noticed that Buffy didn’t try to dispute that, and he wasn’t surprised when she changed the subject. “We should probably head back now. I want to be there when they do the spell.”

“Yeah, sure.” Spike kept pace with her easily; it had been a quiet evening, something he’d learned to appreciate. Although too many nights with nothing to kill was a bit boring, Buffy tended to relax and talk more freely under those circumstances.

By the time they arrived at the Magic Box, Tara and Wesley were putting the finishing touches on the spell. Both Xander and Anya were present as well; Anya because she wanted to make sure they didn’t damage her shop, and Xander because Anya was there. Willow was watching the proceedings with an expression that was half resentful and half longing.

Dawn, of course, was excited. Spike had to admit that he found her enthusiasm endearing. “How much longer?” she asked.

Wesley’s tone indicated that this was not the first time she’d asked the question, and that he was beginning to run out of patience. “About two minutes less than the last time you asked, Dawn.”

“But you said two minutes,” she pointed out reasonably.

Tara interrupted whatever response Wesley was about to make. “If you keep asking us how long it will be, it’s going to take that much longer.”

Dawn subsided, slouching against the wall. “Fine.”

Buffy couldn’t quite hide her smirk. “Patience is a virtue, Dawnie.”

Dawn didn’t bother replying.

Spike watched the proceedings with a growing sense of unease. Although he knew that magic was sometimes necessary, he still didn’t like using it. There were always consequences, sometimes unintended, often unexpected, and rarely pleasant.

“We’re ready, Dawn,” Tara said as Wesley stepped back from the circle to stand next to Buffy. “I need you to stand across from me.”

Dawn swallowed, her nerves showing now. She stepped forward readily enough, however, and Spike was impressed by her courage. Spike watched as she followed Tara’s instructions, holding out her finger to be pricked.

The spell required a surprisingly small amount of blood, for which Spike was grateful. There was something about the scent of Dawn’s blood that presented a huge temptation, much like Slayer’s blood. Even if Dawn was simply human these days, she had still been created out of Buffy, and that was bound to have an affect.

Silence fell over the training room, and Spike found himself growing bored. The spell seemed to mostly consist of Tara staring at the small stone Dawn had smeared her blood on, and he wondered how long they would have to wait for an answer.

Suddenly, the stone flashed with a green light, causing both Tara and Dawn to take an involuntary step back, outside the circle. The light died immediately, and Tara took a deep breath. “I guess that answers the question.”

“It does?” Buffy asked.

“Dawn’s blood still holds magical properties,” Wesley explained softly, “but probably not anything that she can control.” He added, “That’s probably not information you’ll want to become common knowledge.”

“Other than Giles, we’re the only ones who know that Dawn is the Key,” Buffy said. “Now what?”

Willow cleared her throat. “I don’t think we have much chance of being able to open a portal exactly where Angel’s son is.”

“You wouldn’t,” Anya stated bluntly. “Quortoth is not a nice dimension, and magic doesn’t work the same way there.”

Buffy expelled a breath. “So, where does that leave us? We can get there, but we have no guarantee of finding the kid?”

“Not exactly,” Tara said. “I think we can open the portal somewhere close, then reopen it a few hours later.”

Spike didn’t like the sound of that. “Is that really gonna give us enough time?”

“It had better,” Anya said. “Time moves differently in most of those dimensions. A lot of time could pass there while no time passes here, or vice versa.”

Buffy grimaced. “That’s comforting.”

Spike saw another problem. “If we’ve got to go lookin’ for the kid, an’ time does pass differently, how are we goin’ to know when you lot are opening the portal?”

“I don’t think that’s as big of a problem,” Wesley said. “Because Buffy and Dawn are related, there is a very good possibility that Dawn’s blood will call to Buffy’s.”

“There are a lot of maybes there,” Xander observed. “Is it really a good idea to send Buffy after this kid? If we can’t get her back, we’re out a Slayer, and if what you’re saying is true, even if she does come back, she could be years older.”

Wesley looked at Buffy. “I don’t know. What do you think?”

She shook her head. “I risk my life every day, Xander. This isn’t that different. How soon before we’re ready?” Buffy directed her question towards Tara.

“Tomorrow afternoon?” she guessed. “We can give you four hours, then open a portal every other hour after that. We’ll try to get you as close to Connor as possible, but you might need to find him and then return to the spot where you came out.”

Buffy nodded. “Okay.” She turned to Spike. “Do you want to take a trip with me? Watch my back?”

He smirked. “I’d like to see you try to leave me behind.”

~~~~~

Wesley was relieved that they finally had a plan that appeared workable; it was more than he’d had a few days before. For a moment, he could allow himself to relax in the comfort of Buffy’s living room. Tomorrow was soon enough to worry about the rest of it.

“Here.”

He took the proffered beer. “Thank you.”

“Spike keeps them around. I’m beginning to understand why he likes them.” Buffy sat down on the other end of the couch and took a sip from her own bottle. “How’s your neck?”

“It’s healing,” he replied. “The stitches should probably come out soon. I’m supposed to go back to the doctor in a day or two for that.”

“I can probably do it,” she offered. “I’ve done grosser things.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“For this, as well.” He met her eyes. “You didn’t have to do this, Buffy.”

She shrugged. “Sure I did. We’re talking about kidnapping, maybe murder.”

Wesley knew that was a possibility. Holtz might easily have decided to kill Connor, or perhaps had been unable to protect him in a different dimension. Wesley might be sending her on a fool’s errand.

“If he’s dead—”

“Then at least Angel will know,” Buffy said softly. “If that happens to be true, I think it might be better if you let me tell him. He probably won’t try to kill me.”

Wesley laughed bitterly. “Perhaps I should let him.”

“You know, Giles suggested that I might have to kill Dawn to prevent the world from going to hell—literally,” Buffy informed him. “I was really pissed off at him at the time, but he was right. If it had come down to that, if I’d been forced to make that choice, I would have, but it would have killed me.” She looked at him. “All things being equal, if you had it to do over again, would you?”

He didn’t hesitate. “To keep Angel from harming his own child? Yes. Although that wouldn’t have happened.”

“You don’t know that,” Buffy replied. “And it’s not your fault that that bitch sliced your throat.”

Wesley smiled at her vehement tone. “Thank you.”

“Why didn’t you tell the others?” Buffy asked. “I mean, I can guess about Angel, since he was acting weird, but what about Cordelia?”

Wesley lifted an eyebrow. “She was with the Groosalug.”

“The who-huh?”

“The Groosalug, a man—well, of sorts—who came from another dimension.” He frowned, trying to find some way to condense the story, but unable to. “Suffice it to say that Cordy found herself a boyfriend.”

“That I understand,” Buffy said.

Wesley didn’t particularly want to talk about himself, or his past mistakes, anymore. “What will you take with you?”

“Enough food for a few days and weapons,” Buffy said. “Other than that, we’ll rough it, I think. We want to travel light.”

“And what about Holtz?”

Her discomfort was obvious from her expression. “I guess we have three choices: bring him back, leave him there, or kill him.”

Wesley was quiet for a moment. “It might be easiest to leave him there.”

“If we can, we will,” Buffy replied.

Wesley leaned back against the couch, lapsing into comfortable silence.

~~~~~

Tara hoped they’d worked out the rest of the kinks. It had taken most of the morning, but Willow had helped her with the logistics, as had one of her mother’s spell books. Wesley had still had one of Connor’s pacifiers in his car, and they were going to use that for the locator spell that they had worked into the spell that would open the portal.

At least, that was the plan. It could dump Spike and Buffy off right on top of Connor, or it could simply put them in the general vicinity.

“Bugger,” Wesley muttered, looking at the clock. “How long until Buffy and Spike get here?”

“Buffy should be here in about an hour,” Willow replied. “She had a few errands to run, just in case she doesn’t come back right away.”

Tara caught the accusatory look that Willow was leveling at Wesley, and she thought it was misplaced. Buffy was the one who had agreed to this mission, probably because things had been so quiet lately. Although patrolling and college classes kept her busy, the Slayer seemed to be ready for a challenge again.

“What is it, Wesley?” Tara asked.

“Connor will need some things,” he explained. “There’s no telling how long he’ll have gone without proper food, or anything else.”

Tara saw his point immediately. She pushed a piece of paper across the table. “Make a list of what you think he’ll need, and we’ll run and pick it up.”

He stared at the blank sheet, clearly at a loss. “I don’t know. If time has passed normally, he’d only be a few months old, but otherwise…”

“Then he’ll need food, probably cereal,” Tara said practically. “And diapers. Unless he’s a lot older, and in that case, he could share Buffy’s food.”

Wesley nodded. “Yes, of course.”

To be honest, Tara found Wesley’s concern for the baby rather endearing. She had enjoyed the time spent researching with him. It was good to be a part of the team again, and even better to be a vital part of the team.

Wesley finished scribbling out the list. “I think this should do it.”

She rose from her seat. “Okay.” Tara had no desire to be left alone with Willow. “I think I’ll go with you. I’d like to pick up something to eat, and Buffy will probably need to eat, too. Willow, did you want anything?”

“I’m fine.” Willow’s expression held a reproach, which Tara ignored.

It turned out that she was becoming very good at that.

~~~~~

Spike supposed he should be a little nervous; he and Buffy were traveling to another dimension, where they might, or might not, be able to find a man and an infant, from which they might, or might not, be able to return.

And, if Anya was right, long periods of time could pass for them, while no time at all passed in Sunnydale.

As far as Spike was concerned, however, this meant that he and Buffy would have an unspecified period of time together, just the two of them. There would be no disapproving friends, no Nibblet to interrupt just when he thought he might be getting somewhere, no demands from their everyday lives.

It would just be them, on a mission, and he was looking forward to it.

The blood situation could end up being problematic, however. He had no way to keep it cold, so the most he could take was a couple of bags. If he fed before leaving, he could go for a couple of days without eating, but that would be too long for it to be left out.

Spike shrugged. He’d gone without food for longer; he’d live. Wrapping the blood bags in a spare shirt to insulate them as much as possible, Spike threw in a couple of stakes and a crossbow before zipping up the duffel bag. He’d carry the ax to prevent the blade from doing damage to either the bag or what he carried.

When he arrived at the Magic Box, Buffy was waiting for him. “Hey. Did you bring any first aid supplies?”

He shook his head. “No. You?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got them.”

“You’ll need this, too,” Tara said, handing Buffy a grocery sack. “For the baby, when you find him.”

Spike peered over Buffy’s shoulder, looking at the half-dozen jars of baby food, the box of dry cereal, the bottles of water and can of formula, and the stack of diapers. “We really need all that?”

“We weren’t sure how old Connor would be now,” Wesley said. “You should be set for a few days.”

Spike grimaced. “If it takes longer than that, we might have a problem.”

Wesley frowned. “Blood?”

“I’m set for a few days,” Spike confirmed. “After that, we’ll just have to hope that the hunting is good.”

“Then we’re ready to go,” Buffy said.

Spike looked around. “Where’s Dawn?”

“In the training room,” Willow said, breaking her silence. Spike had noticed that she wore a sullen expression, and he could only assume that it was because she felt left out. “With Xander and Anya.”

Spike shouldered his duffel bag. “Right. Let’s do this, shall we?”

“Remember,” Wesley admonished as they all entered the training room. “Your best chance for locating the portal is to return to the location where you arrive. It might not be necessary, but—”

“We got it, Wes,” Buffy said with a smile. “Dawn’s blood should cause the portal to open close to where we are, but just in case it doesn’t, go back to where we started.” She looked at her little sister. “You ready for this, Dawnie?”

“I’m ready,” she said bravely, hugging Buffy tightly. “Be careful.”

Buffy nodded. “I will. Listen to the others, okay?” She turned to Tara, and Spike saw the other woman nod, as a wordless question and answer passed between them. Buffy had told him that she’d asked Tara to look after Dawn if it took them longer than expected to get back.

Neither of them had been willing to address what would happen if they didn’t come back.

Buffy didn’t say anything to the others, probably because anything she said would sound too much like goodbye, when they were supposed to be returning in a few hours.

Spike couldn’t help the grin that formed. It appeared that life was about to get interesting again.