"Now I know I won't be getting any orgasms tonight, and I had plans. I was going to be Nurse Anya, and Xander was going to be the naughty patient," Anya complained. She walked behind the Slayer and the master vampire. She studied their body language as she followed the blond couple.
"Sorry, Anya," Buffy replied. She smiled brightly up at Spike before glancing at Anya over their shoulders. She gave the ex-vengeance demon the same bright smile.
That smile clinched it for Anya. There was no way that Buffy would ever smile at her like that, not the Buffy she'd known. "That's okay, Buffy, I know it's not your fault. You two aren't the same Spike and Buffy, are you?" Anya asked.
"What do you mean?" The blond couple stopped in their tracks suddenly. This caused Anya to walk into them.
"Well, I can tell you two are different now. There's the way you interact and the fact that Spike now has a soul." Anya stopped to think about the last time she had seen the blond vampire. "I know he didn't have one last week at that strange customary Thanksgiving celebration," Anya informed her companions.
The three started to walk again, and in a few minutes they were outside the Bronze. Spike and Buffy decided to be truthful with the ex-vengeance demon. They both had realized that the ex-vengeance demon would be very helpful with buffering them from the other Scoobies. Spike and Buffy had decided that to give the ex-demon some of her powers back. The teleporting would come in handy, as would the telekinesis ability that all vengeance demons possessed, but her regenerative powers would be covered by the immortality of being a companion of the immortal guardians.
"Well, don't tell anyone yet. We are still working out the details, but it was either a year ago, or in about two and a half years from now, depending on how you look at it that, Spike traveled to Africa to win his soul," replied Buffy. "We were about to die in a great battle when The Powers that Be gave us a chance to rewrite things. We are now the immortal guardians of the Hellmouth. Sunnydale is ours."
Buffy and Spike looked at each other, then each grabbed one of Anya's hands. A glow went through the three of them.
"Wow, guys, what did you do to me?" asked Anya.
"You belong to us, Anyanka. The Powers that Be allowed us companions. You are our first companion. We even lobbied for you to have your demon powers without having to do vengeance to have them," replied Spike. "You can still grant wishes, but you don't have to. I'd also advise against using them for evil purposes."
Excitedly, Anya popped out and then back in. She hugged Buffy and Spike while she vowed to keep their secrets. They went inside to settle down at a table to watch the people dancing and to wait for a pool table to open up. Buffy went to the bar to order Spike's wings and blooming onion while the vampire told Anya about her life.
"So he left me at the altar?" Anya screeched. "Oh, he's in big trouble now. I want to liquefy his insides. Oh, or let a Gormackian worm eat his brains. No, better yet. Let him be a real demon magnet forever."
"No need for that, luv," Spike announced. "He doesn't need any help being a demon magnet of love." He chuckled at the memory of Harris hanging over the Hellmouth seal ready to be bled dry.
"I don't think I want Xander as my boyfriend after all," Anya declared. "There has to be someone better."
"Well, you did think you were engaged to the Watcher when Red's memory erase spell backfired," Spike muttered. There was no way he was going to tell Anya about their one very wrong sexual encounter.
"Rupert is a fine figure of a man, but I think I want someone with a bit more vigor," Anya said softly. "Someone I can mold and teach."
"Don't worry, Anya. We'll find you someone." Buffy placed two plates down on the table. She sat down, and then smiled up at the waitress who put the drinks down on the table. "I think Willow will be the easiest to sway to accepting us, especially after she meets..." The Slayer trailed off.
"Tara, luv. It's okay to say her name. We'll make sure that Warren doesn't kill her this time." Spike reached a gentle hand out to stroke his mate's hair. "We'll make things better. You'll see."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Xander and Willow entered the Bronze hoping to find Buffy and Anya there. They argued with Giles for twenty minutes before they realized that the others had snuck out. Willow pointed out the table where they could see Spike and Buffy's coats draped across the back of the chairs. Xander began to scan the crowd looking for Buffy. His ire rose steadily at what he saw. Xander threw Willow an angry look while he pointed to the dance floor.
Willow followed the pointed finger. She saw Spike with one arm around Buffy and the other around Anya. The three of them were slow dancing, although Willow could tell the vampire's attention was mostly on the Slayer. Willow watched as the other two girls giggled at something the vampire said. Anya leaned her head against his shoulder while Buffy pulled him down into a long, tongue entwined kiss.
Xander stalked across the dance floor to grab Anya and Buffy's arms. "What do you two think you're doing? Buffy, didn't you learn your lesson with Angel?"
Buffy shook Xander's hand off. She turned to look at his mottled face, and she said softly, "Spike's nothing like Angel. He doesn't put me on a pedestal like the rest of you. He'll never betray me or hurt me." Buffy felt Spike wince behind her. "Mostly though, he loves all of me, the best and the worst. I'm the one despite all my shortcomings."
"Back down, Harris," Spike growled. "You think you know what's to come. You think you know who she is, but you have no soddin' clue of the sacrifices the Slayer will make for you because you're her friend. Buffy'd be much happier with herself, if she didn't feel the need to cater to your choices."
Buffy turned to Spike, and she laid her hand on his cheek. "Never again, Spike. I choose you, not Angel or Riley. I want to spend the rest of eternity with you." She stood on tiptoes to kiss the corner of his mouth.
"I don't want to date you anymore, Xander Harris," Anya announced. "The orgasms aren't worth the anguish of being left at the altar." She turned to flounce back to the table.
Spike and Buffy chuckled at Anya's antics while they ignored Xander. They walked back towards the table, but something caught Buffy's eyes. When she pointed Jonathan out to Spike, the vampire circled around the club to stand behind the boy. Buffy sidled up to Jonathan, and quietly announced, "My vampire is standing right behind you." She waited until the dark haired boy turned to look at Spike. "I suggest you come sit with us for a few minutes while we talk about the spell you're planning on performing." Buffy grinned when Jonathan gulped and nodded his head.
Jonathan slid into the chair at the table with the Scoobies. He glanced around at the faces, noting that two were bewildered, one was unconcerned, and two watched him intently. Jonathan looked at the Slayer, and muttered, "How did you know about that, Buffy?"
"I have my ways," Buffy announced mysteriously. She pointed to Anya who gave Jonathan a little wave. "This is Anya. I'm sure you remember her from high school. Now, I'm gonna make a little wish, and she's gonna carry it out for me. Is that okay, Anya?" Buffy ignored the shocked looks on Willow and Xander's faces.
"Sure thing, Buffy," Anya chirped. "Wishes are almost as much fun as orgasms." She took a sip of her drink.
"Anya," Xander hissed in embarrassment.
"I wish that Jonathan be taken to the person that needs him the most as long as it's not Warren," Buffy said contemplatively. "You need to find a way to channel your magical energy, Jonathan. You rival Willow with your skill and knowledge, but like her you need guidance and purpose."
"Wish granted," Anya announced. She snapped her fingers, and she and Jonathan disappeared.
"Guidance and purpose?" Willow demanded indignantly. "What exactly does that mean, Buffy? Did my spell scramble your brain somehow?"
"You say that like it's a bad thing, Wills." Buffy sipped her drink while she kept her eyes on Xander's increasingly reddening face. "I just think some time at a coven might help you so you don't have another incident with a messed up spell."
Xander jumped to his feet, knocking over his chair. He pointed first at Buffy, and then at Spike. "You two did something to Anya. First you kidnapped her from Giles', then you turned her against me, and now she's a demon again. Who are you and where's the real Buffy?" He grabbed Willow's arm, and he pulled her out of the club.
"You think I should call and warn Giles that they're on their way back?" Buffy asked softly. She watched her two friends leave the club. Buffy wanted to feel sorry that they were leaving, but she couldn't get it out of her mind that they had thrown her out of her own house only a few days before in her and Spike's other timeline.
"Might be best, luv," Spike answered. "Just in case he wants to avoid them." He helped Buffy to her feet, and he snagged their jackets. He followed her to the payphone at the back of the club.
Buffy dug a quarter out of her pocket, and she plunked it into the slot. She dialed the number from memory. Then she waited for Giles to answer. "Hey Giles. I think we pissed Xander and Willow off some more. You might want to hide from the fallout."
"Buffy, what's going on?" Giles spluttered. "Just this morning you hated Spike, and now you want to marry him. This isn't normal behavior."
"Giles, what if I told you that Spike and I are from three and half years in the future?" Buffy asked quietly. She grabbed Spike's hand for moral support. "I'm not sure what I can say to convince you, but it's true. We're here because we had to stop an apocalypse that should never have happened."
Giles blinked in astonishment when he heard Buffy's announcement. "I'll need more information about this future apocalypse you're speaking of, Buffy. However, right now your mother is looking for you. She said you need to pick Dawn up at her friend Janice's."
"Dawnie's at Janice's?" Buffy turned puzzled eyes towards Spike. "Um, no problemo, Giles. Spike and I'll get Dawn. We'll come by tomorrow to talk to you."
Giles looked towards his bookcase while he dreaded the long hours ahead of him researching time travel and apocalypes. "I'll see you then, Buffy."
Buffy hung up the phone after saying her farewell to Giles. "Okay, that's just plain strange. Dawn's not supposed to be here until after Dracula comes to town." She turned worried eyes towards Spike.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A SMALL MONASTERY SOMEWHERE IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
"The key has been sent to her protectors, Abbot Popeo," the young monk announced softly.
"How can that be? The vampire is not ready to accept the responsibility."
"There was a disturbance, Abbot. So, I checked the Slayer and the Champion, and something has changed the timeline," the young monk looked around while checking for eavesdroppers. "They know of future events. They can protect the key from the Beast, because they are the immortal guardians, Abbot. The time is at hand."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Abbot Popeo. I'm positive." The young monk nodded.
"Tell the others it's time to prepare."